27
Nov
Work underway on £2 million Harrogate school for autistic pupils
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A major renovation project at a Harrogate school has started.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive members approved plans to expand Woodfield Community Primary School, which closed in December 2022, in August 2023.
The school will cater for up to 80 pupils, aged between 11 and 19, with autism and communicative and interactive needs.
Builders are now on the site, off Woodfield Road, to deliver the £2 million scheme, which is expected to be completed by September next year.
The existing building will be remodelled and refurbished to create new classrooms. The council said these will include facilities such as a sensory room, break-out rooms and outdoor learning spaces.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the authority’s executive member for education, learning and skills, said today:
Work to revamp the former school building and create this vital facility is progressing well and it will help to meet a rising demand for special school places in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and the surrounding area.
Builders have started work on the project.
The number of children and young people with identified special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as well as those with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), has increased by more than 110% in North Yorkshire.
The council today added an estimated 350 additional SEND school places will be created over the next three to five years.
Cllr Paul Haslam, an independent who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, also said:
This specialist school is essential for Harrogate and will ensure children and young people receive first-class education reflecting their complex needs without having to travel long distances.
It is great to see new life being breathed into the former much-loved closed school, which will once again be full of aspirations, activity, playground laughter and lots of learning.
The council hopes the expanded Woodfield Community Primary School will cater to the increasing demand for specialist education in the county.
Amanda Newbould, the council’s assistant director for inclusion, said:
Currently there are 432 children with the primary need of autism accessing existing North Yorkshire special schools and we are committed to providing further support.
The new specialist school would provide children and families with a more local offer of provision that is currently unavailable without significant travel.
Builders have started work on the project.
The council originally expected the project to cost £3.5 million, but awarded a £2 million contract to Wetherby construction firm The Together Group last month.
When the Stray Ferret asked why the cost of the project had fallen so dramatically, Cllr Newbould said:
The initial figure quoted was an estimate for the cost of works that may be required. After a detailed specification for the works required, the cost has reduced significantly.
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