Experienced special needs teachers are set to launch a new independent school in time for this September in Wisbech

Experienced special needs teachers are set to launch a new independent school in time for this September.

Walnut Tree School, is the brainchild of Vikki Loates, and her husband Shane, who then encouraged friend and former colleague Chris Carey to join them.

Shane and Vikki Loates, who own the site on Gadd’s Lane, hope that by using some of their land to build the school, they can offer an education to some of the thousands of pupils in Cambridgeshire and beyond, who have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), but still lack an appropriate educational setting.

The trio is hoping to offer children with autism who have specialist emotional and mental health needs a more flexible education to meet their individual requirements.

Vikki said: ““I was working at Riverside Meadows School in Wisbech, and it became apparent that despite that new building being built, and more pupils added to the roll, there were still hundreds of pupils being turned away by the school,

because once full, they simply couldn’t cater for the extra numbers of pupils being referred. At that point, I realised I could create something special, given the land and facilities we have on our site.”

A pre-application has already gone into Fenland Council ahead of a change of use planning application for a 10-acre site owned by Vikki and Shane in Gadd’s Lane, Leverington – just a stone’s throw from the Riverside Meadows Academy which opened its doors in 2023 and where Vikki and Chris both worked.

Chris was the Riverside Meadow’s former headteacher while Vikki worked with the children at the school, which opened with just 16 spaces available.

Walnut Tree School aims to offer 30 places for children, largely from the Cambridgeshire area but the trio is also in talks with neighbouring Lincolnshire and Norfolk County Councils with a view to them also making use of the facility.

Initially, the school will offer an education for children from Years 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 but the long-term aim is to extend to take children from Years 4 to 11.

Chris explained the demand for special needs places outstrips the current provision within Cambridgeshire. He said while head at Riverside Meadows he had 322 referrals for the 16 spaces on offer.

“I understand how frustrating it is for parents, who are looking for a place for their child. Our school will offer a curriculum to meet the needs of our pupils. We have the ability to offer equine therapy and farm school on-site, and because we are a new school we will be able to tailor what we offer to our children,” said Chris.

He said: “I know Cambridgeshire County Council wants to move away from private providers, and that is perfectly understandable, but the reality is there just is not enough spaces to meet demand, and that is not going to change overnight.”

Chris also pointed out that having had experience helping launch not only Riverside Meadows but also another special needs school in Ipswich, he is fully aware of the costs of providing SEND schooling for children, but he said the new school would be competitively placed in terms of finance.

Vikki said: ““We know there are thousands of children out there for whom school is extremely challenging. Many of them are extremely anxious about large buildings and large class numbers, and we hope that we can offer some of them a safe

space, where they can learn a range of skills, and prepare them for later life. If we can use the space we have here, to get some of these children back into an educational setting, and give them the confidence and qualifications that will help them when they leave school, then it will be worth it. We know this issue causes enormous stress for parents and carers of these children, so we know we won’t just be helping the pupils.”

The ability to offer things like equine therapy and farm school on-site is also an advantage of the new school, as it helps keep costs down compared to many other special schools that have to send their children to other providers for those types of experiences.

While Chris recognises the need for an education he said Walnut Tree School will not just be pushing academic achievement, they will be looking to match the interests and skills of the children at the school, which will include offering practical courses such as engineering – also all on site.

Children will also be taught life skills that will make the adult world easier for them to negotiate – something that is not always available in mainstream schools.

It is expected the new school will have an initial staff of around 16 to ensure the necessary support is available to pupils.

“The type of special needs children we are looking to accommodate don’t deal well in large noisy environments normally associated with mainstream schools. They need their confidence and self-esteem building up and they need a calmer environment and that is what we will be offering our children,” said Chris. “If we can do that so just one of our pupils is able to transfer back into mainstream education then that would be an amazing result.”