Work has started on a multi-million pound project to deliver improvements to a special needs school in Hounslow.

A total of £9m is being invested in the redevelopment of the Lindon Bennett School, on Main Street, Hanworth, to tackle the borough's shortage of places for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

A total of 70 new places will be created and the school will be extended and remodelled to include specialist teaching spaces, classrooms, offices, a hall and kitchen areas.

Councillor Tom Bruce, cabinet member for education and children’s services at Hounslow council, said: “Too many parents and carers have to send their children to SEN schools outside the borough, which is both difficult for the families, and expensive.

"This is why Hounslow council is delivering a schools expansion programme which will see 70 new places created at Lindon Bennett and Cedars special schools and will establish seven new SEN centres in mainstream schools, by 2015.

“We’re determined to make sure every child in the borough receives the best education possible, which is why I am pleased to see work starting at Lindon Bennett.

“Current projections suggest that by 2020, there will be the need for a further 254 primary and secondary special school places for children with autistic spectrum disorder or moderate learning difficulties.

"To meet this demand Hounslow Council agreed in October last year to invest a further £28.5 million on special schools.”

Plans for the Hanworth school were submitted as part of a schools expansion programme being carried out by Hounslow council and design and construction consultancy, Pick Everard, in response to rising demand for SEN places in the borough, and the current shortage meaning some children are moved to schools outside the borough.

Work will be carried out in two phases to avoid disruption to the school.

The first phase involves the construction of a large, two-storey classroom block extension which is due to be completed by September 2015.

Pupils will then move into the new building while the extensive refurbishment of the existing building is undertaken and completed by September 2016.

Pick Everard associate Steve Cummings who is leading the design side of the Lindon Bennett project as well as overseeing the wider schools building programme, said: “It’s a huge challenge to fully understand the precise learning requirements of the pupils and to respond sensitively to that.

“We have considered in detail how we approach the scheme design, so we do not disrupt access and logistics around the school as well as factoring in things such as colours and acoustics which can have a really positive impact in a SEN school.

"A specific challenge is the school’s proximity to Heathrow Airport.

“It means where over-cladding on the existing roof is required we have to greatly improve its sound reduction properties to ensure that the noise generated from planes on the flight path doesn’t affect the children’s learning experience."

Over five years Pick Everard will be working on 40 projects at a combined cost of more than £150 million to improve Hounslow’s primary, secondary and SEN schools

So far they have worked to expand and improve facilities at ten primary schools.