Selworthy School could expand to new site

Selworthy School could expand to new site

Selworthy School in Taunton could expand into the former St Augustine’s site to increase its capacity after a proposal was made.

The expansion will enable the school to meet growing demand for places and support the strategic aim of ensuring children with SEND can be educated in their local community.

A previous Free School Bid to deliver the required future capacity was unsuccessful with one of the reasons being that there was insufficient evidence to justify a ‘new school’. As a result, the principle of ‘Free School Presumption’ is not valid in this case and the Local Authority is proposing to pursue an expansion model.

The proposal for Selworthy School is to expand the school but will it will continue to focus its expertise on the following elements of SEND:

• Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) • Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) • Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) • Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Once the expansion is complete, the school will be able to accommodate 150 children, Boys & girls Aged 4 – 19 which means a much needed increase of around 70 places.

It will accommodate pupils in years 7-11 and the Post16 cohort, leaving primary-phase pupils at the old site.

There will be significant integration of staff and pupils between the two sites and their proximity supports this. The changes will not immediately impact on the placements of children currently attending the school, but once the expansion is complete, pupils in years 7-11 and Post-16 provision will move to the new site.

Pupils of primary school age will continue to access the existing site.

Project Costs for the expansion of Selworthy School has been costed at £9m and the expansion could be delivered in time for September 2019.

Image courtesy of Google

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