Members of the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet have given the green light to invest £3.2m to increase the capacity of Ormiston SWB Academy from 200 to 230 per year group, and Moseley Park from 186 to 200 per year group. These places are expected to be available to Year 7 pupils from the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
Meanwhile, due to high demand in the local area, Colton Hills Community School in Blakenhall is looking to increase its capacity from 161 to 180 per year group, though no physical expansion work to the school premises is required for this change. Again, these places should be available to Year 7 pupils from September 2025.
At the same time, councillors heard that additional places are needed for SEND pupils in both special and mainstream schools across Wolverhampton. Demand for specialist school places has risen significantly in recent years, with the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans rising by nearly 50% in the last five years.
In response, Cabinet has approved plans to increase capacity at Westcroft School, a special school for pupils aged 5 to 19, from 198 places to 210, and at Green Park, a special school in Bilston for pupils aged 3 to 19, from 147 places to 174.
The capacity of the existing Speech, Language and Communication resource base at Palmers Cross Primary School will increase from 16 places to 30, and a new resource base at Ormiston NEW Academy will cater for 10 pupils, also with speech, language and communication needs.
The additional SEND places are expected to be available by the start of the 2025-26 academic year, though a feasibility study is being undertaken in respect of Green Park School which will inform timescales.
Councillor Jacqui Coogan, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: "As a council, we are determined to ensure that all our children live in an inclusive city and are able to achieve their full potential through education.
"The council has a statutory duty to ensure that sufficient good quality school places are available and, in order to meet local demand, we are creating additional secondary school places at three schools in the south east of the city.
"Meanwhile, to meet rising demand for SEND provision across the city, we will deliver a combination of additional places in special schools, the expansion of one of our existing primary school resources bases and the creation of a new base in a secondary school."
Latest figures show 92% of schools in Wolverhampton are now rated either Good or Outstanding, above the regional and national average. In addition, more than nine in 10 Wolverhampton pupils attend Good or Outstanding schools, the best in the West Midlands.
