Two new special free schools to be built in Cambs
Plans for two new special free schools in Cambridgeshire have been given the green light by the government. The schools, which will be built by the Department for Education (DfE) will provide hundreds of young people with SEND access to high quality learning.
One of the schools will be located in March[1] and cater for 210 children and young people, aged two to 19. The other one will be a 60-place school in Gamlingay for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
The Gamlingay school is due to open in September 2025, while the March school will open the following year. Cambridgeshire[2] has already invested £60m in creating 150 new special school places at new or existing schools, but the council said more were needed.
Fenland is currently the least well served district for special needs, with Meadowgate Academy in Wisbech being the only special school in the area. Children in the district can face lengthy journeys to and from the nearest school able to meet their needs.
In the Gamlingay area, there is a particular demand for provision for girls whose SEMH needs result in challenging behaviour. At the moment, they either travel out of county, attend an independent school or are educated at home through one to one tuition.
Cllr Bryony Goodliffe, Chair of the county council’s Children and Young People’s Committee, said: “I am delighted that the Government has given us the go-ahead to establish these two much-needed special schools. We are making significant progress in meeting the need for more special school places, but this announcement will enable us to create many more places.
“We now need to find sponsors who can develop innovative, first-rate educational institutions for children and young people in Cambridgeshire with the most complex needs.”
Claire Coutinho, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing added: “Making sure children with special educational needs and disabilities get a superb education is a priority. Earlier this year our Improvement Plan set out systemic reforms to make sure every child and young person gets consistently high-quality support, no matter where in the country they live.
“Today we’re making sure that those reforms are informed by the experiences of real families, up and down the country, and creating the thousands of new places at specialist schools and in staff training courses that are needed to make sure our plan is a success.”
References
- ^ March (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Former Cambridge University chef opens her own Sri Lankan restaurant (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)