School bid for special needs pupils in Weston

The council says the school is needed due to a "lack of provision" locally and has applied for government funding

A new school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs could be set up near Weston.

North Somerset Council said there was a "lack of provision" locally and has applied for government funding.

About 70 pupils travel "significant distances" to other schools but these are "not always of the quality" the council wants, a report said.

The council plans a bid for government funding for the school, allowing it to reduce its school transport budget.

The council currently spends up to £500,000 every year on taking pupils from home to schools around the county.

It has earmarked a site in Churchill, near Weston-super-Mare, which could be leased for a peppercorn rent, which is usually a nominal figure.

The site is currently valued at £1m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service added.

'Areas of weakness'

If successful, the Department for Education (DfE) could provide capital funding for new or refurbished buildings for free schools, as well as the first two years of place funding.

Plans for the new school comes after the authority was told it had to make improvements to its special educational needs provision following a damning report published by Ofsted and the Care and Quality Commission in July.

The report highlighted a number of "significant areas of weakness" in the services provided by the local area for children with SEN and disabilities.

It also criticised the area's clinical commissioning groups for not having a special educational needs strategy in place to help families.

As part of the review the council has also revealed plans to relocate and expand Baytree Special School in Weston-super-Mare to a new site by September 2021.

And it has also said it would support the provision of foundation-stage education at the Westhaven Special School site, also in Weston.