A capital project is proposed for Broomhill Bank School, a successful special school which operates across two sites Kent, in Hextable (North) and Tunbridge Wells (West).
At the school, pupils with SEND are organised into classes of between eight to 10 students, according to level of need, each with their own form tutor. Lessons are led by subject specialist teachers, and a combination of whole class, group and 1-1 teaching, focusing on helping students to learn as independently as possible.
As the needs of pupils in Kent change and they start to attend schools nearer to where they live, Broomhill Bank staff have been planning on expanding the number of places they offer by potentially providing new classrooms and adapting existing buildings on both school’s sites in Tunbridge Wells and Hextable. The plan is to formally increase the school’s designated number from 318 to 490.
It is anticipated that a report recommending the development will be considered at a KCC Children’s and Young People’s Cabinet Committee in the Autumn and if agreed, the project will enter the delivery phase.
The majority of the new places will be provided on the Hextable site. The proposed new classrooms on that site will be able to accommodate 105 new places. Feasibility work for the proposed development is currently underway.
A proportion of pupils will have a wider dimension of need and follow a different curriculum to the existing universal offer.
Broomhill Bank’s Executive Headteacher, Steven Ackerley, said: “In recent years we have been working with the Local Authority to identify opportunities to fully utilise our site capacity.
“This new proposal for a capital build project will help us create an approach to support learners with a wider dimension of need, alongside our current cohort of students and existing curriculum offer; whilst also allowing us to respond to the developing needs of the SEND community in the North Kent area.”
“The expansion is an example of how KCC is committed to making sure the right provisions are in place for children with the most complex needs in Kent.”
KCC’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Beverley Fordham, said: “I was delighted to recently visit Broomhill Bank School and meet Mr Ackerley, his staff and pupils. I was interested to find out more about the important work they do as well as the exciting plans for the future of the school.
“The expansion is an example of how KCC is committed to making sure the right provisions are in place for children with the most complex needs in Kent.”
KCC has already invested more than £3 million into making mainstream schools more accessible for pupils with SEND. The money has been spent on 83 projects over the past five years including installing ceiling hoists and care suites, resurfacing playgrounds, and putting in ramps in schools across the county.
The work is part of KCC’s commitment to supporting all children and young people with physical disabilities and or complex medical needs, to access education at a local school in their community. So far, the capital programme has seen £3,152,274 invested in this work, which is continuing.
These adaptations, together with the support from specialist staff such as the statutory Specialist Teaching and Learning Service Physical Disability and Complex Medical Needs Team, means 466 children with additional needs can continue to attend mainstream nurseries and schools across Kent.
Alongside this work in mainstream schools, KCC has also been investing in special schools. Between 2021 and 2024, more than £60 million has been spent on 48 different SEND building projects.
Some of the bigger expansions include:
- two new annexes of Snowfield Special School in Cranbrook and on the Isle of Sheppey, and a new annex of Meadowfield Special School at Fulston Manor
- additional places at Five Acre Wood, Stone Bay, Nexus and The Beacon special schools and Whitfield Aspen Primary School.
The work means SEND school places for pupils aged five to 16 have increased by almost 18% over the past five years from 4,176 to 4,921 spaces. KCC has also supported a new Cullum Centre, a Specialist Resource Provision at Canterbury Academy, and made contributions to the two new special schools in Swanley and Whitstable.
