The New Arden A Centre for Community Learning If new homes are inevitable, how can we maximise the community benefits? This is a wonderful once in a lifetime opportunity to enhance our school and create new community facilities for everyone in the locality The following is clear: · Solihull Council has to build 8205 new homes in the next ten years · Solihull’s draft plan allocates 1050 new homes in Knowle across two sites Please help us to realise our dream by supporting Site 9, Options http://www.arden.solihull.sch.uk/arden-2020/ Imagine a school fit for purpose and with fantastic community facilities for young and old… Imagine a school in keeping with our beautiful surroundings… Why we need a new school? Buildings & Facilities • 75% of the school site is in need of refurbishment with premises no longer fit for purpose • The school was first built in the late 1950s; the school hall, main teaching blocks, library and dining area are largely the same as when built The student dining area is not fit for purpose; the school hall is in very poor shape for productions and assemblies and is so no longer big enough to house year groups for assemblies • The school was designed as an 4-form entry; it is now a 10-form entry • The EFSA Survey undertaken in 2013 identified the following elements of the main school blocks that would fail soon: electrical power and lighting; heating; water systems; IT and communications infrastructure; drainage; gas distribution and all external doors and windows (most recently there was a day heating outage) • The energy efficiency of the original buildings is poor due to single glazing and poorly insulated cladding; running costs are over £100K pa more than a modern building • Electrics/cabling/inability to add electrical data points/electrical capacity/pods and lighting mean classrooms are unsuitable for latest IT equipment • Further rejuvenation and renovation is no longer possible or cost efficient; the investment required to update our present site is at least £18m These sums of money from the public purse are no longer available and even if they were, Arden would be a building site for over 10 years, impacting hugely on student learning • The facilities for the wider community use are very limited • There is no 6th form library and sixth form students have no suitable places to eat Pedestrian/Traffic Issues • The school site was designed for 500 pupils; there are now 1704 students plus 200 staff who arrive and leave the site every day; this will increase by 200 as the number of students increases over the next years • Major road safety concerns have been raised about Station Road with reported near misses last year (pupils hit by cars and buses); traffic calming measures being reviewed • Pavements are narrower with the growth in trees and hedgerows on the routes to school • Significant traffic congestion outside school at beginning and end of day with tailbacks (the Council are aware of this) • No parking on site for parents in the evening and no drop off points • Any building work on site requires vehicle access, affecting school operations • New school will create a rolling road, better traffic management and safer access for students via or points of access away from main roads The KDBH Local Neighbourhood Plan refers to these traffic issues Lack of Community Sport, Health & Social Facilities The school fails to provide the following facilities to the community: • Gym or swimming pool • Floodlit AstroTurf pitch • Adequate community meeting facilities • Youth Centre for the young people in our local community Please help us to realise our dream by supporting Site 9, Options http://www.arden.solihull.sch.uk/arden-2020/ Current Impact of School Conditions on Teaching and Learning • • • • • • • • • • • • • Classrooms have 96% usage rate School hall cannot accommodate assemblies for year groups Dining hall can only accommodate 120 seated students in cramped conditions Some exams take place in the school hall but this can be noisy as it is next to kitchens; additional examination space is required particularly as the number of exams increase Acoustics in the school hall are poor for concerts/performances The designated space for PE and Sports also has to be used for teaching and examinations Toilet locations and conditions are poor No covered external facilities to keep children dry at lunchtime or between lesson change over No dry outdoor social space Changing facilities for sport is limited and poor as student numbers increase Insufficient science labs or ICT/Computing rooms Accessibility for those with disabilities is poor with ramps but no lifts in the original building No hearing loops due to unsuitable infrastructure Our Ambitions for The New Arden – A Centre for Community Learning • A New Arden with modern features that will realise the incredible potential for student attainment and wider community use • A new storey school to accommodate the anticipated growth of secondary school pupils, sixth form students and primary school children • A 600 seat Performing Arts Theatre • A Swimming Pool and Sports Centre • 4G floodlit pitch and MUGA • Gymnastics Centre • Day Nursery • Youth Centre • Potential to co-locate new Primary School to share facilities • There will be full community use and the opportunity to engage young and old alike The ‘Arden Triangle’ development offers the opportunity for a new state of the art school and community facilities which would be built without disrupting the current school or pupils Over the next ten years, Arden Academy would need to spend £18-£20 million of public monies to update the existing school The building work would impact on pupils’ learning Currently the school has no means of funding the investment The Council is currently undertaking a supplementary consultation on its Draft Local Plan which provides a crucial opportunity to register your support for a new school We need you to help us realise our dream by supporting Site Option Please visit the website for more information: http://www.arden.solihull.sch.uk/arden-2020/