£500,000 to extend school’s SEND facility

A school’s SEND provision will be expanded as part of £500,000 work approved by a council.

City of Wolverhampton Council has agreed to spend £500,000 to expand SEND provision at Springdale Primary School, Warstones Drive in Penn, Wolverhampton.

The school’s existing resource base for pupils with speech, language and communication needs would be cut from 34 places to 18 and a new 20-place unit would be created from September this year totalling 38 specialist places for the school. 

The new unit would be housed in a ‘modest’ extension and the existing unit would be remodelled and refurbished. 

The work also includes new sensory equipment for an immersive room, a sensory light room, soft play and new sensory outdoor space.

The work was backed by the council’s Labour cabinet at a meeting last Wednesday (April 22).

In a letter explaining the new SEND unit, Graham Tate, chief executive of Lykos Multi Academy Trust which runs the school said: “As part of the SEND unit project, we have also requested additional funding to enhance a number of school facilities. 

“These improvements will benefit not only pupils within the unit and learning resource base but also many of our mainstream children. 

“We currently have a range of sensory spaces that support children with SEND, but some of these areas are dated and certain equipment is no longer functioning. 

“We aim to refurbish and update these spaces and to develop more inclusive playgrounds in KS1 and nursery, ensuring children can access high-quality provision throughout the day. 

“Inclusion is at the heart of our school values. It is vital to us that every member of our school community feels valued and has access to the best staffing and resources available, enabling all children—both with and without SEND—to achieve the best outcomes possible. “

The demand for specialist school places in Wolverhampton has risen significantly with the number of pupils with an education, health and care plans (EHCPs) rising by more than 50 per cent in the last five years – growing from 2,185 in 2021 to 3,352 in 2026. 

Autism spectrum disorder, speech, language and communication, and social, emotional and mental health are the most common needs with all seeing year-on-year increases. 

Speech, language and communication increased from 714 children in February 2025 to 809 at the same this year – a rise of more than 13 per cent. 
The council said demand is increasing faster than places can be created and is forced to place children in independent provision in Wolverhampton as well as outside the city – which comes at a high cost. 

The average cost per child per year is around £76,000.