BOROUGH schools could soon benefit from government plans to invest billions to support the needs of children with special educational needs (SEND) - but the cost could be the scrapping of a new primary free school in Aveley.

Today (Friday, 12 December) the government promised to create 50,000 more places for SEND children in mainstream schools in England.

It plans to invest £3bn over the next three years, partly funded by cancelling the building of  some planned free schools.

Nub News understands the planned, but contentious, Harrier Free School in Aveley may now fail to materialise. 

It should have been built by now but, after preliminary excavations, work stopped on the project in 2023 when the contractors building it went bust.

The school was set to be run by the REAch2 Academy Trust, whose CEO Cathie Paine said: "We remain totally committed to delivering on our promise of a great new primary school for Thurrock and are just so disappointed it has not been possible to welcome our first year group this September.

"We will continue to work closely with the Department for Education to confirm a new timeline for opening and will do everything we can to drive that forward."

However, that was under a Conservative government and priorities in Westminster have now changed under Labour.

Labour appear to have listened to a plethora of councils who have argued the money for free schools needs to be diverted to the other areas and 'to the people who know what is needed in their local communities'.

Nearly 1.7 million pupils receive support for special educational needs in schools in England, with the number rising every year.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the new investment would lay the groundwork for SEND reforms to be announced in the schools White Paper early next year. 

The government says it plans to cancel the building of 28 new mainstream free schools following a consultation and that it is reviewing a further 16 sites.

Sources have told Nub News Aveley's planned Harrier school is on that list, because there is currently sufficient primary school availability in the area.

"We have made the decision not to go ahead with some schools where we've seen falling rolls because of pupil numbers and investing that money into provision for children with Send", Ms Phillipson said.

Jen Craft

Thurrock MP Jen Craft commented: "The £3bn investment in specialist spaces for children with SEND is really welcome news. I speak to schools in Thurrock every week who tell me that they are struggling to provide for children in our community who need additional support. 

"I'm delighted that the Government have heard them and this money will help them to support our kids. 

"I will be working with all our schools to access the funding to improve facilities in mainstream settings as well as continuing to see how we can expand special school spaces for those that need them. 

"This is the first step in transforming a broken SEND system, and as a mum of a disabled child, I'm talking to ministers so we get this right. 

"I also know that speculation around the Aveley free school will cause concern for some. I understand that the Government are only looking to cancel projects where there is already a surplus of places in the local area and I'll be seeking further clarification, including on whether there are sufficient numbers of children projected to live in the local area for a new primary school to be needed.

"This money has the potential to make a significant difference to children with SEND and will go a long way in ensuring they get the education they need and deserve."

Councils will be able to use the money from the cancelled projects to adapt existing school buildings and create more specialist spaces, so pupils are less likely to have to travel far for their education.

For example, they could create areas like breakout spaces for children who may need more support, or rooms to support children with autism or ADHD who may feel overstimulated in the classroom.

There are also 77 proposed special free schools which local authorities can decide to build, or similarly, use the funding to create the equivalent number of specialist places elsewhere.

The Conservatives described the cancellation of some planned free schools as "education vandalism".

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said Labour was "taking away new schools which parents want. Free schools raise standards and outperform other state schools.

"And not content with that, the government has halted shovel-ready, worked-up special schools, and replaced them with a smaller pot of money and no plan."

The Liberal Democrats welcomed the funding, but said it needed to be "be matched by ambitious reforms to diagnosis and support".