Gloucestershire children's charity the Pied Piper Appeal has recently funded two minibuses for two SEND schools in the county. Paternoster at Cirencester took delivery of its shiny bus that cost £17,000. The bus will take children to various activities locally and be valuable in the children's extracurricular experiences.

Sladewood Academy in Stroud is run by the SAND Academies Trust and opened its doors to new pupils just this month. The new school is accommodated in the building previously used by the former Severn View Primary Academy.

Nick Broady, chair at the Pied Piper said: "Raising funds for minibuses is a great way to support our special needs schools. The fully branded Sladewood 8-seat bus cost £16,000. The new minibuses will make it so much easier to take out small groups of children and can be driven by most members of staff as they do not require special minibus training, only standard driving licenses.

"Trips out of school form an important part of the curriculums allowing the schools to offer a broad range of experiences, which strengthen the skills they are learning in the classroom. The buses will enable the pupils to be a part of the wider community and the wonderful opportunities on offer around Gloucestershire."

"We are indebted to many local businesses and individuals for helping to raise funds for Pied Piper to finance the minibuses. Looking forward we have pledged £200k for the Belmont School athletics and cycling hub. This state-of-the-art sports, leisure and recreation complex is at the Belmont safe and secure location and will be fully inclusive and open to other special schools, specialist sports clubs and community groups. Please get in touch to help out."

Thanks to Vaughan and his team at Severnsigns for the signage and decals.

Punchline covered the new head appointment at Sladewood in a recent article.