TWO schools in Newport, including the city’s only dedicated education establishment for children with additional learning needs, are to expand.

The main building at special school Maes Ebbw is to be enlarged allowing it to increase its pupil roll from 100 to 150 in April 2019.

Meanwhile, the capacity of Bettws’ Millbrook Primary School will rise from 210 to 315 in time for the start of the next academic year in September.

Both proposals were signed off by Cllr Gail Giles, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for education and skills.

The expansion of Maes Ebbw, which covers pupils between three and 19, will cost just under £75,000 for each of the 50 additional places.

But it will allow pupils at placements outside of Newport to return to the city for their education, reducing associated transport costs.

“The total cost of this project is estimated to be approximately £3.5 million, funded entirely via the 21st Century Schools Programme,” said the report.

“This can be presented as a cost of approximately £74,468 per additional pupil place.

“The proposal to extend Maes Ebbw School will provide additional specialist education places for children within special educational needs and could potentially enable pupils at out-of-county placements to return to the city for their education.

“This has the potential to reduce the cost of these school placements and the associated transport costs, however it is possible that some of these savings will need to be re-directed to meet the specific needs of these pupils.”

No capital funding is expected for the Millbrook proposal.

The council has already carried out a small amount of maintenance work at the school to improve existing facilities ready for the increase in pupils.

Additional costs for staffing and property could from the individual school budget (ISB) which uses pupil size as a determining factor.

“Increasing pupil numbers will mean that this school will get a greater share of the ISB in the future and therefore could impact on other school funding depending on the level of the ISB budget,” added the report.

“There may be savings in terms of home to school transport, as increasing the number of school places available could potentially reduce the number of children who require free transport assistance to their next nearest available school.

“These savings, if they arise, cannot be quantified at the present time.”