Plans for a new specialist day school in North Cheam have been approved by Sutton Council with refurbishment already underway.

Brookways School London will provide education and support for boys and girls who on the autistic spectrum.

The school is aiming to open in January 2018.

Kedleston Group – which runs specialist schools across England – successfully applied to Sutton Council to transform a building previously used as an adult learning service on London Road.

Children with autism, including Asperger’s Syndrome, social and mental health issues, ADHD or other challenges will benefit from the new school.

Autism practitioner, Melanie Whitfield, will be the head teacher for Brookways School London.

She said: “Using our extensive experience in supporting children on the autism spectrum, Brookways’ learning environment is being built to create a calm and welcoming environment taking into account the sensory and other needs of the children learning there.

“These enabling environments will see the use of muted colour schemes, specialist lighting, individual work stations and visual communication.

“Naturally, classes will be small and the curriculum, broadly following the national curriculum, tailored to individual needs and interests, but with a focus on supporting children to achieve meaningful qualifications and learning skills to support life outside of school and to move into further education and work.”

The school is currently recruiting for a senior teacher of science and maths, an arts and design teacher, a teaching assistant and a primary teacher.

Young people aged between seven and 17 will be eligible to apply for a place.

A registration inspection by Ofsted will take place in November or early December at the site in North Cheam.

During the application process in June, Kedleston Group’s chief executive, Lee Reed, said that up to 30 places would be available to students.