Thursday, 9 May 2024
Nottinghamshire is to benefit from a new special free school as part of an initiative announced by the Department for Education (DfE) today. The school is set to provide specialist support for 160 pupils, aged four to 19.
Councillor Sam Smith, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said: “This is such positive news and very welcomed for the families of children with SEND in Nottinghamshire.”
The Department for Education (DfE) will fund and build the school, directly supporting Nottinghamshire County Council’s target to create 490 additional SEND school and alternative provision places by 2026, to address the growing demand for more specialist school places across the county.
The County Council has been experiencing an increase in requests for education, health and care plans (EHCP), some of which identify the need for specialist school places.
One of the council’s key priorities and commitments is to develop additional local special school capacity over the next three years, to ensure that children and young people with SEND can access learning within their own community.
From 2021 to 2023, the council has delivered an additional 97 specialist educational places, with an investment of more than £5m.
The council is currently working in partnership with:
The council has also contributed in excess of £2.5 million to the rebuild of Yeoman Park Academy in Mansfield to secure an additional 28 places by early 2025 and is building a new £20m special school in the Mansfield area, providing up to 160 additional places in 2025.
Councillor Smith added: “When appointed to this role in late 2023 I made a commitment to children and young people with SEND, and their families, to do everything possible to ensure that they were able to receive the support they required in a mainstream setting or, where necessary, in a specialist setting as close to their home as possible.
“This new school will offer 160 places for children with SEND and I now look forward to discussions with the Department for Education getting underway as soon possible.”
Councillor Ben Bradley MP, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, was delighted with the news and said: “Supporting families and children with special education needs remains a huge priority for us as a council. We have recently implemented an improvement plan to enhance our services, this includes expanding SEND school places, such as the new school in Ravensdale, Mansfield. We are delighted that our bid to Government for another SEND school has been approved. These specialist placements greatly benefit children and families throughout Nottinghamshire.”
This latest announcement comes just a few weeks after an extra £16m funding from the DfE for SEND places and alternative provision in Nottinghamshire was confirmed.
![Councillor Sam Smith [1.73MB]](/media/qvmfmqao/county-councillor-sam-smith.jpg){kind=link}