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Special needs school hopes to meet 'massive need'

Pamela TickellNorth East and Cumbria
News imageNew Reflexions Six people stand on either side of a school sign and are smiling. The red sign, which is partially obscured by a person standing in front of it, reads: "Welcome to... Windebrowe School". The school building behind them is made of grey stone.New Reflexions
The school will eventually take 16 pupils

A school for young people with autism and learning disabilities will work towards meeting a "massive need" in an area, the company that will run it has said.

The Old Windebrowe School in Keswick, Cumbria, will eventually take 16 pupils for day and residential placements.

Service manager at residential care and education provider New Reflexions, Paul Bilby, said: "There's a massive need in Cumbria and we know a lot of companies have either closed their residential side or they've closed operations altogether."

Places will be open to children from across the country but Bilby said the company's preference initially would be to support the local community and Cumbrian children.

The school is currently taking applications for 10 day-school placements and awaiting an Ofsted inspection in order to open the residential side for six more pupils.

Places would be funded by the student's local authority, and all pupils need to have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or be in the process of assessment.

Bilby said: "We've got our full team in place, we've got a head teacher in place and we've got our teaching staff, learning support, therapy, teaching assistants.

"It's all ready to go really."

News imageLake District Calvert Trust An aerial view of a grey-brick building with a house on one side, which extends into a barn. The doors are painted red and it is surrounded by two stone walls. There are a few similar buildings, some are red and some are painted white, around it. Beyond there are the fields and trees of the countryside, with fells in the distance.Lake District Calvert Trust
The Grade II listed building was let out by The Lake District Calvert Trust on a "long-term" basis

The latest report by Cumberland Council said the number of children and young people with an EHCP "continues to rise year on year".

The Labour-led local authority found a need for as many as 100 extra specialist places in the area between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years to meet demand and reduce reliance on more expensive placements outside the authority area.

News imageNew Reflexions The corner of a room is illuminated by various lava lamps and a glowing cubes in assorted colours such as red, pink, white, blue and green. There is a dividing partial, made of individual sections of wood. The ceiling is sloped, as if the room is in an attic, with blinds drawn on what look like Velux windows. Because of the sloped ceiling the far wall isn't very high and is covered in green padding.New Reflexions
Work carried out on the building included the installation of sensory rooms

The Grade II listed building used to be a neuro-rehabilitation centre run by charity The Lake District Calvert Trust.

That service closed in August 2024 because of a lack of demand, but the charity said the lease with the new school would be a "long-term" partnership.

"We put a significant amount of investment in terms of making it into a school," Bilby said.

Work included a new playground and sensory rooms.

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