Councillors have agreed to refurbish a disused building to provide for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
They agreed to spend £400,000 on a makeover of St George’s House, in Dyke Road, Brighton, which was used by the council’s “pupil referral unit” until last July and is currently empty.
Brighton and Hove City Council wants to use the Dyke Road site from September for secondary pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCP) linked to SEMH needs.
Those pupils would otherwise have been sent to Homewood College, in Brighton, which was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted and was due to turned into an “academy” but looks increasingly likely to close.
A report to the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee said: “At Homewood College, there is an academy order in place but no academy trust has been found that is willing to sponsor the school.
“Despite support to the school, serious issues remain and consequently the council proposes that pupils will no longer be placed there from September 2024 and will not be for the foreseeable future.
“The council therefore needs to open provision quickly for pupils with EHC plans for SEMH who will not have placements in September 2024 and proposes to refurbish St George’s House, in Dyke Road, which was in use by the Pupil Referral Unit until July 2023.
“This site will offer a blend of tuition and ‘alternative provision’ for older secondary pupils with EHC plans for SEMH.
“This is a priority for the council as there would be significant adverse consequences if this site was not available, not only for pupils, but also in the costs of placing these pupils in the independent and non-maintained sector where fees are very much higher than in council provision.”
When the committee met at Hove Town Hall last Thursday (29 February), Jo Lyons, the council’s assistant director for children, families and learning, said: “We’ve done a lot of work to work out what we’re going to need going forward.
“We know there is a massive growth of need in that area. We will need lots of different provisions of different sizes so it’s not a one size fits all.”
Green councillor Sue Shanks questioned whether St George’s House was a suitable building for children with SEMH.
Councillor Shanks said: “I thought there was a decision not to use it any more and now we seem to be putting our most vulnerable children there. I don’t understand the logic of that.
“We may well have other classrooms in other schools because the schools’ (admission) numbers are down.
“(St George’s House) was a capital asset I thought was down for disposal. Now we’re spending quite a lot of money on that. I don’t see the logic of that.
“These children haven’t been well served by Homewood for a long time. We really need to make sure they’re going to be in a good place.”
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor, the co-chair of the committee, was positive about the location which is in the centre of Brighton and close to several bus routes.
Who wil be awarded the mechanical and electrical some Essex firm ?
Being as two perfectly good schools are to be closed, surely the answer is to use one or both of these. simples.
Having managed St George’s for most of the 90’s, I am stunned they want to spend money on this white elephant. The council spent hundreds of thousands on the roof to no avail. The building has so many problems that to make it fit for use it needs millions spent on it. I have always thought it has come to the end of its useful life and should be replaced with a purpose built building. As a restorer of listed buildings in private hands I always prefer to save a building if possible. In this case too little decades too late.
Surely if various schools are needed for SEMH, this just being one, rather than close schools, repurpose them to accommodate the needs of just such young people. Two perfect schools would fit the bill, rather than be closed. They already have a high % of SEND in them: makes perfect sense.
this is a good idea as this site has an educational covenant on it I believe? better to have a smaller site in central brighton and a site with expertise and specialist staff for semh young people
but it is imperative this is open and available from sept as homewood is closing in july I believe
A good use for a landmark building but how does our council have £400,000 to spend on a makeover for educational purposes of St George’s House, but not a fraction of this to keep two community schools going?
How the heck does a lick of paint for a building in use until last July cost this much anyway?
Or is it for more school toilet gender neutralising?
What’s wrong with Councillor Shanks wanting to sell council assets off rather than re-cycling them?
Not very Green.
I’m homeschooling my son and ho was abused at homewood college put in isolation and restrained.
Can’t they see that Semh schools in Brighton that keeps failing needs an over hall on what they are doing to these children?
It’s going to take more than 400k to make that building serviceable, hasn’t been fit for purpose for many years. Again the city’s most vulnerable kids getting shafted.
How about converting it to much needed residential provision for children & YP with disabilities? Saving upwards of £200k per year (each!) at bringing children back in county & leaving Drove Road for much needed respite? Why are our kids always shafted? What a very disappointing & short sighted decision to not address this.
Great news! Investing in alternative provision is crucial for diverse educational needs. #CommunityDevelopment
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But they ring fenced £4million and have opened a new SEMH provivson on the old Cedar Centre site now called The Hive. nstead of opening another provision when they already have an expensive new one where the children can go how about giving it to the schools that are being closed instead
The hive can only take so many children per year group and it’s not as mann as people think, they are full for my daughters year and so are all the other schools, she’s been moved from one mainstream school to another and still can’t access an education it’s been over a year!