PLANS have been drawn up to use a children’s centre for the education of pupils from a primary school with special needs.

An application in relation to Four Ways Children’s Centre, on Burnage Avenue, Clock Face has been listed on the council’s planning portal.

This seeks permission for a change of use from a day centre to SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) education.

It is proposed for pupils from Rectory CE Primary in Garswood to be relocated to the site.

An application form in the plans says the proposal is to “relocate a cohort of SEN children from Rectory CE Primary School to Four Ways Children’s Learning Centre.”

A description of the proposals in the plans states that the council’s approved budget for 2024/25 included “a savings target of £424k to be achieved by reducing the number of operational children’s centres to three (which would operate as family hubs)”.

This adds that the local authority “is in receipt of capital funding from the DFE for expansion /improvement of places for children with Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs)”.

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It says: “Following an external review of SEND provision, the local authority was recommended to focus on enhancing its resource base provision as an efficient use of capital funding, offering more choice for St Helens parents/carers and relieving pressure on the use of costly out of borough provision”.

Plans add: “In this context, the council has determined that the site at Four Ways Children’s Centre is suitable for the delivery of an educational offer for a cohort of children who require a more bespoke resourced-based offer.

“This would operate as a 32-place satellite provision by Rectory CE Primary school for more complex ASD (autism spectrum disorder) children”.

The document adds: “This proposal represents an efficient use of public resource which could be delivered at a fraction of the cost of the initial proposal to demolish and replace the modular building on the school and moreover could accommodate more children.

“The proposal offers the choice for pupils to be educated within a mainstream school with appropriate specialist support and differentiated curriculum.

“It offers the opportunity for an outreach and in-reach offer ​and the potential for the co-location of SEND services, extended use for families i.e. Short breaks/SEND HAF linked to Family ​Hubs, Family Time ​and a SEND Youth Offer.”

The planning application is on a standard consultation to the public until Thursday, October 24.

A determination deadline on the application has been set for November 26.