Parents concerned over delay to Send school opening

Parents of children with special educational needs (Send) have said they are very worried and frustrated over the delay to the opening of a new purpose-built school.

The £26m Rivertree Free School in Kempston, Bedfordshire, will cater for 200 pupils who predominantly have learning disabilities, severe learning disabilities and autism.

The first phase of the opening was due to happen in the autumn but, in a letter to parents on 4 December, Bedford Borough Council said it was "felt necessary to start to prepare for the school not opening on Monday 6 January".

A joint statement from the council and the Bedford Inclusive Learning and Training Trust (BILTT) said: "We have identified the particular needs of the children who will be starting at the school and have re-evaluated certain aspects of the building's design."

Michelle Mednick, 47, a single parent with a four-year-old son who is non-verbal and has suspected ADHD, complained about the "dire" lack of communication.

She was so frustrated she said she staged a sit-down protest outside the council's offices about two weeks ago.

She said there were rumours that balconies had been put up that, she said, "are not safe for children with SEN needs as they could jump off them".

Francesca Chamberlain said she was also upset at the lack of communication as it made her life as a parent of an autistic child "even more challenging".

BILTT told parents in a letter that the delay was due to the "ongoing finalisation of a fit-for-purpose building" and once it had taken possession of the site it needed to install "essential safeguarding measures".

Ms Mednick said there was a lack of transparency and trust and that a lot of parents "have really lost hope that this [the school opening] is really going to happen".

She claimed if it was a mainstream school, communication with parents would be better.

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