Greenwood Academies Trust

Nethergate Academy, part of the Greenwood Academies Trust, is a co-educational academy in the City of Nottingham which provides high-quality education for children and young people with special educational needs from age 5-19. Nethergate Academy has an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating and has highly experienced and dedicated teaching and support staff who deliver an exciting and varied curriculum which ensures that learners have every opportunity to reach their full potential and learn the key skills to succeed in life. The academy is divided into 4 distinct phases: Primary, KS3, KS4 and 6th Form. All children admitted to the academy have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The academy offers places for pupils with complex learning difficulties and disabilities including autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, communication and interaction difficulties, sensory and/or medical needs.

The proposal is to develop a satellite post-16 provision, which will in turn provide up to additional sixteen places for pupils with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) from 1 September 2025 and up to another eight from September 2026 (twenty-four in total). This will include the adaptation of an existing City Council building (Green Lane Youth Centre) to provide accommodation which will meet the needs of our Post-16 pupils. We will also look to provide community youth provision during evenings, weekends and school holidays. The adaptations will be fully funded by Nottingham City Council as part of their SEND Strategy.

Following extensive consultation, Nottingham City Council has published a SEND Sufficiency Strategy 2023-28 for improving the outcomes for children with SEND. This strategy identifies a number of priorities, including providing additional places for children with ASD that reflects an increase in need across the City. Following a detailed place planning exercise and having reviewed a number of options, it has been determined that there is a requirement for an additional 80 special school places for young people with Autism and complex learning difficulties. There continues to be a significant shortage of Specialist School placements and without the development of additional provision, these young people will need to either be placed in high cost school placements at a significant distance from their home address, or continue to access mainstream education where pupils with the most profound needs are not able to make sufficient levels of progress. This will impact on their emotional well-being as they will spend significant periods on transport and will not be enabled to make friends in their local communities.

In determining the most appropriate school to develop provision, the Local Authority has taken into account current Ofsted judgements, commitment of leadership and governance, staff expertise and the availability of a suitable site. The Local Authority has identified both Nethergate Academy and Rosehill School’s to develop the required provision.

It is important to note that site restrictions mean that the growth of 80 places cannot be achieved on a single site. Nethergate Academy has a very experienced senior management team and any changes to leadership would be mitigated by the strength and depth of the wider management team.

We are working with the Local Authority to develop a plan to transport students to the site, should the proposal be approved, to minimise the impact of transport on the local community and to enable the Local Authority to deploy transport more effectively.

Nethergate Academy and the proposed satellite site are also very close to a well-run and efficient tram system and has staff trained in Independent Travel Training which supports young people’s preparation for adult life and as part of the project.
Impact on staffing

The expansion will require an additional 3 teaching staff and 10 support staff to be appointed over the next 2 years. The academy and the Trust are confident that we have the skills and expertise to be able to recruit, train, support and retain the talent needed for this expansion.

There is no requirement to restructure the leadership of the academy as a result of this expansion.

The consultation period will be 4 weeks and will commence on Monday 24 February 2025 and end on Monday 24 March 2025 at 5pm and we look forward to receiving your views.

Your views are very important to us, and we look forward to receiving your comments.
To submit your views, please email them to consultation@greenwoodacademies.org by 5pm on Monday 24 March 2025.

Information and updates will be posted on the www.nethergateacademy.org and www.greenwoodacademies.org websites under the news sections.

Following the consultation period, the Greenwood Academies Trust will review responses and propose to submit a Significant Change application to the Department for Education (DfE).

Updates will be posted on the academy and Trust website.

If the DfE approves the proposal, then the relevant planning permission and appropriate consents will be sought.