The investment, expected to be in excess of £40m, would be the largest ever in special needs education in Swansea.
Swansea currently has two special schools – Ysgol Crug Glas in Dyfatty which has 55 places for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn in Morriston that has 195 places for pupils with moderate to severe learning difficulties and for pupils with severe autism.
Both are currently run at maximum capacity and both have some buildings that date back to the 1960s which are not seen as suitable for future needs.
The proposal is to build a new state-of-the-art school to replace these on land adjacent to the existing Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn site on Mynydd Garnllwyd Road, rather than use the site for housing.
The new school, that could open in 2028, would have an additional 100 places to accommodate a rising demand for special school places in Swansea and reduce the need for some pupils to be placed into independent and out-of-county schools.
It would also reduce pressure on mainstream schools and their Specialist Teaching Facilities.
Pupils at both schools would see no changes to their current daily routines until the new school is ready to be occupied.
As part of the process Ysgol Crug Glas and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn would be amalgamated and pupils, parents and carers, teachers and members of the wider community were asked for their views in the autumn term.
Plans for the new school received widespread backing so at their meeting next Thursday (Jan 18) cabinet members are being asked to approve the publication of a statutory notice to amalgamate the schools. They will then consider objections, if there are any, at a future meeting.
Cabinet Member for Education and Learning, Robert Smith, said: “We want to provide first class facilities for pupils in Swansea with additional learning needs and at the same time ensure we have enough places to meet demand in the future which is why we are proposing the largest investment in our special school service that we have ever seen.
“Again I would like to reassure parents, carers and pupils that if Cabinet approves the plan, nothing will change for children now. We have successfully amalgamated other schools in recent years ahead of investing in brand new accommodation. There will be no change to daily routines for pupils at Ysgol Crug Glas and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn before the new state-of-the-art school is ready to open which will not be until 2028.
Under the proposals the new school would be jointly funded by Swansea Council and Welsh Government via the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.
Cllr Smith added: “The whole idea is to improve the learning environment for pupils, families and staff with resources such as sensory rooms and specialist therapy rooms, a hydro pool integrated within the school building, more space and better provision for teaching young people life skills and vocational skills and better outdoor areas including external learning environments. Existing services such as the 24 hour curriculum would be retained.
“I’m heartened by the positive response we had when outlining our plans last autumn and I’d reiterate that we are very keen to involve pupils, their families, staff, governors and community members in shaping our proposals as we move forward.”
