New special school to be built in Blyth after successful Government bid

Blyth has been revealed as the location of a new special school, following Northumberland County Council's successful bid to the Government.

The local authority submitted a bid last October for an 80-place secondary school for young people who have autism and social, emotional and mental health needs, as part of the Department for Education's Special Free School initiative.

A free school is a non-profit-making, independent, state-funded school which is free to attend, but not wholly controlled by the local authority. The council would still commission and fund the places required for young people from the county.

It was recently revealed that Northumberland had been successful in its bid and, at its meeting on Tuesday (April 9), the cabinet agreed to begin a formal competition for a trust which would run the school.

Coun Wayne Daley, the cabinet member for children's services, highlighted that Northumberland has seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of pre-school children with complex needs since 2013 and the number of pupils in special schools has risen by 32 per cent in this period.

"I'm delighted and I would like to recognise the work of the staff to get us to this stage," he said. "Next is getting that partner with a really successful track record that we can work with."