(UK) Wilts: $5.4M to improve SPED support in existing schools instead of 5 yr wait for special school
- May 4
- 2 min read
No new schools for children with special educational needs will be built in north or south Wiltshire, after the council decided the money would be better spent on specialist provision in existing schools.
At a meeting of Wiltshire Council's Cabinet on Wednesday, councillors voted in favour of taking £4 million [$5.4M] of government cash over funding for new schools, after hearing bricks and mortar provision would not be available for at least five years.
Cllr Jon Hubbard, cabinet member for children's services, SEND, education, and skills told colleagues: "What I'm bringing before you this morning is genuinely good news for children and families in Wiltshire."
He explained that in 2025, the Department for Education had announced that councils with special or Alternative Provision free schools in the pipeline could choose either to continue with the originally planned free school or receive capital funding to create the equivalent number of places through local provision.
Wiltshire Council decided to continue with the new 130-place Social, Emotional and Mental Health free school at Bitham Park in Westbury, which Cllr Hubbard assured colleagues was "on track."
But rather than proceeding with Alternative Provision free schools in the north and south, the council intends to invest £4.08 million of government money directly into expanding specialist places across Wiltshire.
This will help deliver the equivalent of at least 80 high‑quality, high-needs places. It will provide local support more quickly and benefit more children and young people across the county.
"The free school route would not have delivered a single place until 2031 at the earliest," Cllr Hubbard told the meeting.
"There would have been site surveys, planning, construction, years of uncertainty with children who need support today waiting years for provision that might still be delayed. That is not acceptable."
He continued: "The funding alternative changes everything. With £4.08 million, we can deliver at least 80 high needs places, the same number as the original free schools, but faster, with more flexibility, and across a much wider geography.
"Rather than concentrating provision on two sites, we can develop places in the community areas where children actually live."
The proposal won the full backing of cabinet members.
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