Discovery Special Academy - A new SEND secondary department in Teesside

In June, Discovery Special Academy, on Sandy Flatts Lane in Middlesbrough, welcomed the installation of its new secondary department. The building will be home to 70 new secondary students aged 11-16 with special educational needs and disabilities and is an extension of the already existing primary academy which opened in September 2018. Since then, Discovery Special Academy has added nursery and now secondary to its very successful provision. With over 1.6 million pupils in England now registered as having special educational needs (SEN) , the much-needed additional spaces made available via Discovery Special Academy will support pupils’ educational, therapeutic and medical needs in the Teesside area. Currently, students are placed in temporary accommodation on the site of one of Discovery’s sister academies, and this new provision designed and delivered by Portakabin will allow all students, carers and teaching staff of Discovery Special Academy primary and new additional secondary school to be located on one site. Comprising eight dedicated SEND teaching classrooms and shared teaching spaces, the new academy building will also feature a music and drama room, art classrooms and food tech rooms, as well as a hall and an area for sensory integration therapy.