Education chiefs back new Mansfield school plans

It will be housed on the grounds of King Edward Primary and Nursery School, on Littleworth, after Nottinghamshire County Council gave the plans the green light to help meet demand in the county.

The new school will be managed by Carlton Digby Special School, which was rated as outstanding in its last Ofsted inspection 12 months ago.

King Edward School is a mainstream school which currently has several unused buildings.

However, under the plans they will be used to provide up to three new classes and 24 specialist primary-age places from September.

The costs of adapting the buildings should be just under £300,000, while providing the extra places each year will be around £594,000.

Parents and carers of pupils attending both schools backed the plans during a public consultation.

Councillor Philip Owen, chairman of the county council’s Children and Young People’s Committee, 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.”