PLANS to spend £940,000 on improving a special school in Caerphilly county borough have been approved by the council. Trinity Fields School and Resource Centre could benefit from money left unspent as part of the 21st Century Schools project in the local authority area. Members of Caerphilly council’s cabinet unanimously approved the spend plan at a meeting on Wednesday. The money could fund an improved hydrotherapy pool, hoist systems linking classrooms and toilets, an improved outdoor learning area and better IT facilities. The exact amount of money available for the improvements could marginally increase or decrease due to the fluidity of the projected underspend. Caerphilly council has already invested in two extra classrooms the Ystrad Mynach school, while committing to spend £5 million expanding the site by 2026. Labour councillor Barbara Jones, deputy leader of the council, expressed her delight at moving the proposals. “Having visited Trinity Fields on a number of occasions, I am delighted that we’re going to be in a position to help them to get some new facilities,” said Cllr Jones. “The needs of young people are changing. We hope it it’ll be a little more than £940,000 but either way it will go a long way to improving the school.” Councillor Carl Cuss praised the school’s head teacher, Ian Elliott, on “doing wonders” with existing provisions. He added: “This new list of proposals will help support the increasing complex needs of the pupils.” While showing support for the proposals, Councillor Sean Morgan said the planned expansion in the second phase of the 21st Century Schools programme would lead to increased demand. Sue Richards, head of education planning and strategy, replied: “We’ve worked wonders over the years in expanding areas, but we’ve run out. There’s nowhere to expand, so there’s a definite need for increased provision.” Ms Richards told the meeting that the “tight deadlines” of the 21st Century Schools project means that an outline business case for the improvements will come before cabinet next month.