(UK) Somerset: 15 schools to get special needs units

Mar 26, 2025, Somerset Live: New special needs units coming to 15 Somerset schools

They could be operational from September

SW England

Somerset school pupils with special needs will soon benefit from new facilities being rolled out at 15 sites across the county. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are usually educated in one of two contexts: either at specialist schools constructed by Somerset Council, or within mainstream schools in line with agreed education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

The council has faced numerous challenges on this front in recent years, with existing specialist schools operating at full capacity and the number of young people with EHCPs rising. These issues have led to higher transport costs to the council from transporting SEND children to specialist providers further afield, and to numerous complaints made by parents to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) when EHCPs are not reviewed in a timely fashion.

To address these problems, the council has announced that 15 new SEND pupil units will be created within existing schools, allowing more SEND children to have a normal education. Council leader Bill Revans teased the announcement while addressing the housing,

communities and local government committee within the Houses of Parliament on March 11.

He said: "We're trying to work with our education sector to improve the inclusion offer, and it's become much more difficult now the education system is more fractured with academy chains and multi-academy trusts.

"We're investing in 15 in-school special education needs and disabilities (SEND) units to which should reduce that pressure as well." . . .

Each of the new units will deliver between six and eight SEND places - except for Maiden Beech Academy (which will handle between eight and 16) and Upton Noble school (which will handle four to six pupils). Additional schools may be added to the programme at a later date if finances allow.

Amelia Walker, the council's service director for education, said: "Somerset has in excess of 500 children and young people with EHCPs accessing education in independent settings at significant additional cost, when compared to the cost of a state-maintained specialist place.

"The rise in pupils in all age ranges diagnosed with autism, social and emotional needs, or physical and neurological needs has seen increasing numbers of parents requesting EHCPs naming special school placements for their children, reporting that local mainstream schools are not equipped to meet their needs.

"As a result of this demand, Somerset’s special schools are full to capacity, and some have exceeded their number of commissioned places in order to help meet the needs of children assessed as requiring specialist provision, or to accommodate children whose parents have successfully acquired places through the direction of tribunal.

"The council has not had the regulatory power to open new schools. In addition, the Department for Education has been unable to deliver new special schools to keep pace with the level of demand.

"This increase in demand and lack of available places has also had a negative effect on the council’s preferred ‘local first’ approach to school placements, leading to long commutes for children, some of whom travel past other special schools where their needs could have been met if spare places were available.

Wincanton Primary School on the B3081 South Street in Wincanton (Image: Google Maps)

"We will create more capacity within the existing infrastructure in the state sector through the creation of a number of SEN specialist units on mainstream school sites that have spare accommodation.