Expansion of Alt Bridge School, Huyton

Find details of a proposed expansion of Alt Bridge School, Huyton and opportunity to share your views here.

Prescribed Alteration Statutory Proposal

Knowsley Council is seeking your views on a proposal to expand Alt Bridge School, Huyton

Alt Bridge School in Huyton provides essential educational support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and moderate learning difficulties (MLD). To meet the increasing demand for special school places in Knowsley, the Council is proposing to expand Alt Bridge School to offer more high-quality educational opportunities for children and young people in the borough. Alt Bridge is an established special school which has the space to support an expansion and create more school places. The Council has approved funding for this proposal and is now consulting with the public, as required by the prescribed alterations process.

Why Are We Proposing This Expansion?

  • The number of children with Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Knowsley has risen significantly, resulting in the need for more special school placements.
  • Expanding Alt Bridge will enable more children to access education closer to home, in a well-established education provision, and provide greater choice for parents.
  • By offering more places locally, the Council can better manage the high costs associated with independent special school placements which are often out of the area.
  • This proposal will provide a fit for purpose resource for children attending the school.
  • The proposal will complement existing special school provision in the area by providing additional capacity to meet growing needs. This will also create more opportunities for children with complex needs to access the right support in a specialist setting, which also supports the capacity of local mainstream schools.

What Will the Expansion Include?

  1. Two modular buildings to enhance classroom capacity and facilities on the main school site, due for September 2025.
  2. A dedicated satellite site in Kirkby for post-16 learners, from 2026, providing a focused environment for older students to prepare for adulthood.
  3. It is estimated that the project will use £5.060m of High Needs Provision Capital Allocation funding. This investment provides long term value for money, given it is providing additional capacity in maintained special provision, which is typically significantly more cost efficient compared to use of the independent schools.

Implementation Plan

  • Phase 1a - The construction of a modular building solution to create 20 additional places, combined with essential car park and drop-off improvements (to be delivered by September 2025);
  • Phase 1b - An additional modular building, creating 10 places from September 2025 and 20 places from September 2026;
  • Phase 2 - Relocation of post-16 provision to the Kirkby Centre to free up space at Alt Bridge School (to be delivered by Easter 2026); and,
  • Phase 3 - Internal remodelling of the space released from Phase 2 on the Alt Bridge School site to create at least an additional 80 places (to be delivered by September 2026). The introduction of the 80 places will be phased across subsequent years.

How to Have Your Say

You can share your views on the proposals from 21 November until 20 December 2024 by:-Emailing SEND Admin: SENDadmin@knowsley.gov.uk or by writing to; 

FAO SEND TEAM
Knowsley Council
PO Box 21
Archway Road
Huyton
Knowsley
Merseyside
L36 9YU

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