[senco-forum] Campus-based working between special schools

Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 12:44:41 +0100

Luisa

The 'new school' is a relocation of an existing special school (School A) for PMLD children onto another site, where 2 other special schools (School B for primary age and School C for secondary age) for moderate/severe LDs are currently based.

The idea is to create a 'campus of excellence' for special needs for 340 children.

The new accommodation for School A is badly needed and the school needs to move to the new site where there is room for proper facilities. Its intake can be increased by 25%  (so there will be a lesser need for 'out-of-county' placements) and there will be a small 'respite facility' of 8 beds to be managed by Social Services.  All of this is excellent news and represents an investment of c£12m (partly financed from an Welsh Assembly Government School Buildings Improvement Grant and partly from the sale of the current School A site).

However, as it's likely to the only major project for SEN for many years, it will be important to gain the maximum benefit from it - particularly for the 2 special schools currently on the campus which were built 20 years ago but - increasingly - have to cater for children with far greater difficulties than they used to back in those days!  As part of the campus plans, there will be a modest investment in the buildings at Schools B & C, but they still have much poorer facilities than School A, and account for 190 children.

Under the current plans, the three special schools will be run separately, so it will be up to them (with some LEA supervision) to make the whole campus work successfully for all. Until now, there have been very few examples of children spending part of their week in one of these schools with the rest in another - though there are several pupils 'on the cusp' between SLD and PMLD - and the new campus would work well for them.

If you (or any other readers) would like to know more, please do come back to me! 

Kind regards

Nick

Nick Davies

Grants Manager

Wales Audit Office

Cardiff

Tel 029 2032 0527

e-mail: Nick.Davies at wao.gov.uk

________________________________

From: Luisa Pinnell [mailto:luisapinnell at hotmail.com] 
Sent: 17 May 2008 17:20
To: Nick Davies; senco forum
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Campus-based working between special schools

Hi, 
Do the SEN pupils have all their lessons in the new, state-of-the-art site, or do they travel from the less well-blessed schools on a daily/weekly basis?

The idea of a 'campus', integrating several secondary schools, has been proposed in my LEA as a means of amalgamating small schools.

Luisa

> Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 12:44:41 +0100
> From: Nick.Davies at wao.gov.uk
> To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
> Subject: [senco-forum] Campus-based working between special schools
> 
> Dear SENCO-forum members
> 
> 
> 
> Does anyone know of an example of successful 'campus' - based working
> between several special schools on one site? And how does that
> arrangement succeed?
> 
> 
> 
> This might be where one newly-built school, meeting all modern standards
> for accommodation/facilities and having resident therapists, shares a
> site with other older schools (less-well blessed), but all schools
> co-operate to ensure that all of their pupils get some of the benefits.
> 
> 
> 
> I'd also be interested to learn for any pitfalls which campus schools
> should be alert to!
> 
> 
> 
> All comments gratefully received!
> 
> 
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> 
> 
> Nick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nicholas Davies
> 
> Grants Manager
> 
> Wales Audit Office
> 
> 24 Cathedral Road
> 
> Cardiff
> 
> CF11 9DL
> 
> 
> 
> Tel 029 2032 0527 (direct line)
> 
> Fax 029 2032 0600
> 
> e-mail: Nick.Davies at wao.gov.uk
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Wales Audit Office head office is moving to new premises in Cardiff. 
> As from 25th March 2008, the address will be 24 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9LJ. Telephone: 02920 320500.
> All other Wales Audit Office locations, including Ewloe, Swansea and Carmarthen, remain unchanged.
> 
> This email and any attached files are private. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy all copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. 
> 
> This message has been scanned for viruses by BlackSpider MailControl.
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> For further information on the Wales Audit Office and details of other ways to contact us please visit our website at www.wao.gov.uk.
> 
> 
> Mae prif swyddfa Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru yn symud i adeiliad newydd yng Nghaerdydd. 
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