West Sussex County Council has given the green light to £6.3million in funding for establishing a secondary location for a school catering to pupils with special requirements.

Formal statutory notices will also be issued outlining plans to utilise Lyndhurst Infant School in Worthing as an offshoot of Palatine Primary School.

The choice was made by Jacquie Russell, the cabinet member responsible for children, teenagers and education, with the funds being drawn from capital reserves designated for SEND (special educational needs and disabilities).

Lyndhurst Infant School has combined with Chesswood Junior School to create a single primary institution named Homefield Primary School, located at the Chesswood campus. Pupils currently at the infant school are anticipated to relocate by September 2027.

This arrangement would release the Lyndhurst premises for renovation, delivering 75 specialist places for students, comprising 34 from Palatine School alongside an additional 41.

This initiative would tackle problems of overcrowding at the main Palatine site in Durrington, cutting its admission numbers to 190 while expanding overall provision across both the main school and satellite to 262 places.

A community engagement exercise conducted last year found that 90.8 percent of the 285 participants endorsed the proposal.

According to a document prepared by Claire Hayes, the service director for education and skills, once the statutory proposal period concludes and permission is granted to open the satellite location, detailed designs would be completed and building work would commence.

The scheme would involve converting the Lyndhurst premises to include teaching rooms, small group spaces, a relaxation area, a sensory room, appropriate toilet facilities, sizeable areas for meals and physical education, plus an outdoor recreation zone.

If the plans advance to the construction phase, the renovation of the site to house the satellite could be finished ready for occupancy in September 2028.