Jan 21, 2025, Birmingham Live: New 150 place special school for Solihull children takes 'important' next step
Midlands
A new 150 place special school has taken a step closer to becoming a reality following a meeting of senior councillors. As the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported last year the Department of Education (DofE) announced the Midlands would be seeing four new special education needs schools open - with Solihull one of the places selected after a successful application.
The authority’s selected location for the school was Sans Souci Training Centre in Tamworth Lane, Shirley, currently used as a small training centre. The school will provide specialist spaces for pupils aged 11-19 whose needs cannot be met in mainstream education.
The cost of the school will be £15 million [$19M] paid for by the DofE. In a report to Solihull Cabinet officers wrote: “Current pupil forecasting anticipates a significant increase in the need for specialist places by 2031, including demand for specialist post-16 places in 2027.
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“The proposed development of this special free school will reduce out of area placements and contribute to making the right places available at the right time to meet need.” At the cabinet meeting on Thursday, (January 16), councillors considered whether to approve granting a 125 year lease to the Secretary of State for Education to be used for the school. . . .
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