Carnforth set to get new facility for children with special educational needs

The creation of the facility at Carnforth Community Primary School is one of three being considered by Lancashire County Council’s cabinet this week, as part of an ongoing strategy to bolster this type of provision across the county.

If approved by cabinet on Thursday (September 5), new SEN units will be created within Carnforth Primary, at Clayton Brook Primary School in Preston and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Chorley.

Each unit will provide places for up to 16 children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Creating SEN units within mainstream settings, rather than creating more special school places, allows children to remain within their local communities and have more opportunities to integrate and be supported by their peers.

Cabinet will be asked to consider the results of the formal consultations, which took place earlier in the summer, and approve the creation of the SEN units.

County Coun Jayne Rear, cabinet member for Education and Skills, said: "SEN units ensure that children get the right support in the right place at the right time.

"By increasing the county council's internal specialist provision, this will not only benefit the children's outcomes and independence later in life, but it will also reduce our home to school transport costs and over-reliance on costly placements in independent special schools.

"Demand for this type of specialist provision continues to rise and we are working hard to deliver them at pace in the areas that need them most."