Basildon's Fairview special school has been earmarked to be transformed into a centre for some of the district's most unruly pupils.

The school, which closed to pupils last summer, and will be used as a special teaching centre for youngsters with severe behavioural problems.

The pupil referral unit in Fairview Road will be capable of housing 40 students, now in mainstream schools across the district, at a time.

An education spokesman for the county council said: "In the past if there was a difficulty with a child in school that child could be suspended or excluded.

"The pupil referral unit is a halfway shop. If a child is having difficulties they can go and spend a few months at this unit and be given extra one-on-one attention and concentrate their efforts.

"Their weaknesses can be discovered and built on so that the child can eventually return to school."

He added that the unit would aim to improve each youngster's view of education without disrupting more well-behaved classmates.

If given the go-ahead, the centre will be manned by specialist teachers, trained to deal with problem youngsters of secondary school age.

A team of headteachers and governors from other schools in the area will manage it.

The county council has just finished consulting Basildon schools and organisations about the plans.

Several supported the closure of Fairview, which has been on the special measures list for problem schools for more than two years.

Most of the school's staff have already taken retirement or voluntary redundancy packages.

Those consulted were concerned about a lack of provision for special needs pupils and were glad to hear of plans for the new centre.

But Andy White, headteacher of Woodlands School in Basildon, said: "Our view is that Fairview ought to remain open, albeit with a new management structure, and a new pupil referral unit established in Basildon."

County councillors will discuss the plans for Fairview on Monday and look set to approve the centre proposal.

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