Garland Junior School

23 March 2023 - A project to transform the former caretaker's bungalow at Garland Junior School into a great new learning space is complete.

A West Berkshire Council project to transform the former caretaker's bungalow at Garland Junior School in Burghfield Common is complete. Enhancement works on the roof, windows and doors of the main school were also included.

In total, the project cost just over £1 million (£388k of which was for the bungalow) and was funded by the Council with a £72k contribution from the school.It has seen the bungalow refurbished and extended to provide a new hub with additional space for children with Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) needs, two teaching spaces, an office, toilets, and after school club room with a kitchen and external play areas.
There are some great environmental aspects to the project too. The thermal performance of the new roofs and windows has been improved to Building Regulations 2021 standards to reduce the amount of energy required for heating. The new loos in the hub building have dual flush water-saving cisterns and the wash basins have sensor flow taps to reduce water usage.

Externally, the hub has bat boxes incorporated in the south wall, a water butt to harvest rainwater for the school garden, compost bins for re-cycling and meadow grass to assist biodiversity.

Councillor Dominic Boeck, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Education, Children and Young People says,

"This is a wonderful transformation. I'm so pleased that we were able to utilise the former caretaker's bungalow to create so much extra learning space. The new spaces will be of immeasurable benefit to both staff and children at Garland."

Emily Dawkins, Headteacher at Garland says,

"This resource is an invaluable development for Garland Junior School. It offers pupils additional spaces to support with their learning, mental health and well-being support as well as a bespoke space to learn practical aspects of the curriculum such as cookery and music.

"We have already seen pupils increasing their sense of confidence and self-worth through accessing this facility and have lots of ideas for taking our support offering even further in the months to come."