Ravensdale Infant andNursery School
In early October 2020, Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School, in Mickleover, Derby, was destroyed in an arson attack – one of two local school arson attacks in the space of 48 hours.As well as losing the majority of the school’s structure, most of the contents including more than 3,500 books, computers, and learning materials were destroyed, and 296 pupils were displaced overnight.
Only just returning after the COVID-19 lockdown, it was a major blow to the school, pupils, parents and local Derby community, and an urgent recovery plan for the school was put into place. The recovery plan has four overlapping phases, the first of which saw the demolition of the damaged school, making sure the site was safe, and temporary modular classroom arrangements installed on site. This allowed for a partial return to the school for nursery pupils. The temporary classrooms travelled from nearby Rosecliffe Spencer Academy in Nottinghamshire, delivered by Arc Partnership.
Sector
Education
Services
Architecture
Status
Completed May 2022
Client
Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School
Location
Mickleover, Derby
Social value
£1,607,603
Award
Constructing Excellence East Midlands' Building Project of the Year
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The remaining pupils from Reception, Year One and Year Two, were temporarily accommodated across three local schools – and recent Lungfish projects; Hackwood Primary Academy, Highfields Spencer Academy and Murray Park Community School. Then, when Castleward Spencer Academy opened its doors for the first time in September 2021, pupils and staff were together again on a temporary basis, with all pupils returning to Ravensdale upon its completion.
Through shared commitment and determination with Derby City Council, the school, and Morgan Sindall Construction, we have been successful in delivering a bright new future for the school. We are proud to have delivered a high-quality and safe learning environment for pupils, and a sense of togetherness for the local community.
About the project
With staff, pupils and parents split across several sites, travelling further each day, there was an urgency to provide a new school building so that Ravensdale Infants can begin to operate and teach as a whole school once more.
To effectively deliver the new school quickly and ensure that the Ravensdale pupils experience minimum disruption to their education, the new school was built utilising modular design and off-site construction techniques.
An offsite approach ensured that the project was delivered within budget and in accordance with the insurance company measures. Additionally, offsite construction allowed for minimal disruption to the neighbouring junior school, which shares site and access routes and utilities with the infant school.
A phoenix from the flames
Our Solution
Working closely with the school, council, and Morgan Sindall, we reconfigured the layout and shape of the school building to maximise the resources, service and access routes, topography and location - making the whole site more efficient.
The new single storey building will sit over the previous school footprint. Whilst mimicking the frontage of the previous school, we’ve moved the building forwards towards the road, allowing for more teaching and play space at the back of the site. We have also increased the school’s overall size by nearly 300 m² to bring the school up to the Department for Education’s benchmark for a three-form entry nursery and infant school.
Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School Front Elevation CGI
Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School Side Elevation CGI
A Bright Outcome
Carefully designed to suit the day-to-day management, needs, and user flow through the site and building, we split the school into two sections, joined by a link corridor. The front of the site houses the double-height hall, library, group, and special educational needs (SEN) room, main entrance, kitchen, and admin areas. Beyond the main building, 10 spacious classrooms are accessed through the link corridor, allowing the teaching spaces and communal areas to be separated, adding to overall safeguarding.
The school has a forest school ethos, where the children learn from the natural environment around them. With that at the forefront of our minds, we’ve included areas for outdoor learning under an extensive canopy and enhanced the available space. Additionally, each of the ten classrooms have their own access to the outdoors, with their own dedicated areas for outdoor lessons and play that can be utilised in all weather. New trees and a wild meadow were also installed to create biodiverse learning areas along the southern boundary.
Blue and green Trespa cladding helps bring the school to life through colour. The cheerful colours continue inside the building, with a feature wall in reception and large, coloured acoustic panels suspended in the hall.
Off the main hall sits a library, SEN room and group room. To create a calm and nurturing space for the young children, these areas feature soft, natural materials including timber panels and green, muted tones. Whilst the link corridor will act as a natural barrier from the learning zones to the rest of the school, colour blocking will create effective way finding.
Energy-efficient features have been included throughout the school. We’ve enhanced natural light wherever possible, and then incorporated LED lighting, automatic lighting controls and daylight dimming. Where they are not damaged by fire, the external soft landscaped areas, boundary, hedgerows, trees, and habitat areas have been retained. To future-proof the school, we’ve also included the infrastructure for a future Electric Vehicle charging point.
Now complete, the new Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School provides a colourful, spacious and inspiring learning environment for its 270 pupils and 26-place nursery.
Blue and green Trespa cladding helps bring the school to life through colour
Bright, spacious classrooms each have direct access to the outside
Councillor Evonne Williams, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Skills of Derby City Council
Where speed and responsiveness mattered
Project Awards
Building Project of the Year
FINALIST
Constructing Excellence Awards 2023
Building Project of the Year
WINNER
Constructing Excellence East Midlands Awards 2023
MMC Award
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Constructing Excellence East Midlands Awards 2023
Project of the Year (Schools)
SHORTLISTED
Education Estates Awards 2023
Education Project of the Year
FINALIST
Offsite Awards 2023
DESIGNING AND DELIVERING DERBY'S SCHOOLS
This project is featured in our collaborative report with SCAPE, 'Designing and Delivering Derby's Schools. The 5 year story of 6 schools delivered for Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council which has created more than 2,000 school places and generated in excess of £8m in social value.
