More than £1million is to be used by West Sussex County Council to open a satellite site for a special school in Worthing.
Despite an expansion in 2022, Oak Grove College has seen an increased demand for places for secondary school children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
Some 60 of those places could soon be ready after Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children and young people, learning and skills, approved the use of £1.05million from the SEND capital budget to remodel The Pines, in Faraday Close, Durrington.
The Pines was formerly used as a centre for adults with learning difficulties but was declared surplus to requirements in November, 2022. The work will see it revamped to provide classrooms, group rooms, a calming room, a sensory room, toilet facilities, space for dining and PE, and an outdoor play area.
A report by Andrew Edwards, assistant director of property and assets, and Claire Hayes, assistant director of education and skills, said creating extra SEND places would save the council £27,300 per place per annum on average.
This is compared to the cost of placing children in schools not controlled by the local authority, which adds up to £1,638,000 saved per year once all 60 places are filled.
There has been a significant growth in the number of children in West Sussex with Education Health & Care Plans. The council maintains 8,000 such plans and is working through a backlog of hundreds of cases. Since 2019, the number of Education Health & Care needs assessments completed each year has risen by 61 per cent.
The report said: “The increase in West Sussex is significantly above that seen nationally and in other local authorities across the south-east region. In response to the increased demand for specialist provision, the approved place numbers of all the council’s maintained special schools have been exceeded.”
