Interserve wins £7.6m contract to build special needs school in Devon

Interserve Group Limited, the international support services, construction and equipment group, has been selected by the Department for Education (DfE) to design and build Glendinning House, a special education needs school for children in Newton Abbot, Devon.

Under the £7.6m contract, Interserve will create a facility for pupils with a range of specialist needs. The new two storey school will accommodate students between the ages of seven and 19 who are able to follow the national curriculum but are unable to attend a mainstream school due to barriers to learning including sensory needs and anxiety.

The design of the building and external spaces will reflect the range of pupil’s educational, therapeutic and medical needs at the school giving the students the opportunity to study courses in Horticulture and Animal Husbandry.

The development has been initiated in response to the increasing demand for Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SENDs) school places in the UK.

Working in partnership with Teignbridge District Council the new school will be delivered with DKA Architects, civil and structural engineers Hydrock and consulting engineers Silcock Dawson

Interserve will commence work on design and planning immediately with the project scheduled to be completed in autumn in 2020.

Interserve has successfully delivered education construction projects in primary, secondary, tertiary and higher education facilities. The Glendinning House contract win is the ninth new school build project that Interserve has won this year following earlier contract wins in Bristol, Leicestershire and Manchester worth more than £49m.

Interserve’s partnership with the DfE aligns with its construction strategy to target attractive, risk-adjusted returns in the sectors where it has a market leading customer proposition, including education, health and local authority framework projects.

Paul Gale, Divisional Director at Interserve Construction, said: “We are thrilled to have been selected to deliver this vital project, which is integral to the learning and development of Devon’s children. The project is in line with our strategic aim to deliver world-class property solutions to the UK education sector and reflects Interserve’s reputation as a trusted partner.”