A council has issued a “short-term performance issue” warning as it unveiled a proposal to overhaul education service for children too unwell to attend school.
North Yorkshire County Council has said its proposed model, which will include virtual classrooms and enabling sick pupils to access their own school or learning environment through an app on their phone or tablet, had been designed to increase service provision.
The authority’s children’s and young people’s service executive member meeting will hear the proposed model has been devised to ensure educational attainment is minimally affected while a child is absent from school and to do this it is providing an increased range of educational solutions and an increased amount of hourly education.
An officers’ report to the meeting states: “The personalised flexible medical tuition provides children and young people with a range of options designed to fit around their specific need and ability to access education at any time. It engages and works with the home school at each stage ensuring joint ownership and oversight of the medical education.
“It provides a greater number of hours of education whilst the child is unable to attend school and proactive small steps back into school.”
The report states the proposal was “not expected to create any long-term performance implications”, but there would be a need for a transitional period for children receiving the service, which may in turn create “a short-term performance issue”.
It concludes: “An enhanced level of service provision and a collaborative approach to ensure children and young people are receiving the most appropriate medical tuition is anticipated to achieve a positive outcome.”
It has been estimated the cost of the remodelled service is unlikely to generate significant savings.
A public consultation over the proposed changes is set to take place between September 2 and October 13.
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