Bedford Borough’s mayor has approved plans to proceed towards buying the former St Joseph’s Lower School building to create the borough’s first dedicated Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) special school.
A mayoral executive decision signed on 15 December authorised the proposed purchase of the recently vacated site, subject to due diligence and Full Council approval to add the scheme to the capital programme.
If the scheme is approved by councillors, the building would be converted into an 80-place SEMH special school.
According to the council’s report, independent SEMH placements can cost two to three times more than state-funded special schools.
Officers estimate that, even with a phased opening, the proposed school could reduce spending from the council’s High Needs budget by £6.69 million over three years, alongside more than £1 million in reduced home-to-school transport costs.
The report states this would result in a “payback period of less than two years” for the capital investment.
The purchase and refurbishment would be funded entirely through the council’s High Needs Capital Allocation, a ring-fenced grant from the Department for Education.
The report states that no borrowing would be required. Conversion works are estimated to cost around £2 million, with the council reporting that it currently has approximately £5.1 million in available high-needs capital funding.
Bedford Borough Council currently spends around £880,000 a year transporting SEMH pupils to schools outside the borough, at an average cost of more than £12,000 per child.
The agreed purchase price and detailed business case have not been published, with the council citing commercial confidentiality.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
