Specialist school seeks permission to expand

In Toto Ed currently provides school spaces for 34 students with special needs

Plans have been submitted to convert an office block in order to expand an independent school for pupils with special education needs and disabilities (Send).

Specialist education provider In Toto Ed currently runs the school at Fenlake House in Peterborough, which has 34 pupils.

The school, which started in 2022, is seeking to convert the adjoining block, formerly used by an accountancy firm, to increase pupil spaces to 48, with 16 staff members.

The two-storey building in Fengate would also have 12 parking spaces for visitors and staff, with an additional two reserved for student pick-up and drop-off only.

According to the planning application, the company hopes the school expansion will help meet the "much-needed demand" for Send provision across city.

It stated that the school would provide education for 30 pupils under the age of 16 with the remaining 18 spaces for pupils above 16 years.

No exterior changes would be made to the building located within the industrial estate, the applicant said.

Last year, Peterborough City Council said in a report that demand for education, health and care plans had increased "significantly", with 2,500 children in the city having one.

The council's planning committee has yet to make a decision on the application.

In April, plans to build a Send school for up to 25 seven-to-18-year-olds in Conquest Drove, Farcet, near Peterborough were rejected due to "poor accessibility".