The Village at Le Murier – a £2m. project – will see four liveable log cabins built behind the school, with three able to accommodate up to eight students and one staff member.
The other cabin will be fully accessible to disabled users and will be able to house four students and two staff members.
It is hoped two of the log cabins will be up and running by Easter next year.
Gary Dovey, warden for The Village at Le Murier, said the project had been 20 years in the making.
‘Many young people with additional needs struggle to prepare for life after school and college, especially when it comes to independent living and employability,' he said.
‘Without intervention, this challenge – combined with the absence of formal qualifications – puts them at a double disadvantage.
‘The Village aims to change that by equipping students with practical life skills and employability training, fostering independence, and creating contributors to the local economy instead of dependence on benefits.’
In addition to accommodation, the cabins will feature dining areas, wet rooms, staff areas and porches, while the wider village will have a campsite, woodland, wetland and farm as part of a range of hands-on learning opportunities.
The Village chairman, Bruce MacInnes, said numerous groups of young islanders would be able to use the cabins, in addition to Le Murier students.
These included pupils at Le Rondin, and those accessing adult disability services on the island.
‘There is still plenty of fundraising to do for the third and fourth cabins especially, and we’d encourage people to get involved in helping with that if they can, but we were keen to get things started while building costs are at their current level,’ he said.
‘Getting spades in the ground is a notable achievement.
‘The sooner we can do things, the more affordable it will be.’
Lt-Governor Lt-General Sir Richard Cripwell – The Village patron – attended the opening of the works yesterday.
He said the project would be ‘groundbreaking’ for the island community, adding he was honoured to be its patron.
‘It comes from a desire to help young people live independently in a safe, secure learning facility,' he said.
‘It’s a project greater than the sum of its parts, and I’m excited to see it come to life over the next few months.’
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