Safey Rules as 2.4m perimeter fence gets the go ahead

Lipson Co-Operative Academy (Image: PCross)

Plymouth school building safeguarding fence after incidents

A massive new perimeter fence around Lipson Co-operative Academy will be built for ‘safeguarding reasons’. Plymouth City Council planners have given the go ahead for the school’s plans for new 2.4m high perimeter fencing.

Details with the application outline a series of incidents which has led to the fence being required. They include a non-school member who entered the school and produced a knife, a physical assault involving female student and male non-school member, and unauthorised access by known drug dealer.

Another incident saw a teacher attacked by a dog during school hours causing significant injuries. Suspicious people onsite watching children, and verbal assaults are also mentioned on the incident log with the application.

A previous version of the scheme had angered locals as it would extinguish the established sustainable pedestrian and cycle routes between Bernice Terrace, Mullet Road and Mount Gould Park. That scheme was withdrawn, and a new plan with an alternative fence line allowing for a pedestrian and cycle route to be provided from Mount Gould Park to Mullet Road for public use, as well as public access to allow for a public footpath between Mount Gould Park and Bernice Terrace, was submitted.

Ongoing discussions between Lipson Co-operative Academy and Plymouth City Council have taken place to draft legal agreements in relation to the permissive route through the woodland and the path creation agreement for the footpath from Mount Gould Park to Mullet Road. But council officers have given planning permission for the new fence to be built.

The report of the planning officers said: “Concerns were raised within the letters of representation regarding the visual impact of the proposal on the local area and the fact the fencing would adversely impact the character of the area. While the fencing can be viewed by nearby residential properties, on balance the proposal is not considered to result in a demonstrably harmful feature that will prejudice the ongoing enjoyment of nearby properties.

“Officers have taken into account the safeguarding issues raised and do not consider the visual impact concerns to outweigh the need for increased safeguarding. The proposal will not lead to the significant loss of sustainable transport connections to neighbourhood green space.

“Officers have worked proactively with the applicant to take into account all comments received from members of the public as well as the need for increased safeguarding at Lipson Co-Operative Academy. The development is compliant with policies of the Joint Local Plan and officers have concluded that the proposal accords with policy and national guidance and is therefore recommended for approval.”

A statement with the planning application, explaining the requirement for the fence, had said: “The proposals will enhance the safety of those students on roll at the school, ensuring that a secure boundary is provided, preventing any future security breaches, along with any associated criminal offences and health and safety instances. The safety of the pupils on roll is paramount and this is a significant benefit of the proposals.

“Sustainable pedestrian and cycle routes between Bernice Terrace, Mullet Road and Mount Gould Park will be retained and improved through the adoption of the footpath. This is a further significant social benefit of the proposals.

“The proposals seek to address the deficiencies identified within the safeguarding provision at the Lipson Co-operative Academy, through the replacement of the existing dilapidated 1.2 metre high wooden fence and erection of a secure, 2.4 metre fence around the perimeter of the school.”

Source: Plymouth Live

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The Growing Schools Rebuilding Programme

The healthy level of construction work being let under the government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme is creating growing opportunities for new contracts across the country.

More capacity is needed in the sector to accommodate a 15% rise in secondary school pupil numbers which the Department of Education is expecting by 2027. Under the Schools Rebuilding Programme, the government has committed to rebuilding 500 schools over the next decade.

After the first 100 schools under the programme were announced last year, the government confirmed last month that it expects to ‘prioritise’ up to 300 schools in 2022 and 2023.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s recent spring statement in March showed the education department capital budget is set to increase from £5.2 billion in 2021/22 to £6.3 billion in 2022/23 and to £7 billion in the following year.

Major contractors such as Wates, Wilmott Dixon and Kier Group are benefitting from a healthy workload in the education sector. Amongst its recent contract wins, Kier Group recently highlighted its appointment to the £7 billion Department of Education 2021 Construction Framework.

Pledges on schools

But the signs are that the government’s pledges on schools are translating into some significant new projects for contractors of all sizes across the industry, particularly in the Midlands and the North West.

 

In April alone, Glenigan data shows work started on numerous new schemes under the Schools Rebuilding Programme. These included a £22.9 million project at Hartshill School in Nuneaton (Project ID: 21058656), a £21 million contract at Tarleton Academy in Preston (Project ID: 21058066) and a £3 million rebuild of Lytham St Annes High School in Lancashire (Project ID: 21058065).

Work also started in April on a £25 million rebuild of Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. BAM Construct UK is the main contractor on the project which will run for 25 months and involves over 9,500 sq m of new space and the demolition of an original school building (Project ID: 21058671).

 

A series of new contract opportunities suggests the schools sector workload should continue to grow. In Coventry, detailed plans have been submitted and work is expected to start this autumn on a £28.45 million project at Coundon Court School. It will involve the demolition of six existing buildings and the construction of three new education buildings covering 11,165 sq m with work set to run over three years. Wates and Coventry City Council are the clients on the scheme (Project ID: 09234263).

Contract opportunities on smaller school projects are also emerging under the government’s rebuilding programme. In the East Midlands in Leicester, tenders are currently being invited for a £4.5 million school rebuild at Catherine Infant School where work is due to start towards the end of this year and run for ten months (Project ID: 21058083).

Future pipeline

The future pipeline for smaller school projects beyond this year also looks healthy. Across the country, Glenigan data highlights dozens of rebuild projects at schools selected under the School Rebuilding Programme – typically valued at £5 million – which are at the pre-tender and pre-planning stage and where work is due to start over the next 18 months.

One example is St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Billingham which has been chosen as one of the second set of 50 schools under the programme. Work on the £5 million re-build is pencilled in to start in July next year and run for 12 months (Project ID: 21339607).

 

Source: Glenigan

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Demolition to begin on the fire-damaged Park Primary School building

Images by Sandy McCook.

 

The remains of the fire-damaged Park Primary building in Invergordon will finally be demolished next week.

The building suffered two devastating fires in February 2020 and another in February 2021.

The blazes left the building a hollowed-out shell with the roof badly damaged.

The first fire occurred on February 24, 2020, when pupils and staff had to evacuate the building, resulting in the site being closed off.

 

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Schools’ campaign response to government’s education climate strategy

Photo: Kings Academy Ringmer School in Lewes, East Sussex, a Let’s Go Zero school, has been working on becoming more sustainable since 2005. The school has 70kW of panels on their roofs.The Let’s Go Zero campaign wants all schools to have the ability to generate their own energy.  

UK Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, ‘shows promise’ but needs significantly more money and greater urgency, says schools’ climate campaign

Let’s Go Zero – a schools’ climate campaign which has more than 1,200 UK schools, colleges and nurseries signed up so far, all sharing the goal to be zero carbon by 2030, has responded to the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change strategy launched in advance of Earth Day on Friday. The campaign’s response is ‘must do better, far, far quicker’.

Let’s Go Zero, representing over 104,000 teachers and nearly 620,000 pupils and rising rapidly, was invited to input to the strategy and while they recognise that it includes several steps in the right direction, it does not go anywhere near far enough, fast enough in the face of a climate emergency.

Harriet Lamb, CEO of climate charity Ashden which leads the Let’s Go Zero campaign, says: “We welcome many aspects of this strategy, including our suggestions that every school have a Climate Action Plan, a Sustainability Lead, and include sustainability and climate change in teacher training. But providing schools with the means to decarbonise quickly was glaringly absent in the strategy.”

Let’s Go Zero want the Department of Education to commit to other key policies, including an urgent retrofit of the school estate and to commit to all schools being zero carbon by 2030.

“We must invest now in a national programme to retrofit the nation’s schools. Providing adequate funding for action now will save hard-pressed school budgets as fuel prices are sky rocketing, boost local businesses, create new jobs, and support the government’s net zero and levelling-up targets,” continues Lamb.

“This strategy is completely lacking in urgency; the government needs to push harder.  We’d give them a ‘Good’ for effort but it simply doesn’t reflect the need for drastic and urgent action as so recently highlighted by the IPCC. We cannot fail our children and jeopardise their future by being too slow.”

Letters from students at St Augustine’s School in Scarborough will be handed to Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of State for Education by Let’s Go Zero today at the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change strategy launch. The students make it clear that they want immediate action.

A letter from a Year 8 pupil signed ‘a concerned student’ said: “Dear Mr Education Secretary…You need to step it up, the planet needs our schools in the UK to be environmentally friendly to our planet. You need to do more, because it doesn’t take 10 years to be sustainable. Step it up and try and make our planet more healthy before 2030.”

 

Let’s Go Zero, which was named in the strategy as working with the Department for Education on setting targets for schools, will continue to work with the schools to monitor and report on their energy in future, while also pushing government for ambitious action to be taken much quicker, and for immediate funding to be given to schools so they can adapt and retrofit the school estate as a matter of urgency.

The government have committed in the strategy to piloting new building technologies that may support the future retrofit of the education estate, but they won’t roll that out further until 2025.

“This is too late. Schools need money to decarbonise now – it’s as simple as that,” says Ms Lamb. “They know what needs to happen, but few can afford the expensive infrastructure changes. Cutting energy use through insulation and generating their own energy on-site will help reduce high energy bills now in response to today’s energy crisis.”

Let’s Go Zero schools take action to cut their emissions relating to transport, waste, food, water, the school grounds, energy use, procurement and in their teaching, and are supported by a coalition of eight leading sustainability organisations that work in schools. The campaign is also backed by Trusts and Academies and the Church of England, amongst many others with a deep interest in the sustainability of schools and the future for children.

 

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ASHDEN WEBSITE

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£1.3m IN DAMAGES FOR LEAKY ECO SCHOOL

Sarah Wigglesworth told to pay £1.3m over leaking Yorkshire eco-school

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects (SWA) has been ordered to pay a local council £1.3 million in damages over ‘long standing’ issues with an eco-school in West Yorkshire

The London-based practice’s RIBA award-winning Sandal Magna Primary Academy in Wakefield has been celebrated as one of the most carbon-efficient schools in the UK and was built in cross-laminated timber (CLT).

But despite only being open since 2010, the building in Belle Vue Road has been plagued with problems, with leaks in its roof leading to multiple repair jobs, timber decay, and children being moved into temporary classrooms.

The issues with Sandal Magna became more severe in 2020 after the council decided to replace the defective roof on the £5.2 million building. Midway through the project, the builder moved to the main teaching block where it discovered ‘extensive’ timber rot and ‘significant structural concerns’.

Following an independent investigation, the decade-long saga has come to a head with an adjudicator deciding last week SWA should pay the council £1.3 million in damages.

Last week Wakefield Council said the adjudicator had decided the architect was ‘largely responsible’ for the issues, although there were also problems with the original construction company’s design responsibilities and workmanship on the roof.

But in a statement, SWA said it did not agree with the adjudicator and had sought to challenge the decision.

‘For purely commercial reasons, SWA entered into a settlement agreement with the council, the terms of which are confidential and cannot be disclosed save to say that the parties agreed that the settlement should not be represented or construed by [the council] as an admission of liability or wrongdoing on SWA’s part,’ the practice said.

It added: ‘The recent adjudication award is a disappointment to SWA, which strove for quality as with all its projects. Adjudication is, by its very nature, rough and ready justice.’

The 2020 issues prompted council leader Denise Jeffery to launch an investigation by Anthony Collins Solicitors, which released findings in July 2021. It found that leaks were a ‘consistent issue’ that led to the school being closed and damage being caused on multiple occasions.

It also found that a number of surveys and reports had been made on the roof, with the majority showing the problems were due to ‘poor build quality and bad workmanship’.

According to the report, the contractor Allenbuild had struggled with the architect’s ‘quirky’ and ‘unorthodox’ approach, and there were errors in the design.

‘It appears that, on paper, the design was workable. However, issues arose when SWA turned the design into a 3D building to be built in practice,’ the report said.

It continued: ‘It appears that the design was complicated and Allenbuild struggled with the build. However, this does not negate that the building appears to have been poorly built and that the project appears to have been poorly managed by [project manager] NPS.’

It revealed too that there had been disagreement between the contractor and the architect from the outset, with the report highlighting an email dispute over cladding choices from 2009.

There were also issues between SWA and NPS. At procurement stage, the report said SWA had requested that it be hired directly rather than being procured through NPS.

It said: ‘It appears that SWA wanted more control of the project to realise their vision in their design brief, which suggested environmental and structural engineers for the building aspect of the works. There also appears to have been tension between SWA and NPS at an early stage.’

The report was also critical of the council, saying it should have acted quicker to replace the roof and that although surveys were carried out, the earlier studies did not look at the foundations to identify that the wooden structures of the walls were becoming damp and rotten.

SWA was appointed to the project, its first school, in 2005 with its design based on an ‘exemplar’ scheme the practice created for the DfE’s Building Schools for the Future programme.

The new building for Sandal Magna was designed to accommodate 210 pupils aged between 5-11 years alongside nursery provision for 26 children.

The 2003 design brief identified that sustainability should be considered at all stages of the building process, and the completed school included a ground source heat pump, natural ventilation and rainwater harvesting. It won a RIBA award in 2011.

The project faced funding issues early on, and a value engineering exercise was undertaken in early 2007 to reduce the costs of the works.

SWA added: ‘SWA is extremely saddened by the disruption caused over the past years to the workings of the school, which, during the design process, was a supportive and inspiring client.’

Vicky Schofield, Wakefield Council’s acting corporate director for children and young people said: ‘We welcome the adjudicator’s decision, which confirms responsibility for these longstanding issues. Thankfully the matter is now resolved, and the completed building has been formally handed over to the academy trust.’

Source: Architects Journal

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OUT OF PORTACABINS AND INTO CLASSROOMS

Bolton: Plan lodged for new Gaskell Community Primary School building

 

Children at a popular Bolton primary school could move “out of portacabins” and back to classrooms thanks to plans for a new building.

The plans will see Gaskell Community Primary School on Thomas Holden Street create a new two-story building to provide classes for up to 120 children who, until now, have had to make do with temporary cabins in the school’s car park.

If the plans are realised, they will be taught in a new building on the eastern part of the site, next to the main school.

Bolton’s executive cabinet member for children’s services Cllr Anne Galloway said: “The capital funding for the expansion at Gaskell Primary school has been welcomed by the pupils and staff at the school.

“It’s great news that the pupils can move out from their portacabins into the new extension.”

This comes after a decision taken by Bolton Council in 2018 to provide more places for school children in the area.

At the time, Gaskell did not have space in its main building and so the temporary classrooms were installed in the meantime on the school car park.

This created space for another 120 children but meant that car parking space was lost, and that teachers and other members of staff had to use a nearby church car park instead.

he plan has been prepared by Lungfish Architects Ltd

The school received a £1million funding boost in August last year to help it cope with the additional spaces and this will now be put to good use with the new expansion, one of several the school has undergone in recent years.

Lungfish Architects Ltd, which has prepared the plan for the new building says that the proposal, as well as making space for children to learn will also free up space for up to 30 vehicles in the car park.

The work will also include demolishing a vacant building on the site that had previously been used as a community facility, but which has been unused for some time since and has fallen into a poor condition.

The plans will be open for neighbourhood consultations until Thursday April 28.

Source: The Bolton News

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Life without Limits Centre for Blind Children

RSBC Opens new Centre in London for blind children – The Richard Desmond Life Without Limits Centre

An innovative and unique new Centre in the heart of London has been opened by the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC), a national charity working with vision impaired children and young people.

RSBC has now moved into the new Richard Desmond Life Without Limits Centre, realising a dream to deliver a space dedicated to supporting blind and partially sighted children and their families.

The Centre, located within the iconic Northern & Shell building on the north bank of the River Thames near London Bridge, will be a hub for the work of the RSBC throughout England and Wales.

It has been designed by world-leading architects EPR Architects, who have transformed a previously unused lower ground floor into an inclusive, vibrant and engaging space for blind and partially sighted children, young people and their families.

The design and fit out of the Centre includes a media suite, an accessible kitchen, small meeting spaces for one-to-one support, and a large flexible space for group activities.

Children and young people will be supported to take part in activities both at the Centre and across England and Wales, with state-of-the art technology and virtual sessions. They will be able to engage in creative activities including song writing, making music, and writing poetry. The media suite will enable the children and young people to produce podcasts and other digital content, and in the accessible kitchen they will be able to have cookery sessions or cook-a-long via the live online sessions. The Centre also has a dedicated modern office space for RSBC’s staff.

Sue Sharp, the Society’s CEO said: “We’re excited to be welcoming the children, young people and families to the Life Without Limits Centre and introducing them to its incredible new facilities. It was always our ambition to create a space that was designed especially for blind and partially sighted children and young people – a space where they can come together to share their hopes and experiences, and where we can support them to develop their skills and confidence to pursue their dreams and ambitions.”

“All of us at RSBC have seen how the lives of blind and partially sighted children and young people can be transformed with the right support. We believe that The Richard Desmond Life Without Limits Centre delivers on that ambition and provides the infrastructure to enable us to support many more to achieve their dreams.”

“We’re immensely grateful to the team at Northern and Shell and, in particular, their Chairman, Richard Desmond for making the space available, and to him and the many other donors and professionals who have generously given their money, time and expertise to create this truly remarkable space, and for helping to make change in the lives of blind children and young people. It has been a huge collective effort and we owe an immense debt of gratitude to every one of them.”

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DEANESTOR FITS OUT NEW £14m PRIMARY SCHOOL IN WEST LOTHIAN

 

Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading fitout specialists, has provided bespoke furniture and fitout services for a new £14m primary school in West Lothian.

The new Calderwood Primary was built by Morrison Construction Building Central and delivered by hub South East for West Lothian Council. It provides non-denominational primary education for up to 462 pupils and 128 nursery places – and was handed over ahead of the revised programme despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deanestor manufactured and installed around 1,250 items of bespoke fitted furniture for this project, including learning walls, storage cabinets, adjustable shelving units, tilting craft tables, shoebox storage, and worktops.

Around 3,000 items of loose seating, furniture and equipment were also procured and fitted by Deanestor for this project – from sports equipment and dining benches to lockers, white goods, pinboards, soft seating, banquettes, and bespoke wooden huts to provide seating and storage in different areas around the school.

 

Greig Jamieson, Commercial Director at Hub South East Scotland, said, “Deanestor contributed greatly to the fantastic project that is Calderwood Primary School which was handed over early to West Lothian Council. This was a particularly impressive feat given the challenging market conditions.”

“Feedback has been incredibly positive, and it is encouraging to see how excited pupils and staff are to begin their learning journey in their new school. We look forward to building on this success with Deanestor on further projects including the new Winchburgh Schools.”

Leader of West Lothian Council, Lawrence Fitzpatrick said, “The stunning new Calderwood Primary is a flagship addition to our school estate, which is already one of the best in the country. It has been designed and built with the learning experience at its heart and will help to create a focus for the new Calderwood community. There have been many challenges to deliver such a fine school against the backdrop of a global pandemic, so huge thanks to the project team and all the other contractors for their efforts to complete it on budget and ahead of the revised schedule.”

Designed by JM Architects, the new school features semi-open plan classroom accommodation with adjacent break-out zones and a series of flexible, interchangeable spaces. This educational environment is designed to encourage collaborative learning and to allow pupils of all ages to interact and learn from each other.

A maple finish was specified for most of the fixed furniture which contrasts with a mixed palette of colours for the loose furniture. Some of the linear storage was finished in white or with lilac coloured fronts in the staff rooms.

The fitout contract at Calderwood Primary follows Deanestor’s successful delivery of a £1m project for Morrison Construction for the manufacture and installation of fixed furniture for Barony Campus in East Ayrshire – a £68m, 2,500-pupil school. Deanestor has since been awarded the £1.8m furniture and fitout contract for a new £60m multi-school campus in West Lothian – its 12th contract for Morrison.

Deanestor manufactures and installs bespoke, robust, and flexible loose and fixed furniture solutions for early years, primary, SEN, and secondary education, fitting out areas such as classrooms, science laboratories, ICT, design and technology, atria, social dining spaces, break-out areas, sports facilities and changing rooms. Its experienced designers and project managers work with architects, contractors and directly with schools and local authorities, advising on specification of furniture and equipment to help deliver inspirational learning environments.

 

www.deanestor.co.uk

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STRIVING FOR GOLD

Striving for the Gold Standard: A Practical Guide to framework selection for public sector construction is a handy booklet for any public sector organisation seeking to understand how to go about choosing a framework within the 24 guidelines set out in the recent Gold Standard Framework report led by Professor David Mosey for the Cabinet Office.

Working together with a number of the UK’s largest building contractors, this practical guide has pulled out the fundamental principles of Professor David Mosey’s report and frames them in 7 simple questions to ask any framework to get a better understanding of what they should expect.

 Kingsley Clarke, Operations Lead at SCF said:

“We recognise that the 24 recommendations set out in the Gold Standard Framework report are complex. This document pulls out the fundamental principles that sit at the core of the Gold Standard guidelines and frames them in a set of simple questions and pointers that you, as a public sector organisation, can take to any framework.

“We’ve consulted with our contractors and listened to our clients to create this resource and we hope that it helps you to ask the right questions towards a better understanding of how a Gold Standard framework should be operating.”

 

The booklet is authored by Southern Construction Framework in collaboration with BAM, Willmott Dixon, Speller Metcalfe, Kier, GRAHAM and Galliford Try.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE GUIDE

 

www.scfconstruction.org.uk

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An Important Step for Positive Learning

Dumfries and Galloway Council appoints hub South West to deliver the new Dumfries High School

 

Dumfries and Galloway Council has appointed hub South West Scotland, the construction and infrastructure-focused partnership which works with local authorities and private sector enterprises in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, to develop the new Dumfries High School.

One of 25 projects selected as part of Phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), the new school will accommodate a school roll of 796 pupils with construction on the existing site.

The project will deliver enhanced Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) learning, embedded within the curricular offering and facilities shaped to support this and enhance the pupil experience.

Teacher training will also be a focus, allowing opportunities for new and aspiring teachers and educationalists to develop their skills in spaces design to support their development and growth, within a real school environment. In addition, the new Dumfries High School will continue to deliver enhanced sports and PE facilities.

Gillian Brydson, Director Skills, Education and Learning for Dumfries and Galloway Council said: “Dumfries High School is already at the heart of its community – our values of ambition and respect underpin our work to achieve the highest standards in all educational experiences.

“This investment is an important step in providing a positive learning environment for each and every learner at Dumfries High School and supports the wider ambitions of Dumfries Learning Town.”

Neil McIntyre, Project Management Lead for Phase 2 of Dumfries Learning Town at Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: “The new Dumfries High School will be recognised as a landmark community investment which will enhance the learning experience of our young people and will be also a beacon of community sports and leisure activity.”

Chief Executive of hub South West, Michael Ross, said: “We are delighted to deliver this exciting new project for Dumfries and Galloway Council as its development partner and to continue our partnership with the authority.

“Following completion of the tender process that is currently underway, we expect to announce the appointment of the wider team in the coming months.

“The new school building will achieve the highest standards of construction in line with the Scottish Government’s key measures of energy consumption, condition, digital, and economic growth and we believe that when completed it will be a continuing source of pride for the people of Dumfries for generations to come.”

 

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