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A new special school for Cheltenham – an opportunity to comment on the application for planning approval
Published
The SEND Sufficiency team at Gloucestershire County Council has news on the recently-submitted application for planning approval for the new special school in Cheltenham. In response to parents’ requests to see the plans and make comment, the team details the link to the planning portal in this article.
Planners would welcome any comments that parent carers and professionals may have by Tuesday, 11 December 2025 and they also detail a link to the latest Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).
In preparation for the building of the new special school in Cheltenham, further details on the project can be found on the Gloucestershire County Council public access planning portal here.
A well-attended community engagement event was held in October for parent carers and other stakeholders to view the plans ahead of the submission for planning approval. It also provided an opportunity to meet representatives from Enable Academy Trust, who will be running the school.
Please use this link to make a comment if you would like your views to be known and taken into account.
The school will provide 200 additional special school places for primary and secondary pupils and will be built on land owned by the council on Arle Road in Cheltenham.
There continues to be an increasing need for special school places in Gloucestershire, in line with the picture in other parts of the country. The highest level of demand for places needed is centred around Gloucester and Cheltenham. There are plans for a new special school to open in Gloucester in January 2027, which follows the establishment of new special schools in Brockworth (September 2022) and in Stroud (September 2023).
When there is a shortage of places locally it means that some children travel to schools out of county or to independent schools to have their educational needs met. This new school would be located close to an area of demand and within reasonable travelling distance of other parts of the county.
Further information about the school, including a Frequently Asked Questions document can be found here.
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2025
The Assessment is a co-produced and collaborative document between key partners such as the local authority, health services and voluntary sector agencies. It sets out the health and wellbeing needs and inequalities of the population.
Seven recommendations have been made in the JSNA, which have continued to inform three key, jointly-agreed and locally-determined priorities around improved communication, access to support when it is needed and improved outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
The Local Area Partnership uses these priorities to commission a number of educational, therapeutic and wellbeing services for children and young people with SEND as part of the Local Offer. The JSNA is being used to inform the draft Joint Commissioning Strategy and the areas of focus in its improvement plan, which is regularly reviewed and refreshed.
The latest Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is now ready to view on the Local Offer - Support for Families with SEND.