SEND Sufficiency - Resource Base and SEN Units - High Needs Funding

Concepts

• hull
• special education
• funding operational guidance
• sen units
• the education & skills funding agency
• the ‘high needs funding operational guidance’
• sen units/resource bases
• the individual needs
• send
• sen

Location

Kingston Upon Hull:

Description

Hull City Council (The Authority) has entered into Service Level Agreements to provide provision of SEN Units/Resource Bases at levels in line with the latest requirements stated by the ‘High Needs Funding Operational Guidance’, which is published annually by the Education & Skills Funding Agency. The agreements were awarded on a direct award basis as per Government Guidance. The contract is anticipated to commence 1st September 2024 ending by 31st August 2026 with an option to extend for a period or periods of 12 months not to exceed 36 months in total. The Authority has estimated the value of the services to be £2,280,000 overall.

Total Quantity or Scope

The placement cost for each Child is £10,000 agreed by the school/trust. The Educational Healthcare Plan of each individual child or young person is dependent on the individual needs of the child or young person therefore their pupil premium level may be funded differently in each circumstance. For the avoidance of doubt, the estimated contract value may increase depending on the needs of the child or young person.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

Option to extend for a period or periods of 12 months not to exceed 36 months in total.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 80340000 - Special education services

Indicators

• Options are available.

Legal Justification

The funding for these placements comes from the High Needs Block which is provided to local authorities to enable them to meet statutory duties required under the Children and Families Act 2014.The government statutory guidance on High Needs Funding 2023 to 2024 provides that publicly funded and supervised education activity within a national education system does not constitute economic activity, even in cases where tuition fees may be required to support placements. It is confirmed that the service level agreements fall outside of the scope of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, it is still however, best practice to have agreements in place to ensure that the placements are secured and that there are an agreed set of minimum standards in place. The Council will therefore ensure that is achieves best value. The award of the contracts is also compliant with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. The amounts that are to be paid per place are regulated by the Department for Education and the Council cannot amend these which is also set out in the guidance.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** There are potential additional schemes, which require approval from the DfE, to further address identified SEND sufficiency needs. The estimated value overall and per contract include the additional scheme costs. If the schemes are not approved the estimated value overall is £630,000.