New school buildings opened for some of Slough’s most vulnerable pupils
Special guests were invited to tour new facilities at Littledown School and Haybrook College on Monday 15 July for a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new school buildings. The guests were representatives of Slough Borough Council, the governing bodies of both schools, local headteachers, members of school staff and representatives from the contractors, and architects. The ribbon cutting ceremony was conducted by Councillor Shabnum Sadiq, cabinet member for children and schools.
Activate (which is the Haybrook College part of the centre) is a KS4 pupil referral unit where young people who are at risk of being excluded from school or have been permanently excluded are educated. Activate used to be housed within the Sara Lee/Unilever building on Bath Road in Slough and when the company relocated to Port Sunlight, Activate found themselves without a building.
After being housed with another of Haybrook’s provisions, Slough Borough Council offered the college a lease on the Thomas Gray building. Activate and the Wexham Park Hospital School moved in on September 2018 whilst some works were ongoing, and renovation works are now complete.
The other half of the building is occupied by Littledown School which is a primary school for children with Social Emotional and Mental Health difficulties and the behaviour outreach service SEBDOS. The Milan Centre was formerly used by the council for various community projects but has now been renovated and is used by Littledown School. Both schools wanted to give thanks to all involved in enabling some of the most vulnerable pupils in the borough to be educated in such lovely surroundings. In particular to thank the local authority and all of those who worked on the renovations for their continued support of alternative educational provision in Slough.
Jamie Rockman, Executive Headteacher of Haybrook College, said: “This building was originally built in 1895 and was one of the first council run schools in Slough, until 1977 when the school merged with James Elliman School. It then became a school for non-English speaking pupils followed by the Schools Language Services and then jointly by Littledown School and Slough’s Adult Education Service, until this year when it was renovated, making it fit for purpose for both primary and secondary alternative provision.
“It is really heartening to see in times of extreme financial pressure, that is seeing many local authorities reduce investment in the most vulnerable, Slough Borough Council has displayed the moral courage and moral purpose to continue to provide significant capital investment towards the education of Slough’s most marginalised, vulnerable and complex young people to ensure they have the best possible opportunities to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Councillor Shabnum Sadiq, cabinet member for children and schools, said: “We feel passionately about supporting every child in the borough and believe no child should ever feel they are missing out, which is why the renovation of these buildings to provide this fantastic environment for those children in alternative provision is so important.”
After the formal opening, pupils from both schools conducted tours of the buildings.
Activate (which is the Haybrook College part of the centre) is a KS4 pupil referral unit where young people who are at risk of being excluded from school or have been permanently excluded are educated. Activate used to be housed within the Sara Lee/Unilever building on Bath Road in Slough and when the company relocated to Port Sunlight, Activate found themselves without a building.
After being housed with another of Haybrook’s provisions, Slough Borough Council offered the college a lease on the Thomas Gray building. Activate and the Wexham Park Hospital School moved in on September 2018 whilst some works were ongoing, and renovation works are now complete.
The other half of the building is occupied by Littledown School which is a primary school for children with Social Emotional and Mental Health difficulties and the behaviour outreach service SEBDOS. The Milan Centre was formerly used by the council for various community projects but has now been renovated and is used by Littledown School. Both schools wanted to give thanks to all involved in enabling some of the most vulnerable pupils in the borough to be educated in such lovely surroundings. In particular to thank the local authority and all of those who worked on the renovations for their continued support of alternative educational provision in Slough.
Jamie Rockman, Executive Headteacher of Haybrook College, said: “This building was originally built in 1895 and was one of the first council run schools in Slough, until 1977 when the school merged with James Elliman School. It then became a school for non-English speaking pupils followed by the Schools Language Services and then jointly by Littledown School and Slough’s Adult Education Service, until this year when it was renovated, making it fit for purpose for both primary and secondary alternative provision.
“It is really heartening to see in times of extreme financial pressure, that is seeing many local authorities reduce investment in the most vulnerable, Slough Borough Council has displayed the moral courage and moral purpose to continue to provide significant capital investment towards the education of Slough’s most marginalised, vulnerable and complex young people to ensure they have the best possible opportunities to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Councillor Shabnum Sadiq, cabinet member for children and schools, said: “We feel passionately about supporting every child in the borough and believe no child should ever feel they are missing out, which is why the renovation of these buildings to provide this fantastic environment for those children in alternative provision is so important.”
After the formal opening, pupils from both schools conducted tours of the buildings.
