A Surrey primary school could soon open a specialist unit for autistic children, as the county council looks to tackle a growing shortage of local special needs places.

St Paul’s Church of England Primary School in Tongham is in line to get a dedicated Special Educational Needs (SEN) unit for up to 25 pupils with Autism. The unit would serve children aged four to 11 and is due to open in September 2026.

Cabinet member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Jonathan Hulley, green-lit the new SEN classroom at a meeting on January 27. He said: “The plan addresses rising demand, it reduces the reliance on independent school provision and it supports local education.”

Surrey County Council says demand for specialist school places, particularly for children with autism, has risen sharply in recent years. Many families currently face long journeys or placements in costly independent schools outside the county because local provision is full.

The new unit at St Paul’s would allow more children to be educated closer to home, in a mainstream school with additional specialist support. All pupils placed there would have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) confirming they need that level of provision.

Importantly, the plans would not reduce mainstream places at the school. The specialist pupils would be taught in a separate unit alongside the school’s usual intake.

Council figures show Surrey’s existing specialist provision is already 92 per cent occupied. Without new local spaces, the authority says it will have to keep relying on independent schools, where places can cost more than £50,000 per year per child.

By comparison, a place in a council-run specialist setting costs closer to £23,000 a year, meaning the St Paul’s unit could save significant public money as well as reduce travel time for families.

St Paul’s recently expanded from an infant school into a full primary and is expected to reach its full size of 210 mainstream pupils by 2028. Officers say there is enough room on site to include the SEN unit. A temporary “bulge” class for autistic pupils is already operating at the school and would become part of the permanent unit.

The proposal has already been through consultation. Of 32 responses, 91 per cent supported the plan, and one later response during the formal notice period also backed it.

The scheme forms part of Surrey’s wider drive to create more state-funded specialist school places by 2031, helping children with additional needs stay in their communities and access the right support locally.