The 'ghost town' East Yorkshire special school lying empty as demand rockets
A special school is lying empty in an area "crying out for specialist provision" after the government ruled it should be knocked down and replaced with another special school.
St Anne's School in Welton, East Yorkshire, was oversubscribed when it closed in 2022 to move to a larger site in Hessle catering for 158 pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
The land the buildings occupy in Welton has since been earmarked for the development of a new 120-place special school called The North Star School.
It was one of 33 new free schools the outgoing Conservative government announced could be built last March, but it will not open until 2026 at the earliest.
The Education Alliance (TEAL) academy trust, which has been selected to oversee and develop the new school, says it can only access new pupil funding by demolishing and replacing the building.
Paul Grimes, TEAL's director of inclusion, said: “It’s a real shame when you think the area's crying out for specialist provision and we're only occupying a really small part of this school.
"With the right resources and circumstances we could certainly have built on this and taken more students. Thankfully that's coming through now with a free school bid."
The classrooms remain largely intact, along with facilities including a therapy pool with equipment like a hoist for children with physical needs.
"It's like a ghost town. It is eerie and it's kind of like one day everyone got up and went and it's been left as it is," Mr Grimes said.Figures released to ITV News show there are 4,407 children across England with Education Health and Care Plans (ECHPs), which outline the needs of children with SEN, who are waiting for school places in May.
The North Star School is one of two proposals given Government backing in East Yorkshire in recent months. A 120-place special school is due to open in Bridlington by 2027.
More provision is also due to open through The Constellation Trust next year in a local authority area which claims to have the lowest funding for SEN in the country.
Mr Grimes, who also runs the area's only special school for social, emotional and mental health needs, said the vacated St Anne's School would have needed "quite a lot of adaptations and upscaling" to make it suitable, but said the demand for new places is clear.
"We could fill our school twice over and still have people wanting to join," he added.
“Education is a relatively short period of time in a person's life so there is no time for queues and waiting lists when it concerns a young person in crisis.
"It's incredibly frustrating for us. We've done the best we can. For the last three years we've gone well over the numbers we are prescribed and funded to take - just in the spirit of doing the right thing for young people and the community."
The Department for Education said parts of the site were being used for alternative provision and that it considers a number of factors when deciding whether buildings can be reused or refurbished.
A spokesperson said it weighs up whether they can "reasonably achieve" modern building safety, accessibility and sustainability standards.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council's cabinet member for education, Cllr Victoria Aitken, added: "We always strive to do the best for our children and young people, in what can be challenging circumstances."
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.