Plans for new specialist school in Headingley set to be approved by Leeds City Council

A proposal to build a new specialist free school in Headingley is set to get official backing from senior councillors next week, after a public consultation received strong support.The new school, if approved by Leeds City Council’s executive board on Wednesday 12th February, will be based at Rose Court on Buckingham Road, and will create 150 new school places for children and young people aged 4-16 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).As part of the proposal, 50 additional partnership places will also be created in local mainstream schools, which will see more children with SEND able to access specialist provision within a mainstream setting.There has been an increase in demand for specialist provision in schools over the past decade due to the number of children and young people living in Leeds with SEND. This new school, which is set to be established on the former site of Rose Court, part of The Grammar School at Leeds, will help to address this need.The proposal highlights the benefits of using a site that is already home to a school; the impact on local residents will be minimal and, as the existing buildings are already suitable for education purposes, it’s cost effective too.The council held a public consultation last year to get people’s views on the proposal and 92% of respondents either strongly supported or somewhat supported the plans.