A NEW £12m school will provide much-needed special educational needs (SEN) places in the south of Wiltshire.
Wiltshire Council successfully bid for Department for Education (DfE) funding to create a 150-pupil school for pupils aged four to 19 years.
The school will help pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and will have strong links with mainstream schools, nurseries and children’s centres.
Councillor Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children’s services said: “All our children and young people should have access to a good education and the support to be independent.
“I am delighted we will be able to offer our SEN pupils in the south the chance to benefit from a brand new school which will provide the building blocks for a great future.”
Wiltshire Council will now work with the DfE to secure an academy trust which will work alongside the council to open the school by 2026.
The successful bid followed a three-year review of the present and future needs for SEN provision. The school will help towards securing the additional 220 places needed across Wiltshire due to housing developments and the Army Basing Programme which will bring 4,000 service personnel to the county.
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