How we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society. EVERYONE has the right to a good education.
That’s why I am delighted to hear the news that Fred Nicholson Schools’ relocation to a new, expanded state-of-the-art school is another step closer.
See the EDP article here
Last week, members of Norfolk County Council’s planning committee voted unanimously to grant permission for a new £20m school on land already secured in Swaffham (see here) – one that will see the number of SEND places the school provides increase from 173 to 224.
When I visited Fred Nichs back in 2019, I was struck by the tremendous spirit of the teachers and pupils, and the love that the wider community has for the school. However, the buildings were visibly falling into disrepair around them and short-term repairs were no longer sustainable. (Learn more here).
Having previously helped the campaign to move Chapel Road School in Attleborough to its new state-of-the-art home at Chapel Green in nearby Old Buckenham and consistently called for greater SEND funding for rural schools, I set about working with Fred Nichs to try and help them secure a long-term solution to their future.
The decision last week is therefore great news! With the new school due to open in April next year.
While the new school site will be outside of Dereham and Mid Norfolk, I am delighted that the pupils and staff will now have the facilities they deserve. I also welcome the news that the school will now be able to cater for children all the way from ages 5-16.
Here in Dereham and Mid Norfolk, we have a long proud tradition of helping the SEND community – and I am therefore determined to ensure Fred Nichs relocation does not sever our ties with the school. I continue to actively engage with Fred Nichs and Norfolk County Council as we explore how best we can preserve and enhance that legacy – and I remain a vocal supporter of NCC’s efforts to expand SEND provision across the county, as well as to develop a stronger ‘Hub and Spoke’ approach for SEND support across our Mid Norfolk schools.
To find out more about my work over the years with Fred Nichs, please scroll below.
To see more about my wider campaign for ‘SEND Support in our local schools’, please visit my campaign page here
UPDATE 12 June 2023
Dereham Times Article – Fred Nicholson School
Every few weeks, I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to write a few words in the Dereham Times on an important local matter of my choosing.
Having previously written a piece on the campaign on my opposition to a potential 5,000 house new village/town near North Elmham/Bintree/Billingford (see here and here), I was delighted to be able to focus on Fred Nicholson School this time – highlighting the great strides that have recently been made to secure the school’s long term future.
See the article below.
Rest assured, I remain firmly committed to supporting Fred Nichs – and continue to be one of the SEND sector’s biggest advocates here in the East.
To stay up to date on all my work supporting SEND provision in our local schools (both specialist and mainstream), please click here.
UPDATE 7 March 2023
Fred Nicholson School
Following my webstory update last week, I am delighted to hear that NCC’s Cabinet have indeed given the greenlight for the purchasing of the necessary land in Swaffham required for the construction of a new home for Fred Nicholson School.
This is great news! And sends the clearest possible signal to the SEND community that NCC are committed to doing all they can to ensure Norfolk has the support it needs.
While there is much work still to be done, this is a huge step forwards locally – and I commend Jane Hayman and her wonderful team at Fred Nichs for all the hard work they’ve put into this campaign to date. I remain firmly committed to doing all I can to help them drive it forward – and look forward to the day (not in the too distant future) when I can visit in person the brand new, fit-for-purpose home of this truly inspiring and much valued school.
UPDATE 28 February 2023
Fred Nicholson School
How we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society. EVERYONE has the right to a good education.
That’s why, having previously helped the campaign to move Chapel Road School in Attleborough to its new state-of-the-art home at Chapel Green in nearby Old Buckenham (read more here) and called for greater SEN funding for rural schools, I have also been working with Fred Nicholson School in Dereham over the past few years to try and help them secure a long-term solution to their future.
When I visited the school back in 2019, I was struck by the tremendous spirit of the teachers and pupils, and the love that the wider community has for the school. However, the buildings were visibly falling into disrepair around them and short-term repairs were no longer sustainable. (Learn more here).
While Norfolk County Council have worked closely with Jane Hayman and her dedicated team of staff at Fred Nichs to provide all the support that they can, it has long been clear that a proper long term solution is needed. I have therefore helped convene meetings between Fred Nichs and NCC (including with the leader of the council, Andrew Proctor – who has been a big support) in order to bring about the necessary conversations regarding what can be done to ensure the school has the fit-for-purpose facilities it needs.
NCC takes SEND provision incredibly seriously indeed and, as part of their overall strategy to expand and strengthen the support they provide, have actively participated in discussions with the school to explore whether they should relocate to a new building on the existing site or to an alternative one nearby.
I am delighted to hear the news therefore that NCC’s Cabinet will be meeting on Monday to discuss giving the greenlight to the purchase of some land near Swaffham – which it is hoped could be the location of Fred Nichs’ new home. (My understanding is that, should the land indeed be purchased, a planning application could be made as early as the spring).
As part of my ongoing efforts to support the Fred Nichs community, I have today written to Andrew Proctor to formally reiterate my support of the school and place on record my hope that the NCC Cabinet will sanction the purchase of this key piece of land. By doing so, NCC would not only allow Fred Nichs to move on to the next stage of securing the home they need and deserve, they would also send the clearest possible signal to the SEND community that they are committed to doing all they can to ensure Norfolk has the support it needs.
I will be following Monday’s meeting closely and will continue to do all I can to support Fred Nichs, as well as the wider SEND community.
UPDATE 22 March 2022
Visit to Fred Nicholson School
How we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society. EVERYONE has the right to a good education.
As part of my work as an MP I have been helping campaign to find new premises for the Fred Nicholson school in Dereham to try and help them secure a long-term solution to their future.
That’s why I met up with Jane Hayman and her incredible team again this past Friday to discuss updates on how its progressing, what more I can do to help and how the school is getting on post-pandemic.
Working with the Leader of Norfolk County Council, Andrew Proctor, and others, we aim to move the school to new premises that ensure Jane Hayman and her incredible team can provide the care and support they truly want, and which the children deserve.
UPDATE 17 December 2020
Fred Nicholson School
How we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society. EVERYONE has the right to a good education.
That’s why, having helped the campaign to move Chapel Road School in Attleborough to its new state-of-the-art home at Chapel Green in nearby Old Buckenham (read more here) and called for greater SEN funding for rural schools, I am now working with Fred Nicholson School in Dereham to try and help them secure a long-term solution to their future.
When I visited the school back in 2019, I was struck by the tremendous spirit of the teachers and pupils, and the love that the wider community has for the school. However, the buildings are falling into disrepair around them and short-term repairs are no longer sustainable. (Learn more here)
Working with the Leader of Norfolk County Council, Andrew Proctor, and others, we aim to move the school to new premises (constructed on the same site or nearby) – ones that ensure Jane Hayman and her incredible team can provide the care and support they truly want, and which the children deserve.
Today we took part in a Zoom catch up to hear of the progress that is being made on this project and I look forward to continuing my support of this incredibly worthwhile campaign as we move on into 2021.
UPDATE 8 October 2019
The Fred Nicholson School Visit
Delighted to join the head of The Fred Nicholson School, Jane Hayman, and her team this past Friday. And speak to the school council on their plans this year.
To find out more about the visit, please see the short video below
