CHILDREN with special needs will benefit under proposals to build two new schools in an £11m education shake up.

The two new state-of-the-art buildings will replace four existing schools in the Wear Valley and Sedgefield area. The proposals are due to go before the district councils for planning approval.

The four schools, which have been earmarked for closure are Murphy Crescent and Warwick Road Schools in Bishop Auckland, Whitworth School, Spennymoor, and Rosebank Special School, Ferryhill.

A spokesman for Durham County Council Local Education Authority said: "All four schools are housed in buildings that are at the end of their useful life.

"They do not have accommodation that can be adapted to meet the needs of pupils with more severe and complex learning disabilities.

"Murphy Crescent is currently being housed in temporary buildings following a fire at its original site three years ago.''

A report reveals that the two new schools will be built on the current sites occupied by Warwick Road School and Whitworth School. They will be designed to cater for a much wider range of special educational needs than the four existing schools.

The idea comes after the LEA announced its intentions to reorganise special schools in the south west of the county in 1999.

The new school at Warwick Road will cater for 160 primary school youngsters and the Whitworth School site will look after 200 secondary pupils and students from the age of 11 to 19. Whitworth and Warwick Road currently cater for 174 and 100 students respectively, all have moderate learning difficulties. Rosebank and Murphy Crescent look after youngsters with severe learning difficulties and have 37 and 35 students respectively.

All four schools had recent Ofsted inspections during the Autumn term and each received positive and supportive reports but the LEA feels that in order to reach targets set for special schools in the new Millennium the shake-up is needed.

The spokesman said: "We are particularly eager to meet the needs of as many of our most vulnerable pupils as possible within the county by ensuring that our special schools can meet most severe and complex learning difficulties from within their own resources and expertise.'