By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: Keir Starmer has been asked how long the funding for an “urgently needed” special school in Bath will remain frozen by the government.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse told him families had been “left in the lurch” by the government’s decision to freeze the funding for a new 120-place school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) on the Culverhay site. Bath and North East Somerset Council has been waiting for 18 months for the funding which has been agreed but put on hold.
Ms Hobhouse said: “Families in Bath have been waiting years for a new special school. The plans are ready, the need is clear, and the city is united behind it, yet the government has frozen the very funding needed to build it. If the government is truly ‘determined’ to fix the broken SEND system, they should start with releasing this much-needed funding immediately.
“Every delay forces children to travel further, wait longer, and miss out on the support they deserve. Vulnerable children in Bath cannot be expected to pay the price for the government’s inaction.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday December 10, Ms Hobhouse said to the Prime Minister: “The government has frozen the funding for almost 18 months without any explanation, leaving many families in the lurch. How much longer do families and children with special educational needs have to wait for this vital new school?”
Mr Starmer responded: “We are keen to progress this and I will make sure that ministers update her on her particular case.”
He added: “We are determined to fix the SEND system which fails parents and fails children and that’s why we have launched a national conversation to put families at the heart of the lasting reform. We have already put money into extra new places, language support, and best start family hubs being rolled out everywhere from April.”
The council has held onto the Culverhay site since Bath Community Academy closed in 2018 so it can be used again for education. The council plans to turn over the cleared site to the Department for Education who have agreed to pay for and build two new schools there under the “free schools capital programme.”
Alongside the 120-place special school, a new 55-place alternative provision school will aim to support children and young people to rejoin mainstream schooling or towards employment. Currently a lack of SEND spaces at schools in Bath and North East Somerset means the council is using taxis to drive children to schools across Somerset, Bristol, Wiltshire, and even further afield.
The council’s cabinet member for children’s services Paul May (Publow and Whitchurch, Liberal Democrat) said: “This school is urgently needed. Every month of delay is another month of distress for vulnerable children and their families. When a child must travel long distances out of our area to receive the special education they need, the whole family suffers.
“The Lib Dem Council administration has demonstrated its commitment to supporting vulnerable children. Over the past few years, our children’s services budgets have grown by nearly 50%. Alternative not-for-profit service provision options could possibly reduce those costs by about 20%.”
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