Bailey Partnership to design four-classroom block at Polden Bower SEND school in Bridgwater

Somerset Council has appointed Bailey Partnership's multi-disciplinary team to design a single-storey teaching block with four classrooms at Polden Bower School, a special school in Bridgwater, with completion targeted by April 2028.

Bailey Partnership said pupil numbers at the school rose in 2025, which led it to expand its teaching space to meet demand for places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The school is part of the Polden Bower and Avalon Federation.

The extension will sit on an underused area of outdoor space within the existing school site, the consultancy said.

Giles Blight, Executive Director at Bailey Partnership, said: "We are thrilled to be appointed to the Polden Bower SEND School project and to continue to build upon our valued partnership with Somerset Council."

He added: "This success marks another significant step in expanding our SEND experience nationwide."

The council's wider plan

Somerset Council has also consulted on expanding Polden Bower School. The council proposed building four new classrooms on the school site, which it said would create 32 more places.

According to the council's news release, the Polden Bower proposal sat alongside a satellite provision at Somerset Bridge Primary School that would create 16 registered places. If both plans go ahead, the council said, places at Polden Bower would rise from 200 to 248.

Proposal	Additional places
Four classrooms at Polden Bower School	32
Satellite provision at Somerset Bridge Primary School	16

The Polden Bower expansion was one of several special educational needs (SEN) changes the council consulted on. Others included raising specialist places in the existing SEN unit at Holway Park Community Primary School in Taunton from 40 to 50 from September 2026.

Bailey Partnership's announcement gives a target completion date of April 2028 for the block. The council's consultation page does not state an implementation date.

The existing school

Polden Bower School on Bower Lane was built to bring pupils from two existing sites under one roof. According to Willmott Dixon, which built it, the school replaced the existing Penrose and Elwood schools, and includes accessible classrooms, a dining hall, sports hall, sensory and therapy rooms and a hydrotherapy pool.

The original school was procured through the Southern Construction Framework (SCF). The SCF describes it as a 160-place all-through SEN school, while the council's 2026 consultation refers to the school increasing from 200 places.

Pupil involvement and community pledges

Bailey Partnership said it hopes to run co-design workshops with SEND pupils, in which they would choose classroom finishes.

The firm has also pledged a £500 in-kind donation for additional sensory equipment and £250 towards a co-created outdoor sensory garden. The garden, with textured plants, scented herbs and insect hotels, aligns with Somerset's Climate Emergency Strategy, the consultancy said.

As set out on Somerset Council's website, that strategy is split into nine themes, including the built environment and the natural environment. One of its goals is to work towards making Somerset a carbon neutral county by 2030.

The new teaching block has a targeted completion date of April 2028.