Specialist Provision Designation & Banding Review

South Tyneside Council are seeking a Provider to undertake a system-wide review of specialist provision across South Tyneside, including, Special Schools, SEN Units, Additional Resource Bases and associated banding frameworks. The review will include, but not be limited to: • Analysis of current designations and their alignment to pupil need. • Review of banding descriptors, thresholds and funding models. • Evaluation of consistency in application of banding across settings. • Assessment of sufficiency against current and projected demand, including identification of gaps by need type, geography and phase. • Review of placement decision-making processes and pathways. • Benchmarking against regional and national best practice. The provider will work collaboratively with South Tyneside Council services within Education, SEND & Inclusion and Finance, education leaders across mainstream and specialist settings, health and care partners and parents/carer representatives where appropriate. The Provider will produce a final report outlining findings, recommendations, and a clear implementation framework to support system-wide change.