The Cavendish School, Cambridgeshire’s first state-maintained special free school for young people with autism, has received sign off on official funding from the Department for Education (DfE), to cover the costs associated with opening the new school this autumn, as well as supporting the ongoing building works and general maintenance of the school site.
Currently the building structure is being manufactured off-site in Northern Ireland by The McAvoy Group. Installation of the modular buildings is expected to take place later this month at the school site, which is co-located with Impington Village College and Impington International College.
Ryan Kelsall, Deputy CEO of Eastern Learning Alliance, of which The Cavendish School is part of, said: “Since inception of The Cavendish School, we have received fantastic support and feedback from the local community and further afield. As such, we are extremely grateful for the DfE funding, which will enable us to support our school community when we officially welcome our first students later this year and fulfil our promise of removing the barriers to autism education and delivering life changing experiences for all our students.”
The design of the school includes calm sensory breakout rooms, a life skills room, a horticultural room and wider corridors to ensure that students do not feel claustrophobic when moving around the school site.
Stephanie Smith, Deputy Headteacher, The Cavendish School, commented: “It is very exciting to see the building work of our new school progressing at pace. We believe it is of the utmost importance that the school building reflects the values that we seek to instil in our students; encouraging a welcoming, inclusive and fun learning environment. The new state of the art building work will go a long way to helping us deliver exciting and innovative education opportunities for autistic students in the region.”
To find out more about The Cavendish School, please visit: https://thecavendishschool.org.uk/