Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that intensive therapy unit patients have access to rehabilitative therapies on their discharge from hospital.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rehabilitation, and therapy-led reablement, are critical in ensuring that patients discharged on intermediate care pathways from acute settings receive appropriate support to recover.
As set out in the hospital discharge and community support guidance, local authorities and integrated care boards should ensure that, where appropriate, they commission rehabilitation, including therapy-led reablement, for those who need it.
Every acute hospital now has access to a care transfer hub. These hubs bring together professionals from the National Health Service and social care to ensure that patients with more complex needs have in place the most appropriate support package for their safe discharge.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to NHS trusts on ensuring that patients transitioning from intensive care units to hospital wards receive the necessary specialist care on those wards.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A quality standard for patient transfers, from critical care to general wards, has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and endorsed by NHS England. The quality standard, which emphasises the importance of continuity in rehabilitation, is available at the following link:
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of Child of the North APPG's report entitled Children in Care in the North of England, published on 17 April 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP recognises the challenges care leavers face as they move out of the care system and has in place a series of easements aimed at simplifying and improving their interaction with the benefit system. In addition to the intensive tailored support the Youth Offer provides for young people with additional barriers to work, we are working with employers through the Care Leaver Covenant to help care leavers find more employment opportunities; and with DfE to ensure care leavers can access the right skills, opportunities and wider support, to move towards sustained employment and career progression.
Furthermore, to help achieve the missions set out in the Department for Education’s response to the independent review of children’s social care 'Stable Homes, Built on Love' DWP has already committed to proactively explore additional easements to enhance the support offer for care leavers and work with DfE officials to explore how to improve transition for care leavers entering the benefit and employment support system.
The Government is committed to supporting families on lower incomes and expects to spend around £306bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2024/25 including around £138bn on people of working age and children. We have uprated working age benefits by 6.7% and raised the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.
We have consistently set out a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty based on evidence about the important role of work, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2022/23, children living in workless households were over 6 times more likely to be in absolute poverty (after housing costs) than those where all adults work. This is why, with over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle shortages of (a) methylphenidate and (b) other ADHD medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve those issues and expedite deliveries to boost supplies of these medicines, as quickly as possible. As a result of our ongoing activity and intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamphetamine, and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules, are now available. Medicine supply issues remain for some strengths of guanfacine, lisdexamphetamine, and methylphenidate. However, we continue to escalate these issues with the manufacturers to ensure that action is taken to resolve regulatory issues and expedite deliveries. We have been informed that these disruptions should largely be resolved by April or May 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 9 February (HL2216), why the information mentioned in the Answer on government expenditure is commercially sensitive.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the time of answering, the Department was engaged in commercial negotiations with NHS Supply Chain and their sub-contractors, relating to ongoing storage requirements for the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit. In December 2023, the average per pallet per week cost for equipment in the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit was £5.52.
The Department currently makes payments to NHS Supply Chain in relation to storage of personal protective equipment (PPE). At end of December 2023 there were 492,259 pallets, or 5.1 billion items, of COVID-19 PPE remining in storage. This includes both business as usual and excess stock.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), what arrangements they have in place to ensure that the 148 residential special schools mentioned in that answer have ready access to psychiatric and clinical psychology services to meet the clinical needs of their residents, especially those with complex autism.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.
Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.
Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.
Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.
Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.
It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.
The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), whether the number of residential special schools in England has increased or decreased since (1) 2010, and (2) 2015; and what arrangements the Department for Education has in place to assess whether there is a shortage of such schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.
Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.
Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.
Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.
Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.
It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.
The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), how many of the 148 residential schools mentioned in the answer are approved for (1) under 20 residential placements, (2) 20 to 40 such placements, and (3) over 40 such placements; and whether there are any places approved for a single child only.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.
Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.
Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.
Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.
Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.
It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.
The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), how many of the 26 maintained residential special schools, the 32 non-maintained residential special schools, and the 35 academy and free residential special schools mentioned in the answer require improvement according to Ofsted; and what are the names of those schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.
Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.
Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.
Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.
Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.
It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.
The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), what assessment they have made of the capacity of local education authorities to provide education to a child with an education, health and care plan who has been off-rolled from a residential special school and unable to find an alternative placement in another such school.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.
Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.
Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.
Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.
Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.
Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.
It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.
The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.