A SPECIAL school in Edinburgh is due to close next month despite a consultation showing opposition from students and parents.
Panmure St Ann’s, for young people from S3-S6 with additional social, emotional and behavioural support needs (SEBN), will close in July if an official recommendation is approved when the new council meets this week for the first time since the election.
Edinburgh City Council said the move comes after new ways of educating young people with difficulties in mainstream schools and that numbers at the school just off the Royal Mile had halved in five years.
The pupils will go to either Gorgie Mills School or mainstream secondaries in the city.
The council said in a report to go before the new councillors this Thursday: "The proposal to close the school reflects the continuing improvement in school ethos, the curriculum, inclusive practice and partnership working whereby almost all children and young people in Edinburgh now have their needs met in mainstream schools.
"This continued progress has resulted in a reduced requirement for placements in special schools for learners with SEBN with the population in the secondary special school provision falling from 112 to 55 over the past five years."
HM Inspectors said in the consultation: "Young people and their families oppose the closure of Panmure St Ann’s Special School.
"In finalising the consultation report, the City of Edinburgh Council will need to offer them further reassurance that improved educational outcomes can be achieved through working in close partnership with them.
"Young people also seek assurance that any individualised educational plans involving alternative placements will be negotiated with them and will offer a realistic chance of improving their attendance and qualifications.
The council said it is "confident that the issues identified have either already been addressed or that all required arrangements and plans are in place to ensure that any actions which are necessary to mitigate these issues will be taken timeously.
"As a consequence, the council remains confident that the educational benefits identified in the proposal will be fully realised."
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