Keir Starmer is under scrutiny as families in Bath face uncertainty due to a government freeze on funding for a critical new special school. Bath MP Wera Hobhouse highlighted the plight of families “left in the lurch” by the hold on a 120-place special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school planned for the Culverhay site.
Although Bath and North East Somerset Council has awaited this funding for 18 months and has all plans prepared, the government has yet to release the agreed money. Hobhouse emphasized the pressing need: “Families in Bath have been waiting years for this school. The city supports it, the plans are ready, but the government’s freeze on funding stalls progress. If the government truly wants to mend the broken SEND system, immediate funding release is essential.”
Delays come at a significant cost to vulnerable children forced to travel further and wait longer for vital support. “Vulnerable children in Bath cannot be expected to pay the price for the government’s inaction,” Hobhouse stressed.
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At Prime Minister’s Questions on December 10, Hobhouse challenged the Prime Minister directly, asking how much longer families must wait for the school. Starmer responded that they are eager to advance the project and pledged ministerial updates on the case. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fixing the SEND system through a national conversation focused on family-centered reform, additional new school places, language support, and family hubs launching from April.
The Culverhay site was retained by the council after Bath Community Academy closed in 2018, with plans to transfer it to the Department for Education. The government has committed under its “free schools capital programme” to fund two new schools there: the 120-place special school and a 55-place alternative provision school to help children reintegrate into mainstream education or employment.
Currently, a shortage of SEND spaces forces the council to transport children across multiple counties, including Somerset, Bristol, and Wiltshire. Paul May, the council’s cabinet member for children’s services, highlighted the urgency: “Each month of delay causes more distress for vulnerable children and their families. Long journeys out of the area harm entire families.”
May also noted the local government’s investment in children’s services, with budgets growing by nearly 50% in recent years, and pointed to alternative non-profit service options that could reduce costs by approximately 20%.