Extra funding approved for new SEN school site

More than £3m extra funding has been approved for a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Surrey, which could be used to provide more places.

Hopescourt School will support up to 200 pupils with autism and communication and interaction needs when it moves into its new permanent site in Walton-on-Thames in March 2026.

Initial funding of £26.3m earmarked for the project in June 2024 has now been extended to nearly £30m because of delays with the project and inflationary increases, according to Surrey County Council.

The school, which is expected to reach full capacity in 2029, will remain at the temporary site in West Molesey until the new site is ready.

Clare Curran, cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said: "Investing in this capital project for Hopescourt School is going to generate a really positive impact for the children who attend that school who have complex and additional needs and disabilities."

Nearly £110m was set aside for SEN capital funding until 2029 at a meeting on 22 April, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Added costs to the project include extending current temporary arrangements for the school due to an eight-month delay caused by the Environment Agency, council documents said.

Once completed, the school will offer SEN school places for pupils aged between four and 19.

During the Easter holidays, the West Molesey's site was extended to accommodate 22 more secondary school-aged pupils who will start attending the school at the start of the new academic year in 2025.

"This will provide enough space until the permanent school building in Walton-on-Thames completes in Spring 2026," council officers said.

The officers also noted it is significantly cheaper to invest and build state-maintained SEN school places in the long term, rather than fund independent or private school places in the short term.

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