New Salisbury special school to open in Autumn 2023
Covid-19 pandemic dashes hopes of it opening this year
Plans to create a new school in Salisbury for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are ongoing with the facility currently set to open in autumn 2023.
Called SAIL Academy it will provide 150 places for children and young people with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) and for those with social and emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).
The former University Technical College on Wilton Road is the preferred location for the new facility.
The building, once the city's police station, has been empty since the college closed in August 2020.
It's a free school so is being funded by government and will have more control over how they do thing as its not run by Wiltshire Council.
It will be managed by Reach South Academy Trust with the local authority working closely with the Trust and Department of Education to ensure Sail Academy can open in time of the new 2023 academic year.
It had originally been hoped it would open this September but due to "Covid issues and other prevalent programme risks such as labour and material issues" a more realistic opening has been set.
Council bosses say work is ongoing with families to ensure pupils can access places in current schools for the next school year.
Jon Hamp, Reach South Director for Individual Needs at Reach South, said:
"I am extremely proud of the work that we are doing to get this new school off the ground. Our hope is that this new school will create a sense of positivity and possibility - something that we all need right now."
"This will be a great project for Salisbury - and it will be a great school of which we can all be proud."
A DfE spokesperson said:
"The Department always endeavour to minimise the amount of time that any project spends in pre-opening. This includes working with trusts to carefully balance the priority of opening on the preferred date against all the elements that must be in place to ensure a free school is successful when it opens. We will work with partners over forthcoming months to finalise indicative timescales for the school opening date and continue to prioritise the needs of the children to deliver them the educational opportunities and support they deserve".
Cllr Jane Davies, Cabinet Member for SEND at Wiltshire Council said:
"We have a wider long term plan to ensure we have sufficient places across Wiltshire for children and young people with SEND. We are working closely with our partners on this important work for the south to ensure we can have the school opened and ready for children and young people with SEND. We will provide regular updates so that we can make sure that information and developments are known about at the earliest opportunity."