(UK) Notts: SPED expansion at elem school; 490 additional specialist school places by Sep 2026

Mar 17, 2026, Plans for new SEND classrooms move forward with £1.1m price tag | West Bridgford Wire [$1.5M]

Plans to create a new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) unit at a Nottinghamshire primary school are set to move forward after councillors were presented with updated cost estimates for the project. . . .

A report to Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management on 16 March 2026 outlines the latest projected cost of delivering the SEND unit at Samuel Barlow Primary Academy in Clipstone, ahead of a decision on whether to proceed to construction. . . .

The project forms part of the council’s wider SEND programme, which aims to expand and improve education provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across Nottinghamshire. The programme is linked to the SEND Place Planning Strategy for 2021–2026, approved in September 2021, which set out plans to create 490 additional specialist school places by September 2026. . . .

Funding for the project would come from the council’s special schools capital programme, supported by High Needs Provision Capital allocations from the Department for Education. Nottinghamshire has received £60.5 million [$81M] for SEND provision between 2021/22 and 2025/26, of which £42.5 million has already been committed or spent, leaving around £18 million available for this and future schemes. . . .