Value: £8.2m

Social Value Return on Investment: £3.01

The Brief:

Following the 2017 inspection of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) across the city, Hull Esteem was appointed by Hull City Council to produce a SEND Sufficiency Strategy. This identified the need for more variety of learning environments so SEND children could get the additional support they needed to access mainstream settings. 

Humber Education Trust was keen to dovetail this inclusive approach with existing plans to re-build Broadacre Primary, in response to growing pupil numbers in the surrounding area. 

On top of this, having outgrown the existing 40-year-old Broadacre Primary School, the new school needed to accommodate the growing population numbers in the area following the rise and expansion of local housing. Hull Esteem appointed Sewell Construction to carry out the works.

The Solution:

The design philosophy from the outset was to create a shared facility whereby all spaces are interconnected, both within the new base and with the wider school to provide a flexible and blended approach to learning. The ability to access mainstream classes alongside their peers was crucial, to support learning, integration, and enhanced pupil experiences – with the base providing a familiar, comfortable space to return to as and when needed.

The school staff and the Council’s SEND advisory team were actively involved in the design process, with regular meetings, visits to other schools for research purposes and sharing best practice.

Our solution also needed to take into consideration functional design elements that were compliant with a series of documents and school building bulletins, ensuring the highest quality was achieved.

Adopting an innovative, collaborative approach, we hosted weekly design workshops from pre-construction throughout the entirety of the project. This was to scope out what was needed to develop a state-of-the-art building that enhanced both mainstream and SEND learning for the community. With Sewell Construction, as our supply partner we utilised BIM to create a fly-through of the space allowing the school and the Trust to understand how the building would work operationally. A virtual “day in the life” allowed us to see how each element of the new facility inter-connected, providing an understanding of movement and flow through the school.

Together, we developed a phased delivery plan:

  1. Completion of the multi-use-games-area,
  2. Construction phase-
  • Ground floor – x6 Key Stage One classrooms, open plan Foundation Stage space equivalent to x4 classrooms, x1 large hall with catering facilities, x1 small hall, 10-place ASC base with x2 classrooms, x1 sensory room, x1 de-escalation room, breakout area.
  • First floor – x6 Key Stage Two classrooms, x2 group rooms, x1 food bay.
  • Second floor – x6 Key Stage Two classrooms, x1 group room, x1 library, x1 SEND therapy room.
  • Additional elements– wellbeing room, staff workrooms, reprographics, staff community area, enhanced outdoor area and brand-new equipment for enhanced learning, double height spacing and roof lightwells creating a bright and open environment, modern ICT upgrades including interactive white boards and additional storage space.
  1. Demolition of existing school to create new playing fields, recreational play spaces and soft landscaping.

The Challenges:

  • Access and egress – having to share road to site access with multiple contractors in the middle of a major housing development,
  • Live school environment
  • Logistical challenges – sharing a car park with visitors, staff, and parents
  • Material delays due to covid, Brexit and other global issues (not just locally)
  • Escalating material and product prices
  • Developing a first for Hull’s education estate – bringing together expertise, best practice, and existing resource bases to create the first fully integrated SEND base within a mainstream primary school

The Results:

The team have successfully delivered an inclusive learning space for all, the first in Hull, which is fully integrated into a mainstream primary school.  

From an outdated, 40-year-old, single-storey primary school, to a brand-new three-storey building increasing Broadacre Primary School’s capacity by 210 places.

Now a 630-place school, the new-build includes a 52-place nursery enhanced external spaces and teaching areas, and a fenced multi-use-games-area.

With sustainability in mind, the build is expected to achieve BREEAM Very Good, and incorporates:

  • Solar PV on the roof,
  • Water saving dual flush sanitaryware,
  • Lighting on PIR sensors,
  • 6.3 airtightness on first test,
  • Combined natural and mechanical ventilation,
  • Recycled materials including furniture, fittings and equipment from existing school,
  • x6 dual electrical vehicle charging spaces.

The whole project was built to satisfy requirements of planning to enhance ecology and green space within the area. With the demolition of the old school well underway, the former site will be transformed into additional large playing fields.

The children have also been enjoying bug hotels and bird boxes around the school, as well as watching first-hand wildlife interactions from the CCTV in one of the boxes.

The ASC provision has welcomed three new students already and the specialist teachers are relishing in the space they have to provide the level of both blended and one-on-one support necessary. It provides an immersive experience through a dedicated room for sensory play and teaching including a blackout facility, bubble tubes, musical features, and feature lighting. 

Contractors, Sewell Construction, engaged with the school throughout the project, involving all pupils in celebrating milestones such as steel signing, topping out, MUGA completion, and demolition of their old school. 

Site inductions also included education around Autism, with over 795 tool-box talks delivered on the theme of inclusion, diversity, and fairness. A partnership with local charity, Goodwin Development Trust, involved young autistic artist, Luke, who created caricatures and worked with pupils on artwork for the new building. 

This success is testament to strong partnership working that has championed inclusivity and diversity, encouraged blended learning, and has the needs of pupils at its heart.