Proposal to open a Communication and Interaction (Autism) Unit for pupils in Years 3-6 (Key Stage 2) at Iver Village Junior School

Overview

We want to hear your views on our proposal to open a Communication and Interaction (Autism) Unit for pupils in Years 3-6 (Key Stage 2) at Iver Village Junior School.

The Unit would have 8 places for children with Communication and Interaction (Autism) needs. These 8 places would be in addition to the school's mainstream places. If agreed the Unit would open in January 2026.

Increasing need for Communication and Interaction (Autism) support Increasing need for Communication and Interaction (Autism) support

Over the last five years in Buckinghamshire there has been a:

64% (2577 pupils) increase in the number of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabled (SEND) with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP)
82% (1,642 pupils) increase in children and young people with communication and interaction needs – this is one of the areas of need that has been rising most

Over the next five years in Buckinghamshire we are expecting:

a further 32% increase in the number of EHCP pupils
an increase of 1080 pupils or 30% of children and young people with communication and interaction needs

As part of our SEND Education Sufficiency Strategy the Council sought expressions of interest from schools interested in opening a primary age inclusion unit for children with Communication and Interaction (Autism). Iver Village Junior School submitted an expression of interest to open a Unit to meet the demand for places and we are therefore proposing to open a Communication and Interaction (Autism) Unit.

What this proposal would mean for pupils and staff at the school What this proposal would mean for pupils and staff at the school

A key aim of the Unit is to allow pupils to access a mainstream curriculum, whilst accessing specific specialist support. Pupils attending the Unit would:

spend most of their time based within the Unit (self-contained with its own outside play area)
be able to join in with parts of the school day, where appropriate

Specialist teachers would be employed to manage the new Unit:

staffed by teachers and learning support assistants
additional professionals to support pupils – including a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist and play therapist
further professionals would be employed depending on the needs of the children
all staff in the Unit would be trained to support pupils who have Communication and Interaction (Autism) needs.

All staff at Iver Village Junior School would be trained to support children with Communication and Interaction needs – providing benefits to all children at the school.

How the Unit would be funded How the Unit would be funded

The new Unit would be accommodated in refurbished rooms at the front of the school. The Unit will have its own outdoor play area in the existing courtyard which will be refurbished as part of the planned works.

The building works will be funding using capital grant funding provided by the Government for the provision of additional SEND places.

Events to find out more

We are hosting two events to find out more about the proposals, including an opportunity to view the proposed building plans for the Unit:

Presentation for parents/carers on Wednesday 16 July 2025 at 3:30pm
- at Iver Village Junior School, High Street, Iver, SL0 9QA
Public drop in event on Wednesday 16 July 2025 from 5pm to 6:30pm
- at Iver Village Junior School, High Street, Iver, SL0 9QA

How to have your say

You can tell us your views in one of the following ways:

complete the online survey using the link at the end of the page
complete, and return, a printed version of the survey (PDF 0.21MB)
email us at ivervillagejnrsendunit@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
write to us at The School Commissioning Team, Buckinghamshire Council, 1st Floor Walton Street Office, Aylesbury, HP20 1UZ

If you have any questions about this consultation, or require this information in another format or language, please email us at ivervillagejnrsendunit@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Please tell us your views by 11:59pm on Tuesday 5 August 2025.

What happens next

With Iver Village Junior School Governing Board, we will consider all the responses we receive and take a decision on whether to proceed to the next stage and publish a statutory notice to open a Communication and Interaction (Autism) Unit.

Statutory notice and representation period

If a statutory notice is published, there is a four week period in which you can make any further representations. If the decision is taken to proceed, we would expect the representation period to run during the Autumn term 2025.

Final decision

The Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, would take into consideration any representations made before making a decision on the final outcome. We would expect this decision to be made in November 2025.

It is proposed that the refurbishment works would start in Autumn term with the new Unit opening in January 2026. Pupil numbers would be gradually increased each year – until reaching the total capacity of 8.

Privacy

We will use the information you provide here only for this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details. For more information about data and privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Or write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.

Give us your views

Online Survey

Areas

Wexham and Ivers

Interests

Health
Schools & education
Children & young people
Mental health and wellbeing

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