£2.4m agreed for autism school provision

SEVERAL schools will benefit from a £2.4 million investment for developing autism provision in the region.

Councillors rubber-stamped transferring this cash from the schools autism provision project to the property schools asset class budget in 2026/27.

This will not only allow for two autism specific centres to be set up – one in Dumfries and another in Stranraer – but money will be ploughed into smaller scale autism support projects.

A report approved by elected members at the last full council meeting explained: “The education, skills and community wellbeing committee on 1 July 2025 considered options for the delivery of the school autism provision.

“Members of that committee subsequently agreed to establishing off-site autism specific centres in Dumfries and Stranraer by refurbishing the existing estate and repurpose/refurbish spaces in a number of identified secondary schools to provide on-site autism-friendly spaces for children and young people from P6 upwards.

“Rather than one or two larger scale projects, this project now involves the delivery of 11 smaller scale projects, therefore it was recommended that the best delivery route for this project would be through the property (schools) asset class.

“The education, skills and community wellbeing committee agreed that £2.4 million of the £3.15 million currently allocated against school autism provision should be transferred to the property (schools) asset class in 2026/27 to support the progression of this project.

“This transfer requires the confirmation of full council.

“The remaining £750K from the school autism allocation will be available for member consideration as part of the setting of the 2026/27 to 2035/36 Capital Investment Strategy.”

Annandale South Councillor George Jamieson, the SNP Group’s education spokesperson, said: “The autism provision has been a high priority for the education skills and community wellbeing for a number of years now. Certainly all the time I’ve been here.

“And this is a welcome step forward to utilise the money where it’s most effective, which is in the schools.

“It also follows a principle of inclusion whereby the people with young people with autism have the support closer to their homes in individual schools and this is where the money will be invested in.

“So I just want to support the recommendation.”