The Wavell School – Proposal for a Resourced Provision for pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental health needs (SEMH)

Hampshire County Council and The Wavell School are consulting on the proposal to create a new Resourced Provision (RP) for pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs for up to 15 places, opening in phases from September 2025.

The Wavell School currently operates a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) RP which is reducing in place number due to demand. The addition of a Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs RP places will not affect the SpLD RP.

The school already support a number of children with complex needs associated with social, emotional and mental health and having this provision will enhance the in-house support available across the school. It has been identified that there are an increasing number of children in the local area who are being diagnosed with these needs, and we are working towards expanding our offer of support to these children attend local schools.

The pupils who would attend the new RP would generally be from the local area. They would have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and have needs meaning that they currently find it difficult to manage full-time within a mainstream school environment, however, have the ability to attend some lessons and work towards examinations. When places in the RP are agreed by the special educational needs (SEN) Service, the children would go on roll at The Wavell School and the school will receive additional resources to ensure that the children’s needs are well supported so that they can successfully access the mainstream environment and curriculum.

Additional classroom spaces are required as a base for the SEMH RP. The school proposes to initially utilise existing accommodation, but a new modular building would be added in 2026 to become a base for the new RP. Appropriate IT, furniture and equipment will also be provided.

The governing body of the school are fully supportive and the Headteacher will work closely with Hampshire County Council to ensure all pupils benefit regarding this joint project.

The Consultation

The purpose of this consultation is to ask for your views and consult on the development of a new RP for pupils with SEMH needs at The Wavell School from September 2025. It is important to hear your views at this stage so we can consider them as part of the work to be undertaken, should approval be obtained.

The consultation and decision-making process is outlined below:

• This consultation will run from 14 March 2025 to 11 April 2025.
• A report outlining the consultation responses received will then be taken to Children’s Services Department Management Team in April 2025 to decide if the proposal should continue to the formal statutory consultation stage.
• If approved, a statutory Public Notice would be published in May 2025 setting out Hampshire County Council’s intent to increase the capacity of the school. This is a four-week period in which any representations can be made to the local authority.
• A final report would then be taken to Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services Decision Day in June 2025 who will decide whether or not to proceed with the proposal.

Further Information

A drop-in session where you will be able to discuss both proposals with Hampshire County Council officers will take place on Wednesday 26 March 3:30pm to 6pm at The Wavell School.

Please see the following link for frequently asked questions (FAQs)

FAQs for The Wavell School SEMH RP

If you are unable to attend the drop-in and wish to make a comment, then please write to [email protected] by Friday 11 April.