Decision due on special educational needs hub

A temporary hub for children with special educational needs could be made permanent following a two-year delay to the opening of a special school.

Initially expected to welcome pupils in 2025, a free school offering to meet social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) in South Tyneside will now not open until September 2027.

To help meet growing demand for spaces ahead of its opening, the ARC - a temporary hub at West Boldon Primary School - was opened in 2023.

A report published ahead of a South Tyneside Council cabinet meeting said children could face being educated in "more costly specialist or out of borough" settings if the proposals did not progress.

The report said the plan for a 13-place permanent base within the school would help to meet increased demand for specialist provision.

A public consultation received just eight responses, most of which were positive.

One parent said they had witnessed a "remarkable transformation" in their child's confidence, academic progress and well-being since they joined the ARC.

Another person raised concerns around the qualifications and experience of staff employed at the base and their ability to adequately support children with "extreme complex needs".

In response, the report said the school's staff had a "range of skills and experience" to support children with special educational needs and disabilities, and were receiving additional training, support and monitoring from the council.

The cabinet will decide whether to make the additional resource permanent on January 8, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

An audit of need of pupils with special educational needs was undertaken in South Tyneside in 2022 and an increase in demand for SEMH provision and autism was identified as a result.

A gap in provision meant dozens of children have had to be educated outside of the area.

The council applied to the government in 2022 for permission to establish a free school to help address the gap and was successful, with the Department for Education (DfE) announcing an initial estimated opening date of September 2025.

In June 2024, the DfE said the school would be sponsored by the Newcastle-based Prosper Learning Trust and gave an updated opening date of September 2027.

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