By Jamie Lopez Stand Up For Southport
A new special educational needs (SEN) unit is set to open at Marshside Primary School to meet rising demand in the area.
Sefton Council’s Cabinet has approved plans to create the unit, with funding being provided directly through the Department for Education High Needs Provision Capital Allocation.
According to a report prepared for the Cabinet meeting, Sefton currently has more than 2,500 children and young people who have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (ECHP). It is argued that establishing SEN provision in a mainstream school helps ensure that “it best delivers for the current cohort of children within the borough, and therefore ensures that we are taking due regard for their needs.”
The new SEN unit at Marshside Primary School will be designed for children with EHCPs with a primary SEN need of Autism and will have one class with four places across reception and eight places in Key Stage 1.
The report states: “The number of children and young people with an EHCP in Sefton has increased significantly. The most common category of need within this group of pupils are those with social communication and interaction difficulties including Autism as well as cognition and learning/social emotional and mental health.
“The SEN Unit will offer the increasing number of pupils with Autism the benefit from attending a mainstream school, whilst also receiving specialist input relevant to the child’s SEN needs.”
Admission to the SEN Unit will be made via Sefton Council’s SEN and Inclusion Service and the authority says the new unit will be “appropriately resourced to ensure that the children placed will be supported in achieving their educational outcomes”.
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