Derbyshire council is planning on allocating nearly £1m of Government funding for a Shirebrook primary school as part of its latest plans and funding contributions to increase special educational needs places by 300 across the county.

The county council’s Cabinet previously approved plans for £4,838,000 from an £11m pot of Government funding to be used at Shirebrook’s Stubbin Wood Nursery, as well as Chesterfeld’s Ashgate Croft School, Alfreton Park School, Long Eaton’s Brackenfield SEND School, Swanwick School and Sports College, and Stanton Vale School.

Shirebrook’s Stubbin Wood Nursery School, on Common Lane, has already been allocated £270,000 from the £11m pot to accommodate 15 additional special needs pupils from September, 2024, with permanent accommodation and suitable outside space but it now hopes to receive a further £953,000 from the same pot to progress the overall project and this is to be considered at a Cabinet meeting, on January 9.

A council spokesperson stated: “The project will aim to provide permanent accommodation and suitable outside space to increase special school provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in which specialist provision is named, on a site that has been identified in partnership with TEAM Education Trust.”

Stubbin Wood School on Common Lane in Shirebrook.

placeholder image — Stubbin Wood School on Common Lane in Shirebrook.

Council officers have recommended the Cabinet approves the further allocation of £953,000 for Stubbin Wood School when it meets on January 9 to consider the Children’s Services SEND Capital allocations and the school’s new provision is expected to be based on the Burlington Avenue site with the academy’s current nursery.

The original £4,838,000 share of the £11m pot from the council’s overall special educational needs and or disabilities capital budget is supporting new facilities and resources at the six identified schools including Stubbin Wood.

Chesterfeld’s Ashgate Croft School is benefiting from £848,000 of funding for a new four-classroom modular building to create additional space for children with special needs.

Alfreton Park School is benefiting from £1,600,000 of funding to provide a three-classroom modular building and a classroom and vocational learning space to accommodate 10 additional SEND pupils by September, 2024, increasing to 45 additional places by September, 2025.

The county council’s Cabinet previously approved plans for £4,838,000 from an £11m pot of Government funding to be used at Shirebrook’s Stubbin Wood Nursery, as well as Chesterfeld’s Ashgate Croft School (pictured), Alfreton Park School, Long Eaton’s Brackenfield SEND School, Swanwick School and Sports College, and Stanton Vale School.

Long Eaton’s Brackenfield SEND School is receiving £200,000 for suitable additional classroom spaces for 15 children with special needs from September, 2024.

Swanwick School and Sports College is to benefit from £1,600,000 to expand classroom space to create additional places for pupils with special needs.

And Stanton Vale School is receiving £320,000 to create a newly refurbished wing creating 22 additional places for special needs children by September 2024, increasing to 35 places by September, 2025.

The SEND funding roll-out is expected to help youngsters across Alfreton and Somercotes, Langwith, Erewash, Chesterfield West and Amber Valley, and other mainstream schools are expected to benefit from the remaining share of the overall £11m pot.

Derbyshire County Council has confirmed their plans are to spend the £11m pot of Government funding to support the creation of 300 new special school places across the county.

A further council report also allocated an additional £3,195,777 of SEND capital funding across three other special school projects to increase places which the Cabinet approved on December 5, 2024.

These three projects are for Bennerley Fields School, in Ilkeston, including £2.6m, the Holbrook School for Autism, in Belper, including £365,777 and Stanton Vale Special School, in Long Eaton, including £230,000.

Further allocations and progress as part of the £11m plan originally announced in July, 2024, are expected to be made in the coming months, according to the council.