Autistic young people in one part of Somerset will soon have access to a brand new facility following a decision by the county council.
Somerset County Council currently operates a specialist facility for children with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) on Park Road in Frome, known as the Mendip Area Autism Base. The council has been seeking a more central base for these services in the Mendip area, arguing the Frome centre can no longer meet pupils’ needs and Glastonbury represents a better, more central location.
Work will soon begin to construct the new facility at St. Dunstan’s School on Cox’s Close, after plans for the new facility were approved by council officers in late January. The new facility will be constructed on a section of the existing playing fields at the entrance to the school, with a new footpath being created from the existing pick-up and drop-off area.
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All current pupils, carers and staff will be transferred over to the new site automatically, with consultation expected to take place over the next 18 months to ensure everyone’s needs are met.
Lewis Andrews, the council’s commissioning and performance officer for specialist sufficiency and alternative provision, said the change would provide high-quality education for pupils while easing pressure on the council’s budgets – specifically on school transport and the high needs grant given annually by the Department for Education (DfE).
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