MANGOTSFIELD School is one of three in South Gloucestershire which will have new facilities for teaching children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The new ‘resource base’ at the school on Rodway Hill will have 20 places as part of a £4.725 million project to improve SEND provision at mainstream schools, in the face of a national crisis where demand for support far outweighs provision and funding.
Resource bases are facilities in schools where children can receive extra support from specialist staff, while still being able to learn with other pupils in the wider school.
The idea is to give children specialist facilities in their local area, without them having to travel long distances to receive the support they need.
The new places will be to support children with social, emotional and mental health needs, with moderate learning difficulties or speech language and communication needs.
As well as the 20-place facility at Mangotsfield School there will be two new 10-place facilities at Coniston Primary School in Patchway and Tyndale Primary School in Yate.
South Gloucestershire Council’s coalition cabinet agreed in December to add the projects to its capital programme, with the funding provided by the government as part of a school improvement programme.
The council announced in October’s budget consultation that it needed to improve SEND facilities in mainstream schools for pupils with less complex needs to tackle “rapid increases” in costs to transport children to specialist schools.
Council cabinet member for schools Ian Boulton said: “All our children deserve the opportunity to be able to go to a good local school that meets their needs.
“These investments will help more families be able to choose their local school with confidence, knowing that the specialist help their children need is available locally, meaning they can learn and grow with their friends and neighbours.
“We know that pupils who need extra help really benefit from accessing resource bases, where they can have more individually tailored, specialist help, including learning in smaller groups and specialist resources and services.
“The specialist staff who work in resource bases also help support the wider schools they are part of, improving outcomes for SEN pupils across the school.”
The council aims to have the new places available for children to use from the 2027/28 academic year, following consultations with local communities to give families a chance to comment on the plans.
The government is due to set out reforms for SEND support in the New Year, after a report by the House of Commons Education Committee in September called for a “root and branch transformation” of the way mainstream education caters for children with special needs.
It said: “SEND must become an intrinsic part of the mainstream education system, rather than an addition to it.”
Minister’s school visit: Page 24