The proposed school would offer 96 places for primary-aged children on the site of a car park, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Portcullis Lodge Car Park and (inset) cabinet member for children’s services, Abdul Abdullahi

Enfield Council has successfully bid for funding for a new special needs school to be created in the borough.

The proposed school would offer 96 places for primary-aged children at the Portcullis Lodge Car Park site in Enfield Town.

The good news comes amid concern over the “increased demand” on the borough’s special educational needs and disabilities (Send) services.

A council meeting heard this month the number of children and young adults with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) had doubled in the last five years and the council’s Send services gets approximately 700 new requests for EHCP assessments yearly, the highest in London.

Due to this pressure which the council forecasted, two sites were identified in 2022 for special needs schools, providing approximately 136 extra school places for Send children.

One site was in Enfield Town at Portcullis Lodge Car Park and the other was Addison House in Southgate.

The cost of developing the two sites was estimated to come in at around £26million, for which the council bid for a grant from the Department for Education (DfE).

Now it has been confirmed the bid for the Portcullis site has been successful and the council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Abdul Abdullahi, voiced his joy at the news.

Cllr Abdullahi said: “We are delighted to confirm Enfield Council has been successful with an application to the DfE for a new school which will cater for 96 primary autistic pupils at Portcullis Lodge in Enfield Town – another step in our pledge to deliver hundreds of special educational needs school places in Enfield.

“Despite an unsuccessful second application for secondary school places at Addison House in Southgate, we are continuing to work up plans for Send provision at the site. We earmarked £12.9m of council capital grant in February to deliver hundreds of new Send places across the borough.

“The chronic lack of Send support is a national issue, which is why the council is dedicating council resources to expand the in-borough school places to ensure all our children and young people can thrive.”

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