Bury St Edmunds SEND unit at St Edmund's Catholic School is opened and blessed by Bishop

It is hoped a new special needs unit in the grounds of a Bury St Edmunds school will be a 'beacon' for similar projects.

Named 'The Nest', the £1.5 million SEND unit at St Edmund's Catholic Primary School has been officially opened and blessed by Bishop Alan Hopes, of the Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, today.

This project is part of Suffolk County Council's £45 million transformation programme to improve SEND provision.

The Right Reverend Hopes said: "My prayer is that this SEND unit will be a beacon for more projects to be established across the county, providing a safe and calm space for children with special educational needs and disabilities. This can only be a good thing."

He said the Diocese had worked very closely with Suffolk County Council and the school on the project.

He added they felt 'very privileged' to be able to provide this facility for children in the area 'here in our local school'.

The first pupils have already started at The Nest, with all 30 places filled for September.

Maria Kemble, executive head at St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, spoke of her pride and excitement for the project.

"This is the ambition of my professional life fulfilled," she said, but added: "That is not my achievement. It's actually down to a lot of people sitting here [at the opening]."

The children at the unit will also be involved with the main school, for example they joined in with the Queen's Jubilee celebrations there.

"That's a really important part of what the provision is about," added Mrs Kemble.

The Rt Rev Hopes said: "This is fantastic it's all together on one site instead of being put somewhere else."

He described the environmentally-friendly building, which is in a woodland setting, as 'magnificent'.

Designed by Hoopers Architects, the building 'is as green as it possibly can be', they said, featuring tiles, cladding and frame made from timber, air source heat pumping, hybrid ventilation and it is very well insulated.

Rachel Hood, cabinet member for education, SEND and skills at Suffolk County Council, described the unit as a 'model' project.

Speaking of the county council's expansion of SEND provision, she said: "If you identify and address it early, the outcomes are totally different."