(UK) Suffolk County: $59M for 800 special needs places

Oct 8, 2020, East Anglian Daily Times: Plans unveiled for new special needs school in Bury St Edmunds https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/suffolk-county-council-plans-bury-st-edmunds-semh-school-1-6875564 East England Suffolk County Council lodged the planning application for the new 80-place school to be built next to Abbots Green Academy on the Moreton Hall estate. It will cater for pupils aged nine to 16 with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, and comes as part of the authority’s £45million [$59M U.S.] plan to create more than 800 new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school places. Councillor Mary Evans, cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills at Suffolk County Council, said: “This new school will meet demand for highly specialist provision in the west of the county and will provide 80 places for children aged nine to 16 with social, emotional and mental health needs…. . The council in January 2019 unveiled a £45m plan to create more than 800 new SEND places, following a huge rise in demand for specialist provision. That plan, which followed extensive research by a dedicated task group, includes new special schools as well as 36 new units attached to mainstream schools providing special educational needs provision.