MK Council to expand provision for young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Following consultation with families, schools and professionals, Milton Keynes Council has developed plans to expand the number of local school places and support available for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

An eight-week consultation ran from February this year, receiving around 200 responses. Now, proposals are being considered to construct a new specialist teaching unit at St Paul’s Catholic School, plus to expand secondary provision for pupils with SEND at Shenley Road in Bletchley.  These two projects would boost the number of specialist school places in MK by up to 48.

Further proposals include the development of 210 new school places for children with Complex Needs and Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and working with an existing MK Special School to provide ‘satellite provision’ for up to 28 pupils. This would mean pupils could stay in Milton Keynes’s Specialist Provision whilst having access to extra support in a smaller environment.

A decision to confirm the SEND proposals is set for 19 July.

“We will continue to work closely with local parents and carers to understand and support the needs of local children. We already have six excellent special schools in Milton Keynes but as the city continues to grow, we expect higher demand for these places. Our latest package of investment and development in SEND provision will enable us to offer additional avenues of specialist local support for young people with additional needs.”- Cllr Zoe Nolan, Cabinet Member for Children and Families

The latest proposals follow a decision taken last month to expand Stephenson Academy, an existing special school in Stantonbury with four new classrooms plus intervention and therapy spaces to help 32 pupils.