Extra special educational needs places in Waterlooville and Hampshire schools approved

Hampshire County Council has approved the extra places for children with special educational needs (SEN) at three schools in Waterlooville, Winchester and Farnborough.

Like many other local authorities in the country, Hampshire County Council said it continues to face rising demand for special educational needs provision. Currently, the county council has 16,500 educational health care plans for children with SEN demands across the county. By 2030/31, Hampshire is forecast to have around 28,000 pupils with an plan if unmitigated.

In the last academic year, the authority received 225 requests for plans between September and February. It said November 2023 saw the highest number of requests, with 104. In line with Hampshire’s SEND Strategy for 2023-2027, Cllr Steve Forster, the executive member for education, has approved the expansion of SEN provision at Riverside Community Special School in Waterlooville, Shepherds Down School near Winchester, and Samuel Cody School in Farnborough. The investment of £13.5 million is conditional on planning permission.

In this term, by using spare rooms at Mill Hill Primary School in Mill Road, Riverside Community Special School, based a mile away in Scratchface Lane, will be able to support 12 children with severe learning difficulties, taking the school’s total number of children from 137 to 149 from April/May 2024. For this project, £410,000 has been allocated. Public notices will also be published for this proposal.