Housing developers to pay £370k towards school support for Leeds pupils
The funding will help the school provide support for a growing number of SEND children
Housing developers will help fund school support for Leeds children with special needs after an agreement was reached with the council.
Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey will contribute £370,600 towards an expansion of help at John Smeaton Academy in east Leeds.
The funding was agreed as part of planning permission for the Grimes Dyke housing development near the school on Barwick Road.
The funding will help the school provide support for a growing number of children with Education, Help and Care Plans (EHCPs).
A council report said: “The number of children and young people living in Leeds with an EHCP continues to increase each year, resulting in rising demand for specialist provision places across the city.
“A need for this type of provision has been identified in this area of Leeds, both in terms of current and long term future need.”
The report said a contribution of £370,622 was secured as part of a legal agreement between the council and the developers.
It would be put towards a £1.8m expansion of provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at the school.
The report said: “The demand for specialist provision places is rising across the city.
“A need for resource provision catering for complex communication and learning difficulties has been identified in this area of Leeds both in terms of current and long-term future need.”
The allocation to John Smeaton was the best use of the funding for youngsters in the area, the council said.
The report said: “The expansion of John Smeaton Academy’s resource provision (RP) ensures that there is a local option for children requiring a resource provision place for complex communication and learning difficulties.
“Given that John Smeaton Academy is the second nearest secondary school to the housing development and has absorbed some of the additional demand for secondary school places generated by this development, the expansion of the RP at this school stands out as the only appropriate option for the allocation of these funds.”