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05
Nov 2024
Harrogate school gets go-ahead for major expansion
A special educational needs school in Harrogate has received the go-ahead to expand to accommodate dozens of extra pupils.
Springwater School, on Starbeck High Street, can cater for 112 children during the current 2023/24 academic year.
The students aged two to 19, have a range of needs including autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties and speech, language and communication difficulties.
North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive today (November 5) approved proposals to expand the number of places by 45 to 157 pupils from September next year.
The decision followed a five-week consultation in which the expansion was widely welcomed as a way of reducing pressure on places for special education needs pupils.
Springwater School
Two buildings next to the school will be redeveloped to provide dedicated classrooms and there will also be new outdoor space including an area for sixth-form pupils and a kitchen.
The council said in a statement today the expansion “would be achieved through a significant capital investment” but it did not reveal the sum.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, said the extra places were “much-needed and extremely welcome”. She added:
There has been an increase in the number of children with education health and care plans in North Yorkshire by 95 per cent since 2018 from 2,606 to 5,100. Whilst the majority of children with EHCPs have their needs met in their local mainstream schools, special school places have increased from 820 in 2018 to 1,450 in 2024.
The expansion of Springwater School will help manage some of the school place pressures generated by the increase in the number of EHCPs funded by the local authority. It will also provide wider benefits in educating children closer to their local communities and reducing travel time and costs.
Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for inclusion, added:
The investment would not only provide more places but also significantly improve the facilities available to all children who attend the school now and in the future.
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