The Children and Culture Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the proposed development of mainstream special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) hubs at five primary local authority maintained schools. The committee voted to support the recommendations for the Executive Councillor for Children's Services to approve the proposals for each of the five schools. The committee also reviewed and agreed to the committee's work programme for the year 2025 to 2026.

Mainstream SEND Hubs

The main item on the agenda was a discussion and vote on the proposal to develop mainstream SEND hubs at five primary schools in Lincolnshire. The schools involved were:

• The Meadows Primary School, Lincoln
• St George's Church of England Primary School, Gainsborough
• Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School, Caistor
• Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School, Grantham
• Church Lane Primary School, Sleaford

The committee was asked to consider the proposals ahead of a final decision by the Executive Councillor for Children's Services, Councillor Natalie Oliver.

Eileen McMorrow, Programme Manager for SEND and Inclusion, gave an overview of the Building Communities of Specialist Provision Strategy, which has been in operation since January 2019. The strategy was developed in response to a central government directive to increase the availability of specialist placements. Ms McMorrow explained that, despite the addition of 527 school places over the last four years, there remained insufficient capacity within the system, and that the next phase of the strategy included mainstream SEND and alternative provision hubs, which would provide an additional 210 places minimum.

Ms McMorrow told the committee that the council believed that mainstream schools should offer the majority of children and young people with SEND the opportunity for real inclusion, but that they required access to enhanced support and resources to be able to continue meeting need throughout a child's education.

Matthew Clayton, Head of Education Support, then gave an overview of the process for making changes to a local authority maintained school.

Following the overview, the committee discussed each school individually. Emily Nicholls, Admissions and Education Provision Manager, outlined the consultation responses for each school.

The Meadows Primary School, Lincoln

The committee heard that the stage one consultation for The Meadows Primary School had 12 responses, 10 of which were for the proposals, one against, and one neither for nor against. The stage three consultation had 14 respondents, five for, five against, and four neither for nor against.

Concerns were raised about traffic, parking and noise disruption. Ms McMorrow said that transport colleagues had been involved from the early stages and had reviewed the school's travel plan. She added that a staggered start and finish time might be implemented to minimise the impact.

Councillor K J Clarke asked about the allocation process for places at the school, and what would happen if a parent appealed against the decision. Ms McMorrow said that children were required to have an education, health and care plan, and a primary need identified within communication and interaction, or cognition and learning. She added that the child must reside within a 30-minute journey.

Dr E van der Zee, Parent Governor Representative, asked if the space lost, especially outdoor space, was taken into account when refurbishing the schools. Ms McMorrow said that the external spaces had been assessed against building bulletin 104¹.

The committee voted to support the recommendation to the Executive Councillor for Children's Services in relation to The Meadows Primary School.

St George's Church of England Primary School, Gainsborough

The committee heard that the stage one consultation for St George's Church of England Primary School had three respondents, all of whom were in favour of the proposals. The stage three consultation had five respondents, all of whom were in favour.

Councillor P C Wimhurst asked how old the mobile unit was, and to what extent of refurbishment was required to use it as a SEND space. Ms McMorrow said that the mobile unit was purchased in 2021, and a condition survey in 2023 highlighted that it had 25 to 30 years lifespan still on it. She added that the refurbishment works related purely to flooring.

Dr van der Zee asked a general question about whether the space that is being lost, especially where the outdoor space is already small, is taken into account when looking at the refurbishment of the schools. Ms McMorrow said that the outside external spaces had been assessed against building bulletin 104, and that the external learning area had a significant impact on their external play space.

The committee voted to support the recommendation to the Executive Councillor in relation to St George's Church of England Primary School.

Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School, Caistor

The committee heard that the stage one consultation for Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School had nine responses, with eight respondents for the proposal and one against. The stage three consultation had five respondents, with four for the proposal and one neutral.

Councillor Wimhurst asked if there was enough demand in the area for the 20 SEND hub places that would be created, given that it was also proposed to reduce the published admission number (PAN). Ms Nicholls said that the PAN was proposed to reduce from 45 to 30, and that this was part of their place planning strategy. She added that there was surplus in the area, and they did not see anticipated demand beyond that 30 from students from the local area, but that the school would retain the flexibility to be able to over offer should that change.

Councillor K J Clarke asked what would happen if a child was a non-believer or a different religion, and whether they would be barred from going to that school. Ms Nicholls said that they would be working with parents around that placement, and if a parent did not want a school that had a Christian ethos, then they would look for a different solution for that parent.

The committee voted to support the recommendation to the Executive Councillor in relation to Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School.

Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School, Grantham

The committee heard that the stage one consultation for Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School had ten responses in total, with eight respondents for the proposal and two against. The stage three consultation had 12 responses, with nine respondents for the proposal, two neither for nor against, and one against.

Councillor C J Parkinson said that she was glad to see the proposal right on her doorstep, and that the councillor for Grantham North had been really supportive of these issues. She added that she presumed that the issues of parking outside the school had been acknowledged by this proposal. Ms Nicholls said that they would form part of the travel plan, as it would do with The Meadows, and it might involve something along the lines of staggered start times.

The committee voted to support the recommendation to the Executive Councillor in relation to Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School.

Church Lane Primary School, Sleaford

The committee heard that the stage one consultation for Church Lane Primary School had 14 responses in total, with 12 respondents for the proposal and two neither for nor against. The stage three consultation had 14 responses in total, with 13 respondents for the proposal and one against.

Councillor J W Brookes asked how long phase one would take, and when the next phase would start roughly. Heather Sandy, Executive Director of Children's Services, said that Councillor Oliver had tasked them with really looking at what the demographic was saying, doing some analysis of that, and coming back with some proposals for a new programme to deliver. She added that they were being urged to do that at pace, and to bring that through as quickly as they could with that analysis.

The committee voted to support the recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Children's Services in relation to Church Lane Primary School.

Children's and Culture Scrutiny Committee Work Programme

Tracy Johnson, Senior Scrutiny Officer, presented the committee's planned work programme for the year 2025 to 26.

Councillor Brookes asked how the programme would ensure scrutiny focused on real-world impacts of cost pressures and front-light services and vulnerable children, not just high-level performance reports. Ms Sandy said that the budget paper for children's services would come through this committee, and would outline what the budget was last year, this year, and what the proposed budget for next year was. She added that it would explain what all of those decisions would mean, and the impact that that would have, and what they might do to mitigate any impact that they might see.

Ms Sandy also said that the committee would have the opportunity to do a deep dive outside of the meetings, where they could meet with young people and talk to them about the real-life impact, and then report back to the committee.

The committee approved the plan to work programme for 2025-26, subject to consideration of any items highlighted in today's discussion.