PLANS for new special school in Shirley have moved forward as Solihull Council have allocated a plot of land for the site.
The Sans Souci Teaching Centre on Tanworth Lane has been marked as the spot where a new 150 place special free school will be created under Wave 4 of the Department for Education’s (DfE) SEND Free School programme.
At last week’s Cabinet meeting Councillors approved a 125 year lease of the land to Secretary of State for Education.
The new free school will offer places across Years seven to 14, for children with specific learning disability or co-occurring needs with complex learning needs.
The Council say 100 of these new places are intended for post-16 students.
The Council say the proposed free school will help to meet the need for additional specialist places, but the level of expected growth is such that further new places will still be required.
This will include expansion of existing special schools, reviewing the role of additionally resourced provisions across the Borough, and working with mainstream schools to increase inclusion and provide increased opportunities for children with Special Educational Needs to attend their local schools.
The Government’s current expectation is that every new school will be a free school, known as an academy.
This means that once built the relevant local authority transfers the school site and buildings on a lease to and academy sponsor, which will then be responsible for managing the school.
Under the free school programme, the DfE will take responsibility for the funding and delivery of the associated capital project to deliver the new school, estimated in the region of £15m.
Speaking after the meeting Councillor Ian Courts, leader of Solihull Council, said: “We believe that all Solihull children and young people should be able to live and learn in Solihull to give them a real sense of belonging within their community.
“We are pleased that, with the support of the DfE, the allocation of this land for the construction of a new special school will help to make this possible, benefiting them and their families, and providing welcome additional school places.”
