CHESHIRE West and Chester Council (CWAC) has announced new places for children with additional needs in both mainstream schools and special schools in the borough from September.  

CWAC say there has been growing demand for specialist placements for children and young people, particularly for those with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).

Working closely with local schools, the council has identified, and now approved, an additional 93 resourced provision places and 32 special school places.

Resourced provision is a way of letting children with more specialist needs access their education with specialist support and resources in a mainstream school, usually in a separate and appropriately equipped classroom.

Sixty-three of the resourced provisions places are in primary schools across the borough, with 30 in secondary schools.

In addition to the 93 places outlined above, they are also opening the first CWAC special school satellite in September.

This is when a special school is hosted by a mainstream school, in this case, Upton-by-Chester High. 

It will provide access to a specialist curriculum and social experience for young people who would also benefit from mainstream opportunities tailored to their individual needs.

Helen Brackenbury, CWAC’s executive director of children and families, said: “We are pleased to announce these 93 new resourced places and 32 special school places.

"We are especially excited about Upton-by-Chester High School being the first ever satellite provision to be created in CWAC.

“Each young person will have a personalised timetable with opportunities for supported inclusion in mainstream lessons and informal social activities within Upton-by-Chester High School.

"The satellite classroom will be housed within the school with access to a secure shared outdoor area, namely a sensory garden.

"The satellite also links well with Upton’s proximity to Acresfield Primary School ,which means that children attending this provision may be able to transfer to the satellite provision for year 7.

This could remove the need for travelling to similar provisions further away, which can be a difficult and isolating experience for the young people as well as having cost implications for the council.”

Cllr Adam Langan, lead member for children and families, said: “This is a good first step to building our capacity of places for children with additional needs.

"The satellite is also intended to grow as part of Upton High’s government funded school rebuilding programme.

"This will create an additional class for KS4, as well as existing KS3 class, which opens in September.”