Waltham Forest Council is looking to open a school for 40 SEND pupils and 32 staff in Walthamstow, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans have officially been put forward to convert an early years centre in Walthamstow into a school for children with special educational needs (SEND).
The Chapel End Early Years Centre is set to relocate from Brookscroft Road and join its sister site, the Chapel End Infant School, in the summer, freeing the building up.
In its place, Waltham Forest Council hopes to open a school for 40 SEND pupils and 32 staff.
The expansion forms part of the council’s statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient school places for children and young people with SEND.
The council previously said the new site would “allow more pupils to access high-quality, nurturing education close to home, helping to maintain community connections and reduce reliance on out-of-borough placements, which can mean longer travel times for families”.
In a paper due before the planning committee next week, the council said the proposal would “significantly increase” places for SEND children and help meet high demand in the borough, but “without compromising the existing educational provision for the early years pupils”.
The Echo previously reported the new school would operate as an extension of Lime Academy Hornbeam.
It would initially admit 40 pupils from September, with numbers rising incrementally to the full capacity of 100 over the next three years.
Lime Trust, which oversees the soon-to-be three-model school, said the new centre would “create an environment tailored to younger pupils, including use of existing outdoor space to support ‘forest school-style learning’ as part of a broad and balanced curriculum”.
The scheme received no objections from locals, but still requires formal approval from the planning committee – made up of elected councillors, rather than civil servants.
The council’s planning department has recommended the scheme is approved.
Next week’s meeting will be the first under the new Green administration, which wrestled control from Labour in the May local elections. Former council leader Grace Williams has a presence on the new planning committee, which is chaired by Green councillor for Lea Bridge Liz Biggs.
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