A NEW primary and secondary school will be built in Winnersh for students with complex needs in Wokingham and Reading.
The Department for Education has approved Oak Tree School, a 150 student SEND school for those with social, emotional and mental health and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses.
Maiden Erlegh Trust will run the new school, which will be built on Winnersh Farm, just off the Reading Road. It is hoped the school will open in September 2022, with places available from Year 1 to Year 13.
The project has been a partnership between Brighter Futures for Children, Reading Borough Council and Wokingham Borough Council and will serve families in the local area.
And plans for the new school are being worked on, with design details to be published later in the year.
Mary Davies, CEO of Maiden Erlegh Trust, said: “This project is extremely exciting and one that we know is much needed in the local area. We are delighted to be working with so many talented people on developing this school.
“All those involved with the school will embrace the potential of the pupils, nurture their talents and aspirations and help them thrive. We will support pupils to achieve their very best, move on to meaningful destinations and to take their places in the wider community as happy, confident and independent young adults.”
Chair of Maiden Erlegh Trust, Nick Jones added: “We understand that taking on such a project is both a privilege and a responsibility and we are immensely proud to be given this great opportunity to develop a high-quality free school to provide very valuable and much needed additional places for children with SEND.”
Prof Dr Kate Reynolds, director of education at Brighter Futures for Children, said: “We are delighted that plans for the new SEND free school are moving forward and would like to congratulate the Maiden Erlegh Trust on their successful bid to run the school.
“We look forward to working with them and Wokingham Borough Council on progressing this exciting project.
“Maiden Erlegh Trust already runs a number of schools in the area and has recently taken over the Hamilton School, previously known as Phoenix College, an SEMH special school in Reading.
“This new free school will provide 150 much-needed places for Reading and Wokingham children with SEND and is part of Brighter Futures for Children’s strategy to meet the increasing demand for SEND places in the town.”
Cllr UllaKarin Clark, Wokingham’s executive member for children’s services said: “This is such a wonderful opportunity for Wokingham children with social, emotional and mental health and/or an autism spectrum disorder to have state of the art specialized facilities close to home.
“We are pleased to continue to work with Maiden Erlegh Trust, who already run several schools within Wokingham borough, and are very happy to have been part of the partnership that has resulted in this excellent opportunity for Wokingham borough children with special educational needs and disabilities to stay within the borough for their schooling.
“We know that keeping children as close to home as possible has a beneficial impact on their learning and development, so having this new school in the borough is excellent news for us.”
Cllr Ashley Pearce, Reading’s lead councillor for education, said: “The Maiden Erlegh Trust has a proven track record of running schools in Reading and working well with education authorities.
“The number of children with SEND has increased significantly in Reading in recent years and similar patterns of growth have been seen in neighbouring authorities.
“I welcome the progress of this new special free school which will result in more Reading children receiving the specialist education they need closer to home.”
For more information, visit: www.maidenerleghtrust.org
