Rutland group raises £5,000 to fight special school closure

Save The Parks School Group has raised £5,000 to take Rutland County Council, which runs the special needs school, to court

Campaigners fighting to save a special needs school from closure have raised £5,000 to launch a legal battle.

Rutland County Council is due to close The Parks Nursery Special School, in Burley Road, Oakham, in August.

At a meeting in January, it said the provision was "no longer viable" and no children were currently accessing it.

Save The Parks School Group says the authority's public consultation was "flawed", and now has the funds to take the council to court.

The Parks Nursery Special School is based at Oakham C of E Primary in Burley Road

The outstanding-rated nursery school, based at Oakham Church of England Primary Academy, provides support for children with learning difficulties, aged two to five.

It is Rutland's only state-maintained special needs school, and the council's decision to close it follows a two-year review.

It found places at the nursery school cost "substantially more" than special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support in mainstream settings and that provision was no longer viable due to low pupil numbers.

Antonia Garnett-Wright organised a petition, which was signed by more than 4,000 people, to save the school

A formal public consultation also took place in November.

Campaigner Antonia Garnett-Wright said: "The public consultation that the council undertook was flawed because it did not take into account the petition signed by more than 4,000 Rutlanders, representing 10% of the entire population of the county."

The mother of three special needs children added: "Rutland County Council made a mistake, and clearly the people of Rutland agree with us that closing a special educational needs nursery like The Parks is not what is wanted."

The group will go to a judge who gave them leave to apply for a judicial review, meaning the council's decision could be recalled for further review, and could even be reversed.

A spokesperson for Rutland County Council said the authority welcomed petitions as a way for residents to share concerns.

"The petition relating to The Parks Special Nursery provision in Oakham was received on Sunday 14 January," he said.

"This was after cabinet made a final decision regarding the future of The Parks Special Nursery on Thursday 11 January.

"There is no way for full council or a committee to reconsider or change a cabinet decision as a result of a petition, once that decision has been made. Therefore, the petition cannot be presented at a future meeting."

Tim Smith, the council's cabinet member for children and families, added: "Funding that would have gone to The Parks will be used to further increase and improve SEND support in mainstream settings across the county."