Woodland View - Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire Council

It was very exciting to see inside our new school – the building is absolutely fantastic! It has been designed to meet the needs of all of our pupils; from extra wide lifts to an accessible walkway, connecting the ground and first floor."

Kay Hunter | Headteacher

Completed

200

Provision for 200 young people

138

138 students engaged with during the process

53 placements for apprentices and trainees

A bespoke educational building, designed to be practical and stimulating for pupils with a broad range of additional support needs.

Woodland View School was created to accommodate children and young people aged 2-18 from across East Dunbartonshire who previously attended Campsie View and Merkland Schools. Campsie View catered to pupils with severe to profound learning and medical needs, while Merkland School catered to pupils with predominately mild to moderate learning disabilities.

Both schools were heavily involved in the design approach with the aim of creating a building where every user could access education within an environment suited to their specific needs. The state-of-the-art two-storey facility includes a sensory trail, extra wide lifts, a multi-use games area and a splash pool.

East Dunbartonshire Council wanted to merge two of its Additional Support Needs (ASN) Schools. The current schools were no longer fit for purpose, and they wanted to create somewhere that would cater to all users' needs. School pupils would range from 2-18 years old, and the design had to include facilities to cater to a number of additional support needs the pupils had.

During pre-construction, the Council undertook considerable stakeholder engagement, holding multiple workshops with staff and parents to understand their exact requirements, classroom sizes and how best to bring together all the different spaces throughout the building.

The local community was also a key stakeholder on this project, with the site being designated as open space and an important part of Waterside Village, it was imperative to make the community feel like they were heard and part of the process.

Accessibility was a key challenge for this project. The design had to ensure access for all pupils including wheelchair users and those with mobility difficulties, hearing, visual and other sensory impairments.

The original design envisaged a single-storey school, but further consultation resulted in a two-storey option. There were initial concerns, especially for pupils with more profound needs however, rather than choosing to segregate those pupils entirely to the ground floor, the design instead mixed various classroom types throughout to fully integrate the campus as a collective. It was a challenge to deliver a building that was fully connected not just educationally but also ensured an inclusive approach for all.

Construction of Woodland View started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst adhering to our construction programme, we safeguarded our workforce and the community through on-site comprehensive measures, including daily testing and social distancing measures to limit transmission.

Woodland View has allowed the pupils of Campsie View and Merkland Schools to join in a brand-new bespoke education building, created with their needs at the heart of design.

The new School provides a nursery for 20 children aged 2-5 years and flexible classrooms for 90 primary and 90 secondary children, benefitting 200 pupils. The building is designed to provide a flexible facility that meets all users' complex needs.

In addition to accessibility for wheelchair users, the school has a sensory trail at its heart to provide an experience that can be enjoyed by all. Gently ramping from the ground floor around the main social spaces to the first floor, the sensory trail not only provides another route for pupils to circulate and access all areas of the school but also offers an interactive sensory experience including features such as touch points, smells and sights from the garden to the top-floor classrooms.

After having my first tour inside Woodland View School, I am confident this purpose-built place of learning will well serve the needs of the 200 pupils from Merkland and Campsie View Schools who will start attending here.”

Councillor Gordan Low
East Dunbartonshire Council