Special school may be closed and children taught closer to home

North Yorkshire County Council has begun consulting on a proposal to close Netherside Hall School at Threshfield near Grassington.

If the proposal were to go ahead, the school would close in July 2012. Unless the county council could find and alternative use for the site, it would be sold.

The school for 11 to 16-year-old boys with dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties can accommodate up to 40 pupils; it currently has 17. If no more boys were admitted, there would be five pupils at the school at the time of the proposed closure.

It is thought that some could be educated closer to home while others could have further to travel.

Those remaining pupils could be educated at the new special school for behavioural, emotional and social difficulties at Forest Moor, Darley, Harrogate; an alternative special school; an enhanced mainstream school or other appropriate specialist provision, to be discussed and agreed with parents.

County councillor Caroline Patmore, North Yorkshire's executive member for children's services, said: "The county has established an innovative network of local provision for children and young people with significant special needs and we believe those currently provided for at Netherside will be better served closer to their local communities through this new network of mainstream, special schools and pupil referral services. However, we also wish to hear the views of parents and other interested parties about these proposals."

The proposal is part of a wider special needs strategy, which the county council says has been designed so local schools are better able to provide for more children with significant special needs by accessing support and outreach from a network of local enhanced mainstream schools.

The county council has commissioned servicesZ from 25 "highly inclusive" schools across the county and is providing them with improved facilities and staffing to cater for children and young people in their area.

These enhanced schools, both primary and secondary, will form local partnerships with special schools and pupil referral units, including new facilities in Northallerton and Skipton and "represent a substantial new investment" in support and outreach for pupils with significant need in dyslexia, high functioning autism, communication difficulties and behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.

A public meeting is to be held at Netherside Hall School at 4pm today and other meetings have been arranged for parents and staff.

The governing body of the school has written to the local authority supporting in principle the council's proposals.

A public consultation on the closure proposals runs until June 18. The county council's executive will consider the responses on June 29 when it will decide whether to publish statutory notices to close the school.

Such notices would provide a further six weeks for views to be made. The final decision about the future of the school would be taken in August.

Andrew Terry, the county council's assistant director, access and inclusion, children and young people's service, said: "We are working very closely with Netherside Hall School headteacher and staff and with the parents of the youngsters who would still be in the school come 2012. That's not to say that a decision has been made."