Bedelsford Consultation graphic

Consultation on a Proposed Expansion of Bedelsford School

By Fiona Wilkins - September 30th, 2024 | Posted in Article

Please note the consultation ran from Monday 30th September to Sunday 20th October and is now closed

Bedelsford School undertook a consultation regarding a proposal to open a satellite site for children with SEND in Merton.

Background

Bedelsford School is part of Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (OHCAT), a specialist multi academy trust. The Trust was recently successful in its application to establish a new special Free School in Merton, however the earliest opening of this free school in Merton would be September 2027.

Proposal to open a temporary satellite provision in Merton

Merton Council need a provision in place prior to the opening of the new Free School. To support the Council, OHCAT is proposing to establish a specialist provision in Merton from September 2025 until the Free School opens.

The proposed temporary site for the satellite provision is The Chaucer Centre, Canterbury Road, Morden SM4 6PX. This Centre would have capacity to meet the need for 40 places in the first year with the potential to increase up to 80 children over a three-year period.

As proposed for the new Free School, the provision would be for children who have a range of moderate to severe learning difficulties and complex needs. This is likely to include Speech Language and Communication Needs and may also include Autism Spectrum Conditions and other associated areas of need. Once the Merton Free School opens on the permanent site, the Bedelsford satellite site would close, and the pupils and students and staff would move to the new Free School. There will be no impact or disruption to the current children at Bedelsford School.

Whilst the proposed satellite site will be part of Bedelsford, we do not anticipate that pupils based there will need to access the main Bedelsford site. Furthermore, we will be recruiting staff to work specifically at the satellite site and part of this recruitment process will include a Head of Centre who will act as the site’s operational lead as well as forming part of Bedelsford’s senior leadership team.

The Consultation

The proposal is to expand Bedelsford School onto a satellite site to provide up to an extra 80 places above the school’s current Funding Agreement of 120 places bringing the total places over the two sites to 200.
As Bedelsford School is an academy, this expansion proposal would need approval by the Department for Education (DfE) and for the Funding Agreement that Bedelsford School holds with the DfE to be amended to effect the proposed change. We are therefore seeking the views of all interested parties through this consultation to inform the DfE’s decision-making process on the following:
  • The proposed satellite site to be included as a Bedelsford School provision to meet the needs of up to 80 additional children with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and complex needs
  • To amend the Funding Agreement to reflect the above and for the overall total number of pupils and students aged 4 -19 to be 200 across the two sites
The Consultation Process
The consultation period on this proposal ran from Monday 30 September 2024 to Sunday 20 October 2024.
Public meetings where you can meet the school leadership team and ask questions, were held at:
  • The proposed satellite site, The Chaucer Centre on Wednesday 9th October from 3.30-5pm
  • Bedelsford School on Thursday 10 October as follows:
    • 9.30am – 11am – at the school site
    • 12pm-1pm – online (log in details provided by emailing the school office info@bedelsfordschool.org)
    • 3.30-5pm – at the school site
Comments on the proposal could be submitted in one of the following ways: