Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
Liverpool City Council has given the green light to a pioneering initiative aimed at enhancing special educational needs provision through the creation of a ‘net zero in operation’ primary school. This new facility is envisioned around an innovative village community concept, designed to support children with complex and diverse needs.
With an investment of £37 million, the Princes Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) School in Dovecot will provide 250 places. It will offer cutting-edge learning and therapeutic spaces, tailored specifically for pupils who have Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Ridge and Partners LLP were appointed as design consultants, taking the project through to the planning phase (RIBA stage 3), and they continue to advise Liverpool City Council. The process to select a main contractor is underway through an open and competitive tender.
The development addresses the critical need to modernize the existing school facilities, which currently operate across four locations that, although safe, are outdated and not fully equipped to handle the increasing and complex demands of the student population. This follows on from a £10 million upgrade at Bank View School in Speke last December, which expanded the number of SEND places available. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of pupils with EHCPs in Liverpool has surged by 50%, highlighting the pressing demand for improved provision.
The approved plan will consolidate SEND education onto a single, contemporary campus next to Colwell Road in Tuebrook, designed with future adaptability in mind. Its village-style layout will feature accessible, low-rise buildings and shared communal areas to promote independence, social connection, and wellbeing. Specialist facilities, such as hydrotherapy pools, will also be included, some of which will be accessible to the broader SEND community outside of school hours. Achieving net zero operational status means the campus will significantly cut carbon emissions, while enhancing comfort and resilience for both students and staff. The new school is slated to open for the 2029 academic year, following construction and commissioning.
Councillor Jo Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Employment, Educational Attainment and Skills, commented: “This is a transformative moment for inclusive education in Liverpool. By delivering our first Net Zero in operation school, we’re investing in world class environments that put children and families at the heart of a sustainable future. Princes SEND School’s ‘village community’ concept brings education, therapy, and family support together in one place. Now that we have planning approval we’re ready to move quickly and get spades in the ground. I also want to reassure parents and carers that we remain committed to making improvements to the current Princes School buildings whilst they remain in use.”
Pete Hawkins, Chair of Governors at Princes School, added: “They say it takes a village to raise a child, but for our families, their village is getting smaller. Their children may not be able to do the same activities as children at mainstream schools, and they don’t have the same opportunities to socialise. We want to create a place where they feel they belong.”
Headteacher Col Hughes reflected on the opportunity the project presents: “We’ve always built the curriculum around our pupils and their needs. Now we’ve been given a unique opportunity to do that at a whole-school level. We want to create something different that’s about our children and their families. I’ve always wanted to feel like we’re at the centre of a community, because that’s often missing as a special school. Now we’re becoming the centre of a much wider community than just ourselves, and that’s really exciting.”
Alice Parker, Partner and Education Architecture Lead at Ridge, shared her perspective as a designer: “As soon as they said the word ‘village’, my mindset as a designer changed. It wasn’t just a destination at the end of a street, it was about extending an open arm to the community.”
Read the full article on Liverpool Express here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.