Falkirk bid to create new school for children with severe and complex needs

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A new £23 million campus for children with severe and complex learning needs in Falkirk district could become a reality if a bid for funding is successful.

The new campus would expand the current Carrongrange High School in Grangemouth and add a brand new building to accommodate primary classes, members of Falkirk Council 's education, children and young people's executive heard on Friday.

The project is estimated to cost around £23 million, and Falkirk Council is hoping that the Scottish Government's Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) will agree to provide up to 50 per cent of the cash. Read more: Falkirk libraries 'won't close' but five-year plan could mean big changes The expansion, members were told, is necessary to cope with the increase in pupils with severe and complex needs.Falkirk Council's head of planning and resources, Gary Greenhorn, said that while the current Carrongrange High School had been a success, they were already finding it difficult to accommodate the growing number of children with severe and complex learning needs.The new campus would create five extra primary classes - taking the total to 20 - and 10 new secondary classes, although four of these will replace modular buildings currently being used.All of the current primary classes for ASN pupils - Maddiston PS – Timezone, Kinnaird PS - Thistle Wing and the Thistle Wing Annex - will transfer to the new purpose-built facility.Members were told that bringing pupils together in a single campus would have several benefits.

Not only would it mean all pupils could access resources such as a hydrotherapy pool and outside play, the building would also act as a hub for social work and NHS staff providing support.The extra classrooms should