The London Borough of Bexley and The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT) would like to wish students and staff well following the opening of the Shenstone Secondary School permanent site last week (8 September).

Bexley’s Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Caroline Newton was on hand following the opening to tour the school and to see its new building and state-of-the art facilities.

She said:

This new school is a testament to the hard work and determination of Council Members, Officers and School Leaders to fulfil their promise of a new all through school for our young people with SEND.

As with many such major building projects, we have had some bumps along the road but we stood our ground throughout and by being innovative and with good partnership working during the construction process, we are finally here welcoming children into this fantastic school.

It is great news for the borough and will provide an exceptional environment for Shenstone’s pupils to grow and learn.

I would like to thank parents and carers for working with us while the plans for the new school were developed and for their understanding while work was carried out on the school.

I would also like to thank TKAT for working closely with the borough to help us achieve something which will benefit our young people for years to come.”

Executive Headteacher LoriAnn Mackey said:

It was quite a Monday to remember as we welcomed the Shenstone secondary students back to their permanent, new school site provision!

The smiles on the faces of the families, children and staff as they saw the new site for the first time made the past three years of planning and building worth it!

On top of that, we are finally able to share our excellent Ofsted report from our visit in June - Outstanding in all areas! It is a privilege and honour to be the Executive Head of such a fabulous school with such a great team!"

The development of the site on Halt Robin Road in Belvedere will provide additional secondary school places and presents a significant milestone for the Council and the Trust, delivering on Bexley’s ongoing pledge to support local children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The new school will provide up to an additional 140 secondary school places for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, allowing the school to offer an ‘all through’ provision with places for children aged 2 to 19.

The new school adds to the recent increased SEND provision across the borough. Two other schools, Cornerstone, which opened in 2023 and Cleeve Meadow (also part of TKAT) which opened in 2021, both provide additional support to local children and young people with SEND.

Shenstone School’s report is available to view online.