Staff at a residential special school run by a London council have raised concerns students will not be able to find an alternative if it shuts. Wandsworth Council is pressing ahead with plans to close Bradstow School, in Broadstairs, Kent, due to mounting financial pressures.
The council’s children’s committee agreed to begin the statutory process to shut the school on December 3. This will include publishing formal proposals and launching a four-week consultation for feedback, before deciding whether to go ahead with the closure.
But Conservative councillor Matthew Corner raised concerns students would not be able to find a suitable alternative school if the decision went ahead, including one child who had been offered alternative provision in Birmingham. He read out a letter from a staff member at Bradstow, which said: “The announcement of the intention to close Bradstow School now creates enormous anxiety and life-changing implications for the young people and the families and the wider community.
“Many if not all of the current cohort of young people face the very real risk of finding no suitable alternative placement if and when Bradstow is closed with the likelihood of significant regression in their wellbeing and future prospects.”
Councillor Corner read out another letter from a staff member, which stated: “[I wish] to express my deep concern and distress over this announcement, and to highlight the enormous impact that it will have on the lives of the young people, their families, our staff team and the community Bradstow serves.”
Councillor Corner argued alternatives to shutting Bradstow had not been fully considered, including selling part of the site and working harder with other councils to keep it open. He added the school’s new principal was confident she could ‘come up with a financially sustainable plan for the school within the next term’.
Lisa Fenaroli, the council’s assistant director for education, said staff cuts needed to address Bradstow’s financial challenges would reduce the quality of support for children. She said the authority was working with other councils to find the most suitable placements for students.
Ms Fenaroli added: “It is very important to us that whatever decision is taken, that we find provision for children and that we ensure any transition is as smooth as possible.”
Labour councillor Kate Stock said all options would be considered during the consultation. She continued: “This is going to be a transparent and inclusive consultation process. We are in listening mode. We are open to options coming forward during this process.”
The council inherited the school in 1990, after the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was abolished. The school provides accommodation during term time for autistic children with complex needs aged between five and 19 years old.
Fifteen local authorities use the school, which currently has 27 boarders and six day pupils. Fourteen of these 33 students have been placed there by Kent County Council (KCC), while Wandsworth has four children there.
A report by council officers said the authority had been working with KCC to explore transferring the provision since November 2021, but KCC decided in October not to proceed with this option. The authority said it was left with no other choice than to propose closure of the school at the end of the academic year, as it continued to face financial pressures – including a predicted deficit of £1.7m by the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
Ofsted rated the school outstanding at an inspection in June last year, but it found the residential care required improvement that October. The school was temporarily banned from admitting new students into its accommodation as a result, after the inspection found ‘serious and widespread concerns’ in relation to the protection of children.
Inspectors said there was a lack of management oversight in key areas, including the use of physical interventions, staff felt overstretched and there were sometimes not enough staff to support children.
Another damning inspection of the school’s residential care in June this year saw its rating drop further to inadequate. Ofsted issued four compliance notices after raising serious concerns about the administration of medication, poor management oversight, how allegations were managed and healthcare plans for children being unclear.
The report said the challenge of managing the ‘safeguarding risk of such a complex provision is magnified by the fact that it is located so far from Wandsworth resources’. It claimed some local authorities were unwilling to pay the level of fees needed to maintain the quality and financial viability of the school, which have risen due to inflation.
Bradstow is expected to have a deficit of £1.7m by the end of 2024/25, according to the report, while it holds debt of more than £3m with other councils at any given time.
The council plans to launch a consultation on the proposed closure of the school in January.
