£5m investment as SEND places expanded in Merseyside school

A new £5m project has been approved in one part of Merseyside which will result in a significant increase of school places for pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).

Knowsley Council’s Cabinet met on Wednesday November 20 and endorsed plans to expand capacity at Alt Bridge School in Huyton and provide additional school places for children with SEND. Projected figures up to 2026 show the number of Education, Health and Care Plans in Knowsley is expected to more than double from 1,497 in 2020 to a predicted 3,150 in the next two years - a cumulative increase of 110%.

Knowsley Council identified Alt Bridge School as a viable source of investment for a number of reasons including the availability of land for development and the fact it supports two of the most prevalent special educational needs in the borough - autism spectrum disorder and moderate learning difficulties. The council has already supported the school to create an additional 50 places from September 2024, and the latest plans will see a further 130 places created over the next two years.

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The expansion at Alt Bridge School will be delivered in three phases and involves the construction of modular buildings, which will create 50 additional school places in total. Phase 2 would see the relocation of post-16 provision to existing vacant space at the Kirkby Centre which will free up a building on the existing site to create more spaces for younger pupils.

The local authority said the moving the post-16 provision to the Kirkby Centre offers opportunities to enhance the learning offer and support pupils with the essential skills as they move into adulthood and employment. Finally, Phase 3 would refurbish the vacated building and create another 80 school places.

The total estimated project cost is £5.060m which will be be fully funded from the council’s High Needs Provisional Capital Allocation. This is spite of the local authority carrying a deficit in their High Needs Budget of £13m in 2023/24 and projections show this will rise sharply to £32m by the end of the next financial year.

Cllr David Lonergan, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: "It’s essential that we address locally the rising demand for school places for children with special educational needs and / or disabilities.

"Our proposals for Alt Bridge School will create at least 130 additional school places over the next two years – of which, 30 will be available from September next year.

"I know that parents and their children want to receive good quality education locally which is why we are investing in a well-established provision that has the land available to support expansion which support our local community’s needs.”