DfE has named the first 50 schools to be rebuilt or refurbished in the first phase of 10-year programme with a strong focus on the North and Midlands.

Almost three-quarters of schools to be rebuilt or refurbished in the first phase of the government’s new School Rebuilding Programme are in the Midlands or the North of England.

Fifty schools, listed today by the Department for Education, will be revamped into modern, energy-efficient environments providing new facilities from classrooms and science labs, to sports halls and dining rooms.

A total of £1 billion will be spent on the schools, including primary, secondary and special schools, which the DfE said last year were in areas “where school building conditions are worst”.

In addition, the DfE has today announced the building of 21 new free schools, including 10 in the most deprived areas of England, with three in Opportunity Areas.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The rebuilding projects are just the start of our major 10-year programme, transforming hundreds of schools and improving the education of tens of thousands of children.

School rebuilding: ‘Still an enormous backlog of refurbishment’

“Alongside this, over 15,500 children will now benefit from 21 new free schools across the country as we look to build back better after the pandemic.”

The Association of School and College Leaders said it was “delighted” with the investment, which would be “of enormous benefit to pupils and communities”.

However, general secretary Geoff Barton said: “Without wanting to be ungracious, let’s keep this announcement in perspective. There is still an enormous backlog of repairs and refurbishment needed to the whole school estate, and at the last count, it was estimated that it would cost £6.7 billion to return all school buildings to satisfactory or better condition.

“The government is making progress in the right direction, but frankly we hope for a day when all schools are able to have facilities fit for the 21st century.”

The DfE says project planning for the 50 building projects, of which more than 70 per cent are in the North and Midlands, is already advanced in a number of cases, following site visits last year, so construction can begin on the first projects from autumn 2021.

The majority are expected to be completed within three to five years. Projects will range from replacing or refurbishing individual buildings through to whole-school rebuilds.

The government says the programme will help to create jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities across England, with suppliers offering training and apprenticeships as part of their work on the rebuilds.

The DfE also says it plans to consult this year to gather views on how schools are prioritised for future rounds of the long-term programme, which is due to deliver 500 rebuilding projects over the next decade.

The government has also today announced that it is investing £10 million to support school sports and swimming facilities in England, which will be distributed through the public body Sport England.

Source: TES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With local school districts facing increased costs, aging school infrastructure, and an urgent need for schools and classrooms to alleviate crowded classrooms and ensure adequate fresh air ventilation to help reduce COVID-19 transmission, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-OH, joined Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, and Senate Democrats in introducing the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act. The bill would invest $130 billion in modernizing classrooms across the country and would help schools upgrade their physical and digital infrastructure. This Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act builds off of Sens. Brown and Reed’s Rebuilding America’s Schools Act of 2019 and the School Building Improvement Act of 2017.

Crumbling, outdated school infrastructure makes it tougher for students, teachers, and staff to safely return to school for in-person instruction. Comprehensive school modernization planning is a critical component of helping post-pandemic K-12 public schools become stronger and more sustainable than before the COVID-19 crisis. A June 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that over half (54 percent) of school districts nationwide need to update or replace multiple systems in their schools, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), or plumbing.

“Ohio students deserve to go to school in a safe environment that helps them learn and grow,” said Brown. “For years, state and federal governments haven’t provided the necessary investment in our school districts that are now put under further financial strain by the current pandemic. We must invest in our public schools and help them meet the needs of the whole child and the communities they serve.”

U.S. Representative Bobby Scott, D-VA, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor Committee, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The bill will create a federal-state partnership for school infrastructure. It will provide, over ten years, a total of $130 billion in direct grants and school construction bonds to help fill the annual gap in school facility capital needs, while creating nearly two million jobs.

Specifically, the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act will:

• Invest $100 billion in grants and $30 billion in bond authority targeted at public schools with high need and facilities that pose health and safety risks to students and staff;
• Create over 2 million jobs based on an Economic Policy Institute analysis that each $1 billion spent on construction creates 17,785 jobs;
• Allocate 2022 program dollars on an emergency basis to aid in safely reopening public schools in line with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) public health guidelines—such as for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems;
• Require states to develop comprehensive state-wide public databases on the condition of public-school facilities; most states do not track school facility conditions and would provide much-needed insight into the condition of our public schools; and
• Expand access to high-speed broadband to ensure that public schools have the reliable and high-speed Internet access they need for digital learning.

Source: Sidney Daily News

Space Architects designed the school

Manchester City Council is proposing a 92,000 sq ft secondary school on the site of the former Showcase Cinema on Hyde Road in Gorton.

The school would be operated by the Co-Op Academies’ Trust, which runs 25 education facilities in the North of England.

The 1,200-place facility, designed by Space Architects, would be built by contractor Sir Robert McAlpine to open in time for the 2022/23 academic year, subject to planning approval.

There would be a three-storey main school building linked to a sports hall block of two-storeys. In addition, the project features a 93-space car park, a drop-off area, grass football pitches and tennis and basketball courts.

Manchester City Council has highlighted the need for an additional secondary school in East Manchester to serve the area’s growing population.

Built in 1989 as part of the Belle Vue entertainment complex, the 14-screen cinema closed permanently in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 13-acre site is now owned by the city council.

Tetra Tech Planning is the planning consultant, BDP is the M&E engineer, and Hoare Lea is the fire consultant.

A separate application for the demolition of the 60,000 sq ft former cinema building is to be lodged in due course, according to the planning consultant.

The council had planned to build a 1,200-place school on Nutsford Vale in Gorton, but the authority scrapped its plans in favour of the Showcase site following opposition from local residents.

Source: North West Place

CGI of Stone Lodge School, due for completion in February 2022.

Construction work-proper has begun at Stone Lodge School following pre-construction works that included ecological investigations, moving wildlife and diverting public rights of way.

BAM Construction is working on the three-storey building with sister companies BAM Design and BAM Services Engineering. Architect KSS has been novated to BAM.

“The design at Stone Lodge takes account of learning from our recently completed scheme, the School of Science & Technology, in Maidstone,” said construction director Mick Kelly.

“That project was up-to-date evidence of how we go about our work. We have also got a highly experienced construction manager in Daniel Brenchley who lives in Kent and has built many education buildings across the county.”

Daniel Brenchley himself said: “By bringing more of the work in-house we increase co-ordination and reduce risks, which helps us deliver the programme for the school and it enhances our ability to use digital techniques and find modular solutions.

“BAM originally learned it had become successful in its competitive tender on the day lockdown was announced. So immediately we required an adjustment to this new way of working for our teams as we began to develop the design.”

Source: The Construction Index

Dean of Chester, the Venerable Dr Tim Stratford has joined city leaders in celebrating the launch of a new world-class centre of excellence for children with Special Educational Needs in Chester.

Abbey School for Exceptional Children, a day and residential school that caters for children and young persons aged four to 19 years with a diagnosis of autism and/or severe learning difficulties, opened this academic year.

The state-of-the-art school is based in a Grade II* listed building in the grounds of Chester Cathedral that has been transformed following a sensitive refurbishment. Over 200 new jobs are being created by the school, which is staffed by a highly trained multi-disciplinary team.

Employing a holistic approach, which targets learning and development through mutual engagement and participation, Abbey School combines learnings from special education research and best practice to provide an outstanding teaching and learning experience, with the wellbeing of pupils and staff sitting at the heart of the school’s philosophy.

Speaking following a tour of the newly refurbished school building, the Dean said he was proud that the school, which will provide children from across the region and the UK with access to a world-class education, was launching in Chester. He said: “Abbey School for Exceptional Children has an important role to play in improving educational provision for some of our most vulnerable young people and providing them with an enriching and rewarding experience – benefiting families, pupils and the wider community. We’re delighted to have Abbey School based with Chester Cathedral’s grounds and look forward to seeing the school grow and thrive.”

Welcoming the investment in the heart of the city, Andrew Lewis, Chief Executive of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “These new facilities for children and young people are a bold investment in the heart of the city, in one of our best loved city squares, re-purposing historic buildings for an inspiring new social purpose”.

Core to the school’s approach is a strategic research partnership with SEND experts at Bangor University and the University of Warwick – both institutions are globally renowned leaders in the field of SEND educational research and development.

Eventually, Abbey School plans to create an ‘open-source’ model for its research, where other schools and teachers will be able to access its research, and draw on the learnings and findings from ERA within their own educational settings.

Dr Katy Lee, Principal of Abbey School, said: “We’re thrilled to have successfully launched the school and to be offering a truly world-class educational resource for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and autism both across the region and from further afield.

“Abbey School has an important role to play as an exemplar model for SEND education in the UK that will help to shape the wider SEND landscape and influence how we approach and deliver education for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our society.

“Chester’s leaders and the wider community have really welcomed the school and supported us as we worked to bring this outstanding facility from vision to reality and we’re delighted to be a part of the city, and to have Chester recognised as a location with a nationally relevant SEND offering.”

Other key initiatives being developed by the school include the creation of a new app, which will enable the school to evaluate and ensure the wellbeing of all school users, and help to ensure optimum effectiveness of teaching and high levels of engagement across all year groups.

Source: BDaily