Willmott Dixon commences on £7.2m Spalding SEND school extension

Willmott Dixon has secured a £7.2m project to extend The Priory School in Spalding, Lincolnshire, as part of Lincolnshire County Council’s wider £86 million SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) school investment programme.Procured through SCAPE, the extension and refurbishment project will enable the school to offer improved specialist facilities to 127 pupils, aged between four and 19 years old. This will help the school transition from an 11-19 age ambulant school to an all-through, all-needs facility. This project is the fourth scheme being delivered by Willmott Dixon within the region, which combined will deliver 500 additional SEND school places.Building on the school’s existing setup, Willmott Dixon will deliver a new site layout to cater for all needs and all through, including nine new classrooms, in addition to a new social recreation space, life skills room, increased WC provision of suitable need, meeting space and ancillary staff facilities. The project will also incorporate carefully considered design elements including minor refurbishment of the existing school building to provide a new plant room and adjacent staff spaces.Various benefits beyond the end product will be brought to the area as the project will provide £375,000 worth of social value. This will include supporting local people into employment and providing NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) students with employability skills and training opportunities.The additional school capacity being delivered by Willmott Dixon within Lincolnshire is particularly large considering class sizes within SEND schools usually consist of anywhere between eight and twelve students. The three other projects recently completed and currently onsite include Eresby School in Spilsby, Willoughby School in Bourne and St Bernards school in Louth.The project aims to complete by 1 September 2022 to align with the academic year and to minimise disruption to current students.