FOI Request - Specialist Placements and Out of Authority Costs

Request 101003854516

cope and timeframe

Please provide the following for academic years 2015/16 to 2024/25 (year-to-date) for pupils placed in specialist provision outwith their catchment or outwith the authority (including independent special schools and grant-aided schools):

A. Placements and movement (annual):
Number of new specialist placements started.
Number of placements ended.
Number of pupils in specialist placements at year-end.

B. Costs (annual):
Total gross education costs for specialist placements (tuition/fees).
Where held, associated transport costs for these placements.
Where feasible, a split between placements within other Scottish LAs, independent special schools, and grant-aided schools.

C. Reasons/categories (service-level, annual):
Service-level counts by high-level reason category used locally (e.g., ASD/communication; complex needs; SEBN; sensory impairment; other), in aggregate only.

D. Policy/procurement and guidance:
Current policy/guidance on decision-making for out-of-authority placements, and any frameworks/contract arrangements used.

Format
Please supply CSV or XLSX. Fields like academic_year, placements_started, placements_ended, placements_in_force, education_costs_gbp, transport_costs_gbp, placement_type would be helpful.
Disclosure control / personal data
Aggregate, anonymised figures only; no personal data. Please suppress values <5 if necessary.

Advice & assistance / cost
If this may exceed the section 12 cost limit, please advise under section 15 how I can refine it—for example, service-level totals only or reduced categories.

Published information
If already published (section 25), please provide the direct URL and exact table location.
Information not held / exemptions
If not held (section 17), please state explicitly. If withholding, provide a schedule, exemption/exception, and public-interest test where applicable.