The school will become the new base for the county’s Orion Academy on the outskirts of Oxford.
The school was previously named Northfield School and was rated inadequate by Ofsted in November 2018 before becoming an academy in February.
Orion Academy, which caters for children aged 10 to 16, is one of six SEND schools in Oxfordshire operated by The Gallery Trust; a special multi-academy trust based in Oxford.
The new development will allow the academy to double its intake to cater for 108 pupils, including 16- to 18-year-olds.
The new development is planned to deliver 14 general classrooms - 12 for pupils aged 10 to 16 and two for students aged 16 to 18.
Plans also include specialist rooms for science, art, music and design as well as a dedicated space for life skills where pupils can practice cooking and other domestic tasks to prepare them for independent living beyond school.
A space in the centre of the building, called The Bridge, will act as a therapeutic base and social area.
The first stage of the project is set to be complete by September 2021
A second phase will see the creation of an all-weather Sport England compliant pitch, multi-use games area, tarmac court, and a grass pitch with running track. The second phase will complete early in 2022.
Oxfordshire County Council has appointed the main contractor to the project through the Department for Education construction framework.
Morgan Sindall Construction won a competitive tender to deliver the new school.
Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, cabinet member for education and cultural services at the council, said further plans were in place for two more new special schools in Oxfordshire.
“This long-awaited scheme will help produce huge educational benefits for children and young people.
“These are encouraging times for special educational needs and disabilities provision in the county, with plans well advanced for the construction of a new special school at Bloxham Grove (near Banbury); and a new special school in Didcot,” she said.
