A SPECIAL school is earmarked for a multi-million pound expansion plan to meet increasing demand for places.

Town hall chiefs say that demand for places in schools for children with special educational needs  "continues to rise".

They have put forward a £2.7 million scheme to increase places at the school, which provides education for Year 11 to Year 14 pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties.

This includes pupils with autism spectrum disorders and profound and multiple learning difficulties.

Firwood School's new build opened on the same £36 million campus as Bolton St Catherine's Academy in 2012 and had a capacity to take on 90 pupils.

But say education chiefs, almost immediately the school began to experience and increased demand for places. Additional places were created within the school to increase numbers to 154 but now plans are to expand the building.

A Bolton Council report into plans to expand the school further stated: " In recent years, opportunities have been taken to remodel and utilise existing internal space to provide for necessary additional general teaching space but this has resulted in the loss of some specialist teaching provision and ancillary spaces. At present, the school accommodates 154 pupils on roll."

It goes on to add: "Notwithstanding a number of major school expansion projects across schools in Bolton, including the provision of additional places at Special Schools, demand continues to rise. Larger cohorts are currently progressing through schools placing greater pressures on older year groups.

"The numbers of children with EHCPs ­— Education, Care and Health Plan ­— and Statements of Need has never been higher nor the demands from parents requesting a place at a special school, greater.

"Future estimated pupil projections of children requiring a place at a special school suggests the number of places needed will continue to rise."

It is expected the pupil numbers could rise to around 220 by September 2024.

"The school is already operating above its ideal capacity and increased numbers of Y7 pupils are expected to be admitted in September 2020. Whilst provision can be made to accommodate these additional children in the short term, a longer-term solution is required to permanently increase pupil capacity at the school," adds the report.

The money needed to expand the school would come from Bolton Council's Children’s Services Capital Programme Budget.

Firwood School is a "good with outstanding features" school, as judged by Ofsted, which found it " prepares the young people exceptionally well for life beyond school, including moving into paid employment".

No one from Bolton Council was available  for comment.