A third new special school will be built in Hampshire after new government funding was confirmed.

Hampshire County Council has announced the third school will be built in the county, following the announcement of two new special schools to be built in Eastleigh and Whiteley.

HCC is among 16 local councils nationally to have successfully applied for funding for a new school from the Department for Education which is set to provide 125 places for children from the ages of eight to 16.

These places will be available for children who have additional needs and require a specialist school placement.

Councillor Steve Forster, cabinet member for education, said: “The county council has a statutory duty to ensure all children can access high-quality education, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

“This is an area that has seen immense pressure over several years, with an increasing number of children requiring SEND provision.

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“We remain committed to further developing this across the county to respond to growing demand, creating much needed additional SEND school places.

“We are delighted that our has been provisionally approved by the government and we will be working closely with the Department for education to progress this through the next steps in the process, including determining a suitable location and timeframes.”

The newly announced school comes alongside the county council’s plans for a further two special schools.

One of the schools will be in Whiteley and is to be funded by the Department for Education and a second in Boorley Gardens, Eastleigh, which the County Council is funding as part of its Children’s Services Capital Programme.

The DfE has appointed Solent Academies Trust as the academy sponsor for both schools.

A competition to find an appropriate academy sponsor for the third, newly announced special school will be launched in due course.

The government’s announcement forms part of the Government’s plans to deliver 60,000 more special school places nationally.