Hopes rise for special school expansion

Plans to create new places at a Sandwell special school so that it can cater for older pupils are set to move to the next stage.

Shenstone Lodge School, near Lichfield, is run by Sandwell Council and caters for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and also has provision for primary age pupils.

The council now wants to transfer some places from The Meadows School, in Oldbury and create six new places for secondary age pupils at Shenstone Lodge.

The proposals are being discussed by Sandwell's education boss, Councillor Ian Jones, on Monday.

At his meeting in May Councillor Jones approved an initial consultation on plans to extend the ages from primary to secondary at Shenstone Lodge School which would be effective from January 1, 2010.

Since then six consultation meetings have been held with governors, staff and parents.

On Monday, Councillor Jones is asked to give consideration to the responses received from that consultation.

He is also asked to approve the next stage and that a statutory notice be published to open formal consultations on the plans.

Councillor Jones said: "What is being proposed is that Key Stage 3 pupils will be transferred to Shenstone Lodge School.

"Some of the pupils are at the Meadows and the proposal is to move them and create six extra places at Shenstone."

It is also proposed that existing buildings at Tividale Community Centre can be refurbished to provide educational accommodation for up to 25 pupils needing therapy or specialist facilities.

Therapy services for youngsters are being moved after an Ofsted report in 2006 at The Meadows said: "While accommodation is good within the main school, it is inadequate in the therapeutic centre. These students do not have access to specialist facilities appropriate to their age and abilities."