Paddock SEND School

Our experienced education team worked on the expansion of Paddock SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) School for Wandsworth Borough Council, providing more children with specialised school spaces closer to home.

This project was designed with accessibility and learning at its heart and supports Wandsworth Borough Council’s long-term investment in specialist education.

Completed for the 2025/26 academic year, the school saw Paddock’s secondary-aged students move from their old premise in Roehampton- of which they had outgrown, to the new purpose-built, net zero school on Broadwater Road, Tooting.

Improved Facilities

Increasing demand coupled with limited space has meant that the school has been unable to support additional students in recent years. This new move and expansion means that the school is now able to offer an additional 64 spaces for older pupils- increasing the capacity from 128-192.

This new 4,220m2 site also boasts larger classrooms and outdoor spaces, offering improved resources for the children. This improved space also houses an onsite café run by the pupils, which is open to the public. This cafe is instrumental in helping to enhance the students skills in school as well as within their community.

Richard Poulter, managing director of our South office, commented:

“Delivering such an important project for Tooting that will have a lasting positive impact on the lives of children in the area is truly rewarding. Delivering this project to the highest standard of accessibility and quality is a testament to the dedication of our team and the collaboration with Wandsworth Borough Council’s investment in specialist education. This state-of-the-art facility, designed cleverly to ensure the necessary support for its pupils and the opportunities to thrive is an exemplar model of future SEND schools.”

Sarah Santos, Executive Headteacher at Paddock SEND School, said:

“Marking this milestone in the school’s journey is a real honour. I’ve seen many changes at Paddock, but this is the most transformational. The new building reflects our deep commitment to our young people and will make a huge difference to their school experience. The learning spaces are fantastic, and the pupils are really excited. This is a space where we can nurture, inspire and transform lives. I’m so proud of our team and grateful to everyone who made this possible. The best is yet to come.” 

Social Value

Throughout the project, we worked collaboratively with the Wandsworth BEST (Business and Education Succeeding Together) team to provide work experience for students, delivering valuable on-the-job experience through industry placements. Additionally, throughout the projects construction, we took part in a number of Employ Wandsworth job fairs and visited local schools to speak to the students about the project and the construction industry.

The project also provided a number of job starts for local residents via the Wandsworth Work Match Scheme.

Energy Efficiency

BREEAM Outstanding accreditation (pending accreditation) was a driving force for both Willmott Dixon and Wandsworth Borough Council during this project, as such the school has been designed to be Net-Zero in Operation, completely relieving its dependence on fossil fuels.

This project was also designed to achieve a 0.3 Urban Greening Factor (UGF) rating, which supported the provisions for green infrastructure in urban areas.

These aspirations have strengthened our extensive portfolio in successfully delivering Net-Zero buildings, helping to provide energy efficient building infrastructure that is sustainable, positive, and gives back to the community within which it serves.