Brighter Futures for Children is working closely with Reading Borough Council to increase the number of school places for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in Reading. Here you will find updates on current projects:

Oak Tree School

The Department for Education announced in March 2019 that Reading was one of 37 towns which would benefit from a new special free school.

It was confirmed in July 2020 the school will be called Oak Tree School and will be operated by the Maiden Erlegh Trust as a free school.

Oak Tree School will be located on land at Winnersh Farm in Wokingham and will offer 150 places for pupils with a Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and/or an Autism Spectrum Condition diagnosis.

The school will accept pupils from Reading and Wokingham boroughs and is due to open in September 2023.

Brighter Futures for Children and Wokingham Borough Council is working with the Maiden Erlegh Trust and DfE on the project.

The scheme was given planning permission by Wokingham council on 8 September 2021. You can find out more about Oak Tree School at: www.oaktreeschool.org

The Avenue

Work is progressing well on the expansion of The Avenue School in Tilehurst.

The Avenue Centre, which was previously office space, is being converted and refurbished to provide an additional 60 places for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and handed over to The Avenue School Special Needs Academy Trust.

As of February 2023, four of the new classrooms are operational and three more are nearing conclusion.

The work will increase the total number of pupils on site to 235.

Hamilton School

The new Hamilton School building in Bulmershe Road opened to pupils in February 2022.

It replaced the old Phoenix College building in Christchurch Road which was in a poor condition and unsuitable for special needs pupils.

The school, on the site of the old Hamilton Centre, is an SEMH school which caters for up to 64 students aged 11-18 with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP).

The new school building was highly commended in a local authority and community building national awards in November 2022.

Visit the school website at: https://www.hamilton-school.co.uk/

Odyssey House School

Odyssey House School is being created for up to 50 pupils aged between seven and 19 years who have struggled within mainstream settings. Wokingham Borough Council granted planning permission for the new school, off London Road, Wokingham, on 8 February 2023. Find out more at: https://www.odysseyeducationgroup.co.uk/wokingham-london/