PARENTS hope others will feel empowered to “challenge the decision making process” after celebrating the most recent decisions surrounding special education needs care in Wiltshire.

The team protested threats to close three special schools and replace it with one centre of excellence in Rowde.

The council agree to ensure that children will only move from their local special school to the new one in Rowde when it is “appropriate” to do so following a six hour debate last month on the topic at County Hall.

Parents believe their peaceful protest has impacted leaders at Wiltshire Council.

Campaigner and parent Emily Wadds said: “We still have a long way to go to truly create a broad education for SEND children.

“However, we look forward to working with Wiltshire Council to create this ambitious and exciting three site plan, which will also include more resource bases and better training and outreach for mainstream schools.

“We will continue to put pressure on Wiltshire Council to keep a special school presence in both Trowbridge and Chippenham.”

Speaking to school leaders at School Forum, Judith Westcott acting head of children’s commissioning said: “We will build up to 400 places on Rowdeford site using existing 130 places and then adding to that.

“We would then at an appropriate time decide whether we should be closing St Nicholas and Larkrise. There is no commitment as the decision is at the moment that those sites will not be used in the future. If we need more than 400 places that’s when we would have to start thinking about whether we keep a building at Larkrise or St Nicholas’ or we build something new because it might be that neither of those sites are appropriate but that we have to have an alternate site.

"If we need more than 400 places we would have to think about whether we keep a building at Larkrise or St Nicholas or we build something new because it might be that neither of those sites are appropriate but that we have to have an alternate site.”

The Centre of Excellence will get a new name and will be built in phases so pupils start are the school in phases.

The Secretary of State is due to make the final decision on whether to allow the school to be maintained by Wiltshire Council instead of becoming an academy by the end of this term after parents called for it to remain in the council's control.