Sellindge Primary School

Playle & Partners LLP were appointed by Kent County Council in March 2019 to develop the modular classroom extension at Sellindge Primary School. We progressed the design in close consultation with the Client and the school leadership team, including the appointment of various sub-consultants to carry out the necessary surveys and detailed design requirements.

The scheme encompassed the creation of a new classroom building which provides six new classrooms with associated WC’s and stores, new parking provisions, new hard standing and landscaped play area. The new classroom building is required as result of an influx of families from a new local housing development.

Services

Our Design Team worked collaboratively with the Quantity Surveyors, the Main Contractor (Building Associates) and the modular contractor (Cotaplan) to create a design that works efficiently and functionally. The location of the block was specifically chosen to create an enclosed central play area that complimented the existing school use and day-to-day running of the school. Careful consideration was needed throughout the project due to the children always requiring a safe play environment. This means that the children, staff and parents would need to be safe from hazards inside and outside the play area perimeter. To discourage bullying between pupils, it was decided that there would be no doors to the bathroom area, so that staff could monitor behavior.  Each cubicle had a door for privacy.

The works also included an improved and developed car park, using a Sustainable Urban Drainage System. The carpark was implemented with gravel-filled interlocking paving grids; the method used is a 100% recycled cellular porous grid paving system. Also, to provide an increased level of sustainability, the car park uses an electric charging point for cars, promoting environmentally friendly travel methods for the staff and visitors of the primary school.

Constructing the stand-alone modular classroom extended the school with six classrooms expanding the school’s capacity by one form of entry, providing a modern and exciting development for teaching children. Not only does the school have a new classroom block but a larger car park and playground. The building has also been designed to accommodate a future first floor expansion if required. This future planning provides flexibility and easy adaptability. As shown in the photographs, the modular classroom block uses brick slips to match the existing material palette of the surrounding buildings, mirroring the existing classrooms. Brick slips offered the versatility needed and chosen as the external finish for the new classroom building.

A member of our Architecture team provided a presentation and interactive workshop, including props, to the junior pupils at the school. The pupils were cast as characters in the story of how a project starts and gets to site, for example the “QS Team” were given calculators, “Mechanical & Electrical engineers” had light bulbs and toilet rolls, and we explained the reasons for using Modular Construction Techniques on this project. We received the below feedback from the Client:

“KCC always try and support curriculum opportunities on school projects, I asked Michael a few weeks ago if he would be prepared to join me in talking to some of the pupils about our jobs, as part of a careers project. He agreed and today we spent most of the afternoon with years 3 and 4. I just wanted to pass on my formal gratitude for the effort and conduct he displayed. Apart from the round of questions he arranged an interactive activity for the children involving role play and props to illustrate the construction process. As a result the children had a fun and informative afternoon. Michael was a great ambassador for Playles as well as the project and district authority.”