(UK) Yorks: $4M to refurbish school for students with complex needs

July 30, 2025, BBC News: Work begins on £3m refurbishment of SEND school 

Work has begun on a £3m [$4M] project to transform a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). . . .

The school, which provides specialist education for children with complex needs aged between two and 19, will remain open throughout the refurbishment work. . . .

Half of state-funded schools in England for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed, BBC research found in 2023.

In 2011, Hilltop School had just over 80 children enrolled, but that number is now more than 180, according to the Nexus Multi Academy Trust that runs it.

However, it said the 1970s building did not have the space or features to properly accommodate their needs and that the school could not previously afford to update its facilities. . . .

Yorkshire Children's Charity works with SEND schools across the region, but Ms Farrington said Hilltop School was "without question, the worst I've ever been into".

"I remember coming in to visit the first time, I cried all the way home from Rotherham to Leeds out of frustration - our most vulnerable children were having to make do with such poor facilities," she said.

She called it a "pressure cooker" for staff and students.

As part of its transformation, new classrooms and a centre for trampoline therapy will be built.

Headteacher Sam MacDonald said he was excited to have a designated space for the school's trampolines, as using them led to "higher engagement, higher interaction, and more alertness" amongst students.

The work is expected to be complete by September 2026. . . .