Special Education School to be Developed

South Gloucestershire Council have submitted a planning application to develop New Siblands school in Thornbury for the benefit older children with special educational needs (SEN).

Currently New Siblands provide for SEN children between the ages of 2 - 19, but the proposed plans for this £5 million project are specifically intended to benefit around 45 older pupils of secondary school age. The plans to create an astro turf area and a hard court play area are more likely to be targetted at older pupils, but additional plans to refurbish the school and create a new two-storey building will obviously benefit the whole school community.

A spokesman for South Gloucestershire Council's children and young persons department said:

"We have now reached the stage of submitting a planning application

for a £5m scheme, which would see the current New Siblands school site

extended, refurbished and landscaped to cater for 11 to 18-year-olds

with special needs.

"The building would be fully equipped to cater for a range of

special educational needs and will include new classrooms and

specialist facilities along with sensory and woodland zones."

To see the full plans for New Siblands you can visit the South Gloucestershire Council website's planning section. Just type in the details of the school and all should be revealed after a quick search. Be quick though, the public consultation on the school design will end on the 12th of February.

A final decision about any changes is expected in April this year.