(UK) Surrey: $39M for 200 place autism school approved

April 23, 2025, Surrey Live: New special educational needs places to be created as Surrey school gets £29m [$38M] funding boost

SE England

More than a quarter of the council's £109m [$145M] funding for SEND building projects was approved for the school

New Special Educational Needs places could be created as a whopping £29.49m [$39M]  has been approved for a SEN school. Hopescourt School’s new permanent site in Walton-on-Thames will cater for up to 200 autistic pupils and pupils with communication and interaction needs, aged 4-19 years when the school reaches capacity in 2029.

While the new building in Waterside Drive is being built, Hopescourt School will continue to use its West Molesey site temporarily until the new school is ready in late March 2026. . . .

More than a quarter of Surrey County Council’s funding for SEND building projects was approved for the final costs of the school in Walton on April 22, 2025. Almost £110m [$115M] has been set aside for SEND capital funding 2025/26-2028/29 and the Hopescourt school scheme is just one of the projects to benefit.

Initially expected to cost £26.25m in June 2024, the project has demanded an extra £3.2m due to the elongation of the scheme and inflationary increases, according to the council.

Documents state an eight-month delay from the Environment Agency also increased costs for the project as the council had to extend the temporary arrangements for Hopescourt School’s site in West Molesey.

Over the Easter holidays, the West Molesey’s site was extended to accommodate for 22 new secondary aged pupils who will start attending the school at the start of the new academic year in 2025, council documents state. “This will provide enough space until the permanent school building in Walton-on-Thames completes in Spring 2026,” council officers said.

The added costs can be managed through finding alternative affordable solutions in the SEND building budget, without impacting the programme’s scope to increase capacity in the state maintained specialist education, council documents read.

Council officers noted it is significantly cheaper to invest and build state-maintained SEN school places in the long-term, rather than pay for independent or private school places in the short-term. The project’s investment indicates a payback period of around five years.