With the backing of North Somerset Council’s Children’s Services for the delivery
of the new SEND school, the Department for Education (DfE) have submitted
plans for Lime Hills Academy’s permanent site in Langford.
If planning permission is granted Lime Hills Academy, which opened in temporary accommodation in
September last year, will have places for up to 65 children and young people in year 1 to 11 (age 5-16),
with primary SEMH needs (Social, Emotional Mental Health needs).
Currently there is no special school provision for pupils with a primary diagnosis of SEMH needs within
North Somerset and 19% of local children with an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) have to travel
outside of the area to school.
Lime Hills Academy is part of the Cabot Learning Federation and aims to ‘level up’ educational
outcomes and keep children engaged in learning through specialist facilities and learning
programmes. The site enables opportunities for vocational studies and outdoor sports with a
closer connection to nature in a calm and sustainable environment.
The following key sustainability and biodiversity supporting aspects have been incorporated into the
design:
– low maintenance electric air source heat pumps replace use of gas boilers
– use of photovoltaic panels (PVs) across roof space
– maximising of daylight penetration in design to reduce use of artificial lighting
– minimisation of construction waste and ensuring a high percentage of what is generated is
diverted from landfill through reuse or recycling
– solar gains are kept at a manageable level allowing comfort to be achieved without the use of air
conditioning
– effective surface water management, incorporating swales
– reduction of CO2 emissions through incorporation of high insulation standards
– reduction of water use in building facilities
– additional trees will be planted, whilst existing trees and hedgerow will be maintained
– introduction of habitat areas as well as bird and bat nesting boxes and bug hotels
– compliant with latest building regulations and the DfE’s standards of Be Lean, Be Clean and Be
Green.
The architects have created a place of sanctuary for those with acute needs whilst also responding to
comments made during consultation from neighbouring properties to provide a sympathetic building
orientation and more sustainable landscape design. Lime Hills Academy will support the local economy
and bring new jobs to the area. The site benefits from being adjacent to both Langford and Churchill with
facilities designed for community use outside school hours.
Parking and drop-off for the school will be contained within the site and an off-site method of construction
will help minimise disruption to neighbours. All vehicular traffic will arrive and depart via Pudding Pie Lane
only. The teaching day will also be split between primary and secondary pupils so that trips are spread
throughout the day to reduce impact on the local network.
Lis Jolley, Lime Hills Academy Principal said, “In its new purpose-built home, Lime Hills Academy will
create an environment, a workforce and a curriculum experience which enables children and young
people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties to develop the skills, resilience and selfawareness
to be successful at first at school and then in later life.
“The setting will have a range of carefully designed spaces which will enable group interaction, safe
spaces for retreat, those which facilitate academic learning and those which are more therapeutic in
nature.
“A key strength of Lime Hills Academy is that it sits within the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), a mature
multi-academy trust achieving above average outcomes for children with below average starting points.
With 22 academies and a mission to “consistently deliver excellent educational experiences for pupils
aged 3-19, improving their life chances and serving the communities of which we are a member.
“As a result of the learning undertaken at Lime Hills, upon graduation children we be able to benefit from
and contribute to their immediate community because their education has enabled them to better
understand themselves and their connection to the world around them.”
Cllr Catherine Gibbons, Executive Member for Children, Young People, Lifelong learning and Skills at
North Somerset Council said, “Lime Hills Academy is currently supporting 22 pupils from their temporary
accommodation in Nailsea. We are looking forward to the DfE delivering their permanent site as part of
our joint commitment to providing local schools and supporting those with social, emotional and mental
health needs. This is part of our strategy to ensure that all children should have the opportunity to attend
a good school within North Somerset where they can learn, grow and develop.
“Across North Somerset we are increasing the number of special school places from 368 prior to
September 2022 to 498 places by September 2024. We are also looking to create 50 additional places in
new Resource Bases and 80 places in Nurture Groups across the district from September 2023 to further
meet the needs of our children and young people. Lime Hills Academy will provide around 65 of these
additional specialist school place with closer access to high quality specialist education for these pupils
and reduced home to school journey times for many.”
For more information about the proposals you can visit n-somersetsendschoolplans.co.uk or visit the
Council planning portal here and look for planning application no 22/P/2920/FUL.
