New £30M Leicestershire special school approved by council
Parents of children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) in Leicestershire will soon have a new school for them to learn at.
Plans have been approved to build a £30M school with 252 places for SEND youngsters on land on Kilworth Road in Husbands Bosworth – Leicestershire County Council hopes to build it by 2028.
There is a significant shortfall in special school places across the county – Melton Mowbray’s Birch Wood Area Special School is oversubscribed every year, for example.
There are also proposals in place to create 75 new SEND places at the Melton college campus but a decision has not yet been made on whether this will happen with owners, Loughborough College Group, still considering offers for the site.
On the newly-approved special school, Councillor Charles Pugsley, cabinet member for children and families, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news and I am delighted that we’ve secured permission to build a new specialist school.
“There is a great and ever-growing need for specialist school places in Leicestershire.
"We know that specialist places are not always immediately available for every child or young person who need them, so this news is very welcome.
“A purpose-built school where it’s most needed is a great start to our work in improving access to specialist support.
"There’s still more work we have planned, but this will be a huge leap forward for Harborough.”
Harborough, where the school will be built, is currently the only district in the county without a special school.