THE Special Partnership Trust has partnered with Education South West to develop a new special educational needs hub in the Newton Abbot area.

It’s expected to be open by Spring 2026, and the intention is that it will provide specialist support and resources to schools across the area to help them improve their special educational needs provision.

The hub will also offer new places for children with Education Health and Care Plans and training to staff in schools.

These children will be placed through our Special Educational Needs (SEN) admissions process.

The hub aims to support local schools to help them improve their SEN provision by ensuring that they have all the tools they need to succeed, similar hubs will be created in other areas across Devon.

This comes as Devon County Council (DCC) says it is working with the Special Partnership Trust to help year six pupils with Special Educational Needs move to year seven.

The move from primary to secondary school is a big deal for all pupils, and with it a mixture of emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness, through to anxiety.

Together, DCC and Special Partnership Trust have been working on a transition project to make the move from one school to another as easy and as smooth as possible for all students.

The programme particularly focuses on working with schools to best support those with special educational needs so they can feel confident and ready to move onto the next phase in their education journey.

The programme started last month and is continuing through to October.

They are working with five Trusts and more than 26 schools across Devon to provide specialist advice and guidance, making sure that every student gets the support they need during this important time.

The sort of advice and guidance available to schools includes professional development; working alongside schools’ SENCOs to help them support specific groups of pupils; and working with school staff to look at planning and resourcing.