School Inclusion Hub Project Benefits Pupils and the Wider Community

Fossdene Primary School is a two form entry school located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The school has well above the national average of SEND pupils and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Passionate about inclusion, the school supports its pupils through quality-first teaching. Recognised as a Gold Rights Respecting School for the way it puts children’s rights at the heart of everything it does, Fossdene has a vision for every child to receive the support they need to enable them fair access to the Curriculum, and to make the best possible progress at school and beyond.

About the cause

On the site of the school stood a disused school keeper’s house. The school wanted to convert the premises into an inclusion hub for pupils with SEND.

The hub would include a wet room, a sensory play room, workstations, a kitchenette, a meeting room and a classroom. The facility would also be used to host parent workshops from specialist providers, allowing parents to better understand their children’s needs and how best to support them at home.

Further, the school wanted to use the spaces to provide a nurture provision for its older pupils with Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) issues, providing them with a safe space to learn, engage with their feelings, and become more successful in school.

Combined, this specialist support would allow pupils with the highest needs to succeed in a mainstream school, enabling them to be successful in engaging with the education process, whilst the parent support group would provide a platform to learn and share experiences of raising a child with SEND with limited access to funding.

How we helped

We arranged £45K in funding. £30K came from our Effinity Charitable Foundation, and the balance from Axis Group UK through a Travis Perkins Legacy Fund.

In addition to financial support, FFT took the lead on the project, providing pro-bono professional and technical services, with senior consultant Jeff Timms taking the helm, assisted by some of the practice’s apprentices.

In conjunction with contractor LDR Plastering Services, works commenced in April 2022.

The school keeper’s building dated back to the 1890s and had been unoccupied for several years, so there was a lot to do to ensure it was safe and habitable.

As well as installing wet room, boiler room and kitchenette services, including a new boiler, extensive plastering and decorative works were carried out to the entrance hall, stairwells, landing and upstairs rooms.

The outcome

The facility at Fossdene School will reduce the number of high level behavioural incidents with ultimately less exclusions, and higher school-parent engagement. The local community as a whole will also benefit, especially when considering what inclusion is, and its importance for children’s futures.

Most importantly for the school with its vision for lifelong learning, the pupils will leave Fossdene as successful learners.

Executive Head Teacher Maria Hill said, “I am sending my heartfelt thanks for the generous donation of time, thought and passion for change that went into the completion of the school keeper’s house at Fossdene into an inclusion hub for the school.

“The children and staff are touched that someone cares about them enough to help them. Thank you again on behalf of the Fossdene School community.”

Our social value commitment

At FFT, we have always been committed to supporting community projects that improve the futures of young people. Through our registered charity, the Effinity Charitable Foundation, we look to provide funding that will help create opportunities for self-improvement, helping younger people participate in society to a greater extent.

Fossdene School’s vision for every child to receive the support they need to enable them to make the best possible progress at school and beyond fits perfectly with our social value objectives.