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PLANS to expand and improve the education offered to children on the Isle of Wight with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are to be discussed next week.
The plans, drawn up following detailed consultation with parents and existing SEND students, and in line with the Government's recent Green paper, will increase provision for children and young people with SEND and will double to 24 the number of places on the Island for those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
They will also help address issues identified by some parents of SEND children and will increase the number of places available for students who require this specialist form of education.
The plans involve creating two specialist units within primary mainstream education at Greenmount Primary and Broadlea Primary. In secondary schools we are creating a new ASD unit at Sandown Bay Academy which doubles the existing capacity already at Carisbrooke College. The plans build on the existing and highly regarded SEND special school provision at Medina House and St George's by working in even closer co-operation with them and other specialist facilities such as those at Beaulieu House.
Key to the new plans is situating the new units in our mainstream schools. This combines the benefits to be gained from schooling in a specialist and mainstream, environment. The children will be taught both within the specialist facility and in mainstream classes according to their particular needs.
Cllr Dawn Cousins, who will introduce the paper at the cabinet meeting of 11 October said the capital funding was already in place to bring about these improvements.
"I am confident that these proposals will make a significant improvement to the SEND provision we can offer here on the Island of Wight. What is particularly pleasing for me is that views of SEND students and their parents have helped to shape these proposals.
"As the proposals will give an improved service for a greater number of SEND pupils, this will reduce the need for us to send children and young people off the Island for their education. That will mean fewer pupils will need to be away from their parents and carers while at the same time it will help the council reduce costs."
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