Bowman Academy, which is situated on the former site of St Botolph’s Primary School, located to the east of Shepshed on Loughborough Road, will see pupils benefit from a range of facilities to suit their needs. This includes classroom suites with vinyl areas to support practical learning, a sensory “dark room”, practical teaching spaces including a domestic kitchen, a library, a calming room, and a main hall with a demountable stage.

The new build SEND school, which has been designed sympathetically to the needs of SEMH learning, has space for 64 pupils, with facilities for 16 primary-aged children across two ground floor classrooms, with the remaining 48 secondary-aged pupils split across two ground floor classrooms, and a further four on the first floor. The first floor also has an additional three classrooms for practical uses.

Multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard was behind the scheme, providing architectural services for main contractor Bowmer + Kirkland, which was procured by the Department for Education (DfE) under the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC1) framework.

Joe West, associate at Pick Everard, said: “Working on SEND schools is always a privilege, with unique design applications and special consideration for the needs of a diverse range of learning.

“Creating an environment that is both functional and comfortable for pupils was central to the aims of the project, which should in turn aid the school in attracting and retaining students in the area.

“The construction technique employed on this project was a fully offsite solution, so thorough sequencing and planning was paramount to ensure all materials were delivered safely and successfully, as well as meeting the highest standards.

“We’re delighted to have worked alongside Bowmer + Kirkland once again to deliver this fantastic academy for pupils in the area with SEMH needs.”

Driving sustainability initiatives, Bowman Academy’s design includes a ‘fabric-first’ approach, which reduces the energy requirements of the building through measures including high levels of insulation, heat recovery and air tightness.

High efficiency boilers have been installed at the school, which will be run by the Community Inclusive Trust (CIT), as well as LED lighting with occupancy and daylight controls for resource management. The building also has glare control and sustainable natural ventilation, providing a low energy cost solution.

Additionally, the site includes a photovoltaic panel array, providing a ten per cent energy consumption offset from renewable technology.

Steve Waldron, contracts manager at Bowmer + Kirkland, said: “We have been working for the DfE since 2013 and are proud of the 73 schools we have completed, but specialist schools are unique in the enormous difference they make to the pupils and their families. We are delighted to continue our relationship with Pick Everard to deliver another fantastic facility which will improve the lives of so many young people.”

Cllr Deborah Taylor, cabinet member for Children and Families at Leicestershire County Council, said: “It is exciting to see the school completed and we’re looking forward to it opening and welcoming new pupils.

“The building of Bowman Academy part of a wider program to ensure provision is available to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Leicestershire, as close to their homes as possible.

“This includes both the building of special schools and creating provision in mainstream schools.”

James Ellis, CIT’s director of SEND education, said, “This is a very exciting time for Bowman Academy. SEMH is a unique sector of education requiring distinctive building design to support the delivery of specialist teaching and care for pupils.

“We look forward to welcoming children in Shepshed and the surrounding area to our new setting and supporting them to develop the knowledge and skills they need to help them thrive in adult life.”

The proposals for the first primary school at the development of the former barracks at Waterbeach have been announced by Cambridgeshire County Council. The new school will be called Deneia Primary Academy, to reflect the history of the area, and will be a part of Anglian Learning, a multi academy trust based in East Anglia covering Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.
The school will be built as part of Urban&Civic’s Waterbeach development and, subject to successful final planning permission, will offer education for children from age four through to eleven. Deneia Primary Academy will open from September 2024.

Anglian Learning has been working with Urban&Civic, Van Heyningen & Haward Architects, Cambridgeshire County Council and the constructors of the school, RG Carter, throughout the design stages. The new 630 place, 3 form entry academy will have extensive grounds and will be an environmentally friendly building. The school will be built as a nearly net zero energy building and whole life carbon emissions are minimised within the proposals. These designs will produce a building and grounds that are resilient in the face of climate change.

Provision for each year group at the school will be created using linked classrooms and shared breakout spaces to facilitate flexible and creative approaches to learning. The academy has additional facilities to provide bespoke provision for children with special educational needs.

The school has also been carefully designed into the wider development by providing nearby woodland play areas and a car free zone, so the children can walk, cycle and scoot safely to school. It will also have a shared public square in front of the school for parents to meet and the community to come together.

Jonathan Culpin, CEO of Anglian Learning (pictured), said: “We are delighted to be the sponsors for this new primary school. As a Trust our vision is for dynamic, empowered learners who will thrive and lead within their community. Deneia Primary Academy will be built with an outstanding setting and learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, and this will enthuse the children in their learning and deliver on our ambition.”

Rachael Johnston, Executive Headteacher for Deneia Primary Academy, said: “I am thrilled to be leading the establishment of this new school for Anglian Learning. The eco-credentials of the school build with sustainable and reusable materials, will significantly influence our curriculum. For example, the extensive grounds, including mature woodland, pond and wildlife area will provide the opportunity for outdoor learning through our Forest School whilst the orchard, with heritage fruit trees, will provide pupils with the experience of growing their own food and will be incorporated in lessons on cookery and nutrition.

“As an Anglian Learning school, there will be a strong focus on the arts, due to the formal Memorandum of Understanding that the Trust has with Arts Council England and our commitment to embed arts and culture within all of our academies.”

Caroline Foster, Project Director at Urban&Civic (pictured), said: “This is a significant milestone for the development, and we are really pleased to be working with an Academy Trust that shares our vision for the community. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the County Council and Anglian Learning on the delivery of Waterbeach’s first primary school in an inspirational woodland setting.”

Deneia Primary Academy will be the sixteenth school to join Anglian Learning. Formed in 2016, the Trust spans education from early years through to Year 13 with nine primary schools, six secondary schools including two sixth forms.

The new school will have a Local Governing Body, comprising members of Anglian Learning, the local community and parents. It will be at the heart of the community at Waterbeach New Town, a thriving, diverse community in a sustainable and well-connected location in Cambridgeshire. The development will be delivered in phases with each phase containing the facilities, amenities and services the new community needs – from homes and schools through to green space, play areas, sports facilities, shops, eateries and community spaces, all connected by an extensive network of footpaths and cycleways.

To find out more about Deneia Primary Academy and to register an interest in places at the school, please contact enquiries@anglianlearning.org.

The free special academy will cater for 80 special education needs (SEN) pupils and is being delivered via the Department for Education Framework on behalf of Sheffield City Council.

The site is located in the south east of the city centre, on the grounds of a former special school. The new two-storey facility will be a simple linear block, comprising primary and office accommodation on the ground floor, with secondary provision and further office accommodation at first floor. The hall and dining accommodation, which includes a ‘quiet’ dining area, will be shared by all years and is located close to associated service space and external breakout and sitting areas.

Primary classrooms will be located on the ground floor to enable direct access to the dedicated outside social space. Internally, the primary school is separated from the secondary school through the use of a secure, pass door adjacent to the main entrance. At the heart of the school sits the library, hall and dining where primary, secondary and entrance routes converge.

During the design process, HLM Architects engaged with the school, academy sponsors, planning authority and local community through a series of structured workshops and held a public exhibition to integrate feedback before the submission of planning.

The design of the school is based on sustainability principles. This has included optimising daylight and natural ventilation within teaching spaces to promote a passive, sustainable approach. The site is being developed to enhance its ecological value, retaining mature landscape features, and incorporating sustainable drainage measures such as porous macadam and rainwater attenuation. Wherever possible sustainable or recycled materials have been specified without affecting the schemes durability, such as recycled plastic benches. The school is expected to open in February 2022.

John Gittins, Divisional Director at Tilbury Douglas Construction, said: “We are delighted to be working with HLM Architects to deliver the new Discovery Academy project for the Department for Education. Tilbury Douglas’ appointment to this project is real testament to the expertise within our team and our excellent track record in delivering some of the best education facilities in the UK.”

Nexus MAT Chief Executive Warren Carratt said: “We are beyond excited to be working with the DfE, Sheffield council, HLM and Tilbury Douglas to build or new special academy. We are passionate about bring greater choice and quality of offer to families in Sheffield, and Discovery Academy will make a huge difference to the local SEND landscape. We have been actively engaged with the design process throughout, and the school has been planned with needs of our specific learners in mind”.

AJ Taylor, Associate at HLM Architects, said: “The design of this school has been driven by the creation of a high-quality, personalised provision for pupils with autism-spectrum conditions with related social, emotional and mental health needs, as well as a range of other learning difficulties which will result in a safe and nurturing learning environment.”

The state-of-the-art 12,000 sqm facility spans five floors and features a double-height atrium. The development aims to not only bring together many of the institution’s engineering disciplines, but also provide opportunities for successful collaboration between academia and the industry.

Procured through the Constructing West Midlands framework, the School of Engineering puts industry at the heart of the University’s campus, alongside the £16.4M UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) Centre of Excellence in Digital Systems.

The facility’s design was curated specifically with agile and collaborative working between academics, researchers, students, and staff, in mind. The development offers open plan spaces and cellular facilities including a dedicated Student Support Hub, a new 179-capacity Design Centre, a 50-seat electronics and electrical focused projects space, 20 flexi-bays specifically allocated for staff and student interactions, three 50-seat seminar rooms and also features 160 drop-in study spaces throughout the building.

The basement also houses a full-size set of railway points, the University’s pantograph test rig and a test track for the scaled hydrogen-powered train – further expanding the university’s commitment to the integration of academia and industry.

Nick Gibb, deputy managing director for the Midlands at Willmott Dixon, said: “We are delighted to have completed such a significant development, both regionally and within the sector – the facility is set to pioneer advancements within engineering and digital systems research.

“Despite completing the final stages of the project during the Covid-19 pandemic, our teams optimised industry-leading safety and social distancing measures, which meant we were able to remain on-site throughout the pandemic and ultimately deliver the project to the agreed timescales. This development is the fifth major partnership we have entered into with the University of Birmingham, having recently completed the Teaching and Learning Building, along with the Green Heart campus development.

“One of our main aspirations for this development was to provide a highly energy-efficient building. Throughout the project we implemented a sustainability strategy to ensure the facility would be built and operated in an energy efficient way right from the outset, including the optimisation of Passivhaus design measures. These efforts, combined with the adoption of our industry-leading Energy Synergy process has enabled us to predict that 45% of the building’s energy consumption will come from unregulated sources, such IT equipment, lab equipment and external lighting. These sources are highly linked to occupant usage and can fluctuate throughout the building’s lifecycle.

Designed by Associated Architects, the School of Engineering demonstrates the university’s commitment to providing first-class engineering education. The development aims to improve student experience, allowing engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students to get involved in cutting-edge research and ensuring students graduate with a strong connection to the industry.

Head of the University of Birmingham’s School of Engineering, Professor Clive Roberts, said: “We are delighted to receive the keys to the newly built School of Engineering. We are committed to providing the best facilities for our staff, students and researchers, as well as enabling collaboration with our industry partners and encouraging different and more flexible ways of working.

“We are passionate about educating the next generation of engineers. Alongside accessing features such as the Design Centre and our expanded computer labs, our new building provides students with the opportunity to work with engineers across the disciplines. Their learning will mirror the workplace, encouraging and developing their understanding of industry and their role within it.

“The new building also sits alongside our new centre of excellence in railway innovation, the UK Railway Research Innovation Network (UKRRIN) Digital Systems Innovation Centre, placing industry at the heart of our campus. In the coming months, we are looking forward to opening its doors to welcome staff, students and industry partners.”

Warren Jukes, director from Associated Architects, said, “This scheme has afforded us the opportunity to design a beacon of engineering excellence, to attract the world’s best academics and students to the University of Birmingham. The project was a major engineering feat in its own right, and we take immense pride in overcoming the challenges it brought. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work closely with the School of Engineering, University and Willmott Dixon to realise such an inspiring facility that will enable growth and achieve research excellence.”

As part of Willmott Dixon’s commitment to leaving a legacy in the local community, throughout the development the contractor ran its Enrichment Programme in partnership with the University of Birmingham School for local pupils. The programme was created to broaden the students’ understanding of career opportunities whilst giving them a chance to develop their character virtues. The contractor also facilitated 157 student visits to the site, hosted 71 work experience weeks with local people and enabled 202 weeks of ‘on-site’ apprenticeship training.

As well as the secondary school, the campus will also include a primary school with a nursery and a sports centre that can be used by the community along with an all-weather 4G pitch, cricket pitch, running track, four football pitches and three tennis courts.

The secondary school, the first to be granted permission by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation’s planning committee in the Garden City, will be 8 form entry and joins three primary schools already in the area, two of which are open, and one is being built.

It is anticipated that 100% catchment of primary school children will be within a 5-minute walk and 92% catchment of secondary school children within a 15-minute walk from the campus.

That means only nursery school children will be allowed onto the campus to be dropped off by car as part of the Ebbsfleet Garden City healthy design guidance, with the car park protected by a barrier.

The schools and facilities will occupy an 11.1 hectare site, making it one of the largest educational facilities ever to be built in Kent.

The sports facilities are aimed at supporting more than 500 users at any one time and will be designed to a Sports England specification.

The development in Whitecliffe is the largest part of the Garden City where up to 6,250 new homes are planned alongside, community amenities, commercial and employment ventures, and leisure facilities.

Once the education campus is completed, the facilities will be managed by Alethia Anglican Academies Trust

Mark Pullin, Chief Planning Officer with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said: “We are thrilled Ebbsfleet Garden City will be home to this great campus that will not only be one of the largest educational facilities in Kent but will also bring massive benefits to the emerging communities that will form over the next few years as well as those that have already made the Garden City their home.”

The scheme was described by the planning department as demonstrating a strong commitment to design quality at every scale, from the strategic master planning of the campus and its integration into the surrounding village, through to the consideration of ventilation and solar access of individual classrooms and the set-up of outdoor learning spaces.

The scale and design of the scheme will reference the site’s industrial and agricultural heritage, with the brickwork of the primary school drawing on the original reddish-brown quarry topsoil, and the brickwork of the secondary school drawing upon the underlying chalk landscape.

The primary school and nursery will accommodate 446 pupils aged 3 – 11, while the secondary school will provide space for 1,680 students aged 11 – 18 years and will include a specialist-resourced provision for pupils with autism.

Also approved tonight were plans for 126 new homes at Ebbsfleet Green, an existing community in the Garden City.

The one- and two-bedroom homes will have 47 affordable homes including five wheelchair accessible properties.

It is the last phase of the development by Redrow, which moved its south east headquarters to the Garden City two years ago.

The application, submitted by Trafford Bruntwood LLP, to develop the premises into a state-of-the-art teaching and learning space, including a Human Performance Laboratory and an industry standard media suite, was approved at a meeting on Thursday 9th August 2018.

The application, which is also backed by planners How and architects BDP, is a first step towards wider development of the Trafford area as part of the extensive regeneration of Trafford.

Commenting on the application approval, Professor Craig Gaskell, CEO and Principal of UA92 said: “We are delighted that the decision to approve this application has been taken. UA92’s location in Trafford, and the prospect of bringing economic and social benefits to the area is a vital part of our vision for the university. Research demonstrates that a higher education organisation drives economic growth and social mobility within the local area. These are exciting times for Trafford and we are delighted to be at the forefront of them.”

Andrew Cooke, Bruntwood Regional Director, said: “We are thrilled planning consent has been granted so we can drive forward with plans to develop a new strategic site for the UA92 campus, in one of the city’s key regeneration areas.

“We are confident this new vision for the former Kellogg’s site, will not only spearhead much needed transformational change in Trafford, but will also help to create a more dynamic and successful community life for local residents, workers and future generations to come.”

Work is expected to start to renovate the building in September 2018. The first students will start at UA92 in September 2019.

The school’s vertical design consolidates 25 classrooms around a naturally-lit atrium with the age of pupils increasing as the building rises. The three-storey, glazed atrium creates a circulation core that separates the structure into two distinct volumes: one accommodates the teaching centre; the other contains the administrative and communal spaces, delivering the added benefit of opening the facility to the wider community outside of generic schooling hours.

Increasing the capacity of the school three-fold creates extra places for pupils that are sorely needed in Tower Hamlets, where demand for places is expected to rise by as much as 38% by 2022. Replacing a single-storey 1982 structure, Architecture Initiative’s design safe-guards the quaint ‘village-feel’ by expanding vertically to avoid sprawling across the site plan and consequently affecting the landscape.

Green space is incredibly important to Olga Primary School and the architect responds to this by incorporating a variety of terraced gardens and trees to create a rare ‘green oasis’ to inspire children within an exciting and unconventional environment. All year groups have immediate access to outside space – the ground floor to the gardens; the first floor to terraces; and the second floor to the roof – linking the pupils with the ecology of the surrounding area. The interior fit-out optimises a small palette of bright aquas and limes to complement the raw materiality of the pale concrete finishes and birch ply interior cladding – expressed in a contemporary, Scandinavian style. Large graphics ensure that the teals and greens of the site’s gardens are brought into the interior.

Lee Mainwaring, Design Director at Architecture Initiative, said: ‘Our aim is to ensure that a new generation of schools inspires and nurtures learning. Olga Primary School has been designed to interact with nature in different ways at each level which allows the school itself to encourage awareness of biodiversity, ecology and nature, which is often rare in an inner-city school.’

http://www.olga.towerhamlets.sch.uk/

Designed to demystify the process, the guide is a useful resource for employers looking to upskill staff, as well as teachers and careers advisors helping the next generation decide on the job prospects available.

Download the guide for free from: https://www.logic4training.co.uk/guides/ultimate-guide-careers-gas/

Mark Krull, Director at Logic4training, says: “Ultimately, we need more gas installers; hopefully our new guide will go some way to inspire new recruits!”

Work is underway to create a primary school for 420 pupils aged four to 11 at Bournville School, which is run by Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust.

The school will open its doors to its first pupils in September 2016, with places for 60 reception, 30 Year 1 and 30 Year 3 pupils.

The two-form entry school will continue to expand until it reaches full capacity by 2021, when it will offer 420 places for pupils across Years reception 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Four disused existing classrooms at Bournville School are currently being converted and will be refurbished in time for pupils starting in September.  Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council has approved planning permission to build a single-storey facility which will house a further four classrooms.

Work will start in October on developing the new building, which is due for completion by August 2017.

The development, funded by the Local Authority, will mean Bournville School will become an all-through school, catering for pupils aged four to 16.

The new primary school will create up to 20 jobs, with Kevin Mee being appointed as Head of Primary. Mr Mee is currently head teacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Darlaston, which is rated ‘good’ by education watchdog Ofsted.

Bournville School’s Head of Academy Nicola Gould said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the school as we expand to become an all-through school.

“Part of our ethos is to create a school in which pupils are able to discover their individual brilliance.

“In order to do this we need to nurture them academically, socially and emotionally.

“By starting at the school at the age of four and staying with us right up until they take their GCSEs, it means we will be able to get to know each child as an individual from an early age, developing them on an holistic level.

“We will help them to discover their true identities and give them the tools they need to let their talents shine.”

The school will be based in its own grounds, away from the secondary provision.  The Primary School will operate a different timetable to the secondary school, with its own starting and finishing times. The Primary School will also have different break and lunch times to the secondary school, as well as its own playground, main entrance and school office.

Andy Bird, CEO of Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust, said:  “We are delighted to be a pivotal part of the solution of addressing Birmingham’s shortage of primary places.

“As a Trust, we are committed to working in collaboration with the Local Authority to ensure students in Birmingham get a place at a school which is in their local area.

“It is a joy to watch as Bournville School begins its new chapter in its journey as it expands to welcome primary aged pupils.

“Bournville School will be the first all-through school to operate in South West Birmingham and it offers a truly unique opportunity for parents wanting their children to attend a school where they will be nurtured and developed from the age of four up until they are 16.

“We are an innovative and forward-thinking Trust and we are always striving to find ways to grow and strengthen our schools.

“We look forward to welcoming Bournville School’s first primary pupils in September.”

The news comes as the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency revealed in April that one in four primary schools in the West Midlands is full or over capacity and the region is going to need another 50,000 school places by 2017.

In Birmingham, 107 out of the city’s 299 primary schools are full or have more pupils than they should, according to the figures.

The shortage of places saw one in seven children in Birmingham missing out on their first preference of primary school for the 2016/17 academic year.

Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, a member of the Portakabin Group and the UK’s largest supplier of refurbished Portakabin buildings, has been awarded a £1.6 million contract to build a purpose-designed sixth form centre at Higham Lane School in Nuneaton.

Higham Lane is the joint highest-performing state-funded secondary school in Warwickshire, and has performed within the top 100 of all secondary schools in England.  The new building, which is now under construction by Foremans, will allow the school to provide a high quality, direct, post-16 progression route for its students for the first time, maintaining standards and outcomes far above national levels.

The sixth form centre will be built by Foremans using 52 recycled and refurbished steel-framed modules. The two-storey building will be delivered in less than six months from receipt of order to be open in time for the school’s first intake of sixth form students in September this year. Cranage of the refurbished modular structure is being timed for the school holidays to minimise any disruption to teaching.

This is Foremans’ 11th school project with education construction consultants Surveyors to Education who are designers and contract administrators for the scheme.

The building will feature large amounts of glazing for a high level of natural light, with brick cladding to complement neighbouring facilities, and areas of bright red rainscreen cladding to reflect the school’s colours.

Commenting on the project, Ben Elliott, Director of Corporate Services at Higham Lane School said, “There is a shortage of quality sixth form provision in our area and feedback from students has indicated a strong preference to stay on and study for A-levels at Higham Lane School.”

“The Foremans pre-owned approach offers us significant benefits – it is very cost effective and the building will look brand new once it is completed. It is giving us more certainty to have the new sixth form up and running by September because the majority of fitting out takes place off site. Knowing that Foremans is a member of the Portakabin Group gave us even greater peace of mind along with their excellent relationship with Surveyors to Education.”

Martin Hier, Director at Surveyors to Education said, “The school wants this to be a statement building which will also blend in well with existing facilities. It is designed to meet the specific requirements of sixth form learning, which includes teaching spaces to accommodate smaller groups.”

“We have a strong and long-standing relationship with the Foremans team and enjoy pushing the boundaries on each new education scheme we collaborate on. We take a standard building solution and enhance it to meet the school’s requirements – whether that is for aesthetics or as here, specific classroom sizes.”

“We would definitely recommend recycled modular buildings to other schools and colleges. The approach is very sustainable because we are re-using an existing building structure – which is still in perfect condition, and at the same time we can reduce lead times and carbon emissions. Foremans modular buildings are also really flexible so layouts can be reconfigured to meet changing local needs.”

The Higham Lane sixth form centre will accommodate up to 300 16-19 year-old students and will have 17 seminar rooms, an art room, two science laboratories, and common room with café area.

Foremans’ 10 previous projects with Surveyors to Education have included a two-storey school complex at Billingbrook School in Northampton and a single-storey community college building with five classrooms and an IT hub at Winstanley College in Wigan.

For further information about refurbished Portakabin buildings, visit www.foremansbuildings.co.uk, email info@foremansbuildings.co.uk, or call 01964 544344.