Trust with 'highest ambitions' will lead new Halifax school for SEND children
Calderdale Council has announced which education trust will take charge of a new Halifax school for SEND children.
Nexus Multi Academy Trust (MAT) has been appointed to lead the school, which will be where Threeways Community Centre in Ovenden was.
As reported by the Courier, the school will provide 200 places for pupils aged between four to 16 who have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and is expected to open in the 2028/29 school year.
Nexus MAT is in charge of 19 other schools, many in South Yorkshire, and says on its website it has “the highest ambitions possible for anyone and everyone we work with”.
With some children having to travel outside Calderdale because of a shortage of specialist places in the borough, the council and the Government’s Department for Education approved the new specialist free school in Halifax to ensure more young people can learn closer to home.
Calderdale Council says Nexus MAT was chosen to lead the school because “of its strong track record in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities”.
Councillor Tim Holden, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for Children and Young People’s Services, said: “The creation of a new specialist free school is just one of the ways the council is supporting more children with special educational needs and disabilities.
"It will give them high-quality education close to home, with all the help they need to do well at school and be prepared for adulthood.
“The new school will build on and work alongside the great specialist provision already available in Calderdale and will be part of the outreach support for special education needs in mainstream schools.
"We look forward to working with Nexus and other schools across the borough to continue to help young people thrive.”
Warren Carratt, CEO Nexus MAT, added: “We’re very proud and grateful to have been appointed to open this new special school, which will meet the needs of more children and families across Calderdale.
"We look forward to working with the excellent providers already working in Calderdale, with children and families and with the local authority as we bring this new school to life.”