By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A new school specifically designed for young people with special educational needs is on track to open by the end of 2025.
The specialised school in Mansfield is being built by Nottinghamshire County Council and will create 160 new places for young people with autism between seven and 19 years old.
Works on the the £20 million project began in the summer.
It’s being designed and delivered by council contractor Arc Partnership with construction undertaken by Morgan Sindall.
It forms part of a larger £50 million programme to create up to 490 extra Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) school places in the county by 2026.
Ben Youd, architect and design lead at Arc Partnership, said the project is on track to be completed next year.
Speaking on the construction site on Wednesday (October 30), he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service “The design itself is trying to provide a small school feel for children with autism and social, emotional and mental health needs.
“These children sometimes get overwhelmed by being in big institutional spaces, lots of noise, lots of hustle and bustle associated with mainstream schools.”
All general classrooms are designed to have direct access to the outside space.
Mr Youd added: “That’s all to help these children regulate their emotions, to stay calm so that they’re better equipped to learn- they can calm down when they have an issue.
“This [site] had several challenges from its very particular needs- trying to give them all that access to the outside world requires a single story design but the site has got a slope across it.”
It will use a similar curriculum to mainstream schools.
Most of the ground floor has now been placed, along with the building’s foundations – with wall panels set to be assembled this week.
Councillor Sam Smith (Con), the authority’s cabinet member for education and SEND, says these facilities are a “huge priority” for the council.
He said: “It’s really important in Nottinghamshire that every child, no matter their background has access to the best possible education.”
“That does sometimes include attending specialist settings and that’s why we’re building this school here in Mansfield.”
SEND investment by the authority have also seen work in Ashfield, Bramcote and 40 extra school spaces in a Retford school.
Cllr Andre Camilleri (Con), who represents Mansfield South, has been pushing for a specialised school in his division and says he identified the Ravensdale Road site to the council years ago.
He said: “It’s perfect, it’s an ex school site, it’s in need of development and I’m so pleased they brought it into Mansfield because Mansfield and Ashfield are the two places that need it most in the county.
“We’ve got to facilitate [people with SEND] getting a good education, that’s our future- these kids are our future, they want to go to work and earn some money, make a positive thing in their life.”
Further steps have been taken by the council to improve support for people with SEND.
That includes hiring psychologists to speed up the process of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), along with employing pathway officers to support families with EHCP applications.
EHCPs issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe have also improved, the authority says, after it was criticised by Ofsted and the CQC for ongoing delays.
Cllr Smith added: “A few years ago only four per cent of families were receiving an EHCP within the 20-week timeframe, we have gone on a massive improvement journey, we’re over 40 per cent now this year, year to date.”
The new school, run by Diverse Academies, will be called Horizons Academy and is expected to welcome students in January 2026.