Special school plans to be put on hold due to funding headache
Funds are needed for a similar scheme at the council's former HQ
A planned special school in Middlewich looks set to be put on hold so funds can be diverted for a new SEND facility at the council’s former Westfields HQ at Sandbach. Cheshire East had originally hoped the government would fund the proposed 120-place Westfields school for secondary aged pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
But a report to next week’s meeting of the children’s and families committee says it has since been informed that is ‘highly unlikely’. Councillors are now being asked to approve the funding and self-delivery of the Westfields school.
But that means plans for the 60-place Springfield satellite school proposed for Cledford House in Middlewich will be ‘paused’. Two former school sites – St Gregory’s at Bollington and Vernon Infant at Poynton – are also expected to be declared ‘surplus to requirement’ so they can be sold off at a later date.
The report states: “Progressing with the two currently proposed options of expanding special school places at Springfield satellite school (Cledford, Middlewich) and Westfields would consume all of the SEND capital available and only attend to one pressure in the SEND system, therefore we are requesting approval to pause on the Springfield satellite school and progress with the Westfields scheme.”
(Image: Google)
Cheshire East currently has to pay for many children with special needs to attend out-of-borough or independent schools. This is because when the unitary authorities were formed in 2009, the bulk of Cheshire County Council’s special schools were in what is now Cheshire West.
Only four of the 19 were transferred to Cheshire East and this balance has never been addressed. The report states: “The Westfields site is centrally located and will support the reduction in transport time for learners and associated costs.
“The challenges of long journey times for our most vulnerable learners are a real concern, and we know that too many learners are travelling more than two hours to and from school each day which impacts significantly to their emotional wellbeing and to our overall budget pressures.”
The original plan for Westfields, which closed as council offices at the end of 2024, was for it to be converted into a 120-place special school for secondary aged pupils. Now it is proposed to be an ‘all through’ special school with 140 places.
The children and families committee meeting takes place at 10.30am on Monday, January 19 at Macclesfield Town Hall.