Woodley SEND school sees final fit-out begin ahead of May completion

BUILDING WORK on the £4.4million expansion of Addington School is now entering its final phase.

The final fit-out has now started, with the arrival of modules for the single-storey block at the Woodley SEND school for children with special educational needs and disability.

Most of the modules were delivered during the February half term in order to minimise disruption.

It is hoped that the school in Woodlands Avenue will be completed by late May.

Modular construction

Building the school using pre-made modules means that the number of vehicle trips is reduced, compared to traditional construction.

They were built off-site by Reds10 at their specialist facility in Kelleythorpe, near Hull, before being transported to site.

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The borough council hopes that reduced transportation will contribute to the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The modular units have for the final phase of the fit-out. Picture: Wokingham Borough Council

What is in the new building?

The extension will include four classrooms, a café and social breakout areas. With increased capacity, the school can now support 50 more young people.

This will see the total capacity at more than 250 students. The borough council hopes that more children with special educational needs and disabilities will be able to be educated closer to home, making families’ lives easier by reducing journey times, as well as reducing the council’s travel costs.

Transformation

Cllr UllaKarin Clark, executive member for children’s services, said: “The transformation going on at Addington School to expand it and offer its outstanding education to more of the borough’s SEND young people is crucial to them and their families.

“With the new block set few completion in just a few months away it’s fantastic to see the project gathering pace.

“Existing students will be able to watch on, with the main building now in place, and see it take its final form before they are able to start using it in the summer term.”

The new block will be officially opened in September 2020.

It follows on from two new multi-use games areas (MUGAs), a sensory path and an expanded car park opened at the end of September 2019.