SEND school to 'thrive' with £3.5m 'DIY SOS' style revamp
A £3 MILLION transformation is underway at a previously overstretched specialist school in Rotherham for children with complex needs.
Hilltop School in Maltby originally hit the headlines in 2023 when teachers said they had been forced to provide care and education in small ‘cupboard-like’ classrooms and portable cabins not fit for purpose.
Catering for some of the most vulnerable children in the district and beyond, the SLD (Severe Learning Disability) school on Larch Road will see the former temporary, cramped buildings replaced with modern, purpose-built facilities designed for pupils’ complex learning and accessibility needs after £3 million worth of pro-bono support was secured from the Yorkshire property sector to complete the project.
The work, which will include a full site reconfiguration to improve access, three new classrooms, a rebound therapy room, and the creation of “modern, inspiring” learning environments is being spearheaded by Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s ‘Great Yorkshire Build’ initiative designed to improve outdated, insufficient, and inadequate facilities at many of the county’s SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and SLD schools.
The initiative brings together more than 50 Yorkshire-based construction firms, consultants and developers who are working collaboratively to deliver the project with a ‘DIY SOS’-style effort that those behind the project hope will set “a benchmark for social value within the construction sector”.
Work is set to be carried out up until September 2026.
Founder and chief executive of Yorkshire Children’s Charity Charlotte Farrington said: “Presently, the sensory climate is inadequate, there is a lack of access around the main building and children are being taught in temporary classrooms with no access to toilet facilities or running water.
“With a reconfiguration of the school floor plan, new well-considered spaces and a dedicated rebound therapy room, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, we hope children will thrive and teachers finally have the tools they need to do their job.”
Warren Carratt, chief executive of Nexus Multi Academy Trust, said: “Demand for special school places has never been higher, so this work will create more high-quality choice for many more families and will give us a site that is a beacon of good practice across the county.”