AMBITIOUS plans have been unveiled to expand and realign specialist education provision for children and young people with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) across the city.
The proposals, representing the first phase of a wider programme aligned with Cardiff’s Education Inclusion Strategy, aim to urgently address rising demand and ensure that every learner receives the support they need to thrive.
The Council’s new proposals will provide an additional 462 specialist places, including 276 in special schools and 186 in Specialist Resource Bases (SRBs), to be delivered through a combination of refurbishment and new-build projects.
This expansion is a direct response to increasing numbers of children requiring specialist placements, driven by factors such as improved survival rates for children with significant disabilities, increased identification of specific needs, and a higher incidence of emotional health and wellbeing challenges among young people.
Key proposals include a range of expansions and the establishment of new Specialist Resource Bases (SRBs) to provide Emotional Health and Wellbeing (EHW), Autism and Complex Learning Needs (CLN) provision.
From January 2027, proposals for primary aged pupils include:
- Baden Powell Primary School. Increase from 8 to 16 EHW SRB places within existing buildings)
- Fairwater Primary School. Increase from 8 to 16 EHW SRB places within existing buildings
- Ysgol Gymraeg Coed-Y-Gof (Welsh-medium). Establish a new 8-place EHW SRB within existing buildings
- Ysgol Glan Morfa (Welsh-medium). New 10-place Autism/Social Communication SRB
- Adamsdown Primary School. New 10-place CLN SRB
- Pencaerau Primary School. New 20-place CLN SRB
- Meadowbank Special School. Increase from 98 to 110 places Hywel Dda Primary School. New 20-place Autism/Social Communication SRB January 2027, phased with a further increase in 2028/29 on completion of new build accommodation.
- From September 2027, it is proposed Peter Lea Primary School would accommodate a new 20-place CLN SRB
- Radnor Primary School would have a new 30-place Autism/Social Communication SRB with 10 places in 2026/27, 20 in 2027/28, 30 in 2028/29.
For Secondary aged pupils and special schools, plans include:
- Fitzalan High School. New 42-place Autism/Social Communication SRB from January 2027
- Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern (Welsh-medium). New 10-place Autism/Social Communication SRB from September 2027
- Woodlands High School. Increase from 240 to 300 places from January 2027, across two sites: Fairwater Campus and Vincent Road. Further increase to 360 places from September 2032, with new build at Vincent Road
- Greenhill Special School. Increase from 64 to 128 places from January 2027, across two sites, including temporary accommodation at the vacated Court School site in Llanishen. A further expansion from 128 places to 192 would be delivered in new build accommodation and potential sites are being explored. This would then allow the temporary arrangements at the vacated site of The Court School in Llanishen to cease.
- Tŷ Gwyn Special School who cater for pupils age 3 – 19 years who have complex, profound and multiple learning difficulties would increase from 240 to 300 places from January 2027, using existing and vacated Riverbank Special School buildings
Tŷ Gwyn Special School is a key project to note. The school serves learners aged 3–19 with profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, autism, and complex medical needs. Due to increasing demand and to enable building conditions to be addressed at the current site, new accommodation will be built.
The Council acquired the Tŷ Glas site in Llanishen in 2022, specifically for the development of new educational facilities which if agreed, would include the replacement of Tŷ Gwyn Special School, allowing it to further increase to 320 places from September 2030.
Councillor Sarah Merry, Cabinet Member for Education and Cardiff’s Deputy Leader, said: “These proposals are rooted in Cardiff’s commitment to inclusive education, ensuring that the majority of learners with ALN can have their needs met in local mainstream schools wherever possible.
“When specialist provision is required, the ambition is for learners to remain within Cardiff, reducing reliance on costly out-of-county placements and supporting community cohesion.
“If agreed, the plans represent a significant step forward in our mission to create a stronger, fairer, and greener Cardiff.
“By investing in specialist provision and aligning with our Education Inclusion Strategy and the Education Investment Strategy Caerdydd 2024–2033, we are ensuring that every child, regardless of their needs, has the opportunity to succeed close to home and within their community.”
The expansion also includes new Welsh-medium specialist provision, supporting the Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and the national Cymraeg 2050 target. This will increase the number of Welsh-medium ALN places and ensure that families can access support in the language of their choice.
Subject to Cabinet approval, a full public consultation would be launched, inviting feedback from parents, carers, school communities, and other stakeholders. The Council is committed to transparent engagement and will ensure that the voices of children and young people are central to the decision-making process.
If agreed, proposals would see immediate refurbishment works at several schools to ensure they provide high-quality, fit-for-purpose learning environments. This would include the redevelopment of those vacated schools that have moved to new accommodation and provide additional places for the 2026/27 school year.
The design development for new-build schemes, including the expansion of Greenhill Special School, Woodlands High School, and Tŷ Gwyn Special School would help to ensure timely delivery of future capacity.
The report will go to Cardiff Council’s Cabinet when it meets on Thursday, December 18.
A webcast of that meeting will be available to watch on the day: Agenda for Cabinet on Thursday, December 18, 2025, 2.00 pm : Cardiff Council
Prior to the Cabinet meeting, the report with be scrutinised by The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee when it meets on Tuesday (December 16).
A recording of that meeting will be available to view here: Agenda for Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 4.30 pm : Cardiff Council
