School for Children with Special Needs to Rise in Leicestershire

Another school set to provide special education to children with special needs will rise in Leicestershire, BBC News reported on 4 November 2012. The turf cutting ceremony for the new school was held on 5 November 2012.

Construction work on the school is set to commence this month. The construction cost of the school is pegged at £9.3 million, but the benefits it could bring to children with special needs are priceless. The school will rise on the Charnwood College campus in Loughborough, replacing Ashmount School. It will share a campus with Garendon High School and Burleigh Community College.

According to the Leicestershire County Council, the school will feature improved facilities like a hydrotherapy pool, physio room and conference and training room – aimed at providing special education to children with special needs. The school will also feature a sensory suite and a therapy suite. Set to commence operations in late 2014, the school will offer places for 125 children and young people aged four to 19.

Official remarked that the location of the new school is advantageous. Sharing a campus with Burleigh Community College opened up opportunities for the two schools to collaborate and share sporting and other facilities.

Ashmount head teacher Dave Thomas disclosed that the new school has been on hold for a long time, but the commencement of its construction now “all seems real.”  Thomas remarked that the new school will provide outstanding provision and accommodation to more children with special needs in the area.

"We are determined to make this school a dream come true for children with special needs and their families," Thomas told BBC News.

Hopefully, more schools intended for children with special needs would be built around the country. This way, special education could become more accessible to more children with special needs.