PRIMARY NEWS
Brand-new SEND school opens in North West
Around 200 children have started the new term at a state-of-the- art £18 million school in Stockport, designed by AtkinsRéalis to meet the needs of the borough’s most vulnerable children. Built on the site of the former Offerton High School, Lisburne School is set to transform education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and represents a broader commitment to improving the provision for children across the Stockport Metropolitan Borough.
Pupils aged four to 11-years-old will benefit from specially adapted classrooms, sensory rooms, and therapeutic spaces which have been designed to address the specific needs of SEND children, while providing a stimulating educational environment. Sustainability is also at the heart of the design which has revived a brownfield site to take advantage of the natural surroundings. A key focus is on views out to nature, and promoting external interaction with the protected green space, allowing pupils to move around freely and safely.
The scheme is divided into three distinct teaching and learning blocks that cater for different age groups, creating a nurturing environment tailored to diverse educational needs. Samantha Benson, headteacher for Lisburne School, said: “I am so proud that our vision for an exceptional SEND school has finally been realised. The new site offers a fully inclusive environment for our children to thrive in and will offer opportunities to raise the profile of SEND and support children across the wider Stockport community.
“Our staff have worked incredibly hard to prepare the school and support the transition. It has been a joy to see the children and families come together from the three sites with a real sense of belonging and identity as the Lisburne Community.”
Grange Primary School hosts discussion around Elective Home Education
Grange Primary School hosted a round table event with representatives from North East Lincolnshire Council, education providers, partners and local parents to bring the discussion of EHE (Elective Home Education) to the forefront.
Elective home education is where parents choose to homeschool their children. Every parent has the right to make this decision, but it can sometimes be met with misinformation and stigma if they choose to do so. NELC alongside partners including the Police, Health providers, Early Help, Children’s Social Care, and other key stakeholders came together to discuss the complex issue and to listen to lived experiences from parents who have chosen to go down the home education route. The session was met with insightful conversation, Jennifer Steel, Service Director of Education, Inclusion and Integration at North East Lincolnshire Council said:
“Bringing together people is the first step in creating meaningful partnerships across the different services and sectors. Hearing from the parents who are electively home educating their children is vital in understanding what us, as a service, can do to support them and how we can improve our offer to ensure every child’s educational needs are being met.
Every child is different, and each family will have an individual set of circumstances that we need to try and understand. Today was the first step in opening the conversation and will shape our approach to EHE going forward as a local authority.”
Portfolio Holder for Children and Education, Councillor Margaret Cracknell said:
“I’d like to commend all partners who attended the round table discussion, but I’d especially like to thank the parents who took the time out to come and share their own experiences.
Education is a crucial part of every child’s life and it’s important that those who choose to home educate their children can do so with the support they need.”
BBC Teach broadcasting a Live Lesson on Safer Internet Day 2025
At 11am on Tuesday 11 February, pupils across the UK will become players in a new game, Scam Smashers. They will be challenged to outsmart digital tricksters to protect their personal information. Working together with their class, pupils will need to use their detective skills to make it to the end of the Live Lesson and beat the scammers once and for all.
Schools can submit their shout-outs to be read out live during the lesson and share how they will be marking Safer Internet Day. They simply need to email
live.lessons@bbc.co.uk with Safer Internet Day in the subject heading.
The Live Lesson is part of a raft of new online safety resources from BBC Teach.
Primary school children will be challenged to spot online scams in a new BBC Teach Live Lesson on Safer Internet Day. The live interactive online safety lesson will embrace this year’s theme which is ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online’.
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www.education-today.co.uk
The Safer Internet Day 2025 Live Lesson will be broadcast on BBC Teach and CBBC. It will be available on-demand on BBC Teach and BBC iPlayer once the broadcast ends. A teaching guide and activity sheets are available to download ahead of the lesson.
February 2025
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