Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has appointed Nexus Multi Academy Trust to lead a new specialist free school in Ovenden to support local children with additional needs, expected to open in the 2028/29 school year.
The council and the Department for Education approved the development of the new school which will provide places for up to 200 pupils aged four to 16 with a range of needs who will continue their primary and secondary education in the same school as they grow up, and will be supported with academic and vocational learning, therapeutic approaches and enriching activities to meet their needs.
The council and the Department for Education carried out a thorough selection process to identify a multi-academy trust to establish and run the new school. Nexus was chosen “because of its strong track record in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities”. All of Nexus’s current schools have been rated Good or Outstanding in the previous Ofsted inspection framework.
Councillor Tim Holden, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “The creation of a new specialist free school is just one of the ways the council is supporting more children with special educational needs and disabilities. It will give them high-quality education close to home, with all the help they need to do well at school and be prepared for adulthood.
“The new school will build on and work alongside the great specialist provision already available in Calderdale and will be part of the outreach support for special education needs in mainstream schools. We look forward to working with Nexus and other schools across the borough to continue to help young people thrive.”
Nexus Multi Academy Trust’s chief executive Warren Carratt commented: “Our trust has a strong track record of co-producing great specialist educational provision, and this will be the fifth new special school that we’ve opened in the last decade. We look forward to working with the excellent providers already working in Calderdale, with children and families and with the local authority as we bring this new school to life.”
The next steps are for the council and Nexus to work together to design the new school’s learning and outdoor spaces, and to consult with local schools, families and the community in 2027. The council stated that as part of the construction process, the project will aim to support local jobs and skills, increasing opportunities for local employment.