Building brighter futures at Woodlands Meed's new college site

I was delighted to visit the new Woodlands Meed College building in Burgess Hill a couple of weeks ago. I met with Headteacher Adam Rowland, Deputy Head and Executive Careers Leader, Nola Bennett, as well as Fundraiser Anna Hull, to learn more about their new site and ongoing mission. 

Woodlands Meed is a ‘Generic Special School’ for pupils between 2-19 years old and provides an exciting and inviting learning environment, which holds its pupils at the heart of everything they do. 

During the tour, I was delighted to see how the new college has taken shape, a far cry from the old setup of portacabin classrooms and inadequate accessible toilet facilities that staff and students were having to deal with. They now enjoy great outdoor spaces, such as an amphitheatre which will host an upcoming Shakespeare performance. Inside, the brilliant new facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, which has untold benefits for students, especially those with physical disabilities and sensory needs. 

The team have a keen focus on ‘life after Woodlands Meed’, equipping their students for the world beyond the College. This takes on many forms, including teaching life skills, supported internship schemes with local businesses, and opportunities provided within the College itself like the student-run ‘Inspire Café’. Pupils are interviewed, recruited, and trained as baristas, till staff or management, learning valuable customer service skills and growing in confidence about their own capabilities, as well as serving a great cup of coffee too! 

However, the road to getting this project completed has not been straightforward. Rather, the Woodlands Meed community have had to fight for over a decade to get a purpose-built site completed. In 2019, I attended the Support Woodlands Meed rally and felt a real sense of joy to return and witness the nearly completed college being enjoyed by students and staff, but it should not have taken this long. 

Although they are very much deserving of the facilities they now have, Woodlands Meed feels a profound sense of gratitude for their new college, and to those who fought to make sure this project was completed. These include governors, senior leadership, as well as the Lib Dem councillors who held the Conservatives to account to not renege on their promise to these teachers, students, and their families. 

Woodlands Meed truly is a reminder of how wonderful and interesting SEND children and young people are, and the greatly valuable contribution they can make to our community with the right encouragement and support.