Compass Community School Redwood Park is looking forward to opening its doors in September.
When it does so, it will be the largest school in the Compass group, with space for 90 students from 7 to 19 years of age. This will come as welcome news for parents of children with SEND needs, who often struggle to find suitable specialist provision for their children in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas.
Redwood Park will be a state-of-the-art SEND facility, providing its children with a seamless educational journey from key stage 2 right through to 6th form. This will give Redwood Park the opportunity to prepare its pupils for the future from an early age – using their in-depth knowledge of the young person to support them right into adulthood.
Based in Loughton, Milton Keynes, the school has been set up in response to the growing need for SEND provision within the Milton Keynes area. The single-site school will consist of 4 separate buildings, so that each new cohort can be accommodated in its own customised building.
Regional director of education services, Joanna Cliffe, is delighted to be leading the project towards its opening at the start of the next academic year. “We are all very proud of the wide range of academic and vocational opportunities that Redwood Park will offer children with SEND needs,” she said. “Being able to work with our pupils right through to sixth form will prove invaluable in supporting their future ambitions.”
In common with other Compass schools, Redwood Park uses a holistic, therapeutic approach, centred around the needs of the individual child. Children at Compass schools often have wide-ranging SEND needs – which need to be addressed before sustained academic progress can take place. Compass believe their therapeutic approach is one of the main reasons pupils achieve at levels well beyond those attained in their previous mainstream provisions.
A combination of specialist SEND staff and small class sizes (never more than six) are designed to ensure that each pupil follows a curriculum which is tailored to their individual needs. Compass schools are known for their very high staff to pupil ratio – which comfortably allows 1 to 1 intervention to take place when needed.
“Once opened, Redwood Park will follow in the best traditions of Compass Community Schools,” explains Joanna. “Our children come to us for a range of reasons, but they leave us as confident young people, who are excited about the future and their part in it.”
Redwood Park are currently processing admissions for their first cohort of pupils in September 2025. If you would like to find out more, please contact pupil.admissions@compass-schools.org
