St Ann’s RC Primary School in Stretford, Greater Manchester, is a 450 pupil primary school committed to the Catholic education of children in a happy, safe environment.

Striving to ensure that every child reaches their fullest potential, it is this core philosophy that meant the school was delighted to be elected to receive a brand new school building as part of the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme.

Sarah Whittaker, Deputy Headteacher at the school, picks up the story: 

“We were delighted to be selected for a new school and excited not only by the prospect of having a modern building to help provide the best outcomes for children, but also incorporating sustainability as part of our contribution to working towards a better environmental future for all.”

Following a procurement exercise through the Department for Education Construction Framework, Galliford Try were appointed as the Main Contractor with Novatia picking up the ICT design and delivery contract.

Designing for success

In designing the school, the school’s Catholic mission of ‘working towards the common good’ was a key driver behind decision making, achieved through designing the building to be fit for the future and to achieve Net Zero Carbon in Operation (NZCiO).

“The process of designing our new school was a very positive and enlightening experience. All of our ideas served as a catalyst for collaboration with the design team, such as appraising and selecting uplifting and calm colours”, comments Sarah. 

Owing to its NZCiO status, the new school boasts the latest air source heat pumps powered through and photovoltaic panels that adorn the modern and vibrant two-storey learning space, set across 2,400sqm. 

Fit for the future

For Sarah, being fit for the future was not only about being mindful of environmental responsibility; it was about creating learning spaces that were suitable not only for the school of today but tomorrow too.

“In the design stage we really got into the detail of ensuring that not only the academic needs of our pupils were met, but their emotional needs too. The physical layout of our old building meant that if a child became dysregulated it was easy for them to hide around corners. With the new design comprising of a long corridor and modern doorways and glass panels it brings in a lot of light with no impact on sound, making it more conducive to learning.

“In our old building, because the technology had been retrofitted over time wherever it could be accommodated in the classroom, it wasn’t always positioned in the ideal place from a teaching and learning perspective. For example, having teacher desks and devices located at a distance away from the interactive whiteboard”, comments Sarah.

“In the new school building each classroom is uniform in shape, based on how we teach as a school, which means teachers can go into any classroom and know where things are. It’s super efficient and helps us get the kids on task quickly without any fuss. 
Each classroom has the latest interactive touchscreen displays which, along with the orientation of tables and chairs, have been positioned in a way that is complementary to the natural light that enters the room. This means that glare never presents a problem for staff or students alike whether it's a teacher interacting with a touchscreen display of pupils using iPads as part of a particular classroom activity.” In addition, following consultation between Novatia and the school, the screens were installed at different heights for each key stage to ensure they were accessible to the relevant age groups of learners who will be using them.

In the legacy building, the servers were sited into the ICT suite. As part of the transition to their new premises, and investment in building a St Ann’s RC Primary School fit for the future, the dedicated server room hosted a brand new network infrastructure from Novatia specified to the latest standards. In addition, a new school-wide Wi-Fi solution was installed, providing high quality and resilient Wi-Fi coverage across the new building.

The latest audio visual solutions from Novatia are integrated into the fabric of every learning space, from classroom touchscreens through to acoustic music rooms and  main hall AV including lectern, amplifier and speakers. In the new intervention rooms, displays are now available providing more flexible learning spaces for personalised teaching and learning to thrive.

Tried and tested

While reimagining school life through a progressive lens enabled the school to do some exciting new things in terms of layout and design, that doesn’t mean to say everything changed. 

“We had a look at what we had in the existing building, reviewed what worked well and what could be improved, then arranged to replicate the good bits of our old building in the new one", says Sarah. 

“The digital screens in our dining hall worked really well for pupils to be able to select their lunch choices, which is integrated into our food order system. Novatia did a great job in deploying them into our new hall. 

“We brought across our preferred internal contact method of phones in each classroom. While we still need to acquire a few more VOIP phones, which are pricier than the old analogue ones, and have a little work left to do to optimise the routing configuration, it’s good to be able to maintain the good bits of our school’s operations, just with new technology.”

Lessons learned

While life in a new school building has many positives, a project of this magnitude never comes without its challenges to work through.

“One thing other schools should be wary of when they’re in our position is moving equipment over from the old building to the new one.”

There was a lot of debate between the various stakeholders on whether to do it over the weekend or during the school holidays. 

Sarah explains: 

“It’s great to have a future-oriented school with ICT built into the fabric of the building, but with the availability of key infrastructure like fire alarms and CCTV systems being crucial to the school’s operation, we made the collective decision to move during the school holidays as this would have allowed more time to ensure all staff were trained on the new systems. Barring some logistical challenges with furniture, it turned out to be a great decision, so we’re really grateful to the support of Galliford Try and Novatia in helping to advise on that.”   

Why Novatia?

When asked on whether she would recommend Novatia to other main build contractors needing an ICT design and delivery partner for a school rebuilding project, Sarah is clear in her response. 

“Novatia were fantastic throughout the whole project. As educators first and foremost, we have to maintain our core focus on the day job, which is delivering the best educational experience we can for pupils. Having a multi-million pound school rebuilding programme on the go is another large bolt on to what is already an extremely busy school life. 

“This means you have to have the right people on the team, and trust they’re going to do it. Novatia were coming in for weekly meetings with Galliford, and it was comforting that although a lot of information was on the table, we left meetings always feeling like there was progress.  Novatia were there throughout the whole process as a safe pair of ICT hands. Everyone knew their roles and responsibilities, and it just worked.

“The Novatia team were all really friendly and down to earth. Their consultants all come from an educational background, and you can tell that they put the educational aspect front and centre when designing and delivering the ICT element. 

“Sometimes during meetings, school duties called and Jon was always really understanding and considerate of the fact that, in school life, that’s totally normal and just part of what we have to do to make the school the best it can be for students and staff alike.”

Commenting on Novatia’s support, Maureen O’ Dowd, Building Services Manager at Galliford Try, says:

“I can honestly say that Novatia have, on all my projects, proven to be the most user-friendly specialists in the field. Wherever and whenever we need help,  Novatia are always there to assist. Should anything ever go not quite to plan, as does happen in our business, Novatia are always with us, shoulder to shoulder, to support and guide us through any issues.”