Cheshire East New Special Free School for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder
In March 2023, the Department for Education confirmed that Cheshire East Council had been successful in its bid to secure government backing for two new schools for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Feedback received from potential sponsors and the DfE was that these proposals were not financially viable. This was because children and young people presenting with challenging Social, Emotional and Mental Health and Autistic Spectrum Disorder needs will require a higher level of resources to meet these needs, which would have to be funded via a higher level of top-up funding, or a larger cohort of pupils.
A revised proposal was then submitted to the DfE , in March 2024, requesting that the 2 x 60 place free SEND schools were replaced with the 1 x 120 place free SEND school, this would offer places for secondary age pupils. The DfE have confirmed their support for this revised bid and indicated that the Free School process will start in May 2024.
Establishing these additional Special Educational Needs provisions for Cheshire East are really exciting and adds considerably to our commitment to increase specialist SEND provisions across the borough to provide a wide range of SEND pathways to meet the needs of our young people.
The new school will support children and young people requiring an Education, Health and Care Plan. These additional special school places will enable children and young people to remain within Cheshire East and avoid the need to travel long distance to go to school.
The location of the new school is yet to be confirmed, but it will provide 120 places for secondary age pupils with autistic spectrum disorder.
To align with formal process, as outlined by the DfE , the next stage will be for the Local Authority to publish the school specification with contextual information. This will provide interested trusts with an overview of the new school required by Cheshire East Council. Please find below a PDF version of this specification.
The DfE will open pre-registrations and application window on Monday the 13 May, we will populate the table below with indicative dates once these have been issued by the DfE .
Timeline of Actions
| Date | Actions |
|---|
| 13 May 2024 |
Local Authorities publish School Specification (Contextual Information) |
| 13 May 2024 |
DfE publish the ‘How to Apply’ Guidance and school specifications on GOV.UK with link to LA local contextual information and opens pre-registrations and application window |
| 21 June 2024 |
Cheshire East Council to hold engagement events with prospective trusts. |
| 30 May |
DfE Pre-registration window for interested trusts closes. |
| 19 July |
DfE Application window closes |
| Dates to be confirmed |
Assessment of Trust applications ends |
| Dates to be confirmed |
Trust interviews |
| Dates to be confirmed |
DfE Announce successful Trusts |
Government guidance states that the final decision to open any free school depends on the Secretary of State formally entering into a funding agreement with the chosen academy trust.
For your information please find below links to the Cheshire East SEND Strategy and the Cheshire East SEN Sufficiency Statement. Please note that these documents are currently in the process of being refreshed.
Page last reviewed: 10 May 2024
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