To celebrate the start of construction work, a steel signing ceremony took place recently at Journeys Academy in Hertfordshire.
Members of the Ashe Construction team gathered with representatives from Hertfordshire County Council, Agora Learning Partnership, architect Holmes Miller and the project’s consultants to watch the steel signing carried out by representatives from each organisation.
Hertfordshire County Council is working in partnership with the Agora Learning Partnership, a Hertfordshire based Multi Academy Trust currently serving 10 primary schools, to deliver 60 new special school places for primary aged pupils with complex communication and autism needs. The new multi-million-pound special school, Journeys Academy, is being constructed by Ashe and is due to open in the autumn of 2026.
According to government statistics there are over 1.7 million pupils in England with special educational needs, an increase of 93,700 since 2024. Of these pupils, around 42,000 attend Hertfordshire schools, an increase from 39,000 in 2024.
The development is part of the county council’s strategy to increase SEND provision in Hertfordshire to meet increasing need through a variety of schemes. It includes large-scale building projects, such as Journeys Academy, the creation of satellite provision of existing special schools, and the development of specialist resource provisions and SEND units attached to mainstream schools.
Councillor Mark Watkin, Executive Member for Education, SEND and Inclusion at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We know there is a need to create more provision in Hertfordshire so that our children and young people with SEND have the right education in the right place, at the right time. We want all children in Hertfordshire to get the support they need, when they need it, to access their education in a school close to their home and we are committed to investing in education in Hertfordshire to make this a reality.”
Journeys Academy is on the site of the former Sunny Bank school where Ashe will create 10 new classrooms, with additional rooms for practical activities, a sensory room, library and ICT room.
The new building has been designed in line with the Department for Education’s guidelines for SEN Schools and features:
- The building is single storey enabling all learning spaces to free flow to the outside areas
- The main hall is multi-functional to allow it to be used for PE classes, assemblies and dining
- The school will benefit from a grass playing field and a multi-use games area that will be available for community use
- The orientation of the school maximises light and heat to classrooms
- There are improved U- values for Net Zero Carbon in Operation (NZCiO)
- Air permeability of 3m3/hr/m2. Regulation standard is 103m3/hr/m2
- There is improved access to the school, new two-way entrance road, level thresholds into the building and ramps to access playing areas
Holmes Miller is the architect for the project which is designed to be Net Zero Carbon in Operation. A green roof will contribute to biodiversity in the area and make the building more sustainable.
Sustainability targets include:
- Target energy consumption of 76 MWh/yr
- To achieve NZCiO a photovoltaic array of 484m2 is required
- Natural vent heat recovery units to classrooms
- Low energy heat recovery
- System enables control of fresh air based on internal temperatures
- MVHR (Mechanical) to offices, staff and dining
- Air source heat pumps (ASHP) for heating and hot water
- Post occupancy in use monitoring to establish if energy consumption is in line with design stage
Sustainability is a priority on the project with the site team opting for a portable solar array rather than a diesel generator to feed the site accommodation while they wait to be connected to mains electricity.
Ashe will carry out post occupancy monitoring to understand asset performance against the CIBSE TM54 ‘as-designed’ benchmarks, and to provide insight into whether they are achieving the DfE’s goals around Net Zero Carbon.
There will be a biodiversity net gain for the project with an increase on the baseline for the site, achieved through landscaping and planting around the school grounds.
The project has been procured under the Pagabo Medium Works framework. The delivery team includes mechanical & electrical and landscape consultant, One Creative Environments Ltd, and structural and civil engineer, BCAL. The acoustic consultant is Acoustic Design and Maze Fire Consulting is responsible for the fire safety scheme.
The project takes Ashe’s total value of education projects in the last year to £30m.
Header image: Sass Pledger, Director of Property at Hertfordshire County Council, signing the steel to celebrate the start of building works at Journeys Academy in Potters Bar, where Ashe Construction is building a new school for children with special educational needs.
