(UK) Brent: Council plans for 212 additional SPED places; predicted shortfall of over 300 by Sept.

Mar 17, 2026, Plan to expand Wembley special school to create 50 places for children with autism - Harrow Online

Brent Council has tabled plans to expand an existing special needs school to an additional site as it seeks to address the borough’s shortage of placements for children with autism and learning difficulties.

The local authority, alongside the school’s governing body, has started a consultation proposing to expand Phoenix Arch special school in Wembley on to the Strathcona site – previously used for primary school provision – to create “much needed additional placements” in Brent.

The ‘satellite school’ would provide an extra 50 special needs places on the currently unused site, which the council has said will represent “excellent value for money” as it would require less money and time to create than an entirely new school – which could take many years and further delay children already waiting for a place.

There is currently a shortage of special school placements for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and learning difficulties, meaning some “are waiting too long” for a place in Brent or having to travel long distances out of borough to attend school – often at considerable cost.

Phoenix Arch – a local authority maintained special school – has a current roll of 55 pupils, all of whom have ASC as well as some who also have learning difficulties. The proposal is to call the satellite site Phoenix Arch Strathcona, with a projected opening date of September 2027. . . .

The estimated cost of creating the new site is £1m [$1.3M], which would be covered by grant funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to enable local authorities to create more special school spaces. . . .

Sending pupils to out-of-borough and independent placements currently costs the council £17.5m [$23M] a year – plus an additional £6m [$8M] in transport costs. It is hoped that, by increasing the amount of in-borough provision, the council can make significant financial savings over the long term.

Despite the plan for 212 additional places, council projections suggest this will still not keep pace with levels of demand anticipated, with a predicted shortfall of over 300 primary and secondary special school places in 2026/27. . . .