School site 'oven ready' for Send provision says MP

More than £6m of funding has been allocated to open a new special educational needs school (Send) on the former SET free school site in Saxmundham.

The MP for Suffolk coastal Jenny Riddell-Carpenter says she is "delighted" the government has approved the money to provide a 120-place special school.

She added the site is "oven ready" as the trust which ran the previous free school had only recently added Send facilities.

Suffolk County Council said it was "grateful" to ministers for agreeing the £6.3m funds, but it was unlikely that would cover the full cost of the new school.

The authority said it must weigh up its options as it would need to meet any shortfall.

Last summer Ms Riddell-Carpenter released a report recommending new Send provision on the school site.

The Suffolk Coastal MP said it was now up to the county council to decide whether to go ahead with the project or use the money for other higher needs within the county.

She said the school, which closed 18 months ago, had previously spent £1.4m on a brand new Send unit.

"The facilities there are really good," she said. "It's oven ready, and it should be one of the best sites in Suffolk to get going."

Her predecessor Baroness Therese Coffey, who as MP also campaigned for the proposal, posted on X about her 'relief' that the government had confirmed its support.

She said: "Over to Unity School Partnership to crack on and get this much needed provision in place."

The funding follows a separate £3bn nationwide package to provide an extra 50,000 SEN places in mainstream schools.

The county council said it had until the end of February to review the government's proposal and weigh up how it fits with the "wider needs of Send children across the county".

"Ensuring we have the right number of specialist places for children and young people with Send is a priority for us and we are grateful that the Government has finally agreed its contribution to provide additional places," a spokesperson said.

"Of course, we must be mindful of the fact that a new school of 120 places will cost well in excess of £6m and Suffolk County Council will need to cover the funding shortfall."

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