Yorkshire Children’s Charity is delighted to announce that we have been given the go ahead to start work on a £3.5million revamp of Maltby Hilltop School in Rotherham and is calling on the community to rally together and bring this important project to life.
The work which will transform the life of around 135 pupils and will see a complete reconfiguration of the school, a specialist rebound therapy space, three new classrooms and provisions for key learning equipment is being spearheaded by Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s ‘Great Yorkshire Build’ initiative.
Hilltop is a SLD (Severe Learning Disability) school which caters for some of the most vulnerable children in the district and beyond. The specialist school for pupils aged two to 19 with severe learning difficulties was highlighted as lacking basic provisions on the BBC’s ‘SEND help’ programme which aired last year. Teachers explained they had been forced to provide care and education in small ‘cupboard-like’ classrooms and portable cabins not fit for purpose.
Yorkshire Children’s Charity believes that all children have the right to the best possible education, and school facilities have a big part to play. The Great Yorkshire Build has been designed to improve outdated, insufficient, and inadequate facilities at many of the county’s SLD, SILC (Specialist Inclusive Learning Centers) and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) schools.
Founder and CEO, of The Yorkshire Children’s Charity, Charlotte Farrington, said: “A significant lack of funding and facilities which do not support a happy learning environment for children who need it the most has created an impossible task for teachers. We need to ask ourselves – is this the very best we can do for the most vulnerable in our society?”
“Presently, the sensory climate is inadequate, there is a lack of access around the main building and children are being taught in temporary classrooms with no access to toilet facilities or running water. With a reconfiguration of the school floor plan, new well considered spaces and a dedicated rebound therapy room, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, we hope children will thrive and teachers finally have the tools they need to do their job.”
“This is a tangible and meaningful difference, this project that will be directly impacting the young people in your community. It is only through our combined efforts that we can support the children at Maltby Hilltop School, think of it as a DIY SOS mission for your local area.”
Organisation of the works and planning will start over the summer holidays whilst the building will commence in October of this year and will take around 18 months to complete. It is being meticulously planned to be carried out throughout term time and the school holidays to create the least disruption to the children’s learning and school time.
Warren Carratt, Chief Executive of Nexus Multi Academy Trust said: “The magic that happens inside our Hilltop school is often in stark contrast with the fabric, design, and layout of its 1970s CLASP build, so we’re incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Yorkshire Children’s Charity to name our school as the receipt of the Great Yorkshire Build. The early designs we have seen will transform our site and enhance our learning environment significantly, meaning some of our society’s most vulnerable learners will feel the benefit directly. We are so excited for this project to start, and we are beyond grateful to all those who have secured the resources to make this happen. Demand for special school places has never been higher, so this work will create more high-quality choice for many more families and will give us a site that is a beacon of good practice across the county”.
Yorkshire Children’s Charity was set up in 2022 with a clear mission to make things better for children and young people living at a disadvantage, now and for their future. It has helped over 20,650 children and supported over 200 schools in the county. The first of the charity’s Great Yorkshire Build projects completed last year – which saw a £1million transformation of Brooklands school in Skipton. The collaborative initiative between the private, public and third sector is set to deliver a lasting legacy of life-changing projects in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Children’s Charity was recently shortlisted at the annual Charity Awards for “spearheading a partnership” between the sectors and “develop[ing] a Great Yorkshire Build blueprint which formalises the core approach, processes and actions required to deliver a successful build project, including key stakeholders to be engaged, core project team roles and responsibilities, key milestones, meetings, and risk assessment and management”.
Charlotte Farrington added: “Following the success of our first Great Yorkshire Build project I believe moving to a £3.5million project is a testament to the strength and proactiveness of the property sector and the unwavering work of our in-house project manager, Gareth Chambers.
“We are incredibly grateful to all the contractors and businesses who are supporting us in our goal. This is also our first time working with an academy trust and it has been positive. Rotherham City Council have been really committed to supporting the project.
“There’s still time to get involved. We are calling on businesses in the local area for help, the more people, the greater difference we can make.”
Whatever your business is and however big or small, this is an opportunity for everybody within the community to play a part in making the lives of children at Hilltop all the happier.
The project still requires a roofing contractor, many more materials and there is also an opportunity to help make donations for things like classroom packs and sensory equipment.
The current Great Yorkshire Build already has the support from consultants and contractors including: Cartwright Pickard; Richard Boothroyd Associates; Rex Proctor & Partners – Quantity Surveyors; Hydrock; Roscoe; Atelier Ten; Hoare Lea; Brooks Ecological Ltd; ID Planning; Fuse Studios; AMC Interior Design; BWB Consulting; Pierre Angulaire; GMI Construction; Henry Boot Construction; Stainforth Construction; Equans Ltd; Bowmer + Kirkland; SES Engineering Services; Severfield; Harworth Group; Muse Developments.
Contact sophie.smith@yorkshirechildrenscharity.org for further information.
Ends
Notes to editors:
Yorkshire Children’s Charity is a needs-led organisation, helping children and families across Yorkshire, who are at a disadvantage in life due to disability, ill-health or financial circumstance.
The charity organises several the region’s most definitive events to include The Yorkshires. Commercial Real Estate Awards, The Yorkshires. Residential Real Estate Awards and The Yorkshires. Business Awards. Although recognised for their high-profile events, they also retain the values of a small, accessible charity, with all funds raised in Yorkshire being spent Yorkshire’s children to help them reach their own, unique potential.
You can find out more about Yorkshire Children’s Charity here or follow @yorkshirechildrenscharity for updates on the Great Yorkshire Build and other projects.
Full list of partners involved in the Great Yorkshire Build:
Consultants
Cartwright Pickard – Architects.
Richard Boothroyd Associates- Project Managers & Principal Designers
Rex Proctor & Partners – Quantity Surveyors
Hydrock – Fire & Highways Consultants
Roscoe – Civil & Structures
Atelier Ten – Mechanical and Electrical Consultants
Hoare Lea – Acoustic Consultants
Brooks Ecological Ltd – Ecology Consultant
ID Planning – Planning Consultants
Fuse Studios – Interior Design
AMC Design – Interior Design
BWB Consulting – Geo Environmental Engineer
Pierre Angulaire – In house support to Yorkshire Children’s Charity
Contractors
GMI Construction
Henry Boot Construction
Stainforth Construction
Equans Ltd
Bowmer + Kirkland
SES Engineering Services
Severfield
Developer Partners
Harworth Group
Muse Developments
