THE DELAYED Autism Free School which is planned for Malvern will now go ahead.
The Department for Education has confirmed that it has agreed to allow the school project to proceed and it has written to the MP and Worcestershire County Council to confirm the news.
The Department had previously offered the council the option to cancel the school and instead receive over £5million of extra funding to support extra needs teaching in mainstream school settings.
The decision to continue with the Enterprise Academy forms part of Worcestershire’s wider work to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Council and its partners are currently developing a Local SEND Reform Plan, which will set out how national reforms will be delivered locally.
The plan focuses on earlier identification and support, helping children and young people access services closer to home, and building a more inclusive system across education, health and care.
The Local SEND Reform Plan will be submitted to the Department for Education by 19 June 2026.
West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin strongly resisted the new funding plan and secured the support of the county’s education team and councillors to press on with the much-needed new school which will offer 120 places for children up to the aged between five and 19, with extra educational needs.
Dame Harriett said: “The new autism free school planned for Malvern is universally popular with teachers and parents and I am delighted that the Department for Education has agreed to allow this vital project to progress.
“Both primary and secondary schools were supportive of this new provision and from recent discussions with head teachers, they felt there was very little flexibility for adding specialist education provision within the current school footprint.
“A specialist education provider has already been appointed and a site in Malvern has been identified so I am hoping that the project will now get underway as soon as possible.”
