Falkirk Council: Plans for £23m campus for youngsters with severe and complex needs

The new campus would expand the current Carrongrange High School in Grangemouth and add a brand new building to accommodate primary classes, members of Falkirk Council’s education, children and young people’s executive heard on Friday.

The project is estimated to cost around £23 million, and Falkirk Council is hoping that the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) will agree to provide up to 50 per cent of the cash.

The expansion, members were told, is necessary to cope with the increase in pupils with severe and complex needs.

Falkirk Council’s head of planning and resources, Gary Greenhorn, said that while the current Carrongrange High School had been a success, they were already finding it difficult to accommodate the growing number of children with severe and complex learning needs.

The new campus would create five extra primary classrooms – taking the total to 20 – and 10 new secondary classrooms, although four of these will replace modular buildings currently being used.

All of the current primary classes for ASN pupils – MaddistonPS – Timezone, Kinnaird PS – Thistle Wing and the Thistle Wing Annex – will transfer to the new purpose-built facility.

Members were told that bringing pupils together in a single campus would have several benefits. Not only would it mean all pupils could access resources such as a hydrotherapy pool and outside play, the building would also act as a hub for social work and NHS staff providing support.

The extra classrooms should also mean that pupils with severe and complex learning needs pupils will no longer have to be sent to schools outwith the district.

While nursery classes will not be provided on site, the Early Years ASN provision will be managed from the site and will be provided “via satellite local sites across the Falkirk area”.

Mr Greenhorn reassured customers that a full consultation will begin if the bid is successful and they had already discussed the plans “on an informal basis” with the relevant headteachers and parent councils.

If successful, the aim is to start on site around Easter 2024.

Mr Greenhorn said: “Our designs are so far advanced that this project is ready to go if we can get the funding agreed.”

The leader of the council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, welcomed the bid for the new campus, but reminded members that “we are a long way from working out the detail” and promised that staff, pupils and parents would be consulted.

Independent Councillor Robert Spears, who represents Grangemouth, said he would like to see more details about what the disruption would be like for pupils at the existing school.

He also questioned what the development would mean for Moray Primary next door and for parking in the area, which has been a problem.

Mr Greenhorn said that Cllr Spears’ concerns were things the project team is aware of and would be addressed should the bid be successful.

Councillor Anne Hannah agreed that it was important that consultation with local people is done at a “very, very early stage”.