COUNTY councillors are set to approve £1.6 million of funding for the expansion of a special school in the Forest to allow pupils to be educated "closer to where they live".

The funding would allow Hearts of the Forest Community Special School near Speech House, to offer 10 additional places for pupils with learning disabilities and other complex needs.

Councillors will be asked to approve the additional funding at a meeting of Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet next Wednesday (November 10).

The council says there is an "increasing demand" for special school places in Gloucestershire, which means that some children are having to go to schools out of the county or to independent schools when places aren’t available.

A four-week consultation on proposed changes to the school was held back in May.

The project would provide an additional 10 places for children aged between 4-11 with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

The places would be made available from September 2022.

Cllr Philip Robinson (Con, Mitcheldean), the county council’s Cabinet member for economy, education and skills, said: "This investment will allow more children to have access to the high-quality of education they deserve, closer to where they live.

"It will allow some of our county’s most vulnerable children to be educated in a way that is suited to their needs."

Around £1.191 million of the funding would come from the council’s High Needs Provision Fund, with £409,000 coming from its Healthy Pupils Capital fund, which is allocated to improve children and young people’s physical, mental health, and wellbeing.

The investment into provision for pupils with special educational needs follows a £9.5 million investment to build a new SEMH school in Brockworth.