Plans approved for new £30m special needs school

Plans to build a new £30m special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school have been approved.

Leicestershire County Council was given permission on Tuesday to build a 252-space school on land off Kilworth Road near Husbands Bosworth in the Harborough District.

The district is the only one is the county without SEND "specialist provision", the authority said.

It also said the new school would reduce its "current reliance on independent providers" and help address a "significant shortfall in SEND provision across the county".

Charles Pugsley, cabinet member for children and families, said the announcement of the new school was "absolutely fantastic news".

He said: "There is a great and ever-growing need for specialist school places in Leicestershire.

"We know that specialist places are not always immediately available for every child or young person who need them, so this news is very welcome.

"A purpose-built school where it's most needed is a great start to our work in improving access to specialist support.

"There's still more work we have planned, but this will be a huge leap forward for Harborough."

Alongside the two-storey school building, the development also includes an external play space, a football pitch and multi-use games area, planning documents said.

Work on the school is hoped to be completed in 2028, the council added.

Families had gathered outside the council's offices earlier in October to call for more specialist school places and better support, and to say that the current system is failing their children.

They told of experiences of children being out of school for months, struggling to access support and waiting for specialist placements.

Protest organiser Sharan Rodrigues said she took to social media after realising her family's experience "wasn't an isolated case".

Reacting to the news, she said: "I think it is fantastic that we have got an additional school that is opening.

"The question to me is what about the children that won't get the placement there?

"My position would still remain the same that Leicestershire County Council is still failing these vulnerable children.

"I feel like they are pushing the narrative for this new specialist provision. I appreciate that it's a great step, we do need more specialist schools, but what happens in the interim?

"The council still has a legal obligation to the children that aren't in school, it still doesn't solve the problem that many parents are in."

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