Purpose

• The PD Outreach Service was
commissioned by the Council’s Children’s Services on
behalf of schools as part of the Inclusive Lincolnshire Strategy.
The Service is one of three outreach support services working with
schools to support pupils to remain in mainstream education and is
funded through the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools
Grant.
• The PD Outreach Service is delivered by St Francis Special
School via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). An MOU is a
collaborative agreement between two or more parties and is a
statement of intent that does not create legal obligations. It is
not a contract for services and therefore falls outside of the
Public Contract Regulations and the Council’s Contract and
Procurement Procedure Rules.
• The MOU arrangements commenced 1st September 2015 and a new
MOU was agreed from 1st September 2020 which is due to end on 31st
August 2025. The annual value of the MOU arrangements was
£140,436. However, Hardship Fund claims have been agreed
between 2023/24 and 2025/26 financial years due to increased
staffing costs.
• The PD Outreach Service offers bespoke packages of support
to Lincolnshire mainstream schools and academies to support pupils
with profound and multiple disabilities to remain in mainstream
education.
• Although not a statutory service, the continuation of an MOU
arrangement for a PD Outreach Service will continue to support the
Council in its statutory responsibilities in relation to meeting
the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities
(SEND).
• The continuation of an MOU arrangement will ensure seamless
continuation of high quality outreach support for schools to ensure
vulnerable pupils with profound and multiple disabilities are
continued to be supported to remain in mainstream education (where
appropriate to do so).
• The continuation of an MOU arrangement for a PD Outreach
Service provides the opportunity for the Service to be considered
as part of wider outreach support services review.
• The Council’s Children’s Services Executive
Directorate Leadership Team, which includes the Executive Director
of Children’s Services and the Executive Councillor for
Children’s Services, Community Safety, Procurement and
Migration, agreed on 9th December 2024 to the continuation of an
MOU arrangement with St Francis Special School for delivery of the
PD Outreach Service from 1st September 2025 to 31st August
2027.
A new MOU arrangement will be put in place with St Francis Special
School from 1st September 2025 to 31st August 2027. The funding for
the Service has increased to reflect increases in staffing costs
and also includes a 3% annual inflationary uplift to help mitigate
against the requirement for any future hardship fund
claims.

Decision

The Executive Director for Children’s
Services, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for
Children’s Services, Community Safety, Procurement and
Migration approves the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) arrangement with St Francis Special School for the delivery
of the Physical Disabilities Outreach Service from 1st September
2025 to 31st August 2027. The anticipated overall value of the MOU
arrangement from 1st September 2025 to 31st August 2027 is
£339,712. This will be across three financial years:
£94,000 for the 2025/26 financial year (September 2025 to
March 2026), £165,976 for the 2026/27 financial year and
£71,231 for 2027/28 financial year (April to August
2027),