New Leicester SEND school opening next month

This story was written by the local democracy reporting service (LDRS), a BBC-funded scheme to improve the coverage of issues relating to local democracy. The Leicester Gazette has been a partner in the scheme since March 2024, and so receives some stories as part of it.

Because LDRS reporters are not employed by the Gazette, their stories do not follow our style guide or standards code****.****

                        Learn more
                    

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) went to visit Leicester Therapeutic School and spoke to class teacher Helen Dixon, headteacher Gurjunder Sahota and Sharon Lee, chair of governors.

The staff have worked hard to renovate the Victorian building which had previously been unoccupied for the best part of three years.

The new independent school, on Princess Road East, off Leicester’s New Walk, will cater for up to 46 children between the ages of four to 11 years, the staff confirmed.

Previously, Helen Dixon said the school will work on cognition and learning and will focus on children with autism, those who have experienced trauma, and children in the care system. It will also be available for children with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties.

The school is due to open early next month after receiving a positive pre-registration Ofsted report.

Miss Dixon said: “We’re looking to start with five or six pupils after May half term, and then maybe up to 10 by September. We are just going to start growing slowly.”

Join the conversation

Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community.

Want to support our work? Click here for membership__.__

The school has been recruiting for additional staff, including “inclusion practitioners”. These, headteacher Gurjunder Sahota explained, would be based in each class alongside the class teacher.

Leicester Therapeutic School Image: LDRS

Ms Gahota said: “They will support children through academic learning but also through therapy work and community inclusion

“We have bespoke pathways (for each child) where the staffing ratio may be a little bit higher because a child might need that more specialist support.

“The therapy here is not an add on. It is inherent in the name Leicester Therapeutic School, giving education and therapy equal weight.

“I think it is evident as you look round the school, we are trying to set up more of a homely environment than a school environment because we know that’s exactly what these children need.”

Miss Dixon said: “We want the children to be reading and writing by the time they leave us. It’s about having those high aspirations for every single child.”

Referring to the Ofsted visit, Ms Lee said: “I have sat in lots of Ofsted meetings over the years and never have I heard such glowing, positive feedback about a school. It was fantastic and filled me with pride”

The Ofsted report, dated Wednesday, April 1, notes: “The proprietor, and the leaders they have appointed, have considerable knowledge and experience of special schools. They have carefully considered the needs of proposed pupils and organised the classrooms and other spaces in the shool with those needs in mind.”

On curriculum, Ofsted said: “Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum (…) Leaders aim to ensure that pupils at the proposed school, who are likely to have spent some time out of education and have a diagnosis of autism and social, emotional and mental health needs, are successful.”

Before you go… We've recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we're a small team on a shoestring budget.

Now, we're ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.

The app connects with Bluesky , Mastodon and Threads , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It's a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community.