Schools chiefs today pledged to extend the period for consultation on a radical shake-up of Bradford special schools.

Education Bradford wants to close all but one of the special schools and rebuild six under a private finance initiative. Thorn Park School for deaf children may survive but the rest would be replaced.

Councillor David Ward, executive member for education, said he had won cross-party support for the idea of extending the consultation period.

Describing the education of youngsters with special needs as "a complex area", he said: "I am not an expert in this area and I want reassurances from the people out there doing the job that the proposals are workable."

Coun Ward, as former chairman of governors at one of the affected special schools, Greenfield School in Idle, was involved in previous campaigns to save it from closure.

He said the new proposals were different, as this review is not prompted by efforts to trim costs, but a new strategy for special needs and £35 million of new investment.

The move to extend consultation after Bradford Council was forced to retreat from a controversial scheme to close or merge seven primary schools. Those proposals fell apart after the scale of opposition became clear.

This time, the views of teachers and parents are to be aired before local politicians are asked to back the shake-up. "The scrutiny committee should be involved and we are going to set up some briefings for elected members and invite governors along to them as well, to explain the rationale behind this," Coun Ward said.

Sally and Mike Waite, who have a child at Greenfield School, said: "This was a bombshell. We were appalled to learn about the closure of the school from an article in the Telegraph & Argus."

Another parent, who did not want to be named, said: "If our children have to travel further to their new school, it will increase their trauma."

Stuart Herdson, of the Bradford branch of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, questioned why the new formation of six schools would only have 680 places, although there are 900 youngsters in special schools at the moment.