(UK) Essex: Special school for 150 to be built in 2 locations
- The end of childhood
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
Oct 3, 2025, Essex Live: New Essex special needs school will be built in 500-home housing development
SE England
The school will have places for 150 children with special needs and will be split across two locations
A 'much-needed' new special needs school will be built as part of the plans for a large new housing estate in Essex. Construction work to build 500 new homes at the Wolsey Park development in Rayleigh has already begun and will now include a two-storey school off Andrewes Way, following planning approval from Essex County Council earlier this week.
. . The new school will provide 150 places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and will be split between two locations, the site to be built in Rayleigh and the former Chetwood Primary School site in South Woodham Ferrers.
Councillors and the local MP have welcomed the new school, saying it will be highly beneficial for both Rayleigh and Essex. Mike Steptoe, Conservative councillor at both Rochford District Council and Essex County Council, said: “It’s a very positive step forward for both Essex and Rochford Council areas to meet the special needs requirements in education for the local people. I think it will have a very far and wide-reaching impact for the residents of Rochford and the wider area.”
Rochford leader, Danielle Belton said: “I know this will come as great news to so many families right across the District, my thanks to Mark Francois and Cllr Tony Ball for their efforts in making sure this much-needed facility came to fruition for our community.”
Mark Francois, Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, launched a campaign in July 2023 for a special needs school in Rochford. He added: “I am delighted the subsequent plans were approved by Essex County Council’s Planning Committee. This will be a brand new, world-class SEN school for 150 pupils, now due to open in the spring of 2027, from which I hope many of my young constituents and their parents will really benefit in years to come.”
The decision follows significant difficulties in SEND provision by Essex County Council, which has not met the targets for assessing children for special needs, with Essex having the worst backlog of all councils in England last year.
A child must be assessed as part of the first steps to getting additional support and funding. Data revealed earlier this year showed that approximately only 1 in 4 applications to Essex County Council in March were being completed within the 20-week deadline.
Comments