A NEW £12 million school for children with severe learning difficulties in Poole has been approved in principle.

Montacute School at Canford Heath, which has 75 pupils with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism, could be rebuilt at Talbot Combined School under Building Schools for the Future.

The original plan was to build a 100-place school on the present site, amalgamating it with Langside School at Parkstone, which has 27 pupils with profound multiple learning difficulties.

Borough of Poole’s cabinet has now agreed the plan in principle and officers are to investigate options for the future use of the school site, which is shared with Dorset Police and the council’s leisure services.

“The existing site of Montacute School is too restrictive to allow a complete rebuild without major disruption to the vulnerable children who attend the school,” said Andrew Flockhart, strategic director.

“As a result, options appraisals have been carried out to determine alternative sites.

“At this stage the preferred option is to relocate Montacute School to a shared site with Talbot Combined School.

“The size of the site there would enable us to build a new school without causing unnecessary disruption to the education of pupils either at Montacute or Talbot Combined.

“It is still the intention of the council and colleagues at Dorset Scope that provision for children at Langside will be made at the new Montacute School,” he said.

Although Montacute and Talbot would share the same Talbot Drive site, the schools would be entirely separate with their own buildings.

Subject to approval by the government of the funding, statutory consultation, a land agreement and planning permission, construction could start in June 2012.