Coombe House: Dorset SEND school 'on target' for growth

The former St Mary's School was bought by Dorset Council for £10m and initially reopened in May last year

A special educational needs school that was forced to close a week after its launch is now "on target" for growth.

Dorset Council said the growth of Coombe House School, near Shaftesbury in Dorset, was in line with expectations in its business plan.

The number of pupils will rise from 56 to 72 by the end of the autumn term.

Dorset Centre for Excellence, which manages the school, also said an upcoming Ofsted report would bring "positive news".

The former St Mary's School opened in May last year but suffered a "bumpy start", forcing it to shut a week later.

A head teacher from another school was then brought in to help staff prepare for the new academic year and it reopened last September.

Dorset Council's corporate director, Claire Shiels, who provides the council link with the independent school, told a shareholders committee on Monday that the school had improved its community engagement and agreed new block contracts for pupil places, which were at the lower end of benchmark costs compared to national figures.

Dorset Centre for Excellence's managing director, Andy Holder, told the meeting an Ofsted inspection was imminent and would be published shortly.

"I think it is reasonable to say that Ofsted have reflected the progress that has been made thus far… it's positive news," he said.

He also told councillors that plans were progressing for the school to take on more of the buildings at the site from Dorset Council to ensure there was enough classroom space for September 2024.

He added the school business plan included provision for a loan, which had not yet been needed, and negotiations for a renewed lease for the site from Dorset Council, which was "progressing well".

Diane Grannell, who chairs the finance committee, said there was a high degree of confidence that the projections in the business plan would be bettered by the end of the year and that contingency plan were in place should there be delays with additional classrooms.