Nottingham City Council - Improvement Programme, Education

Project values: £75k - £424k

Client satisfaction: 8/10

Local spend within 20 miles: 100%

Local labour within 20 miles: 79%

Social Value generated: £167,221.68

Total amount spent through contract with local SMEs: £465,490

Communication was really good throughout the project and I knew exactly what was expected of me. The team worked well in making sure the works at the school did not affect the children - they were always available to provide information and responded accordingly to any requests."

Alison Tones

Headteacher | Rufford Primary School

Nottingham City Council is investing heavily in their local schools; its facilities review programme has identified where amenities need to be brought up-to-date, providing pupils with the best school experience possible whilst improving the energy efficiency of school buildings.

The programme has also addressed the reconfiguration of current spaces to suit new requirements. For example, as Rufford Primary School had reached its capacity, it needed to find a better way of adapting the existing school building to support children with special educational needs whilst minimising disruption, by creating new learning spaces.

Lindum has delivered numerous projects within this programme, procured via SCAPE’s Regional Construction framework. All schools have experienced the benefits of early contractor engagement, meaning that projects have completed in express timescales with exceptional results for the local community.

Nottingham City Council’s Major Projects team has extensive experience in supporting schools with a range of building projects, from fixing leaking roofs and replacing boilers to extending existing buildings to meet the demand for school places. Major Projects worked collaboratively with Lindum, acting as the representative for the schools throughout, and ensured that the works were delivered on time, on budget and met the needs of the school.

The social value created via this project was assessed through the use of the National TOMS (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) framework, established by the Social Value Portal.

Reconfiguration of Rufford Primary School (£424k) to better adapt the building to support pupils with complex needs. The school also needed to maximise the functionality of its classrooms: a new PPA room was required, a new SENCO room and two deputy head rooms, which double up as meeting rooms, and a hygiene room.
Re-roofing of existing 60+ year old slate pitch roof at Dunkirk Primary School which had reached the end of its serviceable life, and new UPVC window installation (£156k).
Re-roofing of Welbeck Primary School, and new UPVC window installation (£152k).
Replacement and installation of two high efficiency boilers at Crabtree Farm Primary School, including boiler room refurbishment to improve energy efficiency (£75k).

The majority of works were carried out during the school summer holidays, or half term periods, to minimise disruption to the schoolchildren.
However, working on school premises required a flexible approach during term times, meaning scaffolding was erected at the weekends to reduce interference with lessons. Skips and deliveries were also carefully coordinated on a daily basis, planned out-of-hours to avoid peak traffic times.
Lindum coordinated the safe removal of asbestos, given the age of the school buildings and associated facilities. At Crabtree Farm Primary, Lindum appointed an asbestos contractor to conduct a research & development survey of the 15 year-old boilers, to enable their isolation and safe removal by specialists.

The reconfiguration works at Rufford Primary allowed for more creative and effective use of spaces in an area of the school that wasn’t used to its full potential, rather than providing a costly new build. The improvements have allowed teachers to implement more effective behaviour management strategies.
Major Projects sought additional funding to enable further works at Rufford Primary, including a new hygiene room funded by Nottingham City Council’s Disabled Access Group. Combining funding sources meant that the school benefited by having more works undertaken at the same time that brought financial savings.
The upgraded boilers, windows and all re-roofing works have improved the schools’ energy performance and will also reduce future maintenance requirements.

Social Value

Local labour and local spend

The use of local labour and ensuring local spend remains at the heart of all projects procured via the Regional Construction framework. A strong example is the re-roofing works at Welbeck Primary: this project generated economic advantages for the local area, with 100% of the project spend being within 20 miles of the school.

Local Nottingham-based subcontractors continue to work on all projects, such as ABSN, an M&E contractor. Working with Crabtree Farm Primary, early engagement with the school allowed for a quick design turnaround and timely procurement of their new boilers. Entering into early pre-construction allowed for effective collaboration with ABSN, as Nick Clews, Contracts Director said, “It was a pleasure working with the Lindum team on this project”.

Social Enterprises

A local social enterprise, East Midlands Wood Recycling, were employed on all projects throughout Nottingham City Council’s schools programme. They have created timber-based outdoor products to donate to the schools, such as “mud kitchens”, picnic benches and playground equipment.

Our reclaimed items are made by local volunteers who come from various backgrounds; this work provides experience in a work setting for those who would find it difficult to find work. We have enjoyed making the items with the knowledge that they will be put to good use in an educational setting."

Kevin Ellis

East Midlands Wood Recycling

Engaging schoolchildren

With a commitment to inspiring the next generation into construction, Lindum also delivered a ‘careers in construction’ assembly to 100 year five and six pupils at Rufford Primary.

100%

Local spend within 20 miles

79%

Local labour within 20 miles

Micro-businesses employed