Special needs school plan for former offices

A former government office building on the edge of a city could be turned into a school for pupils with special education needs and disabilities (Send).

Plans to transform The Barns at Clerkenleap Farm, off Bath Road, Worcester into a school for 25 students have been put forward.

Access Educational Provision (AEP), which has submitted plans to Malvern Hills District Council, said the proposals would be for pupils aged between five and 16 and be called Altura School.

The offices, previously used by the DVLA and more recently by private firm Cargill, are next to a housing development which is being built at the moment.

A spokesperson for AEP said they were aware there was currently a lack of school places for children with EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plans) in Worcestershire.

The education provider, which already runs a learning centre in the county in Droitwich, stated it "provides creative learning solutions to children in key stages 1-4".

No external alterations were needed to change the building's use but some work would be needed inside, they added.

It comes as Worcestershire County Council is working on plans to open a 120-place special free school in Malvern for pupils with autism.

In January it was revealed that the Department for Education, which is funding that school, had offered the council £5.7m to axe the project and increase the number of Send places in mainstream schools instead.

But education bosses said they still want to build the school, although the planned opening date of September 2027 could be pushed back by a year or two.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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