£86m investment will help provide a better start to life for Lincolnshire children.
A multi-million pound project creating new and improved facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is making good progress.
One of the council’s top priorities is ensuring all local children get a great start in life, and a good education is vital to that. That’s why the authority is investing around £86m in improving and expanding 13 special school sites across Lincolnshire over the next few years.
Work has recently been completed on a new £13.2m special school – the Boston Endeavour Academy – which has space for 140 pupils. Serving as a new home for the former The John Fielding School, this new facility includes 16 classrooms, specialist teaching spaces for science, technology, ICT and art, and a hall.
Pupils also benefit from a hydrotherapy pool, sensory and soft play rooms and dedicated therapy spaces. Outside, there are hard and soft-surfaced play areas, as well as a sensory garden and wildlife areas.
Meanwhile, new classrooms and remodelling have been completed at Ambergate Sports College in Grantham and The Garth School in Spalding, providing a better learning experience for pupils. And construction is also underway at Bourne Willoughby Academy, the Eresby School in Spilsby and St Bernard’s School in Louth. These projects will create new classroom blocks and will also see extensive remodelling of the existing buildings.
Not only will these improvements mean more places are available at the schools, but they will also mean that existing pupils can enjoy much better facilities.
Cllr Mrs Patricia Bradwell OBE, executive member for children’s services, said: “We want to ensure that all children can access high-quality education, as near to their family and local community as possible.
“So the council is investing £86m to improve the support for children with SEND, which will see an additional 500 special school places created over the next five years.
“These improvements will mean more pupils with SEND can attend a local school rather than having to travel large distances for their education, which will be of great benefit to both the children and their families.
“Despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the project has continued to move forward, thanks to the hard work of all involved. I look forward to seeing further improvements completed over the next few years.”
Improvements are also planned for the following schools over the next few years:
- St Francis Special School, Lincoln • The Sandon School, Grantham
- St Christopher’s School, Lincoln • The Priory School, Spalding
• St Lawrence School, Horncastle • Gosberton House Academy