A SCHOOL which teaches some of Oxfordshire’s most vulnerable children could be expanded to take youngsters as young as seven.

Woodeaton Manor School, in Woodeaton near Oxford, currently takes children aged 11 to 18 with behavioural, emotional and social disorders.

The vast majority of them have varying degrees of autistic disorders.

An Oxfordshire County Council consultation has been launched on extending the age range to allow primary-aged children to attend the school, which currently has just over 50 pupils.

Governors and staff want to add a new class of six Key Stage 2 primary aged children in 2012.

The consultation document states: “We think this is a popular, well-respected school at the heart of the Oxfordshire special educational needs provision, which should expand to help meet the county demand for special care at primary school age.”

The school hopes that by taking special needs children earlier, they will have a better chance of doing well academically and getting better individual outcomes.

A new classroom would be built on site to accommodate the change.

The consultation closes on February 9. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/cgc3lgw or call 01865 816453.

If the council decides to proceed, a public notice will be published and a further consultation lasting six weeks will take place.