A new Springwood School campus will be opening in Bournemouth within the next 12 months for children with autism and special education needs. The first campus is currently at capacity with 60 students attending and the school is not able to meet the demands of more children in need of the specialised education that it provides.
“We’re hoping that the building will be ready for September, but there’s no guarantee,” Lynda Bannister, head of Springwood Campus, Linwood Schools, said.
Bannister said the biggest obstacle to getting the school running by September is financial support.
“Funding is always a challenge,” she said. “There are a lot of different committees and processes that we have to go through to enable us to have the funding.”
Springwood School is equipped with three multi-sensory rooms which are designed to promote relaxation and stimulation by creating a ‘positive and happy’ atmosphere.
The Springwood campus is a specialised part of Linwood Schools and it takes in students from all over the world with special education needs. The school claims that the children and young people enrolled in Springwood receive concentrated individual attention and personalised learning programmes that are not normally available in conventional schools.
“We’ve recognised that, particularly the Asperger youngsters need somewhere to go post-16,” Bannister said. “So what we’re opening in September is a post-16 college and we’re hoping that we start off with 8 students but building up to 30.”
