Plans for more places at top-rated Send school

The new places for pupils are being created in Esher

A top-rated school for children with severe learning difficulties is to expand under plans revealed by Surrey County Council.

Woodlands School, in Leatherhead, could have a second location at Cranmere Primary and Nursery School in Esher, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The move will create up to 28 extra places for children with severe learning difficulties and autism, all of whom have an Education, Health Care and Plans (EHCPs).

Woodlands only has room for 83 pupils, though an extra 16 have been taught in temporary classrooms.

Cranmere Primary, which has been rated "good" by Ofsted, has been running under capacity for years because of falling birthrates, council documents state.

The building can take 630 pupils.

After a four-week consultation in the summer holiday, the proposal was approved at a children, families and lifelong learning cabinet member meeting on 19 September.

The part of the Cranmere site earmarked for the expansion was adapted over the summer holidays to properly meet the needs of Woodlands pupils, according to reports.

The move will create 28 more places for children who need them

A council officer said: "This was trying to ensure that people could gain a Woodlands place as early as possible rather than be out of school or in an inappropriate school."

They said having local specialist places means children do not have to travel far away to school.

By providing places within the state system, the council's education bill drops.

Should these pupils be required to attend an education provision in the independent sector, costs would equate to around £1.484m per year, compared to the average cost for state-maintained specialist places of £644,000.

Staff at the new site will be employed directly by Woodlands School and numbers will grow slowly over time, depending on demand.

The council said the move is part of its wider ambition to increase high-quality specialist school places across Surrey as the number of children with EHCPs continues to rise - with a 10 per cent increase expected over the next five years.

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