SOMERSET Council are scoping out the possibility of introducing special needs units to Wellington schools.

The council-led project follows a March decision to open 15 new SEND pupil units within existing schools across Somerset.

At the end of July, the council announced that six new SEND pupil units would be added to schools in Taunton, Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Watchet, Crewkerne and Dulverton this autumn.

Feasibility studies are also under way for another 12 schools, including sites in Wellington, Frome, and Minehead.

The first six of these units are expected to open at the start of the new academic year in September – with studies under way to provide the remaining units within the coming year.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are usually educated in one of two contexts: either at specialist schools constructed by Somerset Council, or within mainstream schools in line with agreed education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

The council has faced numerous challenges on this front in recent years, with existing specialist schools operating at full capacity and the number of young people with EHCPs rising.

These issues have in turn led to higher transport costs to the council from transporting SEND children to specialist providers further afield, and to numerous complaints made by parents to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) when EHCPs are not reviewed in a timely fashion.

To address these problems, the council decided in March that 15 new SEND pupil units will be created within existing schools, allowing more SEND children to have a normal education.

Each of the new units will deliver between six and eight SEND places – except for a planned unit at Maiden Beech Academy in Crewkerne (which will handle between eight and 16) and one in Upton Noble near Bruton (which will handle four to six pupils).

According to Somerset Council, additional schools may be added to the programme at a later date if finances allow.

As of March, more than 500 children and young people with EHCPs in Somerset were accessing education in independent settings, at “significant additional cost” to the council.

Amelia Walker, the council’s service director for education, stated at the time: “As a result of this demand, Somerset’s special schools are full to capacity, and some have exceeded their number of commissioned places in order to help meet the needs of children assessed as requiring specialist provision, or to accommodate children whose parents have successfully acquired places through the direction of tribunal.

“The council has not had the regulatory power to open new schools. In addition, the Department for Education has been unable to deliver new special schools to keep pace with the level of demand.

“This increase in demand and lack of available places has also had a negative effect on the council’s preferred ‘local first’ approach to school placements, leading to long commutes for children, some of whom travel past other special schools where their needs could have been met if spare places were available.”