No capacity for town's SEND students - councillor

A councillor says the capacity for SEND students in Scarborough must be increased

A town's schools currently have "absolutely no capacity" for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), according to a local councillor.

The Scarborough and Whitby area committee has called for North Yorkshire Council to increase capacity for SEND pupils in Scarborough.

Deputy Charter Mayor of Scarborough Coun John Ritchie told a committee meeting last week there were currently no primary schools in Scarborough with targeted mainstream provision (TMP).

"The problem in Scarborough is that there is absolutely no capacity in our schools [for SEND students]," he said. "We need a new special school."

He added: "We've heard for the past 18 months to two years that there are discussions taking place with schools in Scarborough but we've seen no progress."

A report prepared for the meeting by officers noted that providing appropriate provision to children and young people with SEND had become an area of "increasing pressure on resources in local authorities throughout the country".

North Yorkshire Council has said it was working with mainstream schools to strengthen what it offered to children with SEND "so the vast majority can be educated within their local communities".

The report also noted that the council had agreed to a £20.5m capital programme to develop more specialist places for children across the county.

The town's special school, The Woodlands Academy, is currently being rebuilt with funding from the Department for Education (DfE).

A council officer told the meeting there had been "conversations" between the council and schools about "exploring establishing a TMP in their school".

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