AN EARLEY school could soon gain a special educational needs centre if councillors approve the proposals.
It would be in Maiden Erlegh School, off Silverdale Road, and forms part of Wokingham Borough Council’s efforts to increase SEND provision.
Documents submitted to its planning committee say there is a “pressing and established need for a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school to serve both Wokingham and Reading borough residents”.
Under the plans, it would provide spaces for 25 children with autism and social, emotional and mental health needs by September 2025.
Specialist facilities would include a therapy room, a sensory room, a dedicated resource space and specialist classrooms.
These will be housed in the former Silverdale Community Centre, which will be refurbished.
Rising costs and an increase in the number of children needing SEND services have not been covered by schools funding from the government. This has led to a deficit of almost £10 million in the council’s schools budget, and the award of an additional £8 million “safety valve” grant from the government earlier this year.
In return for the grant, Wokingham Borough Council agreed to improve its SEND school services. It hopes the new centre will help it do this, while also cutting the costs of currently having to send children to specialist schools that are outside the borough or run privately.
The council says the new centre is vital for ensuring that it can cope with rising demand on its services. An officer from its children’s services department said the new space would be “critical” to delivering specialist facilities.
“Due to the significant increase in SEND population seen in recent years there is not enough specialist local provision to meet need,” the officer noted. “The number of SEND pupils is projected to continue to grow significantly and action needs to be taken to ensure that appropriate provision is available locally.”
They added that building the new centre would benefit children as they wouldn’t have to travel long distances, and would improve autism awareness for the whole school.
Wokingham Borough Council’s planning committee was set to consider the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday, September 13.
