Consultation: ASC unit at Hunsbury Park Primary School

Overview

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has identified the need to provide additional specialist school places for children in receipt of an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP), in all areas of West Northamptonshire. There has been a significant increase in the demand for Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) places in recent academic years. One of the biggest drivers of this growth is for places for pupils with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC).

To (partially) address the need for an increased number of ASC places in Northampton, the council is proposing that a new SEND unit be established at Hunsbury Park Primary School from September 2022 that will eventually provide 50 new places. 

This proposal forms part of a wider scheme of works that aims to deliver up to 250 new SEND places by September 2023 and a further 250 new SEND places by September 2025 (in the form of a new special school) to ensure that WNC is able to meet its statutory obligation of providing a sufficiency of SEND places in forthcoming academic years. 

Capital funding totalling about £15.5m is available to support the 500 proposed new places between 2022 and 2024. The council will consider any additional capital funding required through its capital planning process. 
WNC is responsible for providing the capital funding, delivering the required construction works and allocating places at the proposed new SEND unit once open. It is also legally obliged to conduct a period of consultation on this proposal as part of the statutory decision making process for school organisational changes of this nature. 

Evidence of need

In our area, the number of pupils on the autistic spectrum with high needs will increase by about 300 by 2025, with pupils with speech, language and communication needs, increasing by about 50. 

The development of the proposed school will be part of a suite of proposals being developed by the council in conjunction with a range of mainstream schools which have agreed new or expanded resourced provisions and special schools, which have agreed additional places.  

Taken together, this will provide 500 new specialist places for learners who have complex special educational needs and disabilities in local special schools and specialist centres. The plan is to complete the capital programme by September 2024, including the staged opening of the new special school. 

Have your say

WNC would like to know what people think about this proposal and you can give your views by following the link below to the online survey. 

If you are unable to complete the online survey, or you require it in an alternative format please contact us by: 

Email:  specialschool.consultation@westnorthants.gov.uk with the subject ‘FAO Hunsbury Park Primary consultation’.

Post:

• Alice O’Rourke
• Hunsbury Park Primary consultation 
• West Northamptonshire Council
• One Angel Square
• Northampton
• NN1 1ED

Telephone: 07734 459907

All responses must be received by midnight on 23 June 2022.

What happens next

At the end of the consultation period, WNC will collate and review all of the responses received and a summary of them will be published as part of the cabinet report on which a final decision on this proposal will be based. The results will be analysed and an assessment made on whether to proceed with the proposal. All stakeholder views expressed will be given full consideration prior to any future decisions being made.