Wiltshire Council tries to increase special school places
The authority has purchased the former Calder House Independent School site
Wiltshire Council says it's taking decisive steps to increase local specialist education places, for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to ensure they receive the right support closer to home.
The authority has purchased the former Calder House Independent School site, near Colerne. The site, now known as The Northwood Centre, will operate as a satellite campus of an existing Wiltshire special school. This development will provide much-needed high-needs places within a council-owned facility, helping to reduce reliance on costly Independent Non-Maintained Specialist School (INMSS) placements, which are often located outside the county.
At a meeting on 9 December cabinet will be asked to:
• Approve the proposal to complete a significant change process to create high needs places at The Northwood Centre, in line with DfE statutory guidance.
• Delegate authority to the Director for Education and Skills, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills on delivering these places
Wiltshire Council says it has a number of children and young people who need to access specialist provision, with the greatest demand being for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and those with Speech, Language and Communication needs (SLCN) including autism. It says this has led to increasing demand for specialist places for children, whose needs cannot be met in a mainstream school.
The decision is made against the backdrop of national delays to the Department for Education (DfE) free school project. In Wiltshire there is currently a pause on the Bitham Park Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) free school in Westbury and two Alternative Provision free school sites in the north and south of the county. Bitham Park is due to cater for 130 pupils, and the two AP free school sites would have 40 places each.
Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, Cllr Jon Hubbard, said: "We want our children in need of a special school place to remain in our County, and are determined to meet that need. We are taking proactive steps to ensure children and young people with SEND receive the right education in the right place. Repurposing The Northwood Centre as a special school satellite will create urgently needed places locally, reduce costs, and deliver on our commitment to inclusive, high-quality education."
On average, one full time INMSS placement costs £62,219 compared to an average maintained or academy special school placement cost of £25, 471. Creating 50 high needs places at Northwood will cost £1.273m per year compared to £3.111m per year if these were INMSS placements.