At his Children’s Services Decision Day earlier today (Tuesday, 24 February 2026), Councillor Steve Forster, Executive Member for Education, agreed investment in new facilities at Harrow Way Community School and Bramley CE Primary School.
The larger of the two schemes is at Harrow Way, where a new Resourced Provision (RP) will create up to 15 specialist places for pupils with autism, opening in phases from September 2026. Resourced Provisions are specialist environments based within mainstream schools that allow children with additional needs to receive the tailored support they require while also accessing all the benefits of mainstream education.
The £1.09 million project includes:
- Refurbishment of existing buildings to create two specialist classrooms
- A life skills room and two calming rooms‑skills room and two calming rooms
- Additional facilities tailored to the needs of pupils with autism.
To accommodate the RP within the school, a double modular building will be installed to provide teaching space for mainstream pupils. As all works sit within the existing site, no planning consent is required.
Internal adaptations are due for completion during summer 2026, ready for the RP to open in September. The modular building works will conclude by the end of the summer term. The project is being funded through the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation and Basic Need Grant.
Councillor Forster also approved a £1.35 million improvement scheme at Bramley CE Primary School to further strengthen its ability to support children with SEND.
It includes:
- A new single-storey extension
- Dedicated outdoor space
- Additional flexible accommodation to enhance inclusion and enrich teaching and learning.
The works do not require planning consent and are scheduled to begin in summer 2026, completing in autumn 2026.
Both projects are subject to final funding approval for the County Council’s capital programme for Children’s Services. Councillor Forster welcomed the projects as part of the County Council’s ongoing commitment to high-quality inclusive education and its wider ambition to create 1,000 new specialist places by 2030.
It comes as the County Council and many other local authorities around the country continue to face significant financial pressures, driven by increasing demand for SEND provision. Hampshire alone now maintains over 20,500 Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), the legal documents which outline the additional support that children with SEND require to meet their specific needs. Of Hampshire’s EHCPs, around 40 per cent currently require specialist provision, either in a mainstream or special school.
Councillor Forster commented: “We are doing everything we can locally – creating additional specialist places and facilities like the ones I have approved today is just part of the picture and brings welcome news for local families.
“However, the rising demand for supporting our children and young people with SEND continues to place severe financial pressure on us and other councils nationally. We broadly welcome Government’s proposed SEND reforms announced yesterday and are pleased to see that these include significant funding to help us drive forward our investment in local provision for local children. We are currently working to understand the full detail of the proposals and will be responding to the Government’s consultation on the reforms in due course.”
Hampshire works as part of a Local Area SEND partnership which brings together education, health, social care and voluntary organisations to focus on improving provision and outcomes for young people with SEND. This has impacted on a number of areas such as a reduction in waiting lists, including for portage which has reduced by 12 months, and development of high quality training materials and resources for professionals involved with SEND children and young people.
As well as working closely with local partners, the County Council also remains part of a national group called f40 which campaigns for fairer SEND funding from Government on behalf of around 40 of the lowest funded councils in the country, including Hampshire.