SEND school will not open in time for start of year

Work is still underway to build Rivertree Free School in Kempston

A new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school for Bedfordshire will open in the autumn but not in time for the start of the new school year.

Bedford Borough Council said the delay to the Rivertree Free School in Kempston was due to unforeseen circumstances.

The £26m building will cater for 200 pupils who predominantly have learning disabilities, severe learning disabilities and autism.

It will open over three phases, the first in 2024 followed by September 2025 and September 2026, with 60 pupils due in the first cohort in autumn.

Construction on the site has been ongoing for several months

Rivertree Free School has been funded in conjunction with the Department for Education and will be run by the Bedford Inclusive Learning and Training Trust.

The authority said the delay in opening the site will give the trust, staff, and council the chance to help prepare for pupils to transfer to the new school.

A spokesperson added the council is committed to providing appropriate education until the new school opens.

The facility is being constructed on the former site of Robert Bruce Middle School which was closed in 2015 and suffered a large fire in 2022.

Bedford Borough Council said it had seen an 18% increase in the number of pupils attending SEND schools in the last four years

The school was closed when the authority changed from a three-tier educational system (infant or junior, middle and upper) to a two-tier system (primary and secondary).

Plans to build a new 200-place school for children aged two to 19, with special educational needs on the site, were announced by Bedford Borough Council in 2022.