Page 1 of 2 Informal Consultation A proposal to expand Slated Row Special School to include a new site at Kents Hill Park This six week consultation from 19 September to 4 November 20
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Informal Consultation
A proposal to expand Slated Row Special School
to include a new site at Kents Hill Park
This six week consultation from 19 September to 4 November 2016 seeks to gather opinions on a
proposal for Slated Row Special School to expand onto a second site in Kents Hill Park This site would be in addition to and not instead of the school’s existing Wolverton site It is planned for up
to 50 places of special education needs (SEN) provision for pupils of secondary school age with a range of complex needs and is being built and fitted out for the specific requirements of these
pupils It is anticipated that the building will be ready for January 2018.
What is the current position?
Slated Row School is a community school located in Wolverton which is judged ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted As our largest special school, it caters for pupils aged 4 to 19 with Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD) and complex needs It has 182 funded places and is over-subscribed due to the increasing number of children across Milton Keynes with SEN It has particular expertise for pupils with a range of complex needs in addition to MLD but has no physical space to expand Another provision for pupils aged 8 to 19 with MLD is at White Spire School in Bletchley This is a community school which is judged ‘Good’ by Ofsted and has 140 funded places
What is the opportunity?
As part of the new housing development at Kents Hill Park in the east of Milton Keynes, sites were set aside by the planning authority for building new schools for our growing population The council has already started building the new primary school for September 2017 and the new secondary school for September 2018 This provided a very cost effective opportunity to build a new special school at the same time, on the same site, using the same contractors and materials as the new secondary school The special school is however separate with its own boundaries
Because Slated Row is a long-established special school with the relevant expertise in complex needs SEN for which there is a shortage of places, the council approached the governing body to consider expanding their school to include the new special school site at Kents Hill Park This is in line with the council’s advisory document “A good local school for every child” September 2015
which states “We are proud of our successful maintained schools Where there is a strong
maintained school with the desire to expand that meets the qualification criteria for expansion, the council will consult on expanding the school.”
What are the benefits of expanding Slated Row School?
The new school with 50 places is relatively small so would be more financially viable by sharing overheads as part of a larger organisation
SEN provision on the new site would be of a consistent high quality if managed by a local
‘Outstanding’ provider Slated Row has staff specifically skilled in supporting pupils with the range of complex needs for which there is the highest demand for school places
The new site would provide facilities to benefit not only an increased number of SEN pupils but also existing Slated Row pupils as they transition from primary to secondary age
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If the 50 new SEN places are run by Slated Row School they would be able to place pupils in the most appropriate setting across the 2 sites, providing clearer school entry criteria for families
Staff of the new school site would be part of the existing strong Slated Row team which has a high frequency of good quality applicants when recruiting The consistency of senior management leadership and governance would be used to benefit both sites
The approach of teaching styles would be consistent between primary and secondary provision across the two sites and pupils and their families would benefit from the curriculum being planned through a whole school approach across both sites
By opening these school places specifically to address the shortage for pupils with ‘complex needs in addition to MLD’, pupils may be able to transfer from mainstream to special school sooner and fewer pupils would need to travel to special schools outside Milton Keynes
How can I find out more and contribute to this consultation?
This consultation seeks views from parents and staff directly involved with Slated Row School, from other local special schools, from other schools in the Kents Hill Park wider area, and any other interested parties We are keen to hear as many views as possible about this proposal
Please go online and complete the web form at
If you are unable to access the online form you may respond by email to
sufficiencyandaccess@milton-keynes.gov.uk
or in writing to Education Sufficiency, Milton Keynes Council, Saxon Court,
399 Avebury Boulevard, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3HS
or by telephone to 01908 253090
This informal consultation will end on 4 November 2016
Who has this consultation been sent to?
All parents, staff and governors of Slated Row School, as they are directly affected by this proposal; all schools in Milton Keynes - particularly special schools and mainstream schools with designated SEN departments; all Academy Trusts who have schools in Milton Keynes; health professionals and specialist teachers who work directly with children with SEN; local parent and carer organisations; local MPs, Ward Councillors and Parish/Town Councils; neighbouring councils with schools adjoining our catchment areas
This informal consultation is the first stage in a five stage process which will include:
1 This informal consultation for 6 weeks
2 Consideration in December 2016 by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families of the
outcome of this consultation and whether to proceed with a statutory consultation
3 Statutory consultation lasting 4 weeks in early 2017 (If you respond to this consultation please
do so again for the statutory consultation.)
4 Consideration in March 2017 by the Cabinet Member of the outcome of the statutory
consultation and a decision whether to proceed with the expansion of Slated Row School
5 If the proposal is agreed, open the new special school in Kents Hill Park as a second campus of Slated Row School for January 2018
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