Samuel Ward Academy Trust have announced that they are bidding to run a new special free school in Ipswich.

They are developing plans which will be submitted to the Department for Education and Suffolk County Council at the end of November.

The bid to open the Samuel Ward Ipswich Special Free School meets Suffolk County Council’s specification of a developing a specialist provision for 60 learners in Lindbergh Road, Ipswich.

The school will serve pupils aged 8 to 16 with social and emotional needs as well as pupils with underlying communication and social difficulties.

The Trust’s proposals meet published specifications for new special schools which Samuel Ward Academy Trust believe they have the infrastructure, vision and experience to deliver.

They will contribute the expertise established at Churchill Special Free School, in Haverhill, which was rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted while acknowledging every school and community requires an individual and tailored approach.

Our culture

The Samuel Ward Special free school culture supports and challenges learners to become confident, successful and independent adults.

Our ethos is to develop a flexible and personalised approach that ensures each learner makes progress in all areas of their learning. We challenge the traditional ways of working, pushing boundaries with regard to intervention and support for all pupils.

Samuel Ward Academy Trust believe that a network of support and partnership between pupils, parents/carers, other schools, specialists and external agencies provides the best opportunities for individual needs to be addressed.

Our aims

Our aim in Ipswich is to provide an education which delivers outstanding outcomes for children with social, emotional and mental health needs and/or for those on the autistic spectrum.

Underpinning this will be high expectations and aspirations for all which means we shall ensure all children make good progress from whatever their starting points are and are supported to achieve accreditation and qualifications which enhance their life chances.

We want your views

• To find out more about our bid, please visit our Ipswich school bid Facebook page.
• We want to know what parents, carers and pupils think about our plans. Please let us know by completing our online survey. 
• If you have any other questions or you want to be in touch, in the first instance please contact ltaylor@swatrust.co.uk.