Further plans to address the number of places in Liverpool’s special schools are out for public consultation.
Last year, as part of its proposals to meet the “dramatic increase” in need for school places, Liverpool Council had suggested wide ranging changes to provisions across the city, including potentially moving pupils 14 miles away. Fresh proposals are now being made public for stakeholders to have their say.
The option for a satellite site for Millstead Primary School at a former school site on Naylorsfield Drive will now be the subject of a statutory consultation. Under the proposal, the former school buildings will be refurbished, initially creating places for 40 pupils and the satellite will have the same headteacher and governing body as Millstead Primary.
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If the proposal is agreed the satellite will be ready for the 2023/24 school year. The consultation will run for four weeks until March 23.
Two other exercises closed earlier this month, including proposals to form Bank View South, a satellite of Bank View High School, at the former Parklands School site, Ganworth Road. Bank View School would remain at its site in Fazakerley, but a new satellite site would open at Parklands for children with complex needs.
It would be used from the next school year for up to 60 Year 7 pupils, increasing by a year group each year until it has a total of 300 pupils up to Year 11. Educating children at the new site would be more cost effective according to Liverpool Council, potentially saving up to £1.4m in comparison to placing children at schools in the non-maintained or independent sectors.
A satellite location for Palmerston School on the former Palmerston site on Beaconsfield Road could also be created. The former school building, which was closed when the new school building opened, would be used for pupils with severe/profound and multiple learning difficulties.
The satellite site will offer a curriculum for students aged 14-19 and an increase in the number of Year 7 pupils on the main site. If the former land is not re-opened, the city council estimates educating this number of young people in the non-maintained or independent sector would cost up to £1.6m more.
Cllr Tomas Logan, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “The proposals for a Millstead satellite will initially create 40 further places for children with severe needs, places which are desperately needed for the next school year. The plans we have for our special schools will not only create enough places for the next academic year but will also ensure that we are well positioned to increase places for future years.
“I’d also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to share their feedback during the Palmerston and Bank View consultations which is now being assessed by the team.”
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