A CONSULTATION has been launched to increase the number of places an Oxford school for autistic children can provide.

It is the first academy for children with autism in Oxfordshire and it will be run by MacIntyre Academies.

The school is due to open on the former Ormerod School site in Waynflete Road, Barton, in September.

It will offer education for students from 11 to 19 and will also allow up to 12 children to live on the site, on either a long-term basis or for respite care.

MacIntyre Academies wants to increase the number of day pupils from 20 to 25 “due to the increasing number of children and young people with a statement of special educational needs, and the number of children and young people with severe learning difficulties and complex autism looked after by the council”.

The consultation closes on February 6.

s To comment on the proposals email Anne-Marie Dawe on anne-marie.dawe@ macintyrecharity.org or call 01908 230100.