Relocation Update – January 2018 (2nd)

Hi everyone

Vicki Ward updated the Parent Council on Monday regarding the Relocation progress. It is as follows.Building & excavation works start this week on site

Detailed room specifications for every class has been completed-where light switches will be, electrical points, shelving, fridges, even down to where the clock will be on the walls! This was completed by the St Andrews Staff and Vicki Ward
Additional rooms within the school include a music room, art room, life skills room, rebound therapy room, therapist rooms and sensory rooms
Tracking- Three main sections of school will be Early Years, Primary, and Senior. Within each of these areas, there will be one fully tracked room, one partially tracked room, and one room with no tracking. In the rooms with no tracking however, there will be retro fittings in place if the need arises to fit track in the future. The tracking systems will also be added to the toilet areas off of the tracked classrooms. There will also be tracking where required within the sensory/therapy rooms etc
Staff will use a Fob system for locking and unlocking doors within their classrooms
Push Pad Doors- At the moment the Project Manager has said that we will not be using Push pad doors (like we currently have) throughout the school. Vicki thinks that it is really important that we have Push pad access throughout our school- various reasons- practicality for manual handling children in wheelchairs & equipment, but also life learning skills for children to get around the school. She is going to go back to the Project Manager and see what can be done about getting these installed.

If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to email me, or get in touch with Vicki.

Thanks!
Jane

Hi everyone,

A parent from School was asking how things were progressing with the Campus, so I thought It was a good idea to give everyone a quick update…

Basically, the teachers are still working with the designers on interior plans and specs. Vicki Ward, the Deputy Head is leading this up. She has visited quite a lot of schools around Scotland, spoken to the Heads of the Schools to discuss what does/doesn’t work, and is now working with the designers on getting it right for our School. Fiona Clarke (OT) has also been involved in this. She is very experienced with new build Schools in Aberdeenshire, and was quite involved with the spec of Alford Academy Campus.

The Build-Construction starts on 2nd April, and it is due to finish 28th Feb 2020, with the School Opening on 30th March 2020.
The only thing that has changed on the exterior plans is Victoria Park. This was the green “unmarked” rectangle of grass across the road from the School. This is now going to be a carpark, I think mainly for staff.

Just to re-iterate, the way that our School runs will not change. IE. Children who have a split placement with the academy or another Primary will still access that placement like they do now. Children who do not access Mainstream facilities will remain in the “St Andrews” School Section. This is with the exception of swimming, where the children will have to walk through the Campus (Academy) corridors. Our kids still have their own dining area, gym hall, therapy rooms and assembly space within the New St Andrews Plan.

If anyone has any queries or concerns, please get in touch. You can send me a private message, and I will help as best I can, or you can call or pop in for a chat with Mrs Drummond or Vicki Ward.

Finally, the Parent Council are having a meeting on Monday 29th January at 13.00 at School. Vicki Ward is going to give us a more detailed update then, so if anyone wants to come along, then that would be great.

Thanks again

Jane Keenan

Dear all

Just to let you know that some of the Staff went to visit Orchard Brae School last week (the new ASN school in Aberdeen). Lots of good ideas were shared, particularly in terms of requirements for ICT and accessibility. St Andrew’s staff are involved in working groups to ensure that the practical set-up for all the classrooms and other spaces is appropriate. There have been meetings over the summer between Mark Jones, Inverurie Academy Head Teacher and Gina Drummond to discuss future plans. Mark and Gina plan to meet on a regular basis moving forwards and there are now St Andrew’s pupils attending Home Economics, Technical, Drama and Music at the Academy.

Thanks!

Jane Keenan

Dear all,

I went to a Stakeholders meeting last week, and I thought that it would be good to share what happened at the meeting, and also what’s been happening over the last few months regarding the relocation..

First of all, it was a really positive meeting. Now that the move is going ahead, the focus is to get the space right for the kids. Vicky Ward has done loads of work over the summer and has been given the task of specking out the Soft Play/sensory/therapy spaces, and has done an amazing job. She has taken each room and instead of splitting the space between junior and senior pupils, she has designated each room for a different learning experience. So for instance, she has one room that has loads touch pads and interactive things, and then another room that will be low in stimulation for relaxation. They have included a room solely for rebound therapy, and also have a room that I can only describe as something like the holo deck from Star Trek with 3d projected visuals and sounds, so you could be “transported” to things like a supermarket or a rainforest!! She has also been working really closely with Fiona Clarke so the needs of all children are met from a practical point of view.

The next step is the classroom space. Not so much desks and chairs at this point, but more things like plumbing works for sinks, and other stuff that needs to go into design plans.
Stage after that will be Outdoor space, where staff and parents will be invited along to a workshop headed up by the Exterior Architect.
I think thats pretty much all that was discussed.
If there is anything else that I can think of, I’ll let you know!!

Thanks!

Jane Keenan