Proposed plans for new build to help secure SEND school places shared at information evening
People had a glimpse at proposed plans for a new school build which will ensure sufficient places for pupils with special needs for the future at a recent online meeting.
The designs for the Silverwood School campus at Rowde are part of a £33 million investment to create up to 400 places on the Rowde site and are shaped by feedback from a series of design workshops with the school community, and with local people, families and staff. Over a series of six workshops more than 60 attendees considered key topics important to the build.
The plans will be submitted as a planning application for wider review in late spring, with construction due to start in summer 2021.
The proposals are the next step in ensuring sufficient SEND places across the county. Silverwood School has campuses across three sites at Rowde, Trowbridge, and Chippenham which came together in September as one school now known as Silverwood School.
A report on progress on the scheme will also be shared at a cabinet meeting for council leaders on 16 March.
Lucy Townsend, Corporate Director People at Wiltshire Council said: "We are committed to creating a system of excellence that will ensure children and young people with SEND have the best education and support, provided in a setting which complements their learning.
"Silverwood School is entering a new chapter in this mission and the new build is a key part of the wider vision to achieve this."
The designs for the school showed how pupils' needs will be met in a building that delivers a 'school within a school' feel, with a community of small teaching clusters that will provide a range of specialist teaching spaces, therapeutic support, and quiet dining. Each cluster will be designed to offer plenty of space to move around while maximising natural daylight and ventilation to create an airy feel. In addition, there will be a hydrotherapy pool and outdoor learning provision.
Pupils will continue to get involved at all stages of the project, getting to know more about the many different types of roles and people who get involved in construction, designed to provide a real sense of ownership over the new building.
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