Council bosses have failed in a bid to get Government funding to build a new special school in Newcastle.
City education chiefs say there is a “significant need” to build a new school for children with autism, with demand for specialist provision having risen substantially in the past few years. But Newcastle City Council officials have been left bitterly disappointed after the Department for Education (DfE) did not approve a funding application for the project.
Deanne Taylor, the local authority’s head of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) told councillors on Thursday: “Unfortunately, despite the DfE saying that our bid was approvable we were not successful. We know that there is a significant need for a new special school in the city so we are exploring other avenues to create such a provision.”
Read More: North East mayor race hots up as Labour hopeful launches campaign with pledge to end unemployment
As of last October, there were 404 specialist school places in Newcastle for children with autism – split across the Thomas Bewick special academy and additional provisions within mainstream schools. In spring of 2022, the council was also commissioning a further 110 places from independent providers to keep up with demand – at a cost of more than £3m per year, not including the price of home to school transport.
It is forecast that Newcastle will need to create up to 380 more school places for children with autism over the coming years, with the proposed new-build school accounting for around half of that across both primary and secondary year groups. The number of pupils in Newcastle identified with special educational needs has jumped from 6,262 in 2016/17 to 6,618 in 2020/21, while the council says that the number of autistic youngsters has “risen more steeply in the past two years than previously”.
Thomas Bewick school had only 53 pupils when it opened in 1999, but now caters for more than 300 and has plans to expand further. Proposals have been lodged with the city council to boost its capacity by building six new classrooms at its base in West Denton, in a derelict section of the adjacent former All Saints College.
Read Next:
- Tyne and Wear Metro reliability crisis: Services getting better after maintenance firm ordered to improve
- North East's crisis-hit bus network could still face 'significant' cuts, despite Government's £500m pledge
- Grainger Market evening hours still part of 'stunning' upgrade plans, despite flagship event relocating
- Some PCSOs saved from Northumbria Police budget cut axe as bosses scale back job loss plans
- Fears that Newcastle walk-in centre might never reopen as services 'creak' under staff shortage
