(UK) Calderdale: $27M special school for 200; "not enough school places in Calderdale"
A trust has now been appointed to run a new free school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Calderdale, expected to open in academic year 2028-29.
South Yorkshire based Nexus Multi Academy Trust will run the new school on the former Threeways site at Ovenden in north Halifax – formerly Ovenden Secondary and then The Ridings School, and more recently housing community organisations before health and safety issues saw Calderdale Council close the site.
The previous Labour administration had earmarked around £20 million [$27M] for a 200-place special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school for primary and secondary age pupils and in July the council’s new Reform UK administration committed to delivering the new school.
The council ‘s view is that like other areas across the country, there are not enough school places in Calderdale for children and young people with special educational needs. . . .
The council and the Government’s Department for Education approved the development of the new specialist free school to ensure more young people can learn closer to home. . . .
“The new school will build on and work alongside the great specialist provision already available in Calderdale and will be part of the outreach support for special education needs in mainstream schools.
“We look forward to working with Nexus and other schools across the borough to continue to help young people thrive,” he said.
Warren Carratt, who is Chief Executive Officer of Nexus Multi Academy Trust said they were “very proud and grateful” to have been appointed.
“Our Trust has a strong track record of co-producing great specialist educational provision, and this will be the fifth new special school that we’ve opened in the last decade.
“We look forward to working with the excellent providers already working in Calderdale, with children and families and with the local authority as we bring this new school to life,” he said.
The next steps are for the council and Nexus to work together to design the new school’s learning and outdoor spaces, and to consult with local schools, families and the community in 2027, said the council. . . .
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