Northumberland’s new co-educational school for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs has been named The Emily Wilding Davison School in honour of the suffragette.  
 

The County Council has invested £5.5m in creating a new home for Atkinson House School, Seghill, from September 2022 on the former Richard Coates Primary School site in Ponteland.  
 

The refurbished facilities, carried out by Robertson Construction, enable the school to increase its numbers from 80 to 100 pupils and move from a single sex provision to co-educational. The central location will improve accessibility to families across the county. 
 

Councilllor Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Children’s Services, said: “A lot of hard work and investment has gone into getting the designs for this new provision right, so it’s exciting to see everything come together with a new name in place for the start of the new term. 
 

“As well as bespoke classrooms and facilities that meet pupils’ needs – we've remodelled the car parking and carried out works on the site boundaries to create a safe and nurturing environment for all our young people.   
 

“In Northumberland, the number of children and young people who have been diagnosed as having SEMH needs has been increasing, with significant additional capacity being required year on year. 
 
“We want Northumberland to be a great place to grow up, where all children and young people are safe, valued, able to enjoy their lives and achieve their aspirations and the Emily Wilding Davison School will play an important role in that.” 
 

Children with SEMH may have difficulties with their emotional and social development and understanding and managing relationships. They may need support communicating with others, trusting adults, developing relationships and understanding boundaries. As well as these difficulties children may have other educational needs such as being Autistic, having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and mental health conditions. 
 

The Emily Wilding Davison School is designed to meet these needs - from providing nurturing one-to-one space through to smaller classrooms, a forest school and outdoor areas.  
 

Headteacher, Paul Sampson, said: “We welcome this investment in our young people and are really excited to enter a new era in our school’s journey. 
 

“These facilities are specially designed to cater for the complex needs of our students, creating a safe and nurturing environment that promotes curiosity and learning, enabling them to thrive and be the best that they can be."
 

For more information visit: The Emily Wilding Davison School