A £13 million programme of work to improve support for children and young people with special needs and/or disabilities (SEND) by increasing the availability of special school places in Plymouth is underway.
A new satellite provision for Mill Ford School will provide 50 special school places from September for children with SEND in Reception and years 1 and 2.
Plymouth City Council has agreed to investing £161,000 from the Department for Education’s high needs provision capital allocation fund into creating the places on the grounds of Riverside Community Primary in St Budeaux, following an executive decision signed today.
The new places for the next school year have already been allocated to children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP).
This development is part of the Council’s SEND Sufficiency plan which aims to address the shortage of suitable school places for children and young people with SEND in Plymouth. The plan includes reconfiguration and refurbishment of some of the city’s special schools to increase their current capacity, as well as developing more specialist places within mainstream schools.
Through this work, a further 34 new special school places have also been created for this coming September, bringing the current total number of new places - including the Mill Ford satellite provision - to 84.
Councillor Sally Cresswell, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships, said: “We have seen a huge rise in demand for special school places in recent years, with far more requests for places than the number of places available.
“We understand how frustrating this can be for families and our SEND Sufficiency plan clearly sets out how we will maximise the limited resources available in order to provide more specialist provision so that our children and young people with SEND receive the support they need.”
In the Council’s initial plans set out last year, the intention was for Mill Ford School to have a satellite provision at Marlborough Primary Academy but the site was unable to accommodate alterations. Instead, a temporary provision was created at Riverside Community Primary which has provided 30 places throughout this school year. With the confirmed new investment, there will now be a further 20 places.
While most children’s needs can be met in a mainstream setting, for some a specialist setting is more appropriate. To be eligible for a special school place, children must have an EHCP or be undergoing a statutory assessment of their special educational needs and have needs that cannot be met in a mainstream school.
The Council and local schools have recently launched a new website outlining the Plymouth Graduated Approach to Inclusion. This helps schools and parents and carers by setting out the support available for children and young people with SEND to ensure that their needs are meet. Find out more at https://plymouthgati.co.uk.