Plans to open a new school for children with special educational needs at a former doctor's surgery in Ashfield have been submitted. The site in Hankin Avenue, Underwood, had initially been out of use since June 2018 when the medical practice moved elsewhere.
The Riley Foundation, a charity that supported children with special educational needs, then opened a sensory centre at the Hankin Avenue site. The centre opened in November 2020, but The Riley Foundation is now no longer a registered charity.
New plans have now been submitted to Ashfield District Council for a school to be based in the building. It would be run by REAL Education, an organisation established in 2008 to provide education for children and young people between the ages of 5 and 19 who may be "lost to learning."
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The company already has schools in Blidworth, Ilkeston, Mansfield and Hinckley in Leicestershire, and now wants to open another one in Nottinghamshire. If approved, current plans are for the school to cater for around fifteen pupils.
In planning documents submitted to the council, REAL Education says: "The location provides a safe and secure environment for vulnerable learners, whilst its urban/rural location would provide opportunities for curriculum enhancement, when focusing on teaching environmental studies to children and young people, whose educational opportunities have previously been limited by the constraints of their identified disability and the lack of appropriate learning venues.
"Currently within Nottinghamshire, there is an increasing requirement for additional school places for children and young people with identified additional needs, particularly those of primary/infant school age, therefore this new small venue will be focused upon providing these much-needed and requested places for these age groups. In addition, the numbers of children and young people with additional needs identified from the surrounding areas have been increasing annually, and as a consequence, the local authority is having to provide placements for these children and young people outside of their local communities.
"Aside from the associated trauma this inflicts upon these vulnerable learners, having to be educated outside their geographical comfort zone, this also places an additional burden upon the local authority budgets by increasing transport costs and the associated carbon reduction targets by these additional journeys. These additional proposed pupil places will also increase the numbers of staff required to provide both educational and pastoral support for these learners, increasing both the number of direct and indirect posts required to service this additional venue."
The company says that the interior of the building will require minimal decoration and refurbishment, although outdoor fencing will need to be replaced. A decision on the plans is due by September 14.
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