Consultation underway on proposal to open cognition and learning unit at school in Buckingham
A consultation is underway on a proposal to open a cognition and learning unit at The Buckingham School.
Buckinghamshire Council and the school’s governing board are seeking views on a proposal to build a unit for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which would have capacity for eight students.
The Buckingham School submitted an expression of interest in opening the unit after Buckinghamshire Council asked schools for their views on whether they could deliver such facilities for secondary age pupils.
There is currently no Additionally Resourced Provision unit in the north of the county which the school says ‘results in a significant gap in provision for students with cognition and learning needs.’
Buckinghamshire Council says that the number of SEND pupils with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) has almost doubled in the last five years, and is expected to double over the next five-year cycle.
Meanwhile, the number of secondary aged children with cognition and learning needs has risen by 30 per cent over the last five years, and a further increase in these numbers is also expected.
The unit would be able to take eight students, and only children whose EHCP plans state they need support from a unit would be admitted, with admissions controlled by a dedicated team.
The proposal details how students would likely spend the majority of their time in the new unit, which would be self-contained with its own external courtyard for learning and recreation, however pupils within the unit would have the ability to join in with parts of the mainstream school day.
The new unit is set to be accommodated in an existing drama room which would be refurbished to provide a dedicated classroom, an intervention room and an office.
To compensate for the loss of this space, a new multi-purpose performance and drama space would be created within the school, in an old lecture theatre.
Costs have not been detailed, although the work is set to be funded using Government money that has been made available for new and expanding SEND provision across Buckinghamshire.
A drop-in session is being held at the school on London Road on Wednesday March 25 between 5.30pm and 7pm, and is open to parents, families and other interested parties.
This forms part of an informal six-week public consultation, which started on March 16 and runs until April 26.
Between April 27 and May 15, the responses to the consultation will be assessed by Buckinghamshire Council, who will then take a decision on whether the new unit can go ahead.
If this is agreed, a formal four-week representation period would then begin, with a decision on the final outcome due to be taken between mid-June and mid-August.
If this is approved, work would commence in September, with a view to opening the new unit in January 2027.
To have your say on the proposal you can complete an online survey, complete a printed version of the survey which is available through the school’s website or email [email protected], with a deadline for submissions of April 26.