£40m Swansea special school progresses

Plans for a new school for pupils with additional learning needs and severe autism in Swansea are progressing.The city currently has two special schools which are Ysgol Crug Glas and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn.Ysgol Crug Glas has 55 places for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties in Dyfatty. Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn has 195 places for pupils with moderate to severe learning difficulties and for children with severe autism. It is split over two sites in Morriston and Penlan.It is proposed to build a school with an estimated cost in excess of £40m to replace these, adjacent to the existing Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn site on Mynydd Garnllwyd Road.Sensory and specialist therapy rooms would be included, and a hydro pool integrated within the school building. Also included would be more space and better provision for teaching young people life skills and vocational skills and improved outdoor areas including external learning environments.The school, which could open in 2028, would have an additional 100 places.Ysgol Crug Glas and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn would be amalgamated as part of the process. However, both would remain open on existing sites without any disruption to pupils until the school is ready.At its meeting cabinet members agreed to start formal consultation on the proposals.Cabinet member for education and learning, Robert Smith, added: “All views received during the consultation period will be collated into a further report for cabinet who will then decide if the proposal should move to the next stage.”The school would be jointly funded by Swansea Council and Welsh Government via the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.