Two projects will provide additional places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), while 2 other schemes will improve the learning environment by replacing temporary classrooms at infant schools.
Under the proposals, the capacity of the existing Resource Base at Aldersley High School, which supports pupils aged 11 to 16 with autistic spectrum disorder or speech, language and communication needs, will increase by five places, meaning it can support 25 pupils from September 2023.
An additional Early Years/Key Stage One class is proposed for Penn Hall School, which supports children aged 3 to 19 who have a range of additional needs. If approved, the school will have the capacity to support an additional eight children from September.
Meanwhile, temporary classrooms which are reaching the end of their usable lives are set to be replaced at both Christ Church CE Infant School and Nursery and Westacre Infant School, ensuring that pupils from Early Years onwards are taught in high quality environments.
The planned investment at Aldersley, Penn Hall and Westacre schools is valued at around £800,000. A feasibility study is required at Christ Church to determine costs. The proposals will be presented members of the council’s Cabinet on Wednesday (22 March, 2023).
Councillor Chris Burden, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Work, said: “Having access to a good education is incredibly important to our children and young people, and all of these schemes contribute to a key thread of our Council Plan, which is to create strong families where children grow up well and achieve their full potential.
“At Penn Hall we are proposing to provide additional capacity to ensure that it can continue to meet a rising demand for places for children and young people with SEND in our city.
“This is alongside plans to expand the resource base at Aldersley High School which will mean we can give more children with SEND the chance to learn alongside their mainstream peers and siblings, while also benefitting from the expertise of a wider range of therapeutic interventions and support services to help them progress.
“Meanwhile, the replacement of the temporary classrooms at Christ Church CE Infant School and Nursery and Westacre Infant School are also important as we ensure we can provide the best learning environment possible for our children and young people."
