Exceptional Post 16 Provision

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for the time, insight and expertise you have already contributed to the development of Cornwall’s Post-16 Inclusion Pathway. The sessions held so far have been invaluable in helping us understand what needs to be included within future Post-16 provision for young people with SEND, and how we can work together to strengthen outcomes, inclusion and transitions into adulthood.

Through this work, we have heard clearly that Cornwall needs:

• a clearer and more accessible online Post-16 prospectus;
• stronger use of education passports so that information follows young people effectively;
• better planning to prevent duplication of learning;
• stronger embedding of Preparing for Adulthood outcomes across educational delivery;
• improved tracking of young people’s destinations when they leave education;
• clearer communication between the Council, providers, young people and families.

We are now moving into the next stage of this work. The information gathered so far is helping us begin to shape the detail of future provision specifications, and we would like to invite providers to take part in a further round of Post-16 SEND Provision Market Engagement Sessions.

These sessions will focus on two key areas.

1. Fee modelling and value for money

We know that Post-16 SEND education fees vary significantly across provision, including where provision appears to be similar in nature. We also know that Cornwall’s Post-16 expenditure places us as an outlier compared with comparable local authorities, but this level of investment is not yet translating into consistently stronger outcomes for young people.

We therefore want to explore with providers whether there is appetite to develop a more transparent, tailored or bespoke fee model for Post-16 SEND provision in Cornwall. We recognise that providers operate in different ways, and that smaller providers may have different cost structures from larger FE colleges or lead-provider models. We want to understand what a fair, sustainable and outcomes-focused model could look like.

2. Future contractual arrangements

We also need to consider how Post-16 SEND provision should be formalised and contractualised in future. Current arrangements are varied, with some provision accessed through subcontracting routes and some provision operating outside those structures.

The market engagement sessions will therefore explore potential future models, including:

• whether Cornwall should go to market for a lead provider/umbrella organisation;
• whether an open framework would be more appropriate for all providers to join;
• If providers might contract directly with the Council, how contract management would operate, depending on value and volume;
• what quality, monitoring and reporting requirements would need to be in place;
• how we can ensure future arrangements support quality, inclusion, Preparing for Adulthood outcomes and value for money.

These sessions are not part of a formal tender process. They are an opportunity for Cornwall Council to engage with our education providers and partners, and test what may be possible before finalising our commissioning intentions, specification and business case.

As with previous engagement, we want to work collaboratively with providers so that future arrangements are realistic, deliverable and ambitious for young people with SEND. The earlier provider engagement sessions demonstrated the value of co-producing specifications, quality expectations and monitoring arrangements with the market, and we want to continue that approach.

Proposed sessions

We are proposing to hold market engagement sessions in late September and early October.

We are proposing at least two dates for each area to ensure maximum attendance and engagement.

Monday 5th October 1400-1600, Microsoft Teams online session (Fee Modelling)

Tuesday 6th October 1000-1200, Microsoft Teams online session (Future Contractual Arrangements)

Tuesday 6th October 1400-1630, Microsoft Teams online session (Fee Modelling Future Contractual Arrangements)

Wednesday 7th October 1400-1630, Microsoft Teams online session (Fee Modelling and Future Contractual Arrangements)

Please let us know which session you would like to attend by emailing tffcommissioning@cornwall.gov.uk.

In addition, earlier in the summer we sent out a survey to you all relating to this engagement work. If you are unable to attend a session in the coming month, we would really appreciate it you could complete this survey. All data will be used to inform our evidence base, and will impact the future contractual and fee design. Post-16 Inclusion Pathway Market Engagement | Let's Talk Cornwall

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at tffcommissioning@cornwall.gov.uk.