New Beatlie School opens
A West Lothian school for children with severe, complex and medical support needs has been officially opened.
West Lothian Council's £15 million Beatlie School Campus in Craigshill, Livingston, provides specialist education for pupils aged three to eighteen. A special ceremony involving the school community took place this week to mark the occasion. The project is part of a £26.5million investment in local schools for pupils with additional support needs, including Cedarbank School and Pinewood School in Blackburn.
The purpose-built facility is a centre of excellence for children and young people, providing cutting-edge educational facilities. The school was officially opened by Executive councillor for Health and Care, Anne McMillan (second from left, back row), pupils and staff.
Headteacher Debbie Green (far left, back row) said: "Everyone within the Beatlie community is delighted with the new school, which is having a real positive impact on the level of education and care we can provide our amazing children and young people."
Along with the core education facilities for nursery, primary and secondary pupils, the new Beatlie School includes a hydrotherapy pool, two general purpose rooms, a life skills area, multi-purpose hall and sensory garden. It also includes the most up-to-date assistive technology products which are designed to help facilitate greater independence for those with mobility issues to explore their surroundings by increasing, maintaining or improving their functional capabilities.
In addition to the education facilities, the new school has parent support facilities, including accommodation for partner agencies and support services including the NHS Child Development Centre (CDC), which currently support pupils throughout West Lothian. NHS Lothian is allocating around £1.5 million to the project cover the cost of the new CDC facility.
Executive councillor Anne McMillan, said: "We have a fantastic school estate in West Lothian and we invested heavily to ensure our pupils have the best possible platform for learning, especially those for our pupils with additional support needs.
"At Beatlie, the amazing young people require specialist support and care and many of them of the young people have profound medical needs. The Beatlie Campus has incredible facilities to look after and care for the health and educational needs of young people.
"It is a pleasure and an honour to help the young people officially open their wonderful new school."
The new Beatlie School campus is being developed with council investment and funding the Learning Estate Investment Programme, a joint initiative between Scottish and Local Government. The £15m project was delivered for West Lothian Council by its development partner Hub South East, with Morrison Construction appointed as the Tier 1 contractor.
Paul McGirk, Hub South East's Chief Executive, said: "We were delighted to be invited back to celebrate the official opening of the award-winning Beatlie School Campus. It's fantastic to see first-hand how the new learning space is being enjoyed and that the use of innovative assistive technology is providing additional opportunities for its young people. It's clear that the new building is making a real positive impact on its pupils, their families and school staff and we're proud to have played our part in assisting West Lothian Council in its delivery.
"We look forward with excitement to continuing this successful partnership on future projects."
