A new satellite school for children with special educational needs has been approved on the site of a Mansfield primary school.
The new site, based on the grounds of King Edward Primary and Nursery School, on Littleworth, has been rubber-stamped by Nottinghamshire County Council to help meet demand in the county.
The school will be managed by Carlton Digby Special School, which was rated as outstanding in its most recent Ofsted inspection last year.
King Edward is a mainstream school, however, it currently has several unused buildings.
Under the approved plans, these buildings will be used to provide up to three new classes and 24 specialist primary-aged places.
It is expected to be open from September 2021, with the expected cost of the move set to cost slightly less than £300,000.
The cost of providing the extra school places each year is estimated to be around £594,000.
A consultation carried out into the plans last year was met with support from parents and carers with pupils attending both schools.
Councillor Philip Owen, chairman of the council’s children and young people’s committee, welcomed the decision.
He said: "I am committed to investing in our children’s education and their future.
"I am very pleased that plans for this new facility have been agreed, and that we can go ahead with building the new satellite school.
"It will mean that we can continue to increase the number of specialist school places available in Nottinghamshire, to meet growing demand.
"We have a duty to provide a sufficient number of school places, to offer high-quality teaching and learning to children and young people across the county.
"Carlton Digby is an Outstanding school, and I’m confident that it will offer an excellent education from the new school for many years to come."
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