Image
During the visit, they were able to watch the building take shape as bricks were laid on an outside wall, with a chance to take part in a sensory experience by touching the brickwork themselves.
The £18m school expansion will take Baytree from a single site that caters to 72 children with profound and complex learning difficulties, to two-sites offering around 120 school places.
In addition, the building is tailored to a range of different needs, with adaptations such as integral hoists for children with limited mobility, sensory rooms, provision across a single storey for those unable to use stairs and outdoor space.
Councillor Catherine Gibbons, Executive Member for Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning said: “The expansion of Baytree will have a positive impact on North Somerset, meeting rising demand for school places and providing increased numbers of young people with access to education, independence and inclusion.
“It’s amazing to see construction progress over the past six months, with the building exterior now in place and internal corridors and classrooms starting to come together.
“Inclusion is a key part of the school expansion, so it’s fantastic that the children have come along on the journey and experienced construction for themselves. By taking part in the bricklaying today the pupils added to the sensory site visit experiences that have brought the excitement, sights and sounds of the building site into the classroom throughout the year.”
Ed Bowen-Roberts, Headteacher at Baytree School, said: “It was fantastic for a group of Baytree learners to be able to visit the Clevedon Campus and be actively involved in the build by laying some of the bricks and getting to experience the construction of the building.
“All of the learners at Baytree have been involved throughout the journey, through sensory immersive experiences led by Wilmot Dixon and more recently the school council have been playing an important role in decisions around the finish of the building, they recently helped to choose the paint colours for the classrooms.”
The expansion of Baytree School is expected to open in the 2023/24 school year. You can read more about the scheme at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/baytreeexpansion