Stephenson Academy

Stephenson Academy – Background

Stephenson (MK) Trust was founded in April 2012. It took responsibility for The Gatehouse School in Milton Keynes, which closed at the end of March 2012. It reopened in April 2012 as Stephenson Academy. Stephenson Academy, an SEMH academy in Milton Keynes, was the first sponsored special school academy in the country. Its sponsors are St Paul’s Catholic School in Milton Keynes and SERCO. The sponsors worked closely and productively with officers from Milton Keynes Council and the DfE to launch the academy successfully.

Stephenson Academy is a successful 80 place special school, which opened in 2012. It has a main site, which caters for 11-16 year olds. We have an associated independent sixth form provision for 16-19 year olds. They are in the process of building a new primary department to  expand into years 5 and  6 for pupils aged 9-11 years and this will mean an increase in capacity from September 2023.

Who it caters for

As a specialist academy they cater for students who have Education and Health Care Plans with an identified primary need of Social Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH), some with associated challenging behaviour. Many of their students have additional special educational needs such as speech, language and communication difficulties, Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and mental health difficulties.

They  serve Milton Keynes, and the surrounding local authorities when places are available.

They aim to give every student here the best chance to succeed. The wellbeing of their students is their top priority and they have a dedicated multi-disciplinary team to support the children.

Their aim is for their students to become happy, successful and independent young people who are able to make a positive contribution to society.

As part of the development of the site Harrowden Turf has recently supplied new turf to the site.