Special Schools Review: proposed changes to designations and admissions guidance

Update 20 November 2024

Thank you to everyone who participated in this consultation.

There are 24 state-funded special schools in Kent. The Special Schools Review explains our proposals to enable children and young people with severe and complex special educational needs to attend a special school in the area they live in and reduce the time they spend travelling to and from school.

To enable this to happen, we propose to make changes to the types of SEN provision (or school ‘designation’) currently offered by five schools maintained by Kent County Council. We also propose to ask the relevant Academy Trusts to make similar changes to the types of SEN provision they offer in two special Academies in Kent.

In addition to proposing to change the types of SEN provision special schools can meet, we are also proposing to introduce a school-to-school model of support. This would mean all children and young people with SEND would benefit from special schools sharing their knowledge and experience with mainstream schools in their local areas.

If agreed, the proposals to change the types of SEN provision of some special schools in Kent will come into effect for admissions from September 2026 and only apply to children and young people seeking a special school placement from then.

The consultation report and final proposals will be presented to Members of the Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee on Thursday 21 November.

Following this meeting, a decision will be taken by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills as set out in the committee report.

You can find out more about our proposals in our Frequently Asked Questions document and you can read the full committee report here.

Update 26 July 2024

The consultation document specified the designation of Valence School as ‘Physical Disability (PD)’, which was consistent with the type of SEN provision recorded on the Department for Education’s ‘Get Information About Schools’ (‘GIAS’) website for Valence School at the time. It has been brought to our attention, from responses to the consultation, that following the previous review of special schools in 2001, the full description of the designation used was ‘Physical Disabilities and/or Complex Medical Needs’. Valence School remains the only special school in Kent within that designation.

The consultation document has been updated to reflect the full description of the current PD designation.

The proposals for future designations of schools remain unchanged.

In light of this change to how we describe Valance School’s current designation, we invite you to contact us if you have responded to the consultation and feel you would like the opportunity to change your response. If you do, please contact consultation@kent.gov.uk and tell us the email address you registered on the website with in order to respond. There will be a few steps:

• Once we receive notification from you, along with the email address you registered with, we will request your submission to be deleted

• We’ll contact you when this has been done

• You will then be able to submit a fresh response

To enable time for this, we are extending the closing date for the consultation. It will now close on 14 August 2024.

We have set up a new online question and answer session for parents and carers on the 12 August from 5pm to 5:45pm. To book your place, please use our booking form.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this amendment to information.

Original consultation text

We are asking for your views as part of the review of state-funded special schools.

The proposals are about the future designations of special schools, the supporting admission guidance and a model of “school-to-school” support. The designation of a special school shows the specific category of need for which it caters.

Proposals have been made to ensure all Kent’s special schools are admitting and educating children and young people with the most complex needs. Our aim is to prepare children and young people with severe and complex special educational needs for adulthood by providing a state-funded special school place as close to their local community as possible.

Have your say

We are keen to hear your thoughts on the proposals.

Please tell us what you think by completing the online questionnaire on this page. Alternatively, you can find the Word version in the Documents section which you can download and email to us (or print and post).

Parents and carers can take part in one of our online forum events to find out more about the proposals and ask questions. To book your place, please use our booking form.

What happens next?

After the consultation closes, feedback from the consultation, along with the Equality Impact Assessment, will be presented to the Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee in the Autumn before a decision is made by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.

We will publish a consultation report on this webpage, summarising the consultation responses. An email will also be sent to those who complete the online questionnaire and select that that they want to be kept informed of KCC consultations.