More school places for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are set to be created at primary, secondary and specialist education providers in Swindon.
The borough council has been awarded more than £3.4m in funding by the Department of Education to increase capacity in new places.
The funding is designed to improve existing education facilities for children and young people with SEND.
Next Wednesday - 12 February - as part of the Council’s Capital Programme for 2025/26, Cabinet Members will consider whether to use the funding to expand existing specialist provision and create new Complex Needs Units for both primary and secondary schools.
It is expected this will create up to 158 more new places for children and young people with SEND needs in the borough. To achieve this, accommodation at a number of school sites will be expanded and repurposed.
The council is working with multi-academy trusts and maintained schools to confirm which schools will be involved in the latest programme of work.
The funding is in addition to the £22.4m already being spent on extra SEND provision in Swindon. More than 60 young people with SEND are already benefiting from newly-created school places in three Swindon schools in the current academic year, including through the creation of a new campus based at UTC Swindon, which is run by Churchward School.
A specialist SEND nursery is set to open in Penhill later in the year, while the council continues to progress plans for a new special school which will provide additional places across all key stages from age four to 19.
As part of the funding, £100,000 will be spent supporting schools to provide accessible changing spaces to support the increase in the number of young people with a physical impairment attending mainstream settings.
Cllr Adorabelle Amaral-Shaikh, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “This additional Government funding will make a positive difference to children and young people in Swindon.
“Topping up the £22m that the Council is already investing into SEND education, this funding will help us create new places and improve local facilities.
"This will support our work which has already seen us open more than 60 new places including a campus for teenagers with SEND needs this academic year.
“We know how important it is that we have specialist provision across our local schools, and this funding will help the Council’s existing work to build a fairer Swindon by improving access to education for children and young people with SEND needs.”
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