Bridgewater Primary School - Proposal To Close The Additional Resourced

Statutory Notice

Newcastle City Council

Proposal to close the Additional Resourced 
Provision (ARP) at Bridgewater Primary School

Newcastle City Council is proposing to close the Additional Resourced Provision (ARP) for Early Years age children and young people at Bridgewater Primary School, Delaval Road, Benwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE15 6NL (no 391/2210).

An increasing number of children are being identified as having additional needs, whose complexity of the needs mean that an assessment ARP is not necessarily the best setting whilst undergoing statutory assessment.

The EY Assessment ARPS were created some years ago to allow for a statutory assessment of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), within a maximum timescale of two years. The world of SEND has changed considerably since, and the short-term nature of a placement in an EY assessment ARP is no longer suitable. 

There is a lack of a clear pathway for some of these children to suitable provision.

An in-depth review of the Early Years Assessment ARP at Bridgewater Primary School has been conducted. We have worked with the senior leadership at Bridgewater Primary School, and it has been agreed that the EY Assessment ARP is no longer sustainable.

Consultation
A full public consultation took place from 6th December to 17th January. A consultation letter was sent to:

 • Parents of pupils on roll at Bridgewater Primary School
 • Governors of Bridgewater Primary School
 • Local Councillors
 • All schools in Newcastle

The notice was also published on Bridgewater Primary School’s website, the Newcastle Local Offer and Newcastle City Council’s Services to Schools website.

Responses were invited and meetings offered. Neither Newcastle City Council nor Bridgewater Primary School received any responses.

There is one pupil currently undergoing assessment at the ARP. The assessment will be completed before the end of July 2025 and an educational placement will be made. Based on these factors, the Council is therefore publishing this statutory proposal for closure of the Early Years Assessment ARP at Bridgewater Primary School with effect from 31st August 2025. Assessments will continue to take place within a child’s school / Early Years setting with support from the SEND Outreach Service and other outside agencies as appropriate.

Anybody can object to or make comments on the proposal. 

Objections or comments should be sent to Newcastle City Council, School Organisation, Children, Education and Skills, Civic Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8QH or email: schoolorganisation@newcastle.gov.uk and must be received by 1st March 2025.

Signed: Authorised Officer, Newcastle City Council

Date of publication: 21 February 2025