Four new Specialist Inclusion Bases open at Muscliff, Bethany, Pokesdown and Somerford primaries in 2026/27, three Boscombe and Poole infant schools convert, and Manorside in Parkstone adds 10 places.

More children with special educational needs and disabilities will get specialist support without leaving their local school. Four new Specialist Inclusion Bases open at mainstream primaries across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole during the 2026/27 school year, BCP Council announced on 2 September.

The new bases are at:

  • Muscliff Primary School, off Broadway Lane in Throop
  • Bethany CE Junior School in Boscombe
  • Pokesdown Community Primary School, on Livingstone Road
  • Somerford Primary School in Christchurch

Three schools that have run specialist provision with the council since 2024 will be formally recognised as Specialist Inclusion Bases under national SEND reforms:

  • Queen’s Park Infant Academy in Bournemouth
  • Old Town Infant School and Nursery in Poole
  • St Clement’s and St John’s CE Infant School in Boscombe

Manorside Academy in Parkstone, Poole, is also expanding its existing specialist provision by 10 places.

Diagram of the eight BCP schools hosting SEND Specialist Inclusion Bases in 2026/27 Four new bases open at Muscliff Primary in Throop, Bethany CE Junior in Boscombe, Pokesdown Community Primary and Somerford Primary in Christchurch. Three existing provisions become Inclusion Bases at Queen's Park Infant Academy, Old Town Infant in Poole and St Clement's and St John's in Boscombe. Manorside Academy in Parkstone expands by 10 places. Eight BCP schools host SEND Inclusion Bases for 2026/27 Specialist provision inside mainstream schools, from BCP Council's 2 September announcement. New bases: 4 Muscliff Primary, Throop Bethany CE Junior, Boscombe Pokesdown Community Primary Somerford Primary, Christchurch Becoming bases: 3 Queen's Park Infant Academy Old Town Infant, Poole St Clement's and St John's, Boscombe Expanding: 1 Manorside Academy, Parkstone +10 places The three converting schools have run specialist provision with the council since 2024; the change formally recognises them as Specialist Inclusion Bases under national SEND reforms. Source: BCP Council, 2 September 2026. Graphic by The Bournemouth Post
The eight schools named in the council's announcement, by what changes at each.

What an Inclusion Base is

A Specialist Inclusion Base is not a separate special school. It is specialist provision inside a mainstream school. Children with SEND get targeted support there while staying part of the same school community as their siblings and neighbours, the council says. The point is to cut the number of children who have to travel outside the BCP area for a school place.

Councillor Richard Burton, the council’s portfolio holder for children, young people, education and skills, said: “When a child feels included and supported at school, it can change their life. It helps them build confidence, make friends and believe in themselves.”

Several of the schools are part of the Coastal Learning Partnership trust. Its chief executive, Paul Howieson, said the bases “help children feel confident, included and successful in school”.

The same partnership already runs satellite classes linked to two special schools: Linwood School in Winton and Winchelsea School in Parkstone. And earlier this year the Department for Education named Heatherlands Primary School in Parkstone a National Lead School for Inclusion Bases, sharing its approach with schools across England.

What it means for you

  • If your child has SEND and attends, or could attend, one of the eight schools named above, specialist support may now be available without moving school. The announcement does not say how places will be allocated, so ask the school or the council’s SEND team directly.
  • The council says this is part of a wider investment, with more specialist provision planned across BCP.
  • The money behind it matters. The council is under financial pressure on SEND: a government High Needs Stability Grant, covering 90% of its high needs deficit as it stood in March 2026, depends on ministers approving the SEND Reform Plan the council submitted in June. We covered that in BCP Council forecasts £27m overspend and freezes spending.

School locations are as recorded on the Department for Education’s Get Information about Schools register.

Sources