Last updated on 24 May 2026
Residents have been asking us about what is happening with the Spring School – the new SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) school on the Moor Lane site. So, Chessington District Residents’ Association arranged a visit to the site in May 2026 and met with James Beasley, Contracts Manager of contractor’s Baxall, for an update.
Background
The funding for a special school on the Moor Lane site was agreed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Education (DfE) in May 2019. The DfE commissioned a new school to be run by Ambitious About Autism and the plans were passed by Kingston Council’s planning team on 6th July 2022 (Application 22/00908/KPSID).
DfE employed the Hull-based contractor Eco Modular Buildings Ltd, specialists in the education sector. The building would be modular with factory-made units shipped to site and attached to a pre-constructed steel frame. This type of construction meant the school would open for the autumn term in 2024.
CDRA have been involved with the Ambitious About Autism team since 2020 when we met with Natasha Hawley, Director of Service Development. Ambitious About Autism were very keen to involve the local community in the journey of the provision of this new much-needed facility for SEND children and young people. Subsequently, we met with Andy Nowak, when he was appointed the Headmaster of Spring School.
Unfortunately, at the start of March 2023, the contractor Eco Modular Buildings Ltd filed notice for administration. It is believed the company owed £5m to trade creditors.
The site has been dormant until this year when the DfE, through their procurement framework, started working with Baxall Construction Ltd to complete the project.
Baxall Construction
Baxall are well-established and a well-known construction company within the construction industry, established in 1964 in Paddock Wood Kent.
They are proud to have a reputation for high-quality and strong client relationships and renowned for “doing it differently”. Throughout the years they have focused on innovation, adopting new methods of construction, digital technologies and sustainability.
CDRA’s visit to site
James made us feel very welcome. He explained that all the building fabric on the modular frames installed on site by the previous contractor had been left open to the elements and their integrity had been compromised.
Therefore, all the building fabric on the existing modular frames had to be removed. We could see that they had started to remove these leaving the basic steel structure.
At the time of our visit, Baxall feel that the most efficient, economical and eco-friendly solution is to keep the existing steel frame and a subsidiary steel frame attached to it. New walls and cladding would be mounted on to the new frame, though this may change once all the fabric is removed and the design develops.
Materials are to be brought to site, and the walls and cladding constructed on site.
Temporary home
In the meantime, a temporary home for Spring School was identified by Ambitious About Autism and the DfE at the former Kingston House Site on Coombe Road in Norbiton.
A step in the right direction – but more needs to be done
We are very proud that the Moor Lane site has been chosen for the new school, and we see the school as an important part of the south of the borough community.
If there is one group of people that need all the support and help they can get, it’s the parents of SEND children. We have been privileged to meet some of the parents, families and children. It is depressing and annoying to see that they have had to fight and struggle to get their children initially assessed, obtain Education Health and Care Programmes (EHCPs) and then find the right support and resources they need and are entitled to.
When Andy Nowak held interviews with parents and their children at Moor Lane the number of applicants clearly outweighed the number of places available.
Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go, and things are still not what they should be with the DfE and local authorities being proactive. SEND children are still spending hours on buses (or with their parents in their own vehicles) travelling miles every day to a SEND facility outside their own borough.
Our children only have one chance to go to school. This should be a period when they feel safe, cared for, learn and be one of the happiest periods of their lives. For many this is still not the case, and sadly they will never get it back.
Our sincere thanks to Baxall, particularly James Beasley who made us feel very welcome. He is a great ambassador for their organisation.