New Sandside Lodge – Special Educational Needs School
Ulverston, Cumbria
Bowman Riley was appointed by Seddon Construction to design a new school for Sandside Lodge. The school caters for 80 pupils from 2 – 19 years olds, who have learning difficulties and many have additional and complex needs such as autism, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.
Located in the grounds of the local secondary school, the new school replaces an existing facility that was no longer fit for purpose located adjacent to an industrial estate.
Appointed via the North West Construction Hub framework as the main contractor, Seddon found that the initial design would be significantly over the agreed budget. Seddon explored the possibility of creating a modular school and brought Bowman Riley on board to develop the design. The modular construction route was found to be still too expensive. This resulted in our appointment to completely redesign the school in liaison with the local authority to ensure the design met the agreed budget.
We developed a close relationship with the end-user group of staff, support workers, parents and children through a series of workshops to ensure the design meets their specialist requirements.
Facilities include a medical room designed to HTM standards, hydrotherapy suite, rebound therapy room, gym, soft play, sensory rooms. Externally there is an outdoor woodland area to facilitate forestry skills and sensory gardens.
The project was delivered in time for the start of the new academic year in September 2019.
The development went on to win the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award at the Constructing Excellence National Awards.