Four Herefordshire schools are to get improvements worth nearly £1 million. But planned changes to one school have divided local opinion.
Up to £697,655 is being spent to upgrade heating, windows and doors at St Martin’s Primary School, Hereford.
This will “improve pupils’ educational experience and reduce ongoing building maintenance costs by addressing known defects and preventing further deterioration”, the record of Herefordshire Council’s decision says.
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Following a competitive tender the contract has gone to Jackwolf Group of Brierley Hill, which specialises in “creating safe, comfortable, and energy-efficient buildings”.
At Broadlands Primary School, also in Hereford, up to £108,753 will be spent on damp and window works. The contract has gone to local firm S C Joseph.
Up to £57,891 will be spent on “fire precaution works” at Clehonger Primary School west of Hereford, the work to be carried out by CF Roberts which has bases in Hereford and Cheltenham.
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And at Peterchurch in the Golden Valley, the primary school will get up to £55,000 spent on emergency drainage works, to be carried out by Home Counties firm Express Solutions.
The current school building is due to be replaced shortly by a newbuild casting around £10 million. A decision on the planning application for this expected imminently.
Meanwhile the council has also approved a new “social, emotional and mental health base” from September at Trinity Primary School, also in Hereford.
This will provide targeted, short-term support for up to 16 pupils with an education, health and care plan, who “will benefit from a structured environment and support from specialist staff, with the aim of reintegrating them into mainstream education when ready”, the council said.
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It added that experience of similar bases in other Herefordshire schools “has been highly positive, improving inclusion and supporting better outcomes”, adding it “will be funded in the same way as special schools”.
A public consultation earlier this year found that while 22 respondents favoured the move, eight objected or expressed concerns about potential disruption to current pupils, about capacity at the school and “general uncertainty about readiness” for the scheme.
Other schools were looked at as a venue for the base, but “very few have sufficient space or appropriate infrastructure”, the council explained.
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