Blind charity shelves £15m fundraiser for capital school

The charity launched a major fundraising drive 12 months ago to raise money for the 15m project, which included residential units, a swimming pool and a headquarters building.

However, the charity has now contacted donors to tell them the project has been put on ice until 2013, pending a major review from the Scottish Government of education for children with complex needs.

In its letter to donors the charity says its board of trustees had made "the extremely difficult decision" to postpone the development of the new residential building at the Craigmillar Park campus.

The letter said: "The decision to postpone was taken in light of the current economic climate and the forthcoming Scottish Government's Doran Review which could potentially change the operating environment of the school and the impact that this may have on our services."

The independent review set up by the Scottish Government and chaired by Peter Doran, former chief executive of the Harmeny Educational Trust in Balerno, is examining the way national and local authorities work with other institutions to provide education for pupils with complex needs.

At the moment, local authorities make decisions about special education, which sometimes leads to disputes about where children should be educated. Charities including the Royal Blind are lobbying for an independent system of referrals which would create a policy consistent across Scotland.

Richard Hellewell, chief executive of Royal Blind, said one of the current concerns faced by the school - which has campuses at Craigmillar Park and Canaan Lane - is that it has only 80 pupils although it has space for 120.

"We are disappointed that there are not more pupils being referred to the school," he said. "This review is a chance to take stock of special education in Scotland. At the moment the policies of different local authorities are disjointed, it is not a joined up system."

He said the charity had no choice but to delay the project.

"Before we pay out a large amount of money we have to be absolutely sure it is the right step to take. The major donors have been written to tell them the project is suspended.

"We have to be realistic and we have to guard against spending money in a way that is not right. At the moment there is too much uncertainty."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government has asked Peter Doran to chair a strategic review of learning provision for children and young people with complex additional support needs, which is now under way.

"The review, which is expected to last 18 months, aims to identify the best fit between a national sector and the national need, and make recommendations for short- and longer-term actions to deliver this."