Deptford Park: new SEN unit welcomes its first children

Councillor Rotimi Skyers, Lewisham cabinet member for children, SEND, youth empowerment and culture at Lewisham council provided an update on the new special educational needs (SEN) unit to the council's mayor and cabinet meeting on 10 June.

He said that the new SEN unit for children with severe learning difficulties (SLD) will help educate children closer to home and reduce disruption from travelling.

The SEN unit welcomed its first 12 children at Deptford Park Primary School at the start of June. The second cohort of pupils will join in September 2026.

Part of the primary school has been adapted and refurbished to make way for the new SEN unit, which will cater for up to 40 pupils across four to five classrooms.

The school has also helped to fund the new unit.

Skyers said it was an “important step” towards SEND provision in Lewisham, adding it was a “strong example” which showed the council is delivering on its commitment to expanding high-quality local provision.

“We know that the demand for support, particularly for children with significant cognitive and communication needs, is rising," he said.

"While our mainstream schools still work incredibly hard to be inclusive, they cannot always meet these complex needs in busy classroom environments.

“This unit helps with that, it provides specialist classrooms, skilled staff in a tailored environment, while still keeping children connected to their local community.

"And critically, it means more children can be educated closer to home, reducing long travel times and disruption that comes with out-of-borough placements.”

According to the cabinet report, Lewisham has seen an increase in young learners with significant needs joining mainstream schools. They often have significant needs relating to cognition and learning, communication and interaction.

The report states: “Our schools are of course supporting these children in their community but cannot always meet needs in a busy mainstream environment.

“Creating an SLD Unit within a mainstream school in the north west of the borough ensures that these young learners can still attend a mainstream school, whilst having access to a highly specialised learning environment catering for their specific needs. It would also provide parents/carers with more choice and control.”

Later in the meeting, Skyers presented the council’s SEND Reform Implementation Plan, which details how the borough plans to implement SEND reforms locally, as part of national policy set out by central government.

The council must submit its plan by 19 June. If approved by the education minster, it will be implemented across the next three years and up to 2030.

As part of its plan, the council has pledged to offer more local support, provide more choice for children with SEND and their families, offer earlier help and create a more joined up system where education, health and care services will work more closely together.

The new SEN unit at Deptford Park Primary School is one way of creating more choice for Lewisham families to meet their child's needs.

Councillor Rudi Schmidt, deputy mayor, cabinet member for finance and a councillor for Evelyn ward, said: “We know the pain and the difficulties that both families and children who have SEND have gone through, navigating the system and getting the support that they need.

“So we want to work really, really closely, both with the schools, headteachers, but also parents, children, and SENCOs [Special Educational Needs Coordinators] to really shape what our SEND offer looks like going forward.”

The recommendations were agreed in both the report detailing updates of the new SEN unit and the council’s SEND Reform Implementation Plan.

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