Proposal to establish a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) unit at Moorthorpe Primary School

Statutory Notice Timeline

Stakeholder Consultation Period

8 January 2025 to 22 January 2025 at 5pm.

Council’s Cabinet approved the publication of the Statutory Notice

12 March 2025.

Statutory Notice Period

27 March 2025 to 23 April 2025 at 5pm.

The proposal

Wakefield Council, with the support of the Full Governing Board, is proposing to establish a new SEN Unit at Moorthorpe Primary School on a permanent basis from September 2025.

The proposal to establish a new SEN Unit at Moorthorpe Primary School is in response to the Wakefield SEND Provision Plan and Wakefield SEND Provision Strategy in the Specialist Provision Priorities Action Plan. It also aligns with the SEN Sufficiency Programme presented to Council’s Cabinet on 16 July 2024.

The proposal to establish a new SEN Unit at Moorthorpe Primary School aims to enhance the provision of education and improve services for children with SEND. 

The proposal to establish a new SEN Unit at Moorthorpe Primary School aims to enhance the provision of education and improve services for children with SEND. The new SEN unit will provide 14 places specifically for children with Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SLCN).

The proposal will support Wakefield Council to fulfil its statutory duty under The Education Act 1996, Section 14 (1) which places a duty on Local Authorities to plan for and secure sufficient school places for their area and under The SEND Code of Practice 2015 which places a duty on Local Authorities to provide high quality provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.

What decision was made by Council’s Cabinet

A report was considered and approved on behalf of Council’s Cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday 12 March 2025.

The report presented the feedback received during the consultation period and set out the recommendations on how the Council wishes to proceed with the proposal to establish a new SEN Unit at Moorthorpe Primary School. The report sought approval to publish a Statutory Notice, which is the legal document that sets out the proposed change.

View the Delegated decision registers.

Submitting Comments on the Proposal

The recommendation to publish a Statutory Notice was approved and will be posted on entrances to the school, in local public buildings and will also be published in the Pontefract and Castleford Express newspaper from Thursday 27 March 2025.

View the statutory notice.
 
A formal period of 4 weeks will follow to enable interested parties to make representations, and this will end on Wednesday 23 April 2025 at 5pm.
 
Please see the ‘Full Proposal Document’ for more information.

If you require a paper copy of the questionnaire or any further information, please contact the Schools Organisation Team via their contact details.