Highfurlong School: new expansion plans submitted for Blackpool SEND school

The plans by Cassidy + Ashton seek to increase the capacity of the school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Currently providing education for 111 students, the new building includes six classrooms, a specialist teaching room for the delivery of practical subjects such as science, food technology and life skills.

Further services include a kitchen with dining and multi-use space, toilets and hygiene suites, as well as a community-facing café to encourage the local community to engage with the school.

The planned new building will also provide much-needed facilities to extend the programmes and activities that the school offers to its students and their families.

Funded by government funding for new school places and SEND, the standalone extension will double the capacity of the school and will connect to the existing school via a covered walkway.

The new building will provide key learning and support environments to build upon an outstanding school and help facilitate the transition of pupils through teenage into adult life. As well as core learning indoor and outdoor environments, the café and shop will help to develop the pupils’ enterprise skills as part of a real-life curriculum preparing pupils for adulthood and to gain work experience.

Highfurlong School is located on the outskirts of Blackpool and provides education for pupils from all over the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Coast area.

Head teacher Neill Oldham said: “Following Highfurlong School’s sustained success and national recognition, we are delighted that this proposed expansion of the school estate will enable us to offer outstanding education and specialist facilities to more children and families in the local area.

“The new building will give us the space we need to continue to grow carefully and meet the demands for places that we have faced over the past three years. Cassidy + Ashton's designs capture what we need but also protect the established green spaces and trees so that we can still enjoy our outdoor space and learning.

“We are very excited that the new space will allow us to bring in the local community too with a cafe and gift shop which will provide work experience and employment opportunities for our pupils as they prepare to leave education as young adults.”

Paul Turner, assistant director – School Improvement and SEND at Blackpool Council added: “This is a much-needed extension to an important school that will enable us to provide quality facilities to meet the needs of its students now and for the future”.

“We are very excited to see our plans develop and look forward to them taking shape onsite by the start of the new year.”

Architect Dominic Garret, from Cassidy + Ashton, said: “We are proud to be a part of this life-changing project that will enable to school to offer its highly sought-after specialist facilities to more pupils.”

Stephen Knowles, special project manager at Eric Wright Construction added: “On approval, work is scheduled to start on site at the beginning of 2023 with completion planned by the end of the year.”