On Wednesday 5th March 2025, Gloucestershire County Council's Cabinet approved the allocation of £20 million to establish a new special school for children with Complex Learning Difficulties (CLD), including autism and associated communication and interaction difficulties.
Specialist and alternative provision
Gloucestershire County Council has a duty to ensure there are enough school places within the county. Some children and young people have complex special educational needs that cannot easily be met within a mainstream school setting. When we don't have enough special and alternative provision school places in Gloucestershire to meet demand so some children attend special schools out of county or go to independent schools to have their needs met. This often involves increased journey times and additional costs.
This page will outline the projects that are being undertaken to increase the number of special school places available in the county.
Projects - current/completed
On Wednesday 5th March 2025, Gloucestershire County Council's Cabinet approved the allocation of £20 million to establish a new special school for children with Complex Learning Difficulties (CLD), including autism and associated communication and interaction difficulties.
On Wednesday 19 July 2023, cabinet approved £16.5 million to set up a new special school for children with moderate and additional learning difficulties.
On Wednesday 19 July 2023, cabinet approved £16.5 million to set up a new special school for children with moderate and additional learning difficulties.
Work was completed in August 2021 to provide the children and young people who attend Belmont special school, a popular school, with some additional classroom accommodation.
Work was completed in August 2021 to provide the children and young people who attend Belmont special school, a popular school, with some additional classroom accommodation.
Gloucestershire’s Alternative Provision Transformation Project was launched in June 2020 and supports Gloucestershire’s Education Inclusion Strategy.
Gloucestershire’s Alternative Provision Transformation Project was launched in June 2020 and supports Gloucestershire’s Education Inclusion Strategy.
Harbour House is an exciting development for the county which has been developed by Gloucestershire College. The development will provide specialist education for young people with severe learning difficulties, supporting them to achieve their full potential. There was an information evening held at The Milestone School where details were provided to parent/guardians. Further events are planned for September 2021, prior to the launch of Harbour House.
Harbour House is an exciting development for the county which has been developed by Gloucestershire College. The development will provide specialist education for young people with severe learning difficulties, supporting them to achieve their full potential. There was an information evening held at The Milestone School where details were provided to parent/guardians. Further events are planned for September 2021, prior to the launch of Harbour House.
There is an increasing demand in Gloucestershire for special school places, which means these children sometimes have to go to schools out of the county or to independent schools when there aren’t places available locally.
The county council, with the support of Heart of the Forest School, want to expand this provision to make sure more children have the opportunity to go to school close to where they live and to ensure the places are available where there is the most demand.
There is an increasing demand in Gloucestershire for special school places, which means these children sometimes have to go to schools out of the county or to independent schools when there aren’t places available locally.
The county council, with the support of Heart of the Forest School, want to expand this provision to make sure more children have the opportunity to go to school close to where they live and to ensure the places are available where there is the most demand.
In September 2022 work was completed to establish a new 80-place special school for children and young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. The school has opened in Brockworth, within reasonable travelling distance of Gloucester, Cheltenham and many other parts of the county.
In September 2022 work was completed to establish a new 80-place special school for children and young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. The school has opened in Brockworth, within reasonable travelling distance of Gloucester, Cheltenham and many other parts of the county.
In order to meet a growing demand for special school places we intend to establish a new primary aged special school for children with Moderate and Additional Learning Difficulties (MALD) to open in September 2023.
In order to meet a growing demand for special school places we intend to establish a new primary aged special school for children with Moderate and Additional Learning Difficulties (MALD) to open in September 2023.
Work was completed in August 2021 to provide the children and young people who attend Belmont special school, a popular school, with some additional classroom accommodation.
Work was completed in August 2021 to provide the children and young people who attend Belmont special school, a popular school, with some additional classroom accommodation.
The Moat Centre: additional accommodation for the Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES)
The Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES), which provides education for primary and secondary aged pupils who are unable to attend school because of medical needs, had operated from a multi-use building in Cheltenham for a number of years. The way the service supports children and young people had evolved over time, along with seeing a steady increase in the number of children and young people supported by them. Therefore, their accommodation needs in terms of amount and type of space had changed. The existing facilities did not provide an outside area for children and young people and opportunities for groups of learners to come together were limited.
When, in 2025, The Moat Primary School in Matson came together with another nearby primary school, the building and grounds became vacant and the academy trust returned the site to the County Council. A scheme was developed to redecorate, refurbish and remodel a portion of the former Moat Primary School in order to provide additional accommodation for the service.
Whilst operations continue at the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital sites, the additional space and extensive grounds in Matson provide a wider and fuller range of opportunities for pupils.
Information about the Gloucestershire Hospital Education is available here: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershire-hospital-education-service
The Moat Centre: additional accommodation for the Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES)
The Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES), which provides education for primary and secondary aged pupils who are unable to attend school because of medical needs, had operated from a multi-use building in Cheltenham for a number of years. The way the service supports children and young people had evolved over time, along with seeing a steady increase in the number of children and young people supported by them. Therefore, their accommodation needs in terms of amount and type of space had changed. The existing facilities did not provide an outside area for children and young people and opportunities for groups of learners to come together were limited.
When, in 2025, The Moat Primary School in Matson came together with another nearby primary school, the building and grounds became vacant and the academy trust returned the site to the County Council. A scheme was developed to redecorate, refurbish and remodel a portion of the former Moat Primary School in order to provide additional accommodation for the service.
Whilst operations continue at the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital sites, the additional space and extensive grounds in Matson provide a wider and fuller range of opportunities for pupils.
Information about the Gloucestershire Hospital Education is available here: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershire-hospital-education-service
The 2026 Department for Education SEND reforms expect all mainstream schools in England to have access to one of two types of SEND inclusion base: a school-commissioned support base, serving the school’s own pupils, or a specialist base commissioned by the local authority to help address SEND sufficiency across the wider community. Local authorities are expected to set ambitious plans for increasing specialist places in mainstream schools. This will require close, collaborative working with schools to deliver high-quality provision for children and young people with complex needs. In line with the local SEND Reform Implementation Plan and GCC SEND Sufficiency Strategy, the ambition is to provide 480 specialist base places in mainstream schools (240 in primary and 240 in secondary) across Gloucestershire over the next three years. GCC is therefore developing a robust and supportive process to support academies, where required, through the significant change and approvals process. More to follow as plans progress.
The 2026 Department for Education SEND reforms expect all mainstream schools in England to have access to one of two types of SEND inclusion base: a school-commissioned support base, serving the school’s own pupils, or a specialist base commissioned by the local authority to help address SEND sufficiency across the wider community. Local authorities are expected to set ambitious plans for increasing specialist places in mainstream schools. This will require close, collaborative working with schools to deliver high-quality provision for children and young people with complex needs. In line with the local SEND Reform Implementation Plan and GCC SEND Sufficiency Strategy, the ambition is to provide 480 specialist base places in mainstream schools (240 in primary and 240 in secondary) across Gloucestershire over the next three years. GCC is therefore developing a robust and supportive process to support academies, where required, through the significant change and approvals process. More to follow as plans progress.