After-school care for children with additional support needs will be set up by East Renfrewshire Council after an external supplier couldn’t be found.

A service for up to 20 children and young people is set to be offered at Isobel Mair School in Newton Mearns at an initial cost of £22.50 per session.

It is expected to run during term time, from 3pm to 5.30pm, and cost almost £112,000 annually.

Cabinet members agreed to the plan at a meeting last week. Officials will now register the service with the Care Inspectorate and start to recruit staff. It is hoped it can be set up after the Easter holidays next year.

Council leader Owen O’Donnell, Labour, said: “This has been a very long journey but I’m really delighted we’ve got to this place of being able to provide a sustainable service.

“We did look externally and that was difficult to deliver but we learnt a lot through that process in terms of requirements of the parents and children.

“I’m sure the parents will be delighted that this service has got a secure future.”

In March last year, councillors committed £60,000 recurring funding to help the families of children who attend Isobel Mair School, Carlibar Communication Centre and Williamwood Communication and Support Service.

Consultation was held with parents and carers who wanted to see an out-of-school service at Isobel Mair which was accessible for all pupils receiving specialist provision.

They also wanted it to be subsidised from the funding, reducing the cost, and asked for more holiday provision in “a safe and known environment”.

Care providers and third sector groups were approached but did not express an interest in running a service.

A potential partnership with Indigo Childcare to deliver after-school and holiday care was explored, but Indigo couldn’t deliver it “themselves due to their own capacity and concerns around recruitment of staff”, a council report stated.

Findings from work on the possible partnership highlighted a service for 20 children was “more appropriate due to complexity of needs, staffing and space”.

It also revealed children in “Carlibar, Carolside and Williamwood Communication and Support Services would benefit from… identification of supported places within mainstream provision with training and support provided to the mainstream provider”.

The council’s education department then considered running a service itself. A working group, which included parents, agreed £22.50 per session — rather than £15.50 or £20 — as it would leave more of the £60,000 for summer activities.

The charges, if all places are taken, would raise £85,500 per year, leaving a shortfall of just under £26,500 against the expected operating costs.

Another £36,000 has been set aside, on top of the £60,000, to support out-of-school care and holiday support within Isobel Mair School.

The council report added: “It is widely recognised that clubs and services for children with complex additional support needs are more expensive. 

“This is due to the fact that the cost to run them is significantly higher due to increased adult-to-child ratios.”