Proposals to redevelop the site of the former Bath Community Academy School to provide a new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and a new Alternative Provision school are going before Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cabinet.
The SEND Free Special School would enable more children with SEND to be better supported in their local area and the Alternative Provision School would meet the needs of the most vulnerable pupils at risk of permanent exclusion.
Following confirmation of funding from the Department for Education for the two schools, the council is now required to make a suitable site available in order for the plans to progress.
The council has retained the site of the former Culverhay School since Bath Community Academy’s closure in 2018 as a site that is well located to meet the needs of children and young people in the district and could accommodate both types of educational provision on one site.
The report going before cabinet on June 6 asks for approval to deploy the Culverhay site to provide a SEND Free Special School contracted with Three Ways Academy Trust and to provide an Alternative Provision School contracted with Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership Trust.
The building of the schools would be carried out by the Department for Education. If the proposals are agreed, the council would be required to vacate the site by early 2025 and construction could begin later that year.
Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for Children’s Services, said, “It’s excellent news that funding for both these schools has been confirmed and we can now take the next step to progress a suitable site. Having a new Free Special School in our area will provide a specialist and specific learning environment for children with SEND.
“The Alternative Provision School will offer high quality educational and vocational opportunities for young people who have been excluded or are at risk of being excluded.
“The former site of Culverhay School has long been identified as a possible location for both schools and we will now consider in more detail whether it ticks all the boxes.”
Read the cabinet report here.
The cabinet meeting is on June 6 at 6.30pm. Watch the webcast here or view it on the council’s YouTube channel.