Latest news with #specialeducation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
New secondary school to open for SEND pupils
A new independently-run special school is set to open in York. The Inspire Academy, on Cornlands Road in Acomb, has been officially registered by the Department for Education, following a successful pre-registration inspection by Ofsted. The facility is due to open its doors for the upcoming autumn term to 40 pupils aged 11 to 16. In a statement headteacher Rickie Wilson said he was "thrilled" to open the school, which had been developed with a "commitment to creating a nurturing and ambitious environment for young people who need it most". A spokesperson said the school would serve children with "social, emotional and mental health and other special educational needs". They said the curriculum would be "ambitious, inclusive, and responsive to individual needs, preparing students for GCSE qualifications and life beyond school". The Ofsted inspection, which took place in June, praised the school's "broad and well-sequenced curriculum" and said it had "established the foundations of a strong culture of safeguarding". Inspectors confirmed that Inspire Academy was "likely to meet all the independent school standards when it opens." Each place will cost £20,000 in state funding. On the academy's website, it said referrals for admission would be decided by whether a child was on-roll at an Excel Learning Trust mainstream school, required respite to support their existing school place, or were at risk of permanent exclusion. Requests for places for pupils from other schools or directly from a local authority could also be made directly to the head of school. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More stories like this Free breakfasts improving attendance - school Private school to close after 125 years Related internet links Ofsted Inspire Academy
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
New secondary school for SEND pupils to open in York
A new independently-run special school is set to open in Inspire Academy, on Cornlands Road in Acomb, has been officially registered by the Department for Education, following a successful pre-registration inspection by facility is due to open its doors for the upcoming autumn term to 40 pupils aged 11 to a statement headteacher Rickie Wilson said he was "thrilled" to open the school, which had been developed with a "commitment to creating a nurturing and ambitious environment for young people who need it most". A spokesperson said the school would serve children with "social, emotional and mental health and other special educational needs".They said the curriculum would be "ambitious, inclusive, and responsive to individual needs, preparing students for GCSE qualifications and life beyond school".The Ofsted inspection, which took place in June, praised the school's "broad and well-sequenced curriculum" and said it had "established the foundations of a strong culture of safeguarding".Inspectors confirmed that Inspire Academy was "likely to meet all the independent school standards when it opens."Each place will cost £20,000 in state funding. On the academy's website, it said referrals for admission would be decided by whether a child was on-roll at an Excel Learning Trust mainstream school, required respite to support their existing school place, or were at risk of permanent for places for pupils from other schools or directly from a local authority could also be made directly to the head of school. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
New school for autistic children near Huddersfield gets go-ahead
Plans have been approved for a new purpose-built school for up to 180 autistic School and College, which is currently based at Dog Kennel Bank in Huddersfield, will relocate to a site in Fernside Avenue, facility would offer an improved environment designed to better support pupils aged five to 19 and enable access to specialist education locally, Kirklees Council Jane Rylah, cabinet member for education, said: "The new school will provide a tailored environment where pupils can thrive and reach their full potential." Work began in May to clear the site, with construction preparations now under said securing planning permission for the project had been "a significant milestone"."Woodley School delivers excellent education and support, and this new purpose-built facility will allow us to extend that offer to even more children and young people," she said."I'm looking forward to seeing the build progress and the positive impact this investment will bring to families across Kirklees."The investment is part of Kirklees Council's wider commitment to transforming support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Alongside Woodley, work is under way to rebuild and relocate Joseph Norton Academy, which supports pupils with social, emotional and mental health SEND places are being created across other schools in the district. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Twelve Somerset Schools are to run units for children with SEND
Twelve units for special education needs children are planned for mainstream schools in Somerset - with the first six opening in the next academic move is tipped to save the cash-strapped local authority £17m over the next five years. Councillor Heather Shearer, Somerset Council's lead member for Children, Families and Education, said the change will allow children to learn in their communities, with their friends, without travelling long distances to be said: "We have a number of children who don't have appropriate places to be going to, and we need to make sure, we have as many places as the children need." The first six areas to get a SEN unit will be schools in Taunton, Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Watchet, Crewkerne and one will have around six to eight young people in a class with a social, emotional or mental health need. It will also support children who have a neurological, speech or language Shearer said the ability of the teacher will be the same as one working in a special school and teaching assistants will also provide support. New staff will receive training, and an induction programme and support structures are being put into place, drawing on expertise from local special schools and specialists."The approach is right," Ms Shearer said. "We want to get it in place as quickly as possible, so people can benefit from it, but the care has to go into the choice of the children and also the teachers." The roll out of special units will also ensure more children have access to specialist provision. Ms Shearer said that a number of children do not have appropriate is partly because in the past four years there has been a 124 percent increase in the number of young people in Somerset who need an Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP).This entitles them to specialist provision. But Somerset Council's state-maintained special schools are full, and the local authority does not have the regulatory powers or the money to open new ones. In the past year more than 500 children and young people with ECHPs in Somerset have been educated in independent settings, which are much more expensive than state-maintained a council paper in March, officers said the financial pressure on the local authority to deliver special provision was "one of the contributory factors behind its decision to declare a financial emergency".But Ms Shearer denied that the primary reason for introducing the change was financial. She said: "Getting children into the right provision closer to home will be cheaper, but the best thing is that it will be better for them. They don't then get stuck in a school miles and miles away from home, possibly not with their friends." She added there is also a real benefit for everyone if a child's special educational needs are identified and supported early on. Ruth Hobbs, the CEO of the Somerset Parent Carer Forum, said she is supportive of the plans to have SEN units in mainstream said: "I think if we get the right children into the settings, it will work really well for them and their families."It's about identifying the right children now to make sure that their needs are being met within those settings and ensuring that those settings are inclusive - not just the actual setting being a specialist setting, but also the wider community in a school." Brookside Academy - a mainstream school in Street - already has specialist provision and operates in a similar way to the model being rolled Brian Walton said: "My staff are as trained as special schools. I think our building is no different in lots of ways, but there may be some very bespoke provisions that we don't have." But he said he also has the benefit of mainstream teachers that can teach the curriculum to a very high level. "It's just as good for my mainstream children, that they are working alongside other children that have challenges in life. Actually that's better for society as a whole," he said. Somerset Council said 12 schools in the county will get a SEN unit in the next academic studies are also under way for another 12 which include schools in these areas: Minehead, Yeovil, Wincanton, Bruton, Cheddar, Wellington, Ilminster and Frome.
ABC News
21-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Queensland's building six new special schools, but there's debate on whether they're needed
Jasmin Fawcett Clarke felt heartbroken sending her son to a school she believed didn't want him there. Thorn, who was diagnosed with autism at seven years old, spent more time suspended than in the classroom. Whenever Ms Fawcett Clarke's phone rang, a wave of anxiety would hit. Emergency services would often be called to the mainstream school when Thorn became distressed. The mum of three said it was a "pretty dark" time for the family. She felt pressured to enrol him into a "special school" for students with a disability. It would mean Thorn would not be at his local state school with his sister. "Even financially, to be able to go to two different schools, it just wouldn't have worked," she said. During this time Thorn asked his mum, "Why is my brain bad?". But it all changed last year when a new teacher at his school started making small adjustments in the classroom. "It's just phenomenal to be able to just send him to school and know that, even if it's a bad day, the police aren't going to get called," Ms Fawcett Clarke said. However, the fate for other students with a disability has Ms Fawcett Clarke worried. The disability royal commissioners were split on the issue of special schools in their final report handed down in 2023. Since then, state governments have announced plans to spend more money than ever on special education. Queensland's government last month said it would build six new special schools. Kathy Cologon from All Means All, a nationwide multi-stakeholder alliance for inclusive education, said there had been a movement towards more segregated settings across Australia. She said there were also new special units and classes being set up within mainstream schools. "It is very disappointing, and extremely concerning, that we are seeing this trend towards segregation," Dr Cologon, an associate professor at Charles Sturt University, said. She said the split view of the disability royal commissioners had "legitimised having opinions" on special schools. "It is important to note that there was no recommendation from the royal commission suggesting that we needed more segregated settings,' Dr Cologon said. All six commissioners of the disability royal commission agreed the current system couldn't remain, and that segregation in the schooling of students with disability should end. Half of the commissioners recommended phasing out special schools by 2051. The three other commissioners did not agree — instead, they suggested a stronger relationship be formed between mainstream and special schools. The Queensland government announced the state's largest ever investment in special schools in history as part of its $21.9 billion education budget for 2025-26. Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said there had been a "clear demand for the schools". He said the six new schools were set to be built in areas "they're needed the most", in the state's south-east, and would bring a combined enrolment potential of 800 students. "We needed to make sure that we have adequate planning and access for parents who have their students that need to go to special schools," he said. Mr Langbroek said the government's response to the recommendations made by the disability royal commission had not changed. He said the government "certainly" wasn't going to close special schools. Queensland Association of Special Education Leaders president, Andrew Thompson, said the new schools would help ease enrolment pressures. He said some schools had seen their enrolments almost double in the last five years. Mr Thompson, who has worked in the sector for more than three decades, said he had many parents at his previous school who were very concerned that special schools would close. The former special school principal said the royal commission's split decision on special schools was the best outcome and believed it was an "indication of where society sits". "Clearly, special schools are here to stay," he said. "I've worked [with] some very, very complex kids over the years, and I struggle to imagine how they would be accommodated in the mainstream classroom," he said. Australian Association of Special Education's vice president Sally Howell said the organisation viewed special education as a "teaching practice and a process, not as a location". "Regardless of where children are going to school, their teachers need to have access to highly skilled special education people," Dr Howell, a former special school principal, said. She said the "student always has to come at the centre of any decision". "Some students do have incredibly complex needs, and sometimes a special school environment actually is the right environment for a student," she said. Dr Howell advised that any placement in a special school should have ongoing review and evaluation to ensure it is "student-centred". Ms Fawcett Clarke said she would like to see the state government invest the money into existing schools. She said the "proof is in the pudding" with her son. "This is just a child who's different, who has a disability, who just needs a little bit more support," the devoted mum said.
