Site is revealed for £14m special needs school
THE location for a new £14 million special needs school to accommodate 200 children has been announced.
The new facility, called the Lisburne Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Primary School, will be housed on the site of the former Lisburne School on Half Moon Lane, Stockport.
The news was announced by Coun Dean Fitzpatrick, Stockport council’s cabinet member for education, at a meeting of the council on Thursday, January 17.
This means that the council can save money previously being spent on transporting children to schools outside the borough, as some SEND youngsters currently have a 70-mile round trip to receive their education.
The plans will be subject to planning permission and a public consultation which will start in February.
The proposal for the new SEND school was first signed off at a cabinet meeting on March 13, 2018, as Stockport’s SEND school capacity had ‘become increasingly challenged in accommodating growing numbers of children’ and the council had ‘run out of capacity in the existing buildings.’
There were fears that more than 30 pupils from Stockport due to go into Reception at Lisburne School in September would not have a place.
As a result, a number of those pupils were sent to independent schools, but town hall chiefs said that would not be a sustainable option, as transporting the children to those schools ‘isn’t cheap.’
Coun Fitzpatrick said: “I’m pleased we have found a suitable site for this new facility.
“We can now move on to the next steps, including seeking planning permission before work can begin in earnest to enact our plans for a modern fully equipped facility for our children.
“This council under Stockport Labour has been able to use council money to invest in suitable facilities which can improve some of our most vulnerable pupils’ educational experiences.
“This will provide a modern, high quality facility which can also cut down on the sometimes significant distances our young learners must travel to find suitable facilities.
“As such this improves their education, whilst also saving money over the long term. This represents a significant investment in future provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).”