Growing SEN Classrooms at Weatherfield Academy

We spoke with Liam Meenan, Assistant Headteacher at Weatherfield Academy, to hear about the impact of the new Vertis buildings at the school.

Hi Liam, tell us a bit about Weatherfield Academy

"Our school is entirely made up of students with education, health and care (EHC) plans. Students with EHC plans are those who need more support than is available through mainstream education. Here, their primary need is cognition and learning.

"I started in 2014 and there were 122 pupils at school and now in 2023 we have 167 pupils. The school was initially built in the 70s for a hundred pupils. So you can imagine the constraints that we have had with growing cohorts and limited space."

What problem were you facing before working with Vertis?

"Our biggest need is space. We have a demand for special needs places in Central Bedfordshire. And we were at capacity with our classes and classrooms. Our head sought funding from The Connolly Foundation whose funding enabled us to work with Green Modular (which later became Vertis) on a new building.

Before we had the buildings we had a lack of space in school. And so we had young people that were waiting for places at our provision, and some wouldn’t be attending their mainstream school because they couldn’t access the special education they needed. So you have students waiting for a place, and lots of time spent on SEND tribunals for those students , so that’s a cost in opportunity for young people and in time and work for us.

"The main priority for a new classroom is that it has the space available for the needs of the students that will be working in there. Secondly, it needs to be visually in keeping with the rest of the site. Thankfully the Vertis buildings are aesthetically pleasing and they work to make sure they complement the existing school site."

What was it like working with Vertis?

"It has been very simple working with Craig and his team. They communicate at every stage of the build (either by Whatsapp or email which is ideal), and when they come in for meetings, they keep the meeting short. So they get to the point and there's no wasting of anyone’s time.

The builders Vertis use are very polite and thoughtful, I can only sing their praises really. Craig works with us and our site team to make sure they have the appropriate space and compound site and welfare areas for their staff. And then there’s no disruption really, we don't see them, they will work away from us and if there is a fire drill then they know where to go and so all work very smoothly. Anything that Craig feels will be of a disruption is generally done in the holidays."

What’s been the result for you?

"Everyone wants to be in these new classrooms. Our school covers a wide range of ages from seven-year-olds to 19-year-olds. The new buildings have allowed the students aged 16 to 19 to have their own area, giving them some independence and treating them more like young adults.

We do have pre-fab buildings on site as well as our existing classrooms and the new builds are much more spacious, more airy, warmer in the winter, and provide more natural light. They provide the soothing, non-threatening space our students need. And the bifold doors enable sort of being out in the environment as and when the weather allows, So we’re very pleased with them."

What can you do with these new classrooms?

"At Weatherfield we focus on English and Maths in the morning in general. Then we look at vocational subjects in the afternoon. Those being horticulture, small animal care, forest school too. Adapting and problem solving. The classrooms really come into their own here because they easily open up to the outdoors, allowing you to explore both theory and practical elements easily. Working indoors but learning from the outdoors too. We have work experience groups doing work with the National Trust or and local community projects.

"Our school motto is to ‘to become the best person you can be’. All of our children follow that motto, most of the time, to be the best person they can be in the classroom and outside of it. These new classrooms have enabled more of our local community to access our provision, so we’re supporting more young people to be their best selves."

"The young people enjoy being at our school and that's showing through our attendance data which compares favorably, regionally, authority-wise, and nationally. And so, yeah, the proofs there in the pudding. The young people enjoy being here and using the facilities that are provided for them.

In our most recent Ofsted report our safeguarding and the welfare of the students was rated outstanding, which we’re very proud of. As a school, we are very caring of our young people. So for them to have the best facilities that we can provide is very important to us. We were selective in choosing to work with Vertis and are very pleased with that choice."

A bird's-eye view

The coloured blocks on the map represent each of the five buildings we’ve constructed since 2019, overlaid on an Ordnance Survey plan of the school site. You can click on each building to find out more.