Have your say on proposals for improving schools for children with special needs
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
We're consulting on proposals to improve special provision for children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans after being allocated £700,000 from the Department for Education.
We're consulting on proposals to improve special provision for children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans after being allocated £700,000 from the Department for Education (DfE).
This is in addition to £1.6 million of capital funding given to us by the DfE and consulted on in 2018. It is proposed that this new funding, which can only be used to invest in adapting or expanding buildings and facilities, will be used for improvement projects across 15 schools.
After inviting schools and education settings to submit expressions of interest on how to allocate the funding, we're proposing to fund the following projects:
Woodland Academy
Creation of an outside all-weather play space, sensory garden, internal sensory room and refurbish the toilets.
Shefford Lower School
Increase capacity for those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Ardley Hill Academy
Renovation and improvement of the outdoor learning environment.
Henlow Academy
Provision of an outside classroom/enrichment play area.
Greenleas School
Derwent Road site: Refurbishment of the current planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) space to create a purpose-built multi-purpose nurture hub.
Kestrel Way site: Construction of an internal nurture hub space to replace the current shared provision, which is oversubscribed.
Oakbank School
Build a three-classroom single-storey extension to the school, to provide a discrete teaching space for key stage 2 students.
Greensand Federation
Football Academy for pre-16 students.
Ivel Valley Community Special School
Additional modular classroom.
Weatherfield Academy
Classroom provision for an already heavily oversubscribed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pupil provision and creation of a SEND Careers Hub.
Central Bedfordshire College
Develop an area where the mainstream SEND students can relax, work and eat.
St Mary’s Primary School Caddington
Create an additional free-standing group room, providing incremental space which can be dedicated for SEND group work and interventions.
St Vincent’s Catholic Primary
Develop areas to provide a sensory area(s) and resources; a place of sanctuary; cooking facilities/home economic area; art/music therapy spaces and resources.
The Chiltern School
To provide funds to increase capacity on the Kinglands site.
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Reconfigure existing space to create three large classroom spaces. Redevelop the outside sensory area.
Brooklands Middle School
Learning Hub – one larger room for small group interventions with children with SEN (focus on ASD), one pod used for small group/one-to-one work used also as a sensory room.
Councillor Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: "This additional funding is a welcome boost to the funding we received for special education provision from the Department for Education. While we already plan for improvements to school facilities, this additional funding means we can do more.
"To help us develop our specific proposals we have already engaged with parents, through the Special Needs Action Panel (SNAP) as well as schools and education settings. Now we’d like to hear residents’ feedback. You can have your say online or you can pick up a paper response form from council offices.”
All responses should be received by 5pm on July 3, 2018.