Author: heather

Haringey Council has committed to spending more than £6m on improvement works to four primary school buildings and premises.

A major review identified areas across the Schools estate that needed addressing in the short, medium and long term.

These findings have duly informed the Children’s Services Asset Management Plan (CSAMP), with the works at Bruce Grove, Campsbourne, Seven Sisters and Stroud Green duly considered as high priorities and placed in this first, initial wave of essential condition works overall.

Cllr Zena Brabazon, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Families, said:

“These four community schools are the first group of our Haringey primary schools to have these vital capital works.

The funding for these works will ensure the physical environment for all the children and staff is greatly improved.

Alongside the council’s own Capital Programme funding, some £1.248m has been secured from the government towards these projects. This funding for specific works will reduce the carbon footprint of our schools – an additional and welcome contribution both financially and to tackling the climate emergency.

Our Children’s Services Asset Management Plan is a detailed and important document, which will guide our schools’ capital works programme. Drawing this together has involved council officers, heads and governors and I’d like to thank them all for this work, which is now commencing with these four projects.”

The works across the four schools overall include installing new heating and hot water systems, new windows and vital health and safety improvements to the buildings.

These condition projects will bring a number of benefits to the schools, with the primary objective of providing improved educational environments for children in line with the council’s Borough Plan.

They will also help the schools reduce their energy demands and thus reduce carbon emissions through technologies and insulation, including double glazing.

All remaining improvement works (Phase 2) for three of these condition projects (Campsbourne, Seven Sisters and Stroud Green) are expected to go before Cabinet for a further decision in September 2021.

Campsbourne part of improvement works to Haringey schools | Hampstead Highgate Express (hamhigh.co.uk)

A poetry anthology put together by Year 11 students at the Haringey Learning Partnership (HLP) was unveiled in June.

The HLP-First Story book is called Play Our Song and features beautiful and original artwork. The project was developed with the writer in residence at Commerce House this year, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, who commented:

“It’s been the honour of a lifetime to see this talented group develop as astute wordsmiths week to week. We all must play our part to ensure that young people within our society have regular opportunities to showcase their talent and last night’s launch celebrated in style one of the best poetry anthologies that’ll be released this year. Mark my words, it’s as tender and profound as any collection you’ll find by professional poets in the shops.”

Young people with autism and/or complex learning disabilities in Haringey will have an all-new facility dedicated to their needs, after Haringey’s Cabinet agreed this week to invest in the development of a site on White Hart Lane.

The former home of Woodside Day Centre at 57 White Hart Lane will be transformed to deliver new specialist accommodation and support for young people in Haringey with autism and complex learning disabilities.

The decision fulfils a key tenet of the council’s Borough Plan – ensuring that excellent supported accommodation is available locally for all of Haringey’s residents. It will also mean that more young people in Haringey will be able to enjoy Special Educational Needs provision locally and remain close to their support network of family, friends and social workers, significantly improving their quality of life.

The plan follows the opening last month of the Haringey’s first dedicated facility for people with autism. The Chad Gordon Autism campus in Tottenham was designed collaboratively with people with autism and carers to deliver early help to adults with autism and to meet their specific needs.

Cllr Lucia das Neves, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing, said:

“I’m really pleased Cabinet approved this plan to bring back into use an existing council space for young people in our borough. More young people will be supported close to home and will benefit from all-new facilities, specially dedicated to their complex needs. I am also delighted that the plans will be created in partnership with young people, their families and the local community.”