We all want children to have the best opportunities in life, no matter their background. That’s why we’re supporting the opening of new schools and expanding existing ones to make sure we meet the growing demand for school places in Bristol.
In 2020, we made a commitment to increase spending for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to enable us to expand classroom spaces and improve SEND facilities. Through careful planning, plans to invest another almost £15 million from the Department for Education into SEND schools to create an additional 204 specialist places in Bristol by 2024.
The SEND projects funded through phase two of the council’s Education Capital Programme would lead to major improvements to current special schools and many mainstream schools to meet the needs of more Bristol children, through refurbishment and new builds, including a new Independent Living Centre at the City of Bristol College (Phase 3 of ‘Project Rainbow’).
We are already making significant investments in our SEND provision with the first phase of our ambitious Education Capital Programme, which is on track to create 142 places by February next year. A new £8.5 million state-of-the-art school, Elmfield School for Deaf Children, is already underway and due for completion around Easter 2023. The new and refurbished school buildings, specifically designed for the sensory needs of deaf children, will be co-located with the adjacent Upper Horfield Community School.
I’m also thrilled that, working in partnership with the Department for Education, two new secondary schools are expected to open in Bristol next year, ready for the new school year in September 2023.
Feasibility works are currently underway to open the new Oasis Academy Daventry Road in temporary accommodation on the existing site of Oasis Academy John Williams in Hengrove from September 2023. The school’s permanent purpose-built school on Daventry Road in Knowle is expected to be completed in September 2024, and work is currently in progress to prepare the site for construction.
The temporary location of the new Oasis Academy Temple Quarter secondary school has also recently been announced. The new school will be based temporarily on Spring Street in Bedminster while the permanent, purpose-built school is constructed on Silverthorne Lane. Feasibility works including surveys are currently underway at the Spring Street site ahead of an expected opening in September 2023.
The council owns the site on Spring Street and is already leasing a small separate section of it to Help Bristol’s Homeless, a charity who support homeless people in our city. Once the school has opened in Temple Quarter, Goram Homes will progress its plans to build much needed affordable homes on the Spring Street site. A regeneration framework for the area around Whitehouse Street is currently being prepared and this will be used to help shape future planning applications for the site, alongside further consultation and engagement with the community.
The permanent site of Oasis Academy Temple Quarter on Silverthorne Lane was granted planning permission in April 2022. The school’s permanent building is expected to be completed in September 2025, and work is currently underway preparing the site for construction.
If you have a child that was born between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012, you will be able to apply for a secondary school place at Oasis Academy Daventry Road and Oasis Academy Temple Quarter from 12 September 2022.
Oasis Community Learning will be hosting events for families to find out more about the new schools and how they can apply for a place throughout September and October 2022. Applications in the first year will be managed directly by Oasis Community Learning.
To find out more:
- Oasis Academy Daventry Road
- Oasis Academy Temple Quarter