Special Educational Needs Places Will Expand At Scarborough Primary School In September

Up to sixteen children with special educational needs will benefit from tailored support closer to home as a new purpose-built facility opens at a Scarborough primary school this September.

Children with special educational needs will receive specialist support closer to home when a new purpose-built facility opens in Scarborough this September.

Up to 16 full-time places for pupils with communication, interaction, and social, emotional, and mental health needs will be created at St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.

The new Targeted Mainstream Provision will officially launch on the 1st of September 2026, following formal approval by North Yorkshire Council.

Demand for specialist education has surged across the county, with the number of Education, Health and Care Plans jumping by 92 percent from 2,606 in 2018 to around 5,100 in 2024.

Council officials confirmed the Scarborough plans this week after a statutory four-week public consultation period closed in July with no objections.

Executive Member for Education, Learning and Skills, Councillor Annabel Wilkinson, said:

"We are proposing to expand support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities by increasing our targeted mainstream provision in our local schools.

It is proposed to add provision for special educational needs in the form of targeted mainstream provision at Saint Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in Scarborough from the 1st of September this year.

These changes will allow more children with additional needs to stay in mainstream schools, to receive specialist support and attend school closer to home. Pupils will benefit from access to trained staff, specialist services and tailored support while remaining part of their local school community."

The project will bring capital investment to construct the new, purpose-built facility at the Holbeck Hill school site, ensuring the educational space is fully fit for purpose.

Once all places are allocated, the Scarborough provision will receive around £130,000 in annual revenue funding. An additional £10,000 start-up grant has also been earmarked to cover new learning resources, information technology costs, and staff development.

The local authority aims to address a gap in current educational services, ensuring there are sufficient full-time places for children who require significant additional assistance alongside access to a mainstream curriculum.

Places at the facility will be offered to pupils where the local authority has identified that the child's needs are best met at this kind of setting, following consultation with the school's headteacher.

Pupils at St Martin's will have access to a wider range of therapies, specialist staff, and training opportunities to ensure they are fully supported in small group interventions.

Executive Member for Children and Families, Councillor Janet Sanderson, said:

"I think it's a really good news story, for years we've been trying to establish these targeted mainstream provisions and it's clear that the government's now supporting this direction of travel in fact asking for it .

And it means that children requiring extra support with the main part will be able to get this in their own communities and retain those those networks that they built in their schools and that's really valuable so that they can keep that social structure in place.

And those requiring extra specialist support will still be able to get that provision from special schools. So I'm really positive about this."

The development at St Martin's Primary School is part of a wider rollout of special educational needs services across North Yorkshire.

The latest phase of the council's strategic plan will see the total number of Targeted Mainstream Provisions increase to 22 across the county, creating 198 places overall by September.

Education leaders expect the new model to have a positive impact on the environment by reducing the need for pupils to travel long distances to access appropriate schooling.

By keeping children in their local communities, officials hope pupils will be able to build stronger friendships and maintain valuable social networks closer to home.