A series of public engagement events is to be held as part of a proposal that would see special schools moved across Liverpool.
A consultation has been launched that could lead to special educational needs and disability (SEND) school pupils being transferred to a site 14 miles away. Liverpool Council is staging an engagement exercise touting the possibility of three city special schools and pupil referral units changing locations in a bid to meet demand for places.
The non-statutory consultation will ask stakeholders for their thoughts on proposals for Bank View School on Long Lane to relocate 14 miles away to Parklands in Speke. Consideration will also be given to Princes School on Selborne Street moving to Redbridge School on Long Lane, while Redbridge would move into Bank View as they occupy the same site.
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Now parents are being given the opportunity to meet with council officials to provide their thoughts on the proposed moves. Meetings will be held at Redbridge School on Tuesday at 10am and Bank View School on Tuesday April 5 at 1pm. Officers will be present at the meetings and will note down parent views. Further meetings will also be held at 7pm on Wednesday with Liverpool Parent Carer Forum and throughout April, including with health partners.
The consultation also seeks to assess the viability of New Heights Key Stage 4 site relocating from Parklands to the vacant school premises on Naylorsfield Drive. Further discussions will be held with the leadership at Ernest Cookson School, Hope School, Clifford Holroyde School and Woolton High School regarding future organisation and the delivery of education at these locations for young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The possibility of relocating children has been met with short shrift by some parents, including Alan Osborne, whose son George, 12, attends Bank View. He told the ECHO that children “will suffer ” as a result of any possible move.
The consultation will run until May with an expectation that findings will go before Liverpool Council’s cabinet in September or October, with a view to implementation of the results in September next year.
