Parents and guardians in Wokingham are being urged to take part in a public consultation into special educational needs and disability provision after it won a bid to build two new special schools.

Special educational needs and disability provision, shortened to SEND, covers a wide range of disabilities including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down’s Syndrome and wheelchair bound children.

Wokingham Borough Council has launched a consultation on how it can meet the educational needs of these children.

The consultation is focused specifically on whether the mix of models for education provision will meet the needs of special needs children and young people in the area.

The council’s education department has proposed re-purposing existing SEND resources it provides to better meet the demand and needs identified in Wokingham Borough, and phasing out any provision that is no longer required.

It has also proposed creating a new provision called ‘SEND designated units’.

The council wants to establish  a primary school resource base for children with ASD or social communication difficulties, and new designated units for primary schools and secondary schools for those with the same conditions.

Interested parties including parents, guardians and educators can take part on the Engage Wokingham website.

The consultation closes on Sunday, April 23.

It is being held after Wokingham Borough Council successfully won a bid from the Department of Education for two new special schools last November.

The council is considering two sites for these special schools: Grays Farm in rural Wokingham or Rooks Nest Farm outside Finchampstead, which will also be the site of a memorial wood to those who died during the coronavirus pandemic.

READ MORE: New wood to remember those who died with coronavirus in Wokingham

Councillor Clive Jones (Liberal Democrats, Hawkedon), leader of the council, explained: “When we put our plan together for the Department of Education we had to suggest sites, which were Rooks Nest Farm and Grays Farm.

“If it does turn out to be Rooks Nest the school would be built on the brownfield part of the site where

“It [the school] would be shielded by the new Covid memorial wood.

“The really good thing is that the government announced that 30 new special needs schools will be built.

“Our submission to them was so good that we got two out of 30.”

The council’s planning department approved an application to convert Buckhurst Court just outside Wokingham into a private special needs school in February, which will be run by the Odyssey Education Group.

Two SEND schools are under development in the borough, with the Oak Tree Special School set to open in Winnersh in September this year, and Addington Special School  at the former Farley Hill village school site is due to open in Autumn this year as well.