New £30m SEND school could open in 2028

1 day ago

Chris HarperLocal Democracy Reporting Service

The school would accommodate around 250 SEND pupils

Watson Batty Architects/LCC A CGI image of a school with wooden and green cladding with a path leading up to the front of the school — The school would accommodate around 250 SEND pupils

A new specialist school in Leicestershire could open as soon as 2028, council officials have said.

Leicestershire County Council announced plans to build a new £30m special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school on land in Husbands Bosworth, just off Kilworth Road, last week.

The authority said it hoped the site, which could cater for more than 250 children, would help provide "essential" placements for children.

Assistant director of education, inclusion and additional needs at Leicestershire County Council, Tim Browne, said the school would help address a "shortfall" in SEND places in Harborough.

Browne confirmed there are currently 415 children waiting for specialist school placements in Leicestershire, and the new school "would go a long way" to helping plug the gap.

Currently, many parents in south Leicestershire are forced to transport young people considerable distances to a suitable setting or access independent SEND providers or out-of-county provisions.

The school will feature dining halls, music studios and drama spaces

Watson Batty Architects/LCC A CGI image of the school car park with the building in the background — The school will feature dining halls, music studios and drama spaces

"We've got a rise in demand for special needs places that's national and that's also reflected locally," Browne said.

"It's very clear the Harborough district has a real shortfall so it's important we start looking at increasing capacity in that particular area."

He said the school "would absolutely pay for itself very quickly" despite the £30m price tag for taxpayers.

This is because independent specialist placements for SEND children cost Leicestershire County Council nearly £70,000 a year, whereas specialist schools maintained and run by the county council cost between £23,000 and £30,000, he said.

The school would include dining halls, music studios, drama spaces, and "ample" playing fields, including multi-use games areas and parking, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Browne said the council hopes to open the school by September 2028, which he admits is an "ambitious target".

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