As a result of increased demand for SEND school places across the City region, our team recently worked with Manchester City Council in the design and delivery of 3no. new build SEND schools, on separate sites across Greater Manchester providing an additional 250 school places in total. The scheme included two new SEMH secondary schools and a new 80-place primary school for children with a wide range of severe learning difficulties: –

Southern Cross School is a new specialist school facility for pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, providing 120 places for children aged 9-16 on the vacated site of the Manchester Vocational Centre.

Castlefield Campus is a new school for The Endeavour Federation (formerly the Manchester Federation of EBSD Schools) providing an additional 50 places for Key Stage 4 pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties across Manchester.

Camberwell Park Specialist Support School is a new SEN primary school providing 80 places for children aged 4-11 with severe learning difficulties.

The designs for both SEMH schools were celebrated at the Inclusive Learning Environments Show, which included a series of ‘Safe Spaces’ within the schools (incl. secure external spaces linked to each classroom) providing calming, low-stimulation environments and a safe place to calm down. These spaces also allow behaviour support and counselling to take place in a quiet, supportive environment.

Ellis Williams worked collaboratively with Manchester City Council and the wider design team to produce bespoke design solutions for each school that meet the needs of modern SEND schools whilst minimising carbon impacts of construction and operation, supporting the Council’s Carbon Change Action Plan and target of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038.

The programme was recognised with the Delivering Social Value Award at the 2022 Building Awards, celebrating its long-lasting contribution to the local economy, job creation, and support for some of the region’s most underrepresented communities.