Council and councillors

To receive Report No.178/2022 from the Portfolio Holder for Education and Children’s Services.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1)    AGREED that Rutland County Council would continue to work with Rutland Schools Forum and Rutland Early Years childcare and learning providers to develop services that best support children in an early year’s environment with emerging Special Educational needs.

2)    ENDORSED an engagement programme with the Early Years sector and parents to begin to consider what the future Early Years SEN provision in Rutland would be and what steps would need to be taken to best meet children’s needs to ensure they thrive in their communities.

3)    NOTED that following engagement and planning, there would be a need to consider future Early Years SEN provision in Rutland and any requirement to consult if changes were to be proposed.

Report No.178/2022 was introduced by Councillor David Wilby, Portfolio Holder for Education and Children's Services.

Councillor Wilby outlined the Council’s vision was to support all children and young people with Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities (SEND) to lead healthy, independent, and safe lives. He also mentioned the work with the Rutland Schools’ Forum, that RCC had been in the process of reviewing how children with special educational needs (SEN) could best be supported in an Early Years environment and the proposed next steps were set out in his report.

Members welcomed the report as the review would take into the account the whole of Rutland and would look at some of the Council’s larger settlements outside of Oakham and Uppingham.

Members were pleased to hear that the intention was to increase opportunities for children with SEND or emerging needs to access Early Years education closer to home and in their own communities.

It was proposed by Councillor D Wilby that the recommendations of report No. 178/2022 be agreed, this was seconded and upon being put to the vote the motion was unanimously agreed.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

a)    AGREED that Rutland County Council should continue to work with Rutland Schools Forum and Rutland Early Years childcare and learning providers to develop services that best support children in an early year’s environment with emerging Special Educational needs.

b)    ENDORSED an engagement programme with the Early Years sector and parents to begin to consider what the future Early Years SEN provision in Rutland may be and what steps would need to be taken to best meet children’s needs to ensure they thrive in their communities.

c)    NOTED that following engagement and planning, there would be a need to consider future Early Years SEN provision in Rutland and any requirement to consult if changes were to be proposed.