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16
Jan
Consultation launched into new Harrogate specialist school
A consultation has opened into a new specialist school at the former Woodfield Primary School in Harrogate.
Leeds-based Lighthouse School has launched the survey after it was chosen as the academy trust to run the facility.
The new school would reduce the huge backlog of demand for specialist school places in the area – the number of children with Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) in North Yorkshire has risen from 1,700 in 2015 to more than 6,000 in 2025.
The consultation runs until February 3 and seeks views on the new specialist school.
An in-person consultation event will also be held at Harrogate Civic Centre on January 21 this year from 6.30pm.
A statement on the school's Facebook page said:
As part of the statutory Section 10 consultation, we are seeking the views of parents, carers, local residents, schools, and wider stakeholders on our plans to open Lighthouse School, Harrogate.
The move comes as the Lighthouse School was revealed as the chosen academy trust to run the school in September 2025.
The specialist facility is intended to cater for up to 80 pupils aged between 11 and 19 with autism and additional needs.
North Yorkshire Council has invested £2.4 million in refitting the school for its new role.
Lighthouse School, which is in Cookridge in Leeds, is not yet a multi-academy trust – it is currently a standalone secondary school for autistic students.
But, North Yorkshire Council said the school will be working with the Department for Education to convert to a multi-academy trust. It will also be working with the council to agree a plan for satisfying all the technical elements the DfE require before the new school in Bilton can be opened.
The council has invested £2.4 million in the former Woodfield school site, and originally hoped it would open in September 2024. But that was pushed back to a "phased basis from April 2025", and further delays saw it postponed further.
In a statement in September, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, said:
We have a coordinated strategy across the whole county to meet the special educational needs of children. This includes strengthening practice in mainstream schools, developing SEN resource bases and investing in fabulous new facilities such as this one where they are needed.
Lighthouse School’s existing work gives us real confidence in its ability to deliver high-quality specialist education and will be a welcome addition to our community of schools in North Yorkshire.
Details of the Lighthouse School consultation can be found here.
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