(UK) Cheltenham: Plans submitted for 200 place "complex learning difficulties" school
- The end of childhood
- Dec 8
- 2 min read
Dec 5, 2025, Punchline: Plans submitted for much-needed school
Plans for a new special school in Cheltenham have been submitted for approval.
Gloucestershire County Council wants to build a new 200-place Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) school for children with complex learning difficulties (CLD) aged 4 to 16 on land at Arle Road.
The county council-owned land is the former St Benedict's School playing field. It hasn't been maintained or used as a playing field since the school relocated and merged with Kingsmead School to become All Saints Academy in 2011.
The Planning statement by Evans Jones prepared for the county council and Kier Construction to support the planning application said: "The proposed school is needed to meet the urgent and growing demand for special school places in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. The site is suitably located to meet local demand and is readily accessible by sustainable travel modes.
"The proposal directly responds to a significant unmet local need, reducing the reliance on out-of-county placements and associated unsustainable travel." . . .
Of the 7,111 children and young people in Gloucestershire with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), 30% have needs that can't be met in mainstream education. These children are placed at special schools and colleges in and outside the county.
A considerable proportion of the children who need a SEND school live in and around Cheltenham and Gloucester. A new 200-place special school is currently under construction in Gloucester, and this proposed new school will help to address the demand in and around Cheltenham.
The Planning Statement continued: "With insufficient numbers of special school places in the county for their needs to be met, some children have to travel to special schools out of county, or go to higher cost independent schools, often some distance from home.
"The lack of sufficiency of local provision is currently resulting in unsustainable travel for pupils, thus increasing home to school transport costs through longer journey times, as children are driven out of county to meet their schooling needs."
The council aims for the school to open during the academic year 2027/ 28. While pupils will range from Reception through to Key Stage 4/ year 11, classes would be arranged by need rather than strict age criteria.
All pupils at the school will need additional learning support and will typically be taught in classes of 10 to 12, with two adults supporting them.
It is anticipated that there would be 70 staff on site all day - 25 teachers, 40 teaching assistants and five administrators - and an additional 35 staff working for part of the day, including catering and cleaning staff. . . .
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