Councillors have agreed a plan to officially remove boarding provision from a special school in Silverdale.
Earlier this year, plans to avoid the under-utilisation of the residential provision at Bleasdale School were announced.
Bleasdale School is a school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties of all ages. Over the last few years very few families have taken up the offer of a residential place although children continue to attend the school as day pupils.
As a result, a number of options have been proposed to try to avoid the under-utilisation of the facilities available at Bleasdale School, which has been categorised as an outstanding school by Ofsted since 2009, and to optimise the efficient use of public funds.
This week, as part of Lancashire County Council’s the SEND Sufficiency Strategy, a report discussed by Cabinet members heard that the cost of the high needs block in respect of the residential element of Bleasdale School is £926,000 per year.
Pupils were last admitted to the residential provision at the school four years ago, and it is not anticipated there will be any further requirement for this provision now or in the future, based on current demand.
The report also said that there would be no change to the day school provision at Bleasdale School as a result of the removal of the boarding provision.
Earlier this year, a formal consultation saw some people raise concerns about the proposal related to difficulties with accessing respite care and future access to the facilities, such as the hydrotherapy pool, the rebound centre and the outdoor play area that are located within the residential part of the building.
Concerns were also raised about the future use of the building and that, although it was not needed now for boarding provision, it may be needed at some point in the future. A limited number of respondents suggested the residential building could be developed for post-19 provision.
The report also found that the request to remove such provision, which came from bosses at the school, was due to the numbers decreasing to the point where there were no pupils requiring residential provision. Whilst there may be a need for more respite care, this has never been provided by Bleasdale School nor could it be.
Consideration was also been given as to whether the residential building that is part of Bleasdale School could be used for this type of respite care. However, this was discounted due to the nature of such care, travel considerations and location.
Work continues to explore the options for the use of the residential building at the site.
The decision will come into force as long as it is not called in by the council’s Scrutiny Committee by Wednesday September 13.
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