Government to decide on Suffolk SEND places later this week

The Department for Education will decide on more than 100 new places in provisions in the county, which could allow more children with SEND at a meeting on Thursday.

A number of trusts have applied for changes to their SEND provision, with 113 new places to be decided on, as well as the changing hands of one site. 

Chief executive of the Consortium Trust, Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne with former Waveney MP Peter Aldous at Warren School in Lowestoft in September 2023 (Image: Mick Howes) An application was made for Warren School in Lowestoft to increase its special or alternative provision by up to 55 places and also acquire a new satellite site.

Warren School is operated by Consortium Trust, which runs a number of schools in Suffolk.

There was also an application for Ipswich Academy, run by Paradigm Trust, to add a new SEND unit with provision for 24 places.

A number of application for Unity Schools Partnership will be decided. Pictured is Tim Coulson, chief executive (Image: Unity Schools Partnership/Dave Gooderham) Unity Schools Partnership has made a number of applications to the Education Department.

These include increasing the number of pupils within an existing SEND unit or resourced provision by 12 places at both Burton End Primary Academy in Haverhill and West Row Academy in Bury St Edmunds.

Parents of SEND children protested on the steps of Suffolk County Council (Image: Oli Picton)

As well as this, the trust has also applied for eight new places at Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill.

Langer Primary Academy in Felixstowe has applied to close its Bramford Lane satellite site but a fellow school run by the trust, The Bridge School in Ipswich, has applied to take over the site and increase its number of places by five.

If approved, the new places will come to some relief to parents of SEND children in Suffolk, who protested recently on the steps of Suffolk County Council due to the ongoing issues with SEND provision in the county.