Plans for 152-place Send school are scrapped

An MP has hit out at a decision to cancel plans for a specialist school, warning that vulnerable pupils could lose vital support.

The scrapped project - which a councillor said would have cost £18m - would have created 152 places in Buckinghamshire, but was replaced with £8m of alternative funding over three years.

Mid Buckinghamshire MP Greg Smith said the decision was deeply unfair to children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) at a time when demand was rising and county budgets were under strain.

The government said the funding switch would speed up delivery and help councils act more quickly.

The Conservative MP said it was vital that the county got the special schools and places it needed.

Responding to his question in parliament, the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said councils were offered a choice to keep free school plans or take alternative capital to create the same number of specialist places faster.

She said that children with Send should be able to attend "a great local school with their friends" rather than travelling long distances by taxi.

She added that some cancelled schemes lacked an academy trust and would not have opened for some time.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), local leaders called the decision "hugely disappointing", warning that £8m would not match the cost of creating the same number of places through expanding existing school sites.

The leader of Buckinghamshire Council, Conservative Steven Broadbent, called the proposed funding a "sticking plaster" and warned the situation would have an adverse impact on residents.

The county is also dealing with a £27m gap in the funding it uses to support children with special educational needs.

The Buckinghamshire Send Education Sufficiency Strategy recorded 4,910 pupils with educational health and care plans in January 2021. This was forecast to increase to more than 6,000 by 2026.

Pressure is strongest in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, where population growth is on the rise with planned new homes set to add to demand by 2033.

Buckinghamshire Council's cabinet member for education and children's services, councillor Carl Jackson, said the decision was at odds with rising need.

He said: "Like most areas across the country, Buckinghamshire is experiencing a significant increase in demand for special schools, more children and young people presenting with more complex needs.

"There are two problems with that; first that it is according to the department for education's own figures, providing that many extra places by expanding existing schools would cost about £18m.

"Whereas they're offering eight, so there's a £10m shortfall in the government's plans - according to the government's own figures," he added.

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