Row over town's scrapped £24m SEND school

A senior Lincolnshire County Council official has denied it did not do enough to secure government funding for a new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school.

The authority, led by Reform UK, was accused by opposition Conservatives of failing to respond to requests from the Department for Education for more information on plans for a new 154-place school in Sleaford.

But Heather Sandy, the council's executive director for children's services, said the £24m scheme was cancelled by the government and it was "unable to appeal".

In February, the government announced a major overhaul of the system, with billions of pounds to make mainstream schools more inclusive for SEND pupils.

In its white paper, the government said children and young people with SEND should be able to learn at an education setting close to their home, alongside their peers, rather than travelling long distances to a specialist school.

It announced £1.6bn over three years to go directly to schools, early years settings and colleges and £1.8bn over the same period to provide more access to experts like specialist teachers and speech and language therapists.

The paper said "specialist settings should continue to play a vital role supporting those with the most complex needs".

Lincolnshire County Council submitted a business case for a new SEND school in Sleaford last year, before the government announced the reforms.

In December, the Department for Education wrote to the authority saying it was changing its focus to providing SEND hubs at existing schools.

A copy of the letter, seen by the BBC, said if a business case for a new SEND school did not already include the support of an education trust it "should not continue".

The council was invited to submit "new information or factors that you feel have not been considered" if it wanted to appeal.

Conservative councillor Richard Davies said the Reform UK-led authority had "decided not to make representations".

He said a letter from the government in March, also seen by the BBC, said it had "not received any representations from Lincolnshire County Council" over plans to cancel the Sleaford school.

"There are thousands of parents for whom this kind of decision is really important and we need clear answers on what discussions were held and when," he said.

"There's always a negotiation to be had and the door was left open."

Dr Caroline Johnson, Conservative MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, said she was "hugely disappointed" and "failure to act means many will now miss out".

However, Sandy said: "We didn't have new information that would be eligible for an appeal.

"We met officials twice and were able to secure funding for mainstream hub places.

"Some of them have already opened their doors and others are on track which means children who need specialist provision will be able to get it closer to home."

In April, the council's culture and children's scrutiny committee backed plans to introduce new facilities for SEND pupils at schools in Lincoln, Boston, Sleaford, Tetford and Butterwick.

Reform UK councillor Jimmy Brookes said: "These are really beneficial for all young children, and I've seen their impact as a school governor."

Conservative member Stephen Roe said: "This is a great local service, stopping children from having to travel great distances to establishments that can meet their needs."

The authority is aiming to open more than 40 hubs at primary schools over the next two years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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