Funding of 3 million to help boost special needs education
Align is playing its part in helping to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as part of a wider £3 million investment from North Yorkshire Council.
The council is continuing to support families, children and young people with SEND by increasing the number of specialist school places across the county, ensuring every child or young person has the best opportunities for their education.
The pressures on SEND services have seen the number of children with Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) in North Yorkshire rise sharply from 1,700 in 2015 to more than 6,000 in 2025.
To help meet the growing demand for specialist education, Springwater School has been expanded to accommodate dozens of extra pupils.
Align’s architects and engineers have been heavily involved in the development of the new facilities at Springwater.
The Starbeck school has increased its pupil numbers from 112 to 157 after the redevelopment of two neighbouring buildings to create dedicated classrooms, new changing facilities, outdoor space including an area for sixth-form pupils and a kitchen.
There are now hoists in most classrooms and those most in need of physical support can access changing spaces without the need to transfer between equipment.
There is also a training kitchen, comprising one low-level, accessible domestic kitchen and two higher level kitchens. These are attached to a serving hatch and café, meaning that students can gain the skills vital for independent living as well as running an enterprise activity.
As well as valuable outdoor space, the extended facility includes environmental adaptations with the installation of solar panels.
The school’s headteacher, Mr Mike Finlay, said: “The investment is not only providing more local places for families of children with specialist needs, but also significantly improving the facilities available to all pupils who attend the school now and in the future.
“We have worked together with the contractors and North Yorkshire Council to deliver the very best education for the county’s young people who have additional support needs and we’re pleased with the result.”
The expansion at Springwater is one of a number of recent investments made by the council to support the county’s children and young people.
Post-16 specialist provision has been boosted in Skipton with the town’s former Ings Primary School, which closed in 2017, given a new lease of life after undergoing a £1 million renovation programme.
Elsewhere, The Lighthouse School has been appointed to run a new specialist secondary school in Harrogate for children with autism following a £2.4 million investment, while construction has started to build a specialist school in Osgodby, near Selby.
To read more, please visit North Yorkshire Council’s website at Funding of £3 million to help boost special needs education | North Yorkshire Council
