PRITI Patel has praised a new special needs school after meeting with the headteacher.

The Witham MP met Adam Dean, the headteacher of the Chatten Free School, which is currently under construction in Rickstones Road.

Mr Dean and Ms Patel were joined by Carolyn Gulleford of the Purposeful Communication Programme for Autism to discuss the future of the school.

The Chatten Free School was given the green light by Essex County Council and the Department for Education last year.

Ms Patel said Mr Dean is clearly devoted to making the school a success.

Read more:

She said: “It will offer much-needed support for children with learning difficulties and for their parents.

“Each child will have highly individual needs and the school will be able to provide a safe environment for them to develop, using a curriculum individually prepared for each one.

“I hope to be able to visit the school in August after the construction has been completed, to meet some of the parents and to see the facilities for myself.

“I shall be following its progress with great interest.

“I wish Chatten Free School well with their plans for the future and I will certainly give them every support that I can.”

The school will take up to 75 pupils with complex autism.

Mr Dean said: “Our primary vision for pupils and families is to provide happiness, independence and respect for all.

“We want to offer an outstanding, evidence based and fully individualised curriculum for our pupils, who will be supported by experienced professionals and an enthusiastic staff.

“We want our school to be a functional, loving and kind place which is conducive to the effective learning of life, communication and academic skills, which will be essential for our pupils.

“We also want learning to continue when pupils leave the building, through our family teaching partnership.”

Chatten Free School is set to open in September.

“The new school will be split into 15 classes and is expected to employ more than 100 members of staff so each pupil can be taught on a one-to-one basis.