About Wolsey Park

The Wolsey Park School 

All children and young people in Essex deserve a high quality education, with the health, care, and education support that they need to flourish. As part of its wider plan to create the right provision for all children, Essex Local Authority, with the support of Rt Hon Mark Francois MP, has been successful in creating additional specialist provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Wolsey Park School is a significant part of this much-needed new provision.

The Wolsey Park School, currently under construction, will have a phased opening beginning in 2027. This specialist school will admit learners incrementally, reaching full capacity within four years. It will consist of a primary and a secondary site, combining to offer 252 places for young people with severe, and profound and multiple learning difficulties, age 4-16 years initially. 

The site for primary-age learners will be in the newly developed Wolsey Park estate in Rayleigh, and will have provision for up to 150 children aged 4-11 years. The opening date for the primary provision will be confirmed nearer the time, but we are hoping to welcome our first learners in the summer term of 2027. Our provision for young people of secondary age will be in South Woodham Ferrers on the site that was previously home to Chetwood Primary School. This new facility will be a complete rebuild, with exciting designs currently underway. Early indications are that this provision will be ready to open in 2028.

Overall, this provision will be known as The Wolsey Park School, with the sites referred to as Wolsey Park Rayleigh and Wolsey Park Woodham. It is likely that the majority of young people placed with us for their primary education at Wolsey Park Rayleigh will continue at Wolsey Park Woodham across Key Stages 3 and 4 (11-16yrs). Additionally, we hope to be able to welcome young people who have attended other schools for the first part of their education, but who need a specialist, personalised curriculum as they move to the next phase of their education.