A SPECIAL school in Great Harwood could close under plans to shake up provision in Hyndburn.

Education bosses at Lancashire County Council are hoping to implement a new strategy which would see the North Cliffe School, on Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, close – despite recently working hard to improve its performance after being told it was failing in May 2008 following an Ofsted inspection.

If the public agree, the school could be closed as early as August 2011.

White Ash School, on Thwaites Road, Oswaldtwistle, is also affected by the plans.

Council bosses hope to re-designate it as a community special school, which will cater for 70 boys and girls aged between two and 11 years old with learning difficulties.

While Broadfield Specialist School will also be be re-designated as a community special school but will cater for 30 boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 19.

This school will re-locate in new premises with a partner mainstream secondary school, Hollins Technology College, as part of the BSF developments.

This long-term strategy aims to improve special school provision across Lancashire, emphasising placing children and young people in mainstream schools, establishing separate primary and secondary special schools and locating special and mainstream schools together.

Helen Denton, executive dirctor for children and young people, said: "Should they be approved, these proposals would enable us to access the funding we need to ensure that we have state-of-the-art special schools worthy of our children and young people.

"We recognise the potential for disruption and, if the outcome of the consultation supports our proposals, we shall continue to work very closely with the schools to ensure that the transition from three to two schools is managed as smoothly as possible."