{"id":69622,"date":"2026-04-29T15:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=69622"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:15:27","slug":"new-space-mill-water-school-support-send-families-strengthen-community-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/new-space-mill-water-school-support-send-families-strengthen-community-links\/","title":{"rendered":"New space at Mill Water School to support SEND families and strengthen community links"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Mill Water School, in East Devon, is celebrating the completion of a new stand-alone classroom that will provide additional teaching space and a welcoming, supportive environment for children with special educational needs and disabilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The school is oversubscribed and common to many specialist settings, faces ongoing pressure on space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But school leaders wanted to create a shared space that promotes connection, inclusion and belonging for children and their families, as well as increasing teaching space capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, they developed plans for a new school building intended to be available not just during the school day, but also for use outside school hours, including school holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The intention being, to give SEND families somewhere they can access together outside the school day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feedback from parents showed strong support for the plans, with many families describing feelings of isolation and exclusion when using communal spaces that are inaccessible or feel unwelcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSometimes we feel so alone,\u201d said one parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can&#8217;t access the places that other families can,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Opening of a new facility at Mill Water School in East Devon.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/baefWccBkdU?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The new building will be available for SEND families, community groups, and parent support networks, providing a safe and inclusive place where families can meet, build relationships and feel part of a wider community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Parent, Sarah Irving, said the new facility will give the opportunity to families that feel isolated to meet other families with similar experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe reality for many parent-carers is that school holidays are often a time of home-bound activities rather than having the opportunity of exploring new or different places,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSafe, welcoming spaces that can accommodate complex needs are rare, leaving families feeling trapped and isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe family hub\/outdoor classroom will offer so many families, like ourselves a place to go that\u2019s non-judgmental, safe and welcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMost importantly it will support our children with fun activities in a beautiful environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHaving spaces, facilities and equipment that is accessible to all children that have profound complex needs will be life changing for so many families. It will help improve mental health and feelings of isolation as well as the physical benefits of outdoor activities in a part of Devon that is beautiful and calm.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Headteacher Sarah Pickering said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThis project has only been possible because of strong partnership working with Devon County Council, the generosity of local funding bodies and the determination and commitment of my staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is right that SEND families have a place where they feel safe, understood and genuinely welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The project has been in development since the summer of 2023, with construction starting in November 2025, and has been supported by charitable funding bodies who recognised the wider benefits for SEND wellbeing and community connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We (Devon County Council) also committed \u00a3400,000 towards the project. <\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-69f211f243735\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Our local member for the Otter Valley division, Councillor Jess Bailey, officially opened the new facility.\u00a0 She said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p><!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cThe vision for the project has been on creating an inclusive, shared space that is much more than an additional teaching space, but that offers a place of connection, safety and belonging for families of children with SEND outside of the school day and during school holidays.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/4\/3\/7\/Info00005734\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Jess Bailey\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=5734\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Jess Bailey<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-69f211f243792\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Councillor Denise Bickley, our Cabinet Member with responsibility for services that support children and young people with SEND, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p><!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cThis project is about giving SEND families a sense of belonging and reassurance that they are valued and supported within their community.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cI\u2019m delighted that we have been able to help Mill Water School with their vision for families \u2013 and not just of Mill Water children &#8211; to create a space that reflects dignity, inclusion and understanding, and shows what can be achieved through partnership.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cThe new building represents a meaningful investment in inclusion, emotional wellbeing and community connection, helping to ensure that SEND families are not only supported in practical ways but also feel visible, valued and not alone.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cThe Mill Water site is a beautiful area, with many features that families will be able to enjoy, including fully inclusive play areas, a community orchard, as well as a fully equipped inside space.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\u201cI can imagine this becoming a really well used, vital hub for SEND families, outside of normal school times, when families need a place to meet friends and support each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/5\/1\/6\/Info00011615\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Denise Bickley\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=11615\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Denise Bickley, Cabinet Member for Children&#8217;s Services &#8211; SEND<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":69623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,2175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children-families-and-education","category-send-category"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":69623,"title":"Resizing pics for News Centre (48)","alt":"Councillor Jess Bailey officially opens the new facility at Mill Water School. 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Head Teacher, Sarah Pickering is stood by Cllr Bailey.","description":"","caption":"Councillor Jess Bailey (left) cutting the ribbon to officially open the new facility, with Headteacher, Sarah Pickering (right).","url":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-400x270.jpg","thumbnail_width":400,"thumbnail_height":270,"medium":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-600x338.jpg","medium_width":600,"medium_height":338,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-768x432.jpg","medium_large_width":768,"medium_large_height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-800x450.jpg","large_width":800,"large_height":450,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48.jpg","1536x1536_width":1200,"1536x1536_height":675,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48.jpg","2048x2048_width":1200,"2048x2048_height":675,"thumbnail_featured":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-770x450.jpg","thumbnail_featured_width":770,"thumbnail_featured_height":450,"thumbnail_sidebar":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-200x135.jpg","thumbnail_sidebar_width":200,"thumbnail_sidebar_height":135,"banner-block":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-440x440.jpg","banner-block_width":440,"banner-block_height":440,"small-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-640x360.jpg","small-banner_width":640,"small-banner_height":360,"medium-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-1024x576.jpg","medium-banner_width":1024,"medium-banner_height":576,"small-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-640x480.jpg","small-thumb_width":640,"small-thumb_height":480,"medium-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-320x240.jpg","medium-thumb_width":320,"medium-thumb_height":240,"large-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-420x315.jpg","large-thumb_width":420,"large-thumb_height":315,"slideshow-preview":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-300x200.jpg","slideshow-preview_width":300,"slideshow-preview_height":200,"slideshow":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/04\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-48-800x533.jpg","slideshow_width":800,"slideshow_height":533}},"category_priority":2175,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2028-04-29 15:01:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69629,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69622\/revisions\/69629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}