Halesbury Special School in Feldon Lane has submitted an application to Dudley Council to replace temporary classrooms with a permanent structure.

A statement supporting the application for the new block says: “The new building will comprise of six classrooms. 

“One of the additional classrooms will be slightly larger and will be used for specialist teaching, and a further classroom used to compensate for the loss of a room within the main school, this is to be converted to a much needed staffroom facility. 

“The building will include three small break-out rooms for one to one or small group teaching, these are important spaces that are well underprovided within the existing school. 

“There will be specialist changing facilities and toilets for pupils and staff.”

Halesbury, which takes pupils with complex needs of ASD, language and social communication as well as cognition and learning,  is designed to take 117 students aged from four to 19 but currently has 175 on its roll.

The school has four modular classrooms situated in the playground which have no internal toilet facilities and are reaching the end of their useful life. Pupils have to be escorted by staff across the playground to the main school building if they require a toilet.

The new building, if approved, will be single storey with a flat roof and constructed on the eastern side of the school with a corridor linking it to the main building.

The playground will be moved to where the temporary classrooms are currently located. The location of the new building will mean the site can be fenced off so the school can remain open during construction.