(UK) Maidenhead: School for "expected rise in children with these needs"

April 26, 2025, Maidenhead Advertiser: Planning round up: Historic Braywick House to become special needs school 

S. England

Approved: A new SEND school has been given permission to set up in the historic Braywick House, a Grade II listed mansion house, originally dating to 1675.

The building has been empty 'for a number of years', councillors acknowledged at the latest Maidenhead Development Management Committee - and this will be a 'fantastic' use for it, they felt.

The plan is to turn it into a SEND facility with a range of therapy and activity spaces, run by Polaris, a children’s care organisation with 19 companies and multiple schools.

It supports children and young people with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties, and communication and interaction, cognition, and learning needs. . . .

The council's planning team identified that 'there is a need to supply additional [SEND] support within the borough,' given the expected rise in the number of children with these needs.. . .

The children’s home will provide care for vulnerable children up to 16 years of age, for a maximum of three children in the main house and one child in the annexe.

There will be two staff members on shift sleeping in, one staff member on a day shift pattern, one waking night staff member and one admin staff member. Therefore, the maximum number of staff members on-site at any one time would be five during shift changes.

The annexe would be used to provide self-contained respite accommodation to be occupied by one child and one adult.

Sleeping in staff will be on shift for 24 hours starting at 11am to 11pm. Waking night staff are on shift 9.30pm to 7.30am and day shift will be 8am to 8pm or 10am to 10pm. . . .