Skip to content

Anger over scrapped plan for new SEND school

Tom EdwardsHereford & Worcester political reporter
News imageBBC A man wearing a grey suit with a blue shirt, and a blue and red tie - stood behind a modern office building.BBC
Councillor Jonathan Lester has called it "the wrong decision"

Plans to fund a new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have been scrapped by the government, a move described as "extremely disappointing" by a council leader.

The school would have catered for 80 pupils aged between two and 16 in a multi-million-pound project.

But the project has now been taken off the table, with the Department for Education saying it wants to divert funding towards SEND provision in mainstream schools instead.

Herefordshire County Council leader Jonathan Lester said: "They have pulled the plug and done a U-turn, despite the fact it was so badly needed."

The plans for the new school were first revealed in 2024 after the government pledged to fund its build.

Since that time, the council had been working on potential locations.

News imageDave Thompson/PA Wire A school classroom, showing a several small children wearing wed jumpers, putting their hands in the air, looking at a teacher who is pointing to a projector screen behind her.Dave Thompson/PA Wire
The government wants to improve mainstream schools' offer to SEND pupils instead of funding new-build sites.

"It was extremely disappointing to hear they'd reversed the decision - there was absolutely a need for this school," Lester said.

"All our special schools are over-subscribed by 100%, or they're over-capacity - the demand is there, it's increasing, and we need more of these sites."

About 1,700 children across Herefordshire are currently on an education, health and care plan - a legal document which entitles them to specialist support. The figure is due to rise to 2,200 by 2029.

Some pupils are sent outside the county to get an education, with Lester saying it would have been "much more sustainable" to have built a new school.

"We've got a legal and a moral responsibility to help these children - the best way to have eased some of those pressures was to get this new school, which is why we are so disappointed," he said.

The government plans to invest £3bn over the next three years into creating 50,000 more places in mainstream schools in England to cater for children with special educational needs.

The government says it is offering councils a choice around the next steps - including creating specialist SEND units, expanding existing specialist settings, or building "other adaptions" as an alternative.

Ministers maintain it will prove more cost effective and help children more quickly, compared to building new schools.

A sum of £3.8m has been awarded to Herefordshire, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson saying the investment would allow councils to lay the groundwork for the SEND reforms announced in the schools White Paper early next year.

The White Paper had been due to be published in the autumn, but was delayed.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.