Work began on 19 October to turn Charlton House in Keynsham into a 30-place SEND school and two children's homes, a £6.76m scheme due to open for 2027/28.

Building work has started on a new specialist school in Keynsham for teenagers with complex needs. Contractors moved on to the site of Charlton House, the empty council care home in Hawthorns Lane, on Monday 19 October. The council confirmed the start the same day (B&NES Council, 19 October 2026).

The building will become:

  • a 30-place day school for young people aged 11 to 18 with complex special educational needs, including autism and social, emotional and mental health needs
  • two children’s homes, each for up to four children, on the top floor

The council says the work should be finished in time for the school to open in the 2027/28 school year.

What happens on site, and when

The contractor, Beard, has started six weeks of enabling works. That covers site hoarding, welfare cabins, temporary services, fire safety and security systems, and work inside the existing building. The main refurbishment begins in late November, the council said.

Charlton House has stood empty since it closed as a care home in March 2024. The council said its residents were helped to find other places, and most staff moved to other council-run homes.

Planning permission for the change of use was granted by the council’s planning committee on 10 July 2026 (application 26/00538/REG03). The construction management plan required before work could start was signed off on 30 September (26/03477/COND).

Why the council is doing it

The short answer is that it pays a great deal to send children out of the area. The council’s own project page says demand for specialist school places has outstripped what it has, so it relies on out-of-county placements, and that there is no SEND residential provision in the district for its most complex children (B&NES Council project page).

The decision paper that set the budget puts figures on it (decision E3675, 18 December 2025):

Figure in the council’s paper
Total budget £6.76m
Government high needs capital grant £6.1m
Extra borrowing, for the children’s homes £660,000
Average cost of an independent special school place now £88,000 a year
Expected average cost of a place at Charlton House £60,000 a year
Expected school savings in the council’s “safety valve” plan £840,000 a year
Average yearly cost of a residential placement for the matching group of children £407,000
Expected savings from the two homes, depending on occupancy £229,000 to £756,000 a year

The paper also estimates about £350,000 a year saved on transport, after allowing for local minibuses.

The plan has changed since 2024. The first version, agreed in September 2024, was a residential special school with 12 boarding and 18 day pupils. The paper says the market showed little interest, the only tender was withdrawn, and the council concluded that what children needed was care all year round, not term-time boarding. Ofsted advised that a 12-bed home would not be suitable. So the top floor is being split into two self-contained homes for four children each, with their own entrances and gardens. Meeting Ofsted’s rules for children’s homes added £660,000 to the cost.

The school will be run by an academy trust. The council’s paper says the trust was chosen through the “presumption” route used for new special schools. It will be paid the standard special school rate of £10,000 a pupil plus top-up funding at the highest band.

Councillor Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “We want children with complex needs to be able to receive the right support close to their families, friends and local communities.”

More local places on the way

Charlton House is one of three schemes the council named on 19 October:

  • a SEND resource base at Mulberry Park Primary School, under construction, for up to 10 pupils
  • a single-storey resource base on the Wellsway School and IKB Academy campus in Keynsham, for up to 20 young people aged 11 to 19, which is awaiting planning permission
  • Charlton House itself: 30 school places and 8 children’s home places

The plans follow the Department for Education’s approval of the council’s Local SEND Reform Plan, announced on 12 October (B&NES Council). Our report on the Ofsted and CQC inspection of local SEND services sets out where the district stood earlier this year.

What it means for you

  • If your child has an EHCP and travels out of the area to school, ask your SEND caseworker whether Charlton House could be named for 2027/28. Places for September 2027 are allocated through the EHCP process, not by applying to the school.
  • If you live near Hawthorns Lane, expect hoarding and site traffic now, and heavier work from late November. The council says it will keep neighbours informed through the contractor. Its construction management plan is on the planning register under 26/03477/COND.
  • Hawthorn Court, next door, keeps its meals: the council’s adult social care service will continue to use the Charlton House kitchen, behind a secure boundary with the school.

Sources