Ipswich’s latest special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school has officially opened after Pick Everard completed building works
The £7m Woodbridge Road Academy is designed to cater to the educational needs of 60 children and young individuals with SEND under the Department for Education’s (DfE) MMC1 framework.
The school features 12 classroom suites and various learning resource areas, providing a conducive environment for teaching essential life skills to secondary-age students.
The SEND school will also feature a library, sensory rooms, a spacious main hall, a dining area, and accessible bathrooms.
Outside the school building, a multi-use games area (MUGA) has been built for recreational activities.
The SEND school will also serve the local community
Certain areas of the school will be accessible to the community during non-school hours. The design includes a ‘community lock’ feature that uses a Salto door lock system, which allows the school to control access to particular areas, improving flexibility and security.
Woodbridge Road Academy is the result of collaboration between Pick Everard and the design and build contractor, Bowmer + Kirkland.
Their joint efforts were pivotal in delivering a thoughtfully designed facility that caters to the diverse needs of both students and the surrounding community.
Collaboration was key to the project
“As with any school project with various stakeholders, collaboration was at the heart of this project’s success. We are pleased to have worked with Bowmer + Kirkland and Woodbridge Road Academy to create a new, purpose-built building that will transform the SEND provision in Suffolk,” said Paul Knifton, director at Pick Everard.
“Our team of specialists attended design meetings across all disciplines, ensuring compliance with MMC1 specifications was upheld. Through engagement with the academy, which started in March 2021, we were able to together successfully deliver designs that were operationally robust while also meeting specific needs,” he added.
“We’ve been very pleased to bring our extensive experience from other MMC1 framework and SEND projects, ensuring the best use of project budgets and gross internal floor area (GiFA). This expertise and our collaboration have resulted in a school that meets and exceeds the stringent requirements needed for SEND schools,” he concluded.
