Children’s Corner Childcare in Leeds has been operating for 20 years in the Leeds area. The nursery works with around 500 families providing pre-school education, after and before school clubs and holiday clubs and full day care for their children. Children’s Corner Valley View has operated at its current site for the past seven years using two classrooms but as the school expanded they gave the nursery notice that they needed the classrooms back to accommodate growing numbers of primary school children. The facility had two options; either to provide its own building or to lose 18 staff and shut down the nursery. Children’s Corner decided to establish its own premises and opted for the flexibility of portable buildings. Owner and director of Children’s Corner, Lesley Dawson, said: “I researched on the internet and discovered Portable Offices – a local company.  My first contact with them on the phone was a really positive one where I was taken seriously immediately, and treated very courteously unlike some of the other companies I contacted. “It worked well having one point of contact, in our case, Becky, who really went above and beyond to make sure we got exactly what we wanted within our budget.  If I had any doubts or queries they were quickly resolved by Becky and later by Chris too, who was also excellent to work with. “I would definitely recommend them for the personal service they provided, for the expertise, technical knowledge and professionalism, and for the quality of the building.  This is our second modular building, and although the last one was bought 10 years ago, this is far more of an exceptional quality and specification of building, and it looks fab.” The new nursery building at Valley View can accommodate around 45 nursery children and 26 out of school children. Lesley continued: “We have so many compliments on the building, both inside and out, the external appearance of the building, and the quality of the finish. The installation went smoothly and efficiently.  Portable Offices were so patient with us when the Council delayed our project, rearranging things to fit in with our schedule.  I also feel reassured by the quality of after-service we receive, I feel that if we do have any issues in the future, they will be dealt with and we won’t be brushed off. Finally, our door bell hasn’t stopped ringing.  We had hoped for new customers but the numbers of people who have seen the building and immediately wanted to come in and see what was on offer has been overwhelming.  And every single parent who has come to look has booked a place.”

When Kitwell Primary School in Birmingham had an urgent need to accommodate additional pupil places in its design and technology department to school contacted Portable Offices to provide a temporary classroom.

The end result exceeded the staff’s expectations. Lynne Dixon spokesperson commented: “With a limited budget and the requirement to minimise impact on teaching and learning, a modular build was our best option and Portable Offices offered us the best possible combination of quality and price.

“We are hoping to install a library on the other side and will be back in touch soon. I would have no hesitation in recommending Portable Offices to other schools and we are already working with them on our next project.”

NEW PORTABLE BUILDING ENABLES LOCAL NURSERY TO EXTEND FREE PLACES Wind in the Willows Nursery in Sefton, Merseyside is able to offer further free places for two year-olds thanks to a new modular building provided by Chester based Portable Offices. A new three bay nursery complete with washrooms and a kitchen has provided Wind in the Willows with enough extra space to accommodate its existing three and four year-olds enabling new entry two year-olds to take over the established nursery area. Ginny Taylor, Director of Wind in the Willows, is delighted with the new building.  She said: “Our ability to take in more two year-olds is great news for  parents in the area who are looking for greater levels of support with their children or who are looking to get back into work.  Subject to them meeting the funding criteria, it will mean their children can receive free early learning help and development for 15 hours a week.” Portable Offices’ National Sales Manager, Ian Smith, managed the project, providing full assistance for the nursery covering planning liaison, foundations, drainage and services and the single-storey building was quickly erected. Ginny Taylor commented: “Portable Offices has considerable experience in the nursery sector and not only provided an excellent, cost-effective solution to our expansion needs but were also aware of all the health and safety issues relating to children during the installation. “We have places for up to 24 two year-olds and expect that the places will be taken up quickly.”

Adrian Witty, Managing Director of Portable Offices, looks at how portable accommodation can provide a solution for school buildings and expansion needs. Read article at : Building Services and Environmental Engineer Magazine – December Issue A couple of years ago, the education capital building expenditure programme was looking rosy – Labour’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’(BSF) initiative was approved aimed at improving the infrastructure of British schools with £2.2 billion committed to the project and over 55% to be covered by Private Finance Initiatives (the funding of public infrastructure projects with private finance). But, the Coalition government’s collapse of the BSF programme hit schools and construction companies hard and with capital expenditure by government departments projected to fall 29 per cent between 2011 and 2014-15*, including cuts to schools and other education building projects of 60 per cent, many UK schools found themselves under increasing pressure to find other means to fund building and expansion works. In this climate of austerity, increasing numbers of schools are funding their own projects with privately funded investment and are shopping around keen to ‘buy more for their buck.’ Portable accommodation is one solution which offers a flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional building methods, which can sometimes be expensive and disruptive. It has come a long way from the traditional ’pre fab’ approach and can even mirror a traditional brick-built façade with an enduring longevity and a high degree of ‘kerb appeal.’ With a committed team of dedicated professionals used to working alongside local government departments, we develop and construct all types of structures from the every day extension to the more revolutionary facility. But all accommodation fulfils a specific need, whether that is for more teaching accommodation or changing rooms or staff facilities. In the past 18 months, we have developed a growing number of education based solutions. and the need is growing as more schools look at ways of making their budgets go further. Finance and timing were top of the list of priorities for one Chester School where the need for a clean, warm nursery environment led to a massive fundraising initiative to fund a new building. But there was only a small window of opportunity for the development to take place – literally over the summer holiday shutdown. So, when staff and pupils from Hartford Manor CP School in Cheshire left a depressing, decaying nursery and returned from their summer break to find a gleaming, bright new modular building in its place it was celebrations all round. The striking new single-storey building reflects an ingenious redevelopment of the land of the former nursery and combines functionality with sublimely clean detailing and is the result of several years saving by the education team at Hartford Manor who funded the £125,000 nursery project. The Portable Offices team worked in tandem with teaching staff to develop a design and room plan that incorporated all the elements necessary to provide an ideal teaching situation for young children. This included interactive circular windows with low-emission glass at child height level to frame outside elements for educational discussions, low-energy lighting and fitments all to conform to the latest legislation. An over-riding concern of the school was the need for a speedy construction to take place during the summer holiday period.  This dictated a six week turnaround to include demolition of the old building and erection of the new 135 sq metre modular building. Portable Offices’ team provided a ‘turnkey’ service for the school enabling the education staff and pupils to return after the holidays to a new, warm and bright open plan classroom, kitchen, toilets and office complete with disabled access. Hatford Manor CP School Business Manager, Laura Williams, commented: “We went for a modular approach because it was the most cost-effective building method.  However, we don’t feel it is a compromise at all. The rooms are warm, bright and airy. It is actually a very flexible space. “The Portable Offices’ team was fantastic. They involved us at every stage and allowed us to make our own design decisions which resulted in the ultimate, flexible teaching situation. “It was vital to us that we were able to open the new building when we returned in September and they really pulled out all the stops. We had a few small snags that emerged after we started using the building and they sorted them out straight away without any fuss.” Produced from galvanised coated steel, the new low-maintenance building serves as a nursery in the morning, a free school in the afternoon and will soon provide an area for an ‘after school club’ too. It is particularly rewarding for us to come up with a design solution that is proving so effective in meeting the needs of the education sector where budgets are now squeezed so tightly. * Source: Guardian Newspaper 29/09/11