Rutland parents raise money for legal challenge to keep The Parks SEND School open
Councillors voted unanimously to close the school last month
Last updated 16th Feb 2024
Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities are hopeful of mounting a legal challenge to reverse Rutland County Council's decision to close The Parks Special School.
Last month, councillors voted unanimously to close The Parks School, following an independent review from SEND professionals.
Now, members of the Save The Parks Special School Action Group have launched a fundraiser, to cover the cost of legal fees to support their legal action against the decision.
Toni Garnett-Clarke, from the group, said:
'It's not over until they close those doors. It's something we've worked really hard to source and action as quickly as we can.'
'Either our children have been there, or children are there, or we know of children that want to go. There's also professionals involved who are aware of the chaos it would cause and the upset that it would cause to those children, if they were to go ahead with their plans.'
'We know what The Parks can do for children, it sets them up for life. It's proven that the earlier the intervention is, the better the outcome is for SEND children. We truly believe this isn't something that should be allowed to happen.'
Speaking after a Rutland County Council cabinet meeting on January 11th, Children and Families Councillor Tim Smith said:
“We have taken the difficult decision to close The Parks Special Nursery because the provision is no longer viable. This is not a snap decision or something we take lightly. The Parks was subject to an independent review by SEND professionals, which took place over two years.
"This review identified issues with the sustainability of the provision and informed the proposals that were shared in November, with a full public consultation taking place thereafter.
"Having listened to feedback received at the start of the consultation, we enlisted the help of an independent reviewer to read and report on the responses that were submitted. The independent reviewer has carefully considered all the comments received and found nothing to indicate that the situation at The Parks could be changed."
“Mainstream schools and Early Years settings in Rutland are already providing high-quality care and support for children with additional needs. The Council’s Inclusion team is supporting more than 30 nursery-age children with additional needs and all of these children are successfully maintaining their education in mainstream settings.
"Rutland’s wider school support programme for children with SEND has also been inspected and praised by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.”
“This decision does not mean a cut to services or funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Funding that would have gone to The Parks will be used to further increase and improve SEND support in mainstream settings across the County. This includes expanding the Dedicated Special Provision at Oakham C of E Primary.”