SEN provision increase for Farnborough school
EXTRA school places for children with special educational needs (SEN) in Hampshire will be created as the county council looks to create more in-house provision.
Hampshire County Council has approved the extra places for SEN children at three schools in Farnborough, Winchester and Waterlooville.
Like many other local authorities in the country, the county council said it continues to face rising demand for SEN provision.
It currently has 16,500 educational healthcare plans for children with SEN demands across the county. By 2030/31, Hampshire is forecast to have around 28,000 pupils with a plan if unmitigated. In the last academic year, the authority received 225 requests for plans between September and February. It said last November saw the highest number of requests, with 104.
In line with Hampshire’s SEND Strategy for 2023-2027, Cllr Steve Forster, the executive member for education, has approved the expansion of SEN provision at Samuel Cody School, in Farnborough; Shepherds Down School, near Winchester; and Riverside Community Special School, in Waterlooville. The investment of £13.5 million is conditional on planning permission.
With an investment of £800,000, the expansion of Samuel Cody School, in Chaucer Road, would see some underused spaces in the primary block of the school reconfigured and refurbished, providing two new classrooms and other facilities.
At the same time, this would enable children at Oak Farm Community Pre-School, currently based within the school’s primary block, to move to larger accommodation on the school site with its own entrance and play area. The changes would increase the number of children across the school’s sites from 295 to 338 from September.
Public notices will also be published for this proposal.
The expansion of Shepherds Down School, in Shepherds Lane, Compton, would provide a twoclassroom modular building for an extra 20 primary-aged pupils with severe learning difficulties and autistic spectrum conditions. From September, the school’s number of pupils will increase from 170 to 190.
This project would cost £800,000. With approval, the county council will publish public notices so parents and others interested can give views on the proposed expansions.
Cllr Jackie Porter said the expansion will generate pressure and impact traffic in the area.
She added the school had expanded “quite a lot” over the past 10 years and extra traffic was a “concern for local people and the people that go to the school”.
Natalie Smith, assistant director of education and inclusion, said a review will be conducted to improve access and parking, which will be subject to a separate consultation.
This term, by using spare rooms at Mill Hill Primary School, in Mill Road, Riverside Community Special School, based a mile away in Scratchface Lane, will be able to support 12 children with severe learning difficulties, taking the school’s total number of children from 137 to 149 from April/May.
For this project, £410,000 has been allocated.