IN Brief:
- Galliford Try has secured a £39m main works contract for Balgores SEND School in Havering.
- The new facility will provide specialist education space for up to 300 pupils aged four to 19.
- The scheme adds to growing demand for inclusive, specialist, and operationally resilient school buildings.
Galliford Try has secured a £39m contract from the London Borough of Havering to build Balgores SEND School at Gidea Park, following completion of the project’s pre-construction phase.
The new school will provide places for up to 300 children and young people aged four to 19 with autistic spectrum disorder, severe learning difficulties, and social, emotional, and mental health needs. At more than 6,000 sq m, the development is expected to become one of the largest SEND schools in the UK.
The main works package has been awarded through the Southern Construction Framework 5. Plans for the Balgores Lane site include 38 classrooms, a hydrotherapy pool, an enterprise hub, performance space, a café, external play areas, dedicated pupil drop-off space, staff parking, landscaping, and a multi-use games area.
Several facilities are intended to be available for community use outside school hours, giving the project a wider civic role beyond core school provision. The building and external works will need to support safeguarding, accessibility, specialist education delivery, therapy, transport, staff supervision, and carefully managed pupil movement throughout the day.
SEND school delivery is becoming a more prominent part of the public-sector building pipeline as local authorities respond to rising demand for specialist places. Many councils are managing pressure from higher education, health, and care plan numbers, limited local capacity, and long travel distances for pupils whose needs cannot be met in mainstream settings.
Buildings in this sector require a more detailed operational response than standard school accommodation. Circulation routes, acoustic control, sensory environments, hygiene rooms, outdoor learning areas, secure boundaries, break-out spaces, and therapy provision all have direct effects on how the school functions. Design choices that would be minor on a conventional scheme can become central to safety, supervision, and day-to-day use.
The hydrotherapy pool will add another layer of building services complexity, with humidity control, ventilation, water treatment, plant access, drainage, and fabric durability all requiring careful coordination. Therapy and specialist spaces must also withstand intensive use while avoiding the institutional feel that can weaken the quality of learning environments.
External works will play a central role in the scheme’s performance. SEND transport often involves adapted vehicles, escorts, staggered arrivals, and longer boarding times, making drop-off design and circulation more critical than on many mainstream education projects. Play and outdoor areas also need enough variety, security, and accessibility to support pupils with different ages, mobility levels, and sensory needs.
The award strengthens Galliford Try’s public-sector education workload at a point when specialist and condition-led projects are taking a larger share of school construction activity. Across the sector, contractors are being asked to deliver more inclusive buildings while also meeting tighter expectations around energy performance, maintainability, and long-term running costs.
Balgores SEND School will add substantial specialist capacity in East London and will test the delivery team’s ability to combine education design, community use, therapy provision, and complex access requirements within a single public-sector building programme.
