Arcus was appointed to remodel the existing school and to provide a new-build ‘foundation unit’ that would create well-defined teaching and user spaces suited to 21st Century education.

The project also required the existing areas to be reconfigured to allow for community use and learning outside school hours; this was one of the key focus areas for the design, as it was recognised that local participation would enhance a sense of community ownership. The project was designed to accommodate additional services such as the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) and Special Education Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO).

The project was a great success for the school providing almost immediate results. The energy saving features reduced the carbon footprint of the building and is anticipated to make savings of 80% in heating costs. The absenteeism from the foundation stage dropped by nearly 60% in the first year alone. There was also close to 20% improvement in grades in the first year across all stages of the school.

Our new Foundation Stage build has an inspirational design and is built to meet the needs of our learners and families, which shows the children and families served by the school how much they are valued. It is a building which supports explorative play and learning so that children can use all their senses to know and understand the world and begin to build a vocabulary to explain their thinking and develop their ideas and skills.

Athersley Primary School