A SPECIAL needs school in Leigh is hoping to build a new teaching block with four classrooms to help keep up with the growing demand for places.

St Christopher School, in Mountdale Gardens, currently has 255 pupils but is “working at a capacity well beyond” the guidelines set by the Government.

In a bid to help meet demand and provide vital education to its pupils the school has submitted plans to build a new teaching block including four new classrooms.

According to documents submitted to Southend Council, the school is struggling to accommodate its learners within the existing structure and has outgrown the facilities currently on site.

Headteacher Dan Woodman justified the project in a letter attached to the plans by stating the school is “working at a capacity well beyond the guidelines”.

He also claims as a special school “you are not legally allowed to state you cannot take a pupil because you have no additional space”.

Ahead of the new school year in 2024, the school has been instructed by the Royal Courts of Justice Tribunal service to take on four pupils and that number could grow with rising demand for special educational needs places in Essex.

In the letter Mr Woodman says: “Special School places are subject to high demand across the UK, this is also true in Southend, and the number of learners in the school has risen over the years to meet the increasing need in the area.

“Over the past five years, we have taken an additional 40 learners to support the local authority in managing demand, however, our net capacity has not increased.

“We, therefore, need to build additional classrooms to meet the needs of the learners we have.

“We are not looking to further increase numbers of learners as the site does not safely allow this.

“The school is working at a capacity well beyond the described guidelines as laid out in the Department for Education building bulletin.

“The final solution we are proposing is to build a block of four classrooms at the back of the school site.”

The proposed construction will be located at the bottom of the playing field at the rear of the site.

Design plans include a sensory room for specialized learning experiences, four new classrooms each with adjoining/shared toilet facilities, a kitchen area, and a storeroom.