Plans for new special education setting to avoid more children being sent out of county

West Northamptonshire Council is planning to create hundreds of new special education places in the next few years

By Natalie Bloomer

A lack of special education spaces in West Northamptonshire means pupils could be forced to stay in mainstream schools while others continue to be sent out of county.

A council cabinet report says:

• There is a clear and immediate risk that WNC will be unable to fulfil its statutory obligations of providing a sufficiency of SEND places in the area.

• That pupils are being forced to be maintained within an education setting that is not best placed to meet their individual needs (such as a mainstream school setting).  

• That pupils are unable to access an education setting in a timely manner and are without a school place. 

A growing demand has also seen the council relying on independent special education provisions but all of those spaces in the area are also now full. 

The report says the biggest drivers in primary school aged children are those with a need of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and at secondary school it is a need of social, emotional and mental health.

The addi…