There are just 10 days left to respond to a pre-proposal consultation over plans to shut Bradstow specialist residential school in Broadstairs this August.
The school and residential home, for children aged between 5-19 years with severe intellectual disabilities who are on the autistic spectrum continuum, is maintained by the London Borough of Wandsworth with 14 other councils, including Kent County Council, placing children there.
KCC is the largest user of the site with current placements of 13 of the 32 children compared to just four from Wandsworth.
But Wandsworth Council says the unwillingness of councils to pay the levels of fees needed to maintain the quality and financial viability of the school has forced the authority to look at other options.
Wandsworth Council says the school currently has a financial deficit of £1.7m and growing. Debt held with other councils is over £3m at any given time and rises to £8m+ at invoicing periods.
Councils with placements at the school say uplifts in fees were not previously agreed.
A petition featuring 1,700 signatories opposing the closure has been formally submitted to the Mayor of Wandsworth.
Lead up to closure announcement
In November the London council announced plans to shut the school.
The news came after The Isle of Thanet News revealed in June that back up plans to move children out of Bradstow School were being made by Kent County Council.
The ‘parallel’ plans came on the heels of Ofsted inspections of social care provision at Bradstow School that initially resulted in a restriction of accommodation notice, preventing further children from being admitted to the home.
That restriction was lifted after a follow-up inspection last December but a rating of ‘requires improvement’ remained. This applied to the residential operations, the education provision at the school has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted.
The residential rating has since been upgraded to Good.
Last September a decision was made to reduce provision at the school to operate five smaller 38-week homes and cease the 52- week provision in response to the significant safeguarding concerns across the care provision, specifically in relation to the management of medication, and the leadership response to allegations made by children.
Last February The Isle of Thanet News reported that an internal document drawn up by consultants and focusing on asset management at Wandsworth Council listed potential sale of several properties including Bradstow School.
The document was revealed by the South London Press after it was discovered by Councillor Peter Graham, from Wandsworth council’s Conservative opposition.
An asset management document published by the authority last year examined viability of retaining, improving or disposing of properties and listed Bradstow School as a “very high value site for alternate use.”
Alternative option
Wandsworth says it has considered other options, including the transfer of the site to Kent County Council.
A Wandsworth document says: “As the majority of placements at Bradstow are from Kent County Council, we have been working on a proposal to transfer the schools as a maintained provision to Kent County Council for over three years. The transfer included the offer of the freehold of the property.
“Kent County Council notified us in writing on 15 October 2024, that they are not interested in pursuing this option. Their reason for this is the financial investment required to make the building fit for purpose alongside the considerable resourcing and risk it would present to operationally sustain the provision.
“Further to communicating our intention to consult on closure, the leader of Wandsworth Council and lead member for Children wrote to their counterparts at Kent County Council to reopen a conversation to safeguard a future for the school. However, Kent County Council are clear that there are no plans to take over the running of Bradstow School and they are working to find alternative educational provision for the pupils currently attending the provision. Their focus will then concentrate on supporting pupils to integrate smoothly into their new setting.”
The London authority says it has re-started the legal process to recoup £2m it says KCC owes in fees.
Wandsworth Council says: “Some councils, particularly Kent County Council that owes approximately £2m, are refusing to pay inflationary uplifts or are challenging charges for the additional 1:2:1 support required to sustain their placements safely and the overall provision. “Legal processes for collecting this debt were initiated between February 2024 and in May 2024 but were paused to allow for Kent to complete their due diligence of the transfer proposal.
“Now that it is confirmed that Kent is not interested in taking transfer of the provision, the legal process will be progressed.”
The GMB union is calling for Bradstow School to remain open, along with its 52-week residential facility, remaining under the control of Wandsworth Council.
At a Wandsworth Council meeting last night (February 5) Conservative members staged a mass walk out when the Labour administration voted against making sure a debate on the proposed closure could go ahead.
The Conservatives tabled a motion opposing the school’s closure. Motions are generally debated at council meetings but, on this occasion, councillors found it had been placed too far down the agenda to have been debated before the meeting’s 10pm cut off time.
Calls were made by Conservative councillors to move the Bradstow School motion up the agenda but the Council voted by 30 to 21 against this, resulting in all Conservative councillors walking out.
Redundancies
Wandsworth council says closure will result in ‘significant’ staff redundancies, saying: “We recognise the incredible dedication and expertise that the staff community brings to Bradstow School.
“ We know that staff will be anxious about the implications of any decision, and their wellbeing is important to us. We would like to offer our reassurance that council officers, governors and school leaders are here to support staff as we navigate this process together. We anticipate that staff dismissals will potentially be significant.
“It will however be mitigated with several activities to reduce the number of necessary dismissals and redundancies. This includes exploring employment opportunities with relevant job centre contacts and other local education provisions, providing career transition resources, and offering individual support as we move through the consultation and transition phases.”
KCC says it is working to find alternative educational provision for the pupils currently attending Bradstow School.
A spokesperson added: “Individual plans for each student will seek to minimise the disruption to young people and their families arising from the transition.”
Timetable
The pre-proposal consultation closes on February 16.
A review of consultation feedback and initial decision will be made between 17 February and 7 March followed by a 4-week formal consultation. This will be followed by a final decision in April/May.
If the decision to close the school is approved, OFSTED will be notified by 31 May with the school closure in August.
Find the online consultation at https://haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/wandsworthcsd/bradstow/
