A NEW pupil referral unit will cater for 125 vulnerable children in a £1.895million deal conducted behind closed doors, it has been revealed.

Southend Council has finally given full details of a scheme to refurbish the former Cecil Jones Lower School, in Wentworth Road, Southend.

The renovated school - which has been empty for two years after Cecil Jones pupils moved to the main site, in Eastern Avenue - will teach children from Seabrook College, which currently has four centres around the town.

Part of the new school will cater for 50 youngsters aged five to 16-years-old who have a range of special educational needs, relating to social, emotional and mental health.

There will also be a dedicated pupil referral unit with a capacity of 75 pupils. The schools will be run under the multi-academy trust, Parallel Learning Trust.

Southend Council said the school will “raise pupil outcomes for some of our most vulnerable young people.”

The project was discussed back in 2015 at a private cabinet meeting - which the public and press were excluded from. Residents first found out about the plans in the Echo.

The council said it had “no statutory duty” to inform residents or seek planning permission for the work as there would be “no changes to an educational establishment”.

However, the spokesman added: “We are disappointed that residents found out about this project before we were able to write to them and inform them directly through a letter in partnership with the Parallel Learning Trust, which was our intention.

“We have been awaiting final approval from the Department for Education to confirm that this project could go ahead, and this was only received at the end of March.”

James Courtenay, councillor responsible for children and learning, said: “Before picking a contractor we are obligated to and required to to keep information confidential.

“The council can’t have such negotiations in public. There are rules about what we can and can’t do.”