Rutland County Council says the need for The Parks nursery school places is not there

Parents opposed to the closure of a special needs school have claimed a council is ‘blocking access’ to keep pupil numbers low.

But Rutland County Council says low numbers at The Parks Special Nursery accurately reflect the level of need for its "very specialist provision".

In a statement, the council said: "Rutland currently has 11 nursery and reception-age children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, which are written by a range of professionals who know each child – not just the council.

“None of these plans require a place at The Parks Special Nursery, and all nursery-aged children in Rutland with EHC plans are having their needs met elsewhere."

It added that parents and carers are involved in the creation of the EHC plans, and agree them before they are finalised, and that the council has not refused to issue an EHC plan to any child under five in the past three years and none are being appealed.

Rutland’s services for children with special educational needs and disabilities is Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission-inspected. Their report highlighted the accuracy of the council's assessments of children.

More than 100 parents and children held at town centre protest outside Rutland County Library in Oakham earlier this month, aiming to save the special needs school from closure.

Rutland County Council, which is responsible for state schools in the county, announced a review of their special educational needs (SEN) provision in October.

It says it has no alternative but to propose that The Parks is no longer viable, and therefore should close on August 31 next year.

A public consultation, launched on November 1, runs until Sunday, December 3.

The Parks School has provision for up to eight children but according to Dawn Godfrey, strategic director for children’s services, only two are currently enrolled.

Anybody wishing to comment on the proposal should contact the council via email at: parksproposal@rutland.gov.uk

The Parks School teaches children up to seven years of age in a specialist setting. It has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.