Reef Way SEMH School
Overview
ECE Planning, in association with ECE Architecture, Willmott Dixon and on behalf of East Sussex County Council received unanimous approval for proposals for a new SEMH (Social, Emotional, and Mental Health) school in Hailsham, East Sussex back in January 2020. We are therefore very happy to see that the school has recently been handed over.
The three-storey school provides spaces for 80 students aged 4-16 and caters for children with SEMH and ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder.) This project forms part of East Sussex County Council’s wider strategy for providing specialist teaching facilities across the county and is run as a free school by an independent provider.
The school is situated on a 2-hectare sloping field, which required significant regrading and drainage works due to the geology of the site. Careful consideration was given to minimise any potential impact on the site’s existing ecology, which included newts, bats and birds.
It is wonderful to see this project come to fruition. It offers a welcoming, high-quality environment to support both pupils and staff in a new bespoke setting.
Photography by Peter Langdown, courtesy of Willmott Dixon