Ealing petition calls for a new secondary special school

An online petition has opened in Ealing calling on the borough council to establish a new secondary special school for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND. The official petition page says signatures can be collected from 1 October until 1 November 2026.

The request is specific: the organisers want Ealing Council to commit to creating a new school within the borough that would provide enough suitable, locally accessible specialist places. At this stage, however, it is a residents’ appeal rather than an announced council investment or a decision to build a school.

In its supporting statement, the petition organiser argues that the current number of places does not meet demand and that some children have to attend provision outside Ealing. The statement also says that expansions at existing special schools and specialist provision within mainstream schools have not removed the overall shortfall. These are claims made by the petition organiser; publication on the council’s platform does not mean the council has verified or endorsed every part of that case.

For parents and carers, the key distinction is between a petition and a formal capital plan. Neither the petition notice nor the linked decision information gives a proposed site, budget, opening date or operating model for a possible new school. Those matters would require further assessment, funding and separate decisions.

Residents can sign through Ealing Council’s official e-petition system. The council’s petition scheme says a signatory must live in the borough and provide their name, full address and postcode for the signature to count. The scheme also says a petition with at least 3,671 valid signatures — 1 per cent of the assessed population based on the 2021 Census — will qualify for debate by Full Council. The Mayor retains discretion over when such a debate is scheduled.

Once a petition has been submitted, the council says it will normally provide a substantive response within four weeks, although its rules list circumstances in which this may take longer. The council’s e-petition guidance also says a response is published after the petition closes.

That means the next firm milestones are the closing date of 1 November and the council’s subsequent response. Until then, the petition records support for the proposal but does not itself create a new school, commit funding or settle where any future provision would be located. Residents interested in the issue should use the official page for the current wording and deadline rather than relying on changing signature totals shared elsewhere.