A public consultation has been launched to discuss moving a specialist service from Bower Grove School to St Augustine Academy.

The academy in Oakwood Park currently provides a satellite service to 12 pupils at Bower Grove, a specialist school in Fant Lane, for children with a variety of learning difficulties, including those on the autistic spectrum disorder.

If the changes are enforced it will become the sole provider of support for the 12 students. They, alongside several staff, will transfer.

But Bower Grove itself will still continue on the site, and KCC also plans to chance the school’s roll from 146 to 183.

A spokesman from Kent County Council said: “A proposal has been made to move part of

the work of Bower Grove School to St Augustine’s Academy to help make sure there imore capacity for this kind of specialist education, which is particularly important to the families with children who have special educational needs.

“Transferring the secondary age children to St Augustine's provides them with a wider peer group of young people their own age and the change would also provide more space for younger children at Bower Grove.

“This increases and improves the local provision for pupils with autism and supports the development of a highly skilled specialist schools workforce.”

The council’s equality impact assessment concluded there should be no negative impact on pupils and it is hoped the move will see an increase in the amount of places available for school children with specialist learning needs.

If approved both aspects of the proposal will come into effect from September 1 2014.

The consultation period will run until 11am on Monday, October 21 and a public meeting will take place at the St Augustine academy at 7pm on Tuesday October 1.

Documents can be viewed online at www.kent.gov.uk/school consultations and comments can be sent to school.consultations@kent.gov.uk