Plans for additional SEND places in school approved

The council is pushing ahead with its £1.5m plan to increase school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Tameside.

According to data taken from a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Tameside council spent £1,589,155 in 2023/24 on education placements outside of the area. The largest cost in this relates to transporting the children to and from their specialist schools.

This figure has more than doubled since 2019/20 when it cost the local authority £605,166, according to the FOI submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The council hopes that its latest scheme can help to reduce this cost.

The local authority has recently invested £1.5m to create an additional 133 places for SEND pupils aged five to 16 within mainstream schools. 

One of those schools has recently taken a step forward in their plans for a new SEND facility.

St George’s Primary School in Hyde now has permission to build a small extension to the main school building to provide additional SEND space in an underutilised part of the site.

It would contain a new classroom and cloakroom connected to the junior school area of the Church Street site. What is currently the medical room will also be replaced by a quiet room for the SEND children, according to planning papers. 

It is hoped the new facility would be ready in time for the September 2026 school intake. 

St Mary’s RC Primary School in Denton will be the first school to welcome SEND pupils next month under the £1.5m plans, approved by town hall bosses earlier this year. 

St George’s is one of nine mainstream schools in ‘phase 2’ of the scheme expecting to be taking in SEND children in September 2026.

The proposal to increase the number of SEND units in mainstream schools is in line with the council’s ambition that all children within the borough should have a school place close to home which meets their individual learning needs.

The nine schools hoping to add a SEND facility to their site by September 2026:

• Greenfield Academy
• Oakfield Primary School
• Manor Green Primary Academy
• Endeavour Primary Academy
• Silver Springs Primary Academy
• Copley Secondary Academy
• All Saints Catholic College
• St George’s CE Primary School
• St Mary’s Dukinfield

Tameside Council’s executive member for lifelong learning and culture, Coun Leanne Feeley said previously: “The proposal that has been approved for the additional school places in Tameside is really positive news and will help meet the needs of young people in education.

“The investment into SEND education will also contribute to healthy and active lives while ensuring financially sustainable public services as a foundation for long-term sustainability.

“The proposals offer the opportunity of better outcomes for children who are able to have a school place able to meet their individual learning needs closer to home.”