Ambitious plans are moving forward for new school

Ambitious plans are moving forward for a new school in Calderdale to support up to 125 students with complex needs, after the UK Government’s Department for Education (DfE) confirmed a multi-million-pound grant to fund the new-build.

The school will support children and young people aged 8 to 16  with a range of vulnerabilities and additional needs, through short-term placements designed to offer them the targeted help and support they need in order to give them the greatest opportunity to succeed when they return to their mainstream school setting.  The school will be created in partnership with Delta Academies Trust. Calderdale Council worked with Delta to successfully bid for DfE funding for this  ‘alternative provision free school’. This will bring extra high-quality, specialist places to Calderdale and help to meet increasing local demand by adding to, and enhancing the alternative provision support already provided in the borough.

The purpose-built school will help young people to benefit from a broad, enriching and inclusive curriculum, delivered through outstanding teaching and learning. The school will follow Delta’s model, which is based on the DfE’s alternative provision Taskforce model of multi-agency working, providing all kinds of support that young people might need from different organisations in one place, including health, education and social care. 

The new school will provide a state-of-the-art environment for students to learn in. . It will offer an ambitious range of academic and technical subjects, with personal support, care and career guidance, which will give students the skills and knowledge to help them take their next steps in education, training or employment.

Cllr Adam Wilkinson, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said:

“The years that we spend at school play such an important part in the opportunities we have and the adults we become. We want that time to be as positive as possible for everyone, and for all young people to have hope and a good start in life.

“We’re really happy to be working with Delta on a brand new alternative provision school, giving children with additional needs and vulnerabilities an extra helping hand so they can learn, achieve their best and thrive close to home.”

Andy Barnett, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Academies Trust, said:

“We are excited at the opportunity to help shape, strengthen and deliver a foundational element of the Council’s vision and longer term strategy, to create an Alternative Provision school which will stand ready to provide a strong offer to future cohorts of the most vulnerable children and young people at a time when they are most in need.” 

Jo Pittard, Executive Principal, Delta Academies Trust, said:

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work in partnership with Calderdale Council to help support some of the most vulnerable children in the borough, providing opportunities for these students to reengage successfully with education. 

“Our ambition is to provide a strong educational offer for all children that helps them thrive, achieve and be successful in their next destinations.”