Kent County Council would like to hear your views on a proposal to change the designation of Furness School from a school for pupils with Behavioural Emotional and Social Needs to a school for pupils with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Information about how to respond to this consultation is contained in this document.

Date of Public Meeting: / Monday 12 May at 7pm
Venue / Furness School, Rowhill Road, Hextable BR8 7RP

1. Summary

We arepleased to bring you our proposal[1] to redesignate Furness School froma school offering 60 day and residential places for pupils with Behavioural Emotional and Social Needs (BESN) to a school offering 60day and residential places for pupils with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

We are currently undertaking a public consultation to seek the views of the wider community. The Public Consultation Period will run from 23 April to 20 May 2014. There will be a public meeting on Monday 12 Maywhich will give you the opportunity to make your views known and to ask any questions you may have.

This document gives you details of the proposal and outlines the current position. There is a form at the end which we ask you to complete and return to us by 20 May 2014.

Background to the Proposal

The County Council regularly reviews the quantity and geographical distribution of its school provision to try to ensure that all children can access appropriate, local, good quality school places. Our Commissioning Plan for Education Provision sets out the places we need, where they will be required and when. Across Kent it identifies the need for 240 places for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Speech and Language Communication Needs (SLCN), and 121 places for pupils with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Needs (BESN).

The proposal for Furness School and the linked proposal for Goldwyn School, seeks to address some of the identified need in these two areas of specialist provision.

3. The Proposal

Our proposal is to redesignate Furness School from a 60 place provision for pupils with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Needs (BESN) to a 60 place provision for high functioning children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Currently, the school has 35 pupils on roll, 28 of whom have a primary need of ASD. The remaining seven pupils have a primary need of BESN. It is evident from these figures that the school would be more appropriately designated to serve the needs of pupils with ASD. This proposal to redesignate the school to accommodate pupils with ASD will ensure its designation better reflects its current pupil profile, and will increase capacity to meet the pressure for ASD places. The expansion of Goldwyn School will effectively replace the unfilled places lost at Furness, but by locating these in an area of pressure, we expect these to be filled by April 2015.

We would like to reassure all parents about their children’s continuing education provision. Subject to discussions with parents we propose that the 28 children with ASD will remain at Furness and the current Year 10 BESN pupils will remain as Furness pupils until they complete their statutory education at the end of Year 11. For Key Stage 3 BESN pupils individual discussions will take place with the parents regarding the appropriate onward pathway for their child.

It is likely that this proposal will impact on the transport arrangements for some pupils. We confirm that the schoolwill work closely with our SEN Transport Team to ensure that pupils and parents receive plenty of notice of any changes to travel arrangements.

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HOW TO GIVE YOUR VIEWS

There are a number of ways you can let us have your views:

Complete and return the response form to:

David Adams, Area Education Officer, South Kent Education Office, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8XU

The final date for sending in responses is 11am on 20 May 2014

Email your comments to:

Come to the public meeting at the school on Monday 12 May 2014at 7 pm

You can view the consultation information online:

We will note all you say, but will not be able to respond individually to response forms, letters or emails.

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Public Consultation Response Form: Furness School

Please return no later than 11amon 20 May 2014

Do you agree with the following proposals:-

Re-designate Furness School to provide forASD students.
Yes / No

I am: *A Parent or Carer / Member of Staff / Governor / Pupil of Furness School;

OR - Other interested party …………………………………..…… (please state interest).

Name ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Address ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kent County Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 and will comply with the requirements of the Act at all times. We will ensure that your personal information is processed fairly and lawfully and in this instance used only for the purpose of validation, which will enable a fair and just consultation.

Please provide your comments overleaf…..

What happens next?

Date / Activity
May 2014 / Following the consultation, all views received, either by post, e-mail or at the Public Meeting, will be reported to the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform.
Public Notice:
11 Jun – 9 Jul2014 / The Cabinet Member decides whether to continue with the proposal. If so, a Public Notice will be published in a local newspaper, at the school and in public places like the library. During this time comments and objections can be made about the proposal. The Public Notice will run for 4 weeks.
Jul 2014 / The Cabinet Member considers all responses made and decides whether to go ahead.
Sep 2014 / Implementation (if the proposal is agreed).

You can view the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision Kent 2013 to 2018 at:

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Your comments….

We have completed an Equality Impact Assessment to see if the proposal could affect anyone unfairly. We welcome your views on the assumptions we have made and the conclusions we have drawn. To view the document, go to

Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary…..

[1] Please note: This proposal is linked to the proposal to expand Goldwyn School, Ashford by a total of 55 places taking its designated number from 60 to 115. The proposed expansion would be achieved by creating a satellite of the school in Folkestone, using accommodation currently occupied by The Brook Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Parkfield Road (which will close in August 2014). Goldwyn School also educates some of its young people off-site via its curriculum offer known as “Goldwyn Plus”. Under this proposal Goldwyn School will operate as a split site provision from September 2014. The satellite provision at Folkestone will be known as Goldwyn Brook for easy identification and will provide local provision for students living in the Shepway area.