Public consultation on proposals regarding the future of The Parks Special Nursery School in Oakham closed at midnight on Sunday 3 December 2023.
A final decision on the proposals was taken by Cabinet on Thursday 11 January 2024.
About the Parks Special Nursery School
The Parks Special Nursery School in Oakham consists of two classrooms attached to Oakham C of E Primary School. It offers support to a maximum of eight children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Parks caters exclusively for children aged between two and five years old. There are very few examples of this type of special nursery provision elsewhere in the country.
Because it is a maintained school, Rutland County Council has responsibility for The Parks. Oakham C of E Primary School has recently become an academy and now forms part of the Rutland Learning Trust.
The Parks offer includes support for children with moderate and severe learning difficulties, as well as support for speech, language and communication, autism and physical disabilities.
Children who are currently being taught at The Parks Special Nursery School are primary school (reception) age. This means there are no children accessing a special nursery place during this academic year.
From August 2024, children currently attending The Parks will be Year 1 age and are likely to move into Oakham C of E’s extended Designated Specialist Provision (DSP), depending on parental preference. The DSP provides additional educational support from reception age so that children’s special needs can be met within a mainstream school or academy setting, rather than a separate special school.
Rutland County Council is not aware of any children of nursery age needing specialist nursery provision from September 2024.
What the law says
Rutland County Council has a duty to provide sufficient education places for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We also have a duty under the Children Act and the SEND Code of Practice to meet the needs of children with additional needs or deemed to be children in need.
Councils do not have a legal obligation to transport pre-school children to education settings like nurseries or reception classes. Early years children below compulsory school age may receive some travel assistance under exceptional circumstances if parents can’t transport their child to the placement themselves. Having suitable settings closer to home which reduce the need to travel is widely understood to be better for children and their families.
What our information is telling us
Rutland County Council organised a survey of local parents in September 2023, asking what families want from an inclusive Early Years setting. Those who responded told us they would like their children to receive support in a mainstream environment, located close to home and in their local community.
Rutland’s latest Childcare Sufficiency Report found there is currently around 28% vacant capacity across the county’s 32 registered childcare providers. The latest published School Capacity Assessment shows around 15% vacant capacity across Rutland primary schools.
All Early Years providers who receive government funding from Rutland County Council must know, understand and apply the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. Away from The Parks, Rutland County Council’s Inclusion team is working with mainstream Early Years providers to support more than 30 reception age children with additional needs. All of these children (100%) are successfully maintaining their education in mainstream settings.
Rutland’s wider school support programme for children with SEND was recently praised by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This Local Area Partnership inspection named Rutland as one of only four areas in the country to receive the highest possible inspection outcome for children's SEND services.
Increasingly, there is a desire to see children receive the support they need in suitable mainstream settings located close to home. We know there is sufficient space for more children in Rutland’s Early Years settings and primary schools. Furthermore, when children with additional needs are placed in mainstream settings, they are benefitting from high-quality care and support, as shown by the findings from independent inspections.
The future of local SEND provision
National government is currently working to reform SEND and Inclusion services to make sure children can access education locally, alongside their peers.
Here in Rutland, we’ve been working with Early Years providers, parents and carers to look at what future Early Years SEN provision might look like and what we need to do to best meet children’s needs. We want to make services more accessible for families as part of a Family Hub programme that provides comprehensive care and support – particularly in the early stages when an emerging additional need has first been identified.
By working with Early Years settings, including The Parks team and Oakham C of E, we want to increase opportunities for children with SEND or emerging needs to access mainstream Early Years education closer to home. This would reduce the need for long journeys and give children with additional needs the opportunity to form friendships with other local children their age.
More choice and better support closer to home means we can invest more money into mainstream SEND support locally. Rutland’s High Needs Funding can then be shared more equally among providers to widen the support available to a greater number of young children, leading to better outcomes for everyone.
Proposals for the Parks Special Nursery School
Working with The Parks, Rutland County Council has commissioned independent experts to undertake a review of the special nursery provision. This has been ongoing since 2019 and has looked closely at the support on offer for children, the way the nursery operates and how it’s funded. This has involved the school leadership, governors, teaching staff and parents.
Since the Parks Special Nursery School was first established, the offer for children with additional needs in Rutland, including Early Years, has improved significantly. The Early Years sector now has direct access to advice and support from Specialist Early Years Teachers and Speech and Language Practitioners. These initiatives have helped to improve confidence in SEND practice across mainstream settings.
While SEND support has been improving across Rutland’s Early Years sector, the number of children who need specialist nursery provision has reduced. As a result, The Parks Special Nursery School is no longer supporting the number of children it was set up for. There is an opportunity to use The Parks space to increase the size of Oakham C of E’s new Dedicated Special Provision, which has around 20 places and is often oversubscribed.
The cost of a placement at The Parks Special Nursery is around three times higher than a place in Designated Special Provision, meaning Rutland’s High Needs Funding is not being equally shared amongst all children with SEND.
Taking all of this into consideration, Rutland County Council is proposing that the Parks Special Nursery School in Oakham is no longer viable and should be discontinued. This proposal reflects the current level of need for special nursery places in the county, as well as a desire to increase the wider support available to young children with SEND in mainstream settings. It is not a reflection of the level of care and support provided by The Parks, which has been outstanding over many years.
If this proposal is implemented, the special nursery school would close with effect from 31 August 2024. At this point, there would be no children of nursery age who need to attend The Parks, meaning the closure would not displace any children if it were to go ahead.
Any discontinuation of The Parks Special Nursery School would not represent a cut to Rutland’s High Needs Funding. Any financial savings resulting from discontinuing The Parks would be reinvested into Early Years SEND support across the county.
Rutland County Council (Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP) is making this proposal in accordance with schedule 2, Annex C to the Department for Education (DfE) Establishment and Discontinuance Regulations.
Taking part in this consultation
Consultation on this proposal opened on Wednesday 1 November 2023 and closed at midnight on Sunday 3 December 2023.
Rutland County Council conducted The Parks Special Nursery School consultation in line with strict legal requirements, set by the Department for Education. All comments and feedback submitted as part of the consultation will be reviewed independently before a final decision is made by Cabinet in January 2024.
If you have any questions about the proposal or this consultation, please email: parksproposal@rutland.gov.uk
Questions and answers
We have published the answers to questions that have already been asked in response to these proposals. We'll keep updating this list with any new questions that we receive.
Home to School Transport Policy Consultation - FAQs
Who can participate?
Children and young people, parents, carers, schools and colleges can participate in this consultation.
Is the review on the current policies available to the public?
The review document that was discussed at cabinet on 10 December 2024 can be found on the Agenda and meetings page.
You say you want to see more parents taking up personal travel budgets. What if I don’t want one?
If your child is eligible for free home to school travel, we will offer you a personal travel budget where it makes financial sense for the council to do so. We can pay a family so they can take their son or daughter to and from school. But it is voluntary- you don’t have to take one. We will move on and offer you another form of travel if that is the case. For post 16 students – where the council does not have to provide free travel – depending on the outcome of the consultation, we may offer you a travel budget, with a seat on a bus or in a taxi only where it is necessary.
How will the consultation responses be used to shape the transport support policies and when will the final policies be agreed?
The final policies and proposals will be considered by cabinet on the 22 May 2025.
My child has complex needs and is currently attending specialist provision – will their transport change?
The council’s approach to assessing transport provision will remain needs-based and continue to be decided during the annual review process.
Will my child be expected to carry out travel training and will we lose the seat on the bus if we say no?
No, travel training is voluntary. We are offering travel training to pupils of secondary school age who have SEND and who are entitled to home to school travel. We will discuss the benefits of travel training with parents and the young person. We can assure you that your son or daughter will not lose any travel entitlements until they are confidently able to travel independently. The programme is personalised to meet the needs of the young person. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, for students with SEND who are aged 16 and over travel training may be the prime offer of support where appropriate.
How will these potential changes affect those 19 and over who are still at college?
The final policy agreement will be the same for those aged 19 and over with an EHCP as for post 16 who are still at college.
Where can I find more information about what support my family and I can access?
Our School transport page sets out the overall arrangements for home to school travel and transport in Rutland and which shows you how to apply.
What happens if a child is currently receiving transport support? Will any changes affect their eligibility immediately?
The new policy for all school age children will be implemented from September 2026 and for post 16 and post 19 from September 2025. However, students currently in receipt of travel assistance will continue to receive that assistance until they leave their current school or college or move to their next stage of education. The council’s approach to assessing transport provision will continue to be needs-based and will be reviewed for each student periodically.
What happens if a child is due to start at a new school in September 2025 and is expecting transport support under the current policies?
Any travel assistance will be assessed under the current policies.
What happens if under the new policies, a family cannot afford to take their child to school?
Parents will need to contact the council directly to discuss cases such as this.
What if I don't want to (or can't) complete the survey online? Can someone help me to complete the survey?
If you experience any issues with the survey or if you would like us to complete a paper copy of the survey, please contact us at the email above.