Demand a rebuild of Newark Orchard Special School, stop the persistant delays!

The Newark Orchard School

A very special school for our very special children!

If judged by the standards of teaching and care that the pupils receive, the Orchard School in Newark is a very special school indeed.
However, if judged by the standards of its infrastructure and facilities, the Orchard School is definitely not fit for purpose!

This brief document has been prepared by the Newark Orchard School Parents Action Group following the disappointment of the decision announced early in February this year that the school was not to receive a total rebuild and, instead, that just the Key Stage 3 block was to be rebuilt.

The Orchard School caters for children aged from 3 to 19 years of age with a full range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

A brief history:
The Newark Orchard School is an amalgamation of the Appletongate School and the Linden School in Newark.
The Appletongate School was built in 1969, so the buildings are 46 years old, and catered for students with severe learning difficulties (SLD) and profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).
The Linden School was built in 1972, so the buildings are just three years younger, and catered for students with moderate learning difficulties (MLD).
The amalgamation of these schools came in 1996 at a management level, although the existing buildings and sites (with some refurbishment carried out based, presumably, on the perceived needs of the students at that time) remained in use.
The two sites, which are now known as Town site and London Road site, are just over a mile apart!
All of the school buildings appear to have been built as a part of the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme (CLASP). CLASP was a prefabricated system which utilised prefabricated light gauge steel frames that enabled buildings of up to four stories to be built easily and quickly.
Cynics in the 1970’s defined the acronym CLASP as actually meaning a “Collection of Loosely Assembled Steel Parts”.
The Key Stage 3 block on the Town site was originally a residential unit with an attached Warden’s flat and still contains two bathrooms (complete with full size baths) and a (condemned) kitchen.
The funding for this residential hostel was withdrawn at some time and the building became a part of the Orchard School.
In 2008, the Grove School and the Orchard School jointly submitted plans for complete rebuilds under the Building Schools for the Future programme – an initiative from the then Labour Government.
With the change of Government, came a change of policy and the axing of the Building Schools for the Future programme.
The Grove School rebuild is currently underway, as Newark Academy, unfortunately without the proposed rebuild of the Orchard School.
Following the change of Government, the Orchard School was put into the Capital Refurbishment Programme (a local authority initiative), but not until year three.
The plan was for work to commence in January 2014 and a huge amount of preparatory work was begun.
This included asbestos surveys which involved the drilling of hundreds of large holes in the buildings exteriors which can still be seen (with plastic tape patches over them to try to keep out the weather).
A new fire alarm system was planned (and is much needed) and wiring has been left hanging coiled from the ceilings throughout the buildings.
Much of the work was to have been done during the school Summer holidays, but once again the work was stopped.
This time with the promise that the school was being put forward for a total rebuild and so the renovation work was inappropriate.
Another bitter disappointment that has left the school even worse off than ever!
The announcement in February 2015 that, as a part of the Priority School Building Programme 2 (PSBP2), the KS3 block alone was to be rebuilt is far too little and far too late.

The Problems of the existing Infrastructure:
1. The school consists of two sites which are more than a mile apart and, from Easter 2015, a third site is being added for The Hub – a special unit for Autism – at the request of the Local Authority.
2. The existing buildings, most of which are nearly 50 years old, are in varying stages of decay.
3. Windows are rotten and in over 80% of the premises are single glazed;
4. Insulation throughout is totally inadequate, making it extremely difficult to keep the children warm and comfortable. There is insufficient space in the ceiling cavity for proper insulation to be used;
5. Fire doors are patched in many cases and provide insufficient protection;
6. The electrics are unsuitable for contemporary requirements and are unable to take the power demands of modern equipment;
7. The heating system is constantly breaking down, and the electric heaters overload the system;
8. Doorways are too narrow for modern wheelchairs and other equipment and there are no automatic buttons to open doors for wheelchairs (is this actually a breach of the Disability Discrimination Act?);
9. The roofs leak in many places when it rains, necessitating the use of buckets to collect rainwater;
10. Very necessary lifting hoists cannot be installed as the CLASP structure is unable to take the weight;
11. The drains do not have sufficient capacity to cope with the current volumes and are falling to bits, although temporary repairs have proved a stop gap solution;
12. External areas are very up and down with many steps which are totally unsuitable for wheelchairs and paths are irregular due to roots from nearby trees. Children in wheelchairs travelling between the KS3 building and the main building on Town site actually have to be wheeled out of the school itself, through an adjoining property and along the main road – whatever the prevailing weather conditions!
13. Lack of storage space is a significant problem. External sheds were used to store equipment, but this had to be discontinued as equipment was getting wet and damaged. It is now stored in school corridors! Additionally, children need separate wheelchairs for internal and external use (the wheels need to be of different sizes), so external wheelchairs also have to be stored around the school.
14. Both existing sites also suffer from poor access. Entry roads are single file yet used by traffic travelling in opposing directions. In the event of the need for a major emergency evacuation of either site, there is a very serious risk of a major calamity due to traffic congestion. It is difficult to see that Health & Safety requirements are being met here.

The Way Forward:
The Orchard School cares wonderfully for some of the most disadvantaged children in Nottinghamshire.
Teachers and staff already create a loving and caring environment which nurtures and develops these children and young people in incredibly difficult conditions.
But, mid 20th Century buildings are simply not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and cannot hope to deliver the modern education which these special children are entitled to expect.
The days of patching, and make do and mend of the Orchard School need to be put behind us.
A new school needs to be built on flat and level ground as one complete unit (including the new Autism Hub).
Ideally, it will be larger than the existing school as there is already a waiting list of deserving children who simply cannot be accommodated within the present school.
Surely, a caring society must demand that its’ most disadvantaged children are given the very best opportunity to achieve their potential?
A newly built Orchard School could become a centre of excellence in the care of children and young people with special needs, a beacon of hope for the disadvantaged and a fitting memorial to a coalition Government which has not only rescued the Country’s finances, but has done it whilst caring for the most needy of its’ citizens.

This brief report has been prepared by and is the personal opinion
of Mrs Claire Hunsley and Mrs Laura Redfern.
Parents of children at The Orchard School, Newark,
representing the Newark Orchard School Parent Action Group.