(UK) Gloucester: $970,000 package to improve SPED amid "increasing demand"

July 2, 2022, Gloucester Forester: Forest school secures £170k for improvements https://www.theforester.co.uk/news/education/forest-school-secures-ps170k-for-improvements-553070

SW England

A SECONDARY school in the Forest is set to receive more than £170,000 to make general improvements as part of a million-pound investment in schools across Gloucestershire.

Dene Magna School in Mitcheldean is one of six schools in the county set to receive additional funding from Gloucestershire County Council this year.

A package of almost £1.5 million was approved by the council’s cabinet at a meeting last Wednesday (June 22).

The school and sixth form will receive a total of £172,000 to make general improvements and increase capacity.

The largest proportion of the £1.5 million fund will go towards improving the provision of special school places in the county, including £650,000 for a new 60-place school in Stroud and £150,000 for facilities at Bettridge Special School in Cheltenham.

Council leaders want to expand the provision of special school places amid increasing demand, which means children sometimes have go to schools out of the county or to independent schools when there aren’t places

Mitcheldean Councillor Philip Robinson, who is cabinet member for economy, education and skills at the council said: “Ongoing investment in our young people is hugely important.

“We remain committed to ensuring that all Gloucestershire children have access to a high-quality education, and I’m proud of the fact that we’ve invested, over the past few years, more than £100 million in the county’s schools.”