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Consultation has concluded
This consultation is part of the process to open a new special school to serve south east Oxfordshire. It is hoped that the school will open for the 2026/27 school year.
The county council is planning two new special schools in the Didcot area to serve south east Oxfordshire:
One special school will specialise in educating children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) needs. This is the school covered by this consultation.
Another special school is due to be built within the Valley Park development, and will specialise in educating children with Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and other associated needs. A site has been secured for this school, and work is continuing to confirm the timescale for this site being transferred to the council. The details of this school are not covered by the current consultation. There will be a separate consultation, as part of the process to identify an academy sponsor to run this school.
To inform further work on planning the new SEMH/ASD school, the county council is consulting on an education specification. This specification sets out what type of school we are seeking, and will be used to attract and assess academy trusts interested in running the school. This specification does not include details of the site and building, as that will be consulted on through the planning permission process, which is expected later in 2024.
Further information on the background to this consultation is available in the Documents section.
Have your say
The county council invites comments on the draft specification from all those interested in the delivery of special education. The comments received will be used to finalise the specification, which will then be approved by the county council Cabinet, before being published and used as the basis for selecting an academy sponsor.
Please fill in our online survey by clicking the ‘COMPLETE FORM’ button in the Survey section below.
You may also want to read the current Oxfordshire SEND Sufficiency Delivery Strategy which is available on the county council website.
This consultation is part of the process to open a new special school to serve south east Oxfordshire. It is hoped that the school will open for the 2026/27 school year.
The county council is planning two new special schools in the Didcot area to serve south east Oxfordshire:
One special school will specialise in educating children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) needs. This is the school covered by this consultation.
Another special school is due to be built within the Valley Park development, and will specialise in educating children with Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and other associated needs. A site has been secured for this school, and work is continuing to confirm the timescale for this site being transferred to the council. The details of this school are not covered by the current consultation. There will be a separate consultation, as part of the process to identify an academy sponsor to run this school.
To inform further work on planning the new SEMH/ASD school, the county council is consulting on an education specification. This specification sets out what type of school we are seeking, and will be used to attract and assess academy trusts interested in running the school. This specification does not include details of the site and building, as that will be consulted on through the planning permission process, which is expected later in 2024.
Further information on the background to this consultation is available in the Documents section.
Have your say
The county council invites comments on the draft specification from all those interested in the delivery of special education. The comments received will be used to finalise the specification, which will then be approved by the county council Cabinet, before being published and used as the basis for selecting an academy sponsor.
Please fill in our online survey by clicking the ‘COMPLETE FORM’ button in the Survey section below.
The county council is consulting on an education specification for a proposed new special school serving south east Oxfordshire, for children with Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) needs. This specification sets out what type of school we are seeking, and will be used to attract and assess academy trusts interested in running the school. This specification does not include details of the site and building, as that will be consulted on through the planning permission process.
Consultation has concluded
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Alternative formats
If you (or anyone you know) needs this consultation in an alternative format in order to have your say, ie Easy Read, large text, audio, Braille or a community language, please email consultations@oxfordshire.gov.uk or call the council’s customer services team on 01865 816000 and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Printed copies
You can request a paper copy of the consultation documents by emailing: consultations@oxfordshire.gov.uk or call the county council's Customer Services Team on 01865 816000.
