Reform council 'misled' families as Sleaford special needs school scrapped

Children with special needs in Lincolnshire deserved better. Families in and around Sleaford had been promised a dedicated school for their children, and now that promise has been broken.

The planned free school for children with social, emotional and mental health needs has been cancelled, and £7.3 million set aside for it will be redirected.

The school was to be jointly funded, with Lincolnshire County Council putting up its share of the money. In December, the government announced it was pulling the plug on a number of planned free schools, including this one. It said the funding would instead go to new "SEND hubs" inside mainstream schools, offering smaller class sizes and trained specialist staff.

The Reform-run county council says there was nothing it could do. Heather Sandy, executive director for children's services, said the government would only reconsider if the council could provide new information it had not already seen. Because the council had already submitted a full business case, she said, there was nothing left to add.

But that argument has not satisfied critics. Sleaford MP Dr Caroline Johnson said she was "hugely disappointed" that the Reform council made no representations to the government, and that the school "has therefore been cancelled" as a result. Others have been blunter. "Reform have misled councillors and residents about why this project collapsed," one source said. "Children with complex needs in Lincolnshire have been let down."

The council insists the new hubs will ultimately create more SEND places than the free school would have. That may be true. But the families who waited years for that school will want to know why Reform chose not to even try to save it.

The council says it will now work to get the new hubs in place as quickly as possible. Families seeking updates should contact Lincolnshire County Council's children's services team.