Site agreed for two new SEND schools

Educational options for children and young people in Wokingham Borough with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are about to improve as plans for two new SEND schools move forward.

At a meeting of its decision-making executive last night, (29 June), the council agreed that both new SEND schools will be located at Rooks Nest Farm, which borders Barkham and Finchampstead, part of which was previously identified for new houses in the council’s local plan update. Rooks Nest Farm will no longer be promoted for housing in the local plan.

School locations

The council’s applications to the Department for Education (DfE) for the new schools provisionally had one school at Rooks Nest Farm and the other at Gray’s Farm, south of Wokingham town, in Wokingham Without. Following the success of the applications, the council reviewed available council-owned land to find the best possible locations for the schools.

The review found that there would be significant benefits to locating both schools at the same location, including efficiencies in transport and infrastructure, as well as creating a SEND school hub, which could allow shared facilities.

Rooks Nest Farm was found to be the most suitable location for the two schools as it is a large enough site to accommodate both schools’ current needs, with fewer conflicts at drop off and pick up times than at other sites, and because it is well located with good access from all parts of the borough.

Rooks Nest Farm is the council’s preferred location, as it has more benefits and fewer constraints than the other possible locations.

Although Gray’s Farm was originally identified as a potential location for one of the schools, it is currently being considered for a sports hub, and might not be big enough to accommodate both the sports hub and a SEND school. As the sports hub plans are still in the early stages, locating one of the schools at Gray’s Farm would cause a delay to the plans for the school.

Rooks Nest Farm

As part of the council’s local plan update, Rooks Nest Farm was put forward for 270 new homes. If approved for the two new SEND schools, it will be withdrawn from the local plan update as a site for residential development.

Costs

Construction of both schools will be paid for by the Department for Education, but the council is expected to pay for certain costs associated with the site infrastructure and ground conditions. The executive have approved £1.5 million to cover these costs.

Improving SEND education in the borough

The Department for Education (DfE) approved the council’s application for both schools on 1 March this year, which will help it meet the challenges of rapidly increasing demand that many other authorities around the country are also facing.

The schools will each have about 100 places and are anticipated to open in September 2026.

The DfE started the process for selecting a trust to run the schools in May, and the bidding window closes at the end of August. Interviews of interested trusts to manage the schools will take place in the Autumn with the selected trust being announced in the new year.

Once up and running, they will run alongside other SEND schools in the borough, including Addington School in Woodley and Chiltern Way Academy in Wokingham town, as well as Oak Tree School in Winnersh which is due to open in September 2023, in offering tailored special education and support to children with SEND.

A quality education closer to home

The council believes it is vital that children and young people with SEND get the high quality specialist education, health and care they need close to where they live. These new schools will mean more of these services can be offered to children living in the borough within their own community.

At the moment, most children’s SEND needs within the borough are met in mainstream schools where appropriate. However, an increasing number of children with SEND are needing special schools, with many having to travel further afield for an education that meets their needs.

In some cases, they must be placed in out of borough independent specialist schools, costing up to three times as much as providing the same standard of education within the borough and causing an increase in travel times.

The primary barrier to this is a shortage of places, so the two new schools will offer far better value for public money in the long term. The benefits of local specialist schools also include allowing pupils to take part in extracurricular activities and making friends who live nearby.

Specialist schools offer a tailored learning experience and environment to children, often specialising in meeting a particular need. They may have smaller class sizes or offer support from therapist services with accessible and adaptable spaces.

The schools

Each school will be for 100 children, from four to 19 years old, with one school serving children with needs related to social, emotional and mental health problems, while the other will be for children with a range of cognitive disabilities including pupils with severe learning disabilities and autism spectrum conditions.

Councillor Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services said: “This is such good news for our children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in the borough. We have been working hard over the last year to improve the educational choices for this group of young people and these two new schools are a big part of that.

“Having the choice of going to a special school in the borough will be life changing for many of our young people and their families – no more difficult long commutes to and from schools out of the borough.

“We are investing in our children and their futures.”