Special school expansion signed off by council

Plans for a special school to expand have been backed by East Sussex County Council.

Bob Standley, the council's lead member for education and inclusion, approved a proposal on Tuesday for the reorganisation of Grove Park School, in Crowborough.

The proposal involves new facilities at the school's Church Road site so it can teach primary and secondary students at a single location.

The school is also expected to open a new nursery provision for children aged two and three at the site.

It will continue to provide for learners with learning difficulties, autism, and sensory needs.

Grove Park School's secondary and sixth form classes currently take place at nearby Beacon Academy.

The current arrangement would continue for sixth formers following implementation of the reorganisation.

An earlier version of the proposal, which was put out to consultation in 2023, would also have seen sixth formers brought on to the Church Road site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This was dropped from the proposal due to "budgetary constraints and challenging site conditions", council officers said at the time.

Mr Standley's decision is contingent on the granting of planning permission for the construction of a new school block at the Church Road site.

The council has a £17m budget for the project and expects the changes to be implemented fully from September 2027.

Construction at the site to accommodate the reorganisation could start later this year, subject to the council granting planning permission for the works.

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