New Suffolk special free school to be built after Government approval, as SEND reform plan announced by DfE
Approval has been given for a new special free school to be built in Suffolk.
The school, which will be in the south of the county, is one of 33 announced on March 2 by the Department for Education (DfE), as it laid out plans to reform access to high-quality special educational needs and disabilities support.
The new specialist school places come as part of the Government’s £2.6 billion investment between 2022 and 2025 to increase special school and alternative provision capacity.
Suffolk’s successful bid is for a proposed 117 full-time equivalent places for four to 16 year olds with severe learning difficulties. A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said all plans needed to be drafted with the DfE.
The DfE’s SEND and AP improvement plan seeks to reform access to support for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP).
The plan features investment in training for thousands of workers so children can get the help they need earlier and it aims to cut local bureaucracy by speeding up the process for assessing children and young people’s needs through Education, Health and Care Plans.
There will also be new guides for professionals to help them provide the right support in line with new national SEND and AP standards ‘but suited to each child’s unique experience’.
Claire Coutinho, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, said the plan sets out systemic reforms to standards, teacher training and access to specialists as well as thousands of new places at specialist schools so that every child gets the help they need.
Suffolk County Council has agreed the delivery of 1,317 new specialist places either in new schools or units linked to mainstream schools by 2026, and 826 of these new places are now open across Suffolk.
Government advisors have found ‘reassuring’ progress is being made in Suffolk SEND reform.
Rachel Hood, cabinet member for education, SEND and skills at Suffolk County Council, said: “Since I took up my position as cabinet member for SEND, I have been clear that I wanted to see significant change and improvement in the county council’s SEND provision.
“I am pleased that experts within the Department for Education have been able to recognise the progress we have made to date, and are reassured by our ongoing efforts. There is more still to do."
