'Outstanding' school has 'outstanding' new building

Sunningdale School is a complete new build at Clinton Place, Doxford. It is part of the council's £45m programme of school updates that's delivering life-changing facilities for young people.

It is a specialist school for children with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties, designed for 120 pupils and has provision for 16 nursery places. The school was rated as 'outstanding' in its most recent Ofsted inspection.

Ground works started in July last year and the new-build project, which has been delivered with the City Council's construction partner Kier, has replaced outdated facilities at the school's old site in Springwell.

Sunderland City Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills, Councillor Louise Farthing said: "This is a tremendous new school. We want to ensure that our most vulnerable pupils have access to the best facilities we can offer them and I think this new school has achieved exactly that and highlights the city's commitment to our children and young people."

The new Sunningdale school has total floor space equivalent to around two football pitches, bigger class rooms, extra hall and therapy provisions including rebound therapy, hydrotherapy, light and sensory facilities and soft play. Every class now has a storage area for the mobility equipment that may be needed for the pupils with physical disabilities.

Headteacher James Waller said: "It has been a fantastic experience to watch the building go up and for myself and staff to play a role in its design. I would like to thank all of our staff, pupils, families and wider community for their support and extend our gratitude to everyone involved in its construction."

Sunningdale has been designed and managed by the council's Capital Projects team with support from Infrastructure and Property Services colleagues who all worked with construction partners Kier and the leadership team at Sunningdale Primary School.

Steve Lynn, operations manager for Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: "We are incredibly proud to have built this new school for pupils and residents of Sunderland. 

"As a leading builder of educational facilities, we have utilised our extensive experience to deliver a new building which is light, bright and designed to help students thrive. 

"We have worked with local supply chain partners as it's important to us that we support local businesses and leave a lasting impact through our work."

Watch the video footage here: 'Outstanding' school has 'outstanding' new building - YouTube

Simon Marshall, Director of Education Services at Together for Children, said: "The new-build Sunningdale School is a brilliant example of the investment that the council is making to children and young people in our city."