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East Midlands Academy Trust is set to open its second specialist provision to support children and young people anxiety and mental health issues not in education.
The new unit at Northampton International Academy will bring together education and healthcare practitioners to support children aged 11 to 16 who are struggling to attend a mainstream school.
The unit, which will be called Veris, the Latin word for Spring and youth, will feature classrooms as well as therapy rooms where learners can meet with educational and clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists, and other specialists to support them back to full-time education.
Veris is set to open this September, subject to final approval by West Northamptonshire Council’s Cabinet in April, and will welcome up to 30 students through a phased admission over the next two years. It follows the opening of a unit for students with emotionally based school avoidance at another East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT) school, Prince William School in Oundle, last September.
EMAT chief executive Joshua Coleman said: “We believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn and to achieve their very best, which is why we are looking to open this second specialist unit within the trust to support learners back into education and give them the same opportunities as their peers.
“Our provisions bring together a unique blend of teaching and specialist support, and we are already seeing the impact of this in our first unit at Prince William School, where the learners are attending school and interacting well with their classmates and staff.
“Our proposal to open this second unit, Veris, at Northampton International Academy is a testament to the strong position the school is now in, and I am proud to be able to offer this inclusive provision which will benefit many families in the local area.”