Risk to 'irreplaceable' residential special schools

Archie and mum Vicky appreciate the independence educational residence provides

Overnights stays for pupils with complex educational needs are again under threat as a council reviews its budget.

The future of residential provision at five special schools is being weighed up by Staffordshire County Council.

The £1.8m service faced the axe in 2019 but was granted a reprieve after the authority looked again at its wider special educational needs strategy.

The council said the supported sleepovers were only available to a minority of children, but schools said they provided value for money for the most vulnerable.

Overnight stays are offered at Cicely Haughton in Wetley Rocks, Loxley Hall School in Uttoxeter, Saxon Hill Academy in Lichfield, Walton Hall Academy in Eccleshall and Horton Lodge in Rudyard.

Staff help children develop essential skills, such as independent washing, dressing and social interaction with peers.

Cicely Haughton Primary School supports primary-age children with social, emotional and mental health needs

Vicky, from Chesterton, said her 15-year-old son Archie's self-confidence had transformed since he started overnighting at Cicely, and later Loxley.

She described how Archie, who is autistic and has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), had practised essentials like supermarket shopping, making tea and stripping his bedsheets.

"He wouldn’t do that with me or we’d have an issue over doing it – whereas the school nurture him into doing it and he comes and shows me what he’s achieved," she said.

She said it would be heartbreaking for the provision to shut.

“That means Archie's got nobody then... because he doesn’t get invited to parties, he doesn’t get invited to sleepovers and residence allows him to do that.”

Archie said it gave his mum a break: "I just like it because its real fun... I can do stuff that I can’t do here like go swimming and stuff."

The pupils at Loxley Hall School, which accommodates youngsters with SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) needs, stay in houses on school grounds

Paul Spreadbury from Manor Hall Academy Trust, which runs Cicely and Loxley, said pupils in residence made more academic progress and learned how to build "trusting relationships".

He added 95% of children who had returned to mainstream settings from Cicely in the past decade had experienced residential education.

"We know it saves money. For every child we get back to mainstream that creates space in the special school system which is completely overwhelmed at the moment. We’re saving effectively £100,000 a year every time we put a child back," he said.

Pupil Dolly loves having tea and staying over with friends at Kiplings in Horton Lodge

At Horton Lodge, primary age children with complex medical needs stay over to work toward their EHCP targets.

Mum Naomi, whose son Isiah, 7, has a rare genetic disorder, said it would be devastating if the overnight provision known as Kiplings closed.

“Being quite a sociable little boy that’s a big thing because there’s nowhere else he can really access... he can’t go to brownies, scouts, those types of places," she said. "So this is all there is."

Pupil Dolly said she would feel "sad" if she could not stay overnight, because she loved the activities and "chatting with friends."

Headteacher Lucy Bloor said the council's latest review had been underway since last month.

"Since that date we've had this hanging over us with very little idea of what the future looks like beyond July 2024," she said.

She urged the council to consider different funding streams to protect the five school's provision, adding: "We all offer something that is totally irreplaceable."

Horton Lodge parent Naomi said it would be "devastating" if the overnight provision shut

The council said it was considering a large amount of feedback from schools, parents and carers.

Jonathan Price, cabinet member for education and SEND (special educational needs), said: “The challenge is that this opportunity is only open to around 3% of the children in the county who have an EHCP – just the ones who attend the five schools.”

He added the authority would find a "sustainable long-term solution" and it was committed to ensuring any young people affected had a "clear plan of support".

Council documents show the authority's High Needs Block is forecast to overspend by £20m in 2023/24 and £25m the following financial year, due to an increase in demand and costs of specialist placements.

With a three-year-contract currently extended for a year, schools hope to hear more in early 2024.