Pupils will 'thrive' at Send school after delay

Catherine Assink said "staff have spent a significant amount of time getting ready for Monday after a long delay"

A new special educational needs and disabilities (Send) school that was due to open in Autumn 2024 is welcoming pupils this Monday after delays caused by a redesign.

The £26m Rivertree Free School in Kempston, near Bedford, which will eventually cater for 200 pupils, will be the second biggest school in the country for pupils who predominantly have learning disabilities, severe learning disabilities or are autistic.

The chief executive of Bedford Inclusive Learning and Training Trust (BILTT) Catherine Assink said the delay in opening "was due to construction" changes.

She said the opening was being staggered with the first cohort of 60 children starting on Monday followed by another 60 in September and then in 2026 that would rise to 200 in total.

"It is such an opportunity to deliver more exceptional education for SEND pupils across Bedfordshire and surrounding counties," she added.

In December, the BILTT said the delay was due to identifying the "particular needs of the children who will be starting at the school and [we] have re-evaluated certain aspects of the building's design".

Catherine Assink said that Rivertree Free School "represents a huge step forward in specialist education"

Parents had expressed concerns about the lack of communication over the delay to the opening.

BILTT had told parents in a letter that the delay was due to the "ongoing finalisation of a fit-for-purpose building" and once it had taken possession of the site it needed to install "essential safeguarding measures".

Ms Assink said she thought this lack of communication had been resolved and they "had a fantastic day with parents coming in to look at the school which we could not do previously as the school was not ready".

She said that the hydrotherapy pool and the sensory and immersion rooms "will be great places for the pupils to thrive" and "take them around the world" where they achieve the school's motto of "dream, discover and develop".

She said the number of Send pupils was "dramatically rising" across the country and if "we had three Rivertrees it would not be enough".

Clare Breare, head teacher of Rivertree, said: "Our staff and families know that their [child's] confidence, independence and aspirations will be extremely well catered for."