(UK) Walthamstow: Plans for special school for 40 students, 32 staff; 100 students by 2029

July 3, 2026, Plans for new SEND school set to be green-lit next week - Waltham Forest Echo

Plans have officially been put forward to convert an early years centre in Walthamstow into a school for children with special educational needs (SEND).

The Chapel End Early Years Centre is set to relocate from Brookscroft Road and join its sister site, the Chapel End Infant School, in the summer, freeing the building up.

In its place, Waltham Forest Council hopes to open a school for 40 SEND pupils and 32 staff.

The expansion forms part of the council’s statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient school places for children and young people with SEND.

The council previously said the new site would “allow more pupils to access high-quality, nurturing education close to home, helping to maintain community connections and reduce reliance on out-of-borough placements, which can mean longer travel times for families”.

In a paper due before the planning committee next week, the council said the proposal would “significantly increase” places for SEND children and help meet high demand in the borough, but “without compromising the existing educational provision for the early years pupils”.

The Echo previously reported the new school would operate as an extension of Lime Academy Hornbeam.

It would initially admit 40 pupils from September, with numbers rising incrementally to the full capacity of 100 over the next three years. . . .