£20m construction of new special school Ysgol Y Deri begins

The plans include indoor spaces for the school have been arranged over two storeys, allowing for the most efficient building shape, while maintaining a compact footprint and as much external space as possible.

The classrooms are split over both floors, with ground floor classrooms also providing direct access to outdoor learning spaces.

Externally, the landscape will function as an extension to the school buildings, offering teaching and study spaces as well as areas for sport, play, socialising, relaxation and reflection.

The school’s design will benefit from maximum daylight and ventilation, as well as connecting views between indoor and outdoor learning and play spaces.

Additionally, green roofs add to biodiversity, ensuring a consistent connection to the natural environment.

Careful consideration has been given to adjacencies within the school, allowing for ease of access to specialist facilities and the main hall outside of school hours, for community use.

The provision of an additional site is part of the Welsh Government and Vale Council's ‘Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme’ to increase the number of special education places available.

Originally constructed to accommodate 205 pupils with complex physical, health and educational needs, the original school is currently over-subscribed, in a trend which is likely to continue as pupils stay on for longer periods.

The plans for the new Ysgol Y Deri (Image: Supplied)

Vale Council leader Cllr Lis Burnett said: “The staff at Ysgol Y Deri carry out truly incredible work and as a Local Authority we are hugely grateful for those efforts, but these pupils also need the correct facilities to reach their full potential.

“Currently, there is an acute need for more special educational provision in the Vale, which is why we are constructing this new 6th Form building on the outskirts of Penarth.

“A significant £20 million investment will help us create a state-of-the-art learning community to help those that use it excel.”

Conna Ryan, Associate Project Manager at AECOM, said: ‘’We are delighted to be a part of this significant project for the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The collaboration between the project team and key stakeholders has developed a design that will significantly benefit the schools’ future learners’’

Kevin McElroy, Operations Director at ISG, said: “With external spaces designed to function as an extension to the school buildings, the project pursues the balance for pupils both in study and social wellbeing and provides holistic spaces for their additional learning needs.”