Parents, young people, community groups and others are invited to comment on plans to open further facilities for pupils with special educational needs, which will allow even more children with special educational needs to attend a local school.
The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is consulting on four proposed projects to enhance provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), using £1.4m from the Department for Education.
Many local children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are currently educated outside the borough. Expanding the local supported education offer will allow more of them to benefit from attending a school or college closer to home, if they choose.
The four proposed projects, developed with the schools and college involved, are:
- Extra post-16 places at Berkshire College of Agriculture – new accommodation to expand Foundation and Supported Intern Provision at their Burchett’s Green site, to support young people with disabilities into paid employment
- New facility at Churchmead School, Datchet (either a Resource Base or a SEN Unit) – for children with EHCPs, where the primary need is Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) but the child can, with support, attend a mainstream school
- New sixth form at Forest Bridge Special School, Maidenhead – to allow the school to offer post-16 places for young people with EHCPs, where ASC is the primary need
- A limited number of additional places at Manor Green Special School, Maidenhead – to allow more children and young people with complex, profound and multiple learning difficulties to be educated locally.
The public consultation runs until midday on Friday 26 April and further information is available in the consultation documents. Participants are asked whether they support each proposal, their preferred type of facility at Churchmead, and to suggest any additional options or ideas for further consideration by the council.
After the consultation, the schools and college involved, and the Royal Borough, will consider the responses. Each school or college will decide whether it wants to proceed, and then Cabinet will consider the proposals. The aim is to open the new facilities from September 2025, subject to planning permission.
Councillor Amy Tisi, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education, and Windsor, said: “We want to ensure all our children and young people can get the best possible start in life, so we’re pleased to work with our great local schools and colleges to provide further local facilities and options for pupils with special educational needs.
“We have a growing range of specialist facilities in our borough – two more Resource Bases are set to open this autumn – and we want to continue improving our capacity and choices to better meet local needs within our own borough, providing the opportunity for more children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans to attend a local school or college, closer to home.
“This is a public consultation on four potential projects to expand our offer locally, and we’d particularly like to hear from parents, schools, governors, young people themselves and relevant community organisations. Your views are vital so please take time to be part of this consultation.”
For further details and to take part, please visit our website, or use the public-access computers available at all local libraries, where staff are happy to help you get online if needed. If you require paper copies of the consultation documents, these are also available from libraries upon request.
Alternatively, please send comments by email to schoolplaces@achievingforchildren.org.uk or by post to SEND and AP Capital Strategy Consultation, School Places and Capital Team, Zone F, Town Hall, Maidenhead, SL6 1RF.