Keys • Feb 01 • 2 min read

VIP guest at opening of Westfield House School’s new extension

A BRAND new extension has helped a Norfolk specialist school offer more places for children with special educational needs as well as enhance its facilities for existing pupils.

Westfield House School, based in King’s Lynn, is part of Keys Group. The school supports children who have special educational needs and has seen demand for places continue to increase over recent years. The new facilities will allow the school to almost double in size. Over time the school will grow from 45 places to 80 pupils on roll.

The school offers personalised timetables which meet the individual needs of every learner. The school has a strong focus on small group learning, with classes between four to eight pupils, each with a teacher and a teaching assistant.

Following a 12-month construction process, the school’s extension was recently completed. Its fantastic facilities include brand-new classrooms and a dedicated food technology room. As part of the project, enhanced play equipment was also installed outside, along with extended parking for staff and visitors.

A special ribbon-cutting event was held to celebrate the completion of the project and the school welcomed VIP guest James Wild, MP for North West Norfolk, to officially open the extended facilities. He was given a guided tour by some of the schools’ pupils and met with staff and guests.

Speaking about the school, he said: “It was a pleasure to meet pupils and staff at Westfield House which offers specialised educational support to children through personalised learning.

“With this impressive extension, more places will be available at a school where Ofsted found pupils are very positive about learning and have high expectations for what they can achieve.

“This will provide a very welcome increase in educational support locally.”

Jo Murray, Executive Head Teacher, said: “Our pupils and the staff team here at the school are very happy with the new building and gardens. They are particularly enjoying the new kitchen and the design and technology workshop and we are looking forward to welcoming new pupils to the school over the coming months.”

David Manson, CEO of Keys, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome James to the school. The pupils and team very much enjoyed meeting him and were proud to show him around the school and its brand-new facilities.

“Investment such as this means that Westfield House School continues to evolve into a centre of excellence for children with special educational needs. As an organisation, we’re committed to supporting our schools to meet the needs of local children and to have the best possible facilities.”