Keynsham special school plans take shape

PLANS to turn a former Keynsham home into a special school have taken a step closer.

Proposals have been set out to approve funding to open the 30-place school on the site of Charlton House in Hawthorns Lane.

The care home was taken over by Bath & North East Somerset Council in 2020. But in 2022 a damning Care Quality Commission report rated it as “inadequate”.

Despite improvements, the council decided to shut Charlton House and launch a feasibility study into whether the building could be turned into a residential special school. The study has indicated that the building could be converted at an estimated cost of £6.1 million.

Now a report has been sent to Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for children’s services, asking him to approve measures to change Charlton House into a small residential and day school.

If approved, more detailed work would start to develop a school to support young people aged 11-17 with highly complex needs, rather than placing them in schools outside the local area, away from family and friends.

The report also seeks approval to invest £6.1m High Needs Provision Capital Grant funding to remodel Charlton House to accommodate the young people.

Councillor Paul May said: “I welcome this report and will consider the recommendations before me carefully. The council’s purpose is to improve people’s lives and this proposal would see the life outcomes for young people, and their families, much improved with the opportunity of local education with a residential element for those in care.

“Opening our own provision and commissioning a Single/Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to run also provides an opportunity to keep placement costs at a much lower rate than currently being charged by the independent sector and therefore would bring considerable savings, including a reduction in transport costs, to the council.”

The proposed school would offer 12 residential places and 18 day places. It would cater for young people with complex special educational needs in the area of autism with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
Charlton House, which is currently empty, is attached to Hawthorn Court, an adult care home that will continue to provide extra care housing for older people.

If the recommendations are approved, an open event will be held at Charlton House where proposals will be shared with neighbours, stakeholders and councillors before a planning application is submitted.

An event is also proposed for any academy trusts interested in submitting bids to run the new school.