School and Local Authority contact details
Ashbury Meadow Primary School Rylance Street, Beswick, Manchester, M11 3NA. This is a community primary school.
The contact address of the Local Authority is:
School Organisation, Manchester City Council, PO Box 532, Town Hall Extension, Manchester M60 2LA.
Proposed alteration
We propose to increase the existing resourced provision at Ashbury Meadow Primary School. The school currently has:
- 14 places of provision for children with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs
- 8 places for Communication, Language, and Interaction (CLI).
Under this proposal, the number of places for children with CLI will increase to 16 meaning the school will operate a resourced provision of 30 places in total. This will take place in existing accommodation on the school site.
Evidence of demand
The January 2023 school census showed that 19.6% of Manchester pupils have SEND (18,292 pupils). Of these, 14.2% (13,258 pupils) have their needs met at SEN Support level in a mainstream school. The remaining 5.4% is the school population who have an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan (5034 pupils).
There has been significant growth in the number of children with an EHCP. Figures have increased from 1,921 in 2013, to 5,034 in 2023. This growth has seen increased demand in Manchester for places in a specialist setting. Given the established data trends, we'd expect this growth to continue.
The Department for Education published national data from 2023. It states that 4.3% of all pupils in schools in England have an EHC. This is a rise from 4.0% in 2022. A further 13.0% of all pupils have SEN support, without an EHC, up from 12.6% in 2022.
The growing demand for the specialist support that Ashbury Meadow Primary School can provide means that we need to increase its capacity. Dedicated accommodation has been established, for when children need time outside regular classes.