Derbyshire council approves nearly £5m for six schools to increase special needs places

Derbyshire council has given the go-ahead for nearly £5m of an £11m funding pot to be used by six schools to further expand facilities and resources so they can welcome more special needs pupils.

The council’s Cabinet approved the plan during a meeting on July 10 for £4,838,000 from an £11m pot of Government funding to be used at Chesterfeld’s Ashgate Croft School, Shirebrook’s Stubbin Wood Nursery School, Alfreton Park School, Long Eaton’s Brackenfield SEND School, Swanwick School and Sports College, and Long Eaton’s Stanton Vale School.

Cllr Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “This is just the first round of allocations from our £11m fund to increase the number of school places for vulnerable young learners with special and complex needs by around 500 as part of our five-year plan.

“Now it’s been approved by Cabinet we’ll immediately start spending this initial £5m to create new school places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND – particularly those with more complex needs – and for pupils who require alternative provision which will make a significant impact on their early learning.

“Meanwhile, we’re continuing to work closely with mainstream schools to ensure we allocate the remaining funding as soon as we can while also ensuring it’s spent as effectively as possible.”

Cllr Dale told the meeting £9.7m had originally been allocated to help with increasing the number of school places for children with special needs by around 500 as part of a five-year plan to support vulnerable learners but having done further work with schools over costs that allocation has now been increased to £11m.

The £4,838,000 share of the £11m pot from the council’s overall special educational needs and or disabilities capital budget will support new facilities and resources at the six schools.

Chesterfeld’s Ashgate Croft School is to benefit from £848,000 of funding for a new four-classroom modular building to create additional space for children with special needs.

Shirebrook’s Stubbin Wood Nursery School will receive £270,000 to accommodate 15 additional special needs pupils from September, 2024, with permanent accommodation and suitable outside space.

Alfreton Park School is to benefit from £1,600,000 of funding to provide a three-classroom modular building and a classroom and vocational learning space to accommodate 10 additional SEND pupils by September, 2024, increasing to 45 additional places by September, 2025.

Long Eaton’s Brackenfield SEND School will receive £200,000 for suitable additional classroom spaces for 15 children with special needs from September, 2024.

Swanwick School and Sports College is to benefit from £1,600,000 to expand classroom space to create additional places for pupils with special needs.

And Stanton Vale School will receive £320,000 to create a newly refurbished wing creating 22 additional places for special needs children by September 2024, increasing to 35 places by September, 2025.

The latest funding roll-out is expected to help youngsters across Alfreton and Somercotes, Langwith, Erewash, Chesterfield West and Amber Valley, and other mainstream schools are expected to benefit from the remaining share of the overall £11m pot.

Cllr Dale added: “This is money that can only be spent once so it needs to be based on detailed work to ensure we provide the right sort of places in the right areas to meet the different demands we face.

“This is not easy in a county with a geography like ours and does take time but we’re making good progress and we now have a strong and active education partnership covering the whole county where all schools and academies have been divided up into area-based groups and are working constructively together.

“This means we’re better able to map existing provision and identify where there is a need for expansion and schools will be able to work together to share the benefit of any new investment in their group area.

“We’re committed to giving every Derbyshire child the best possible start in life whatever their challenge or ability and our work to create more special school places where they’re needed across the county forms an important part of that pledge.”

The council’s £11m funding plans for special school places is part of a wider three-strand project including creating additional places to promote inclusion for children with special needs in mainstream schools, investing in Enhanced Resource Schools, SEND units and alternative education provision outside school.

By working with maintained and academy special schools to expand places across the county, rather than seeking to build one or two new special schools in specific areas, the council hopes new places will be well spread out and be more accessible to as many Derbyshire families as possible.

Derbyshire County Council has also adopted a partnership approach with schools to review and improve services, widen partner involvement, provide additional staff training and to improve communication.

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