Former nursery will be transformed into new special needs school

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

Former site of Channings Childcare on Whitehall Street, Rochdale

The planning application for a new special needs school in Rochdale has been approved by Rochdale Council.

The new Whitehall Academy Ltd will be a privately funded school especially designed for primary school aged children with complex needs. The school will be known as Whitehall Academy and run by an operator that is already a lead provider of alternative provision to many of the schools in Rochdale, according to planning papers. 

The facility is expected to cater for approximately 20 to 30 pupils, with around 15 staff members.

The site off Whitehall Street was the former home of Channings Childcare – which closed in 2022 after what the operator described as a ‘devastating’ Ofsted report. Channings Childcare later put the nursery building on the market after claiming they did not have the resources to develop any further, despite having ‘put right’ the issues raised.

Now planning approval has been granted by Rochdale Council, the building will get a new lease of life, but it will still be used for the care of children. The young people expected to attend the new school may have been diagnosed with autism, learning difficulties, and complex neurological conditions. 

Whitehall Academy Ltd also stated that the children attending may also be receiving ongoing CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) support or be awaiting multi-agency assessment.

The school will accommodate two classrooms, an office/reception area, a head office, and a centrally located multi-purpose room on the ground floor. Other rooms on the ground floor include a shower room, WCs and a store.

The second floor level will be retained as it is to provide more floor space as well as a kitchen area. There are no plans to change the exterior of the building.

The playground will be kept as it is as well as the outdoor car park – which can accommodate six vehicles as well as a disabled space.

Planning papers read: “Whitehall Academy strives to provide a broad and holistic curriculum that caters to pupils with a variety of needs, including autism, communication, sensory needs, and specific learning difficulties.

“The curriculum strives to be tangible in every part of the school day which begins with breakfast club, allowing all learners to be ready to engage in the formal curriculum and provides opportunities for staff to have conversations, address concerns, and prepare learners for the day ahead.

“At Whitehall Academy the local community will be seen as valuable to pupils’ learning, so opportunities will be taken to thread links between the curriculum and the local community. As part of this, the outdoors will be used as a learning environment; this can be both school based or supplemented with visits, trips and activities at external locations.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter