PARENTS have welcomed a £200,000 expansion of the Chalet School to boost special needs education in the town as the numbers of children with autism has increased.

Swindon Council agreed an extension to the Liden Drive school, which caters for children aged between two and 11, which had reached its capacity.

A special Cabinet Panel on Schools Organisation signed off on expanding the school to take a further 10 pupils, up to 55 in total after a consultation saw 18 out of 21 comments in favour of the proposal.

Robert Buckland, the MP for South Swindon, who has a child at the school, hailed the decision as important for the provision of education for youngsters with autism and autistic spectrum condition.

He said: “I take great interest in what is happening here and the background is that the number of children with autism and ASC is increasing in Swindon.

“That is because they have got better at diagnosis and these children have particular needs that can be better dealt with at special schools. I am all for integration so long as it is at the right time and Chalet has a room at Liden Primary, which is great.”

In a report for the panel in May, officers said: “In common with many local authorities, Swindon has seen a large increase in the number of children with Statements of Special Educational Needs. The Chalet School is full to capacity.

“The expansion of The Chalet will add to the flexible range of provision and support that can respond to the special educational needs of individual pupils with ASC and their parents’ preferences.

“The Chalet School is rated by Ofsted as a good school with outstanding features. It is popular with parents and is operating at full capacity with requests from parents to attend.

The Chalet School recognises the important role that parents play in the life of the school.”

Matt Lawrie, 30, whose seven-year-old son Alfie attends the school, said: “He was in mainstream school and he struggled but he has come on so much since he started at Chalet - it is a fantastic school.

“You get much better one-to-one tuition, which you cannot get at a mainstream school. I’m glad they are expanding as we were on a waiting list and, had we not got in, our next option was a school in Oxford.”

A spokesman for the council said: “The cost of the project is 200K and is in the capital build programme.

“The school has expanded its numbers to 55 but are currently accommodating the children in their existing building.”