The Building for All paper features contributions from a range of stakeholders, from councils and architects to Willmott Dixon’s team building SEND schools, who share what they have learnt in creating highly specialised (SEND) school accommodation.

Nick Gibb, deputy managing director at Willmott Dixon, said: “For many years, SEND school provision has been sorely lacking, with it often siloed by specialist need and thus spread thinly across a wide geographical area. Stories of pupils travelling more than an hour each way to a suitable school have been commonplace, putting huge amounts of pressure on both the children and their parents, in addition to financial strain on the local authority to cover the travel costs. “Our new SEND white paper explores some of the ways in which local authorities have tackled this challenge, with an increasing focus on an ‘all-needs, all-through’ approach as we are seeing in practice with some of our customers. “It focuses on the importance of collaborative design and build, sustainability and social value in creating inclusive spaces for learning, and is packed with insight from specialists who are involved in successful SEND school schemes at Willmott Dixon, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire county councils, and A+G Architects.”

He added: “SEND schools are unlike any other project in the education sector. The intricacies associated with each project require early stakeholder management and that’s one of the key considerations in this white paper. We want to share how effective collaboration and community engagement can push forward the creation of spaces that offer an abundance of educational opportunities.”

SEND schools cater for ages four through to 19, and each carries a diverse range of needs that need to be met – for example, some pupils need lots of visual stimulation, while for others the opposite is true. The spaces must accommodate physical and neurodiversity, extending to the construction process itself.

Willmott Dixon has mastered putting processes in place to take pupils on the journey with them and in-still a sense of calm – offering educational books and materials, and work experience for older pupils. Willmott Dixon is principal contractor for a series of high-profile SEND developments across Lincolnshire, as part the county council’s £86m school programme aimed at resolving pent-up demand.

This includes the recently opened Willoughby School in Bourne. Eileen McMorrow, SEND programme manager at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We are pleased to see Willmott Dixon investing in its approach to become a partner of choice for SEND schools and local authorities, and we are certain that lessons can be learned from its white paper. “With an ‘all needs, all through’ approach, equity of provision is essential – if one school has significantly different facilities to another, there is the risk of parents and carers being drawn away from their nearest school, defeating the object of the approach. Consistency is incredibly important. “Key to delivering a successful SEND project is having a team on our side that shares our vision. With Willmott Dixon, we have found a contractor that has come on this journey with us.” Willmott Dixon is on track to have completed 15 SEND school projects across the Midlands region over the course of the past ten years, marking the company’s dedication to delivering this much needed provision for local communities and leaving a lasting legacy.

www.willmottdixon.co.uk/buildingforall 

Nick Gibb