Alternative to Temporary Classrooms
enclosed outdoor classroom
We always receive quite a few enquiries from schools who are looking for some sort of temporary classroom solution. Usually it because they are either having to accommodate more pupils over a short (or as is more often an unknown & indefinite) period of time or because some building work is going on and the children need to be temporarily re-located and re-housed.
A lot of schools therefore go down the route of contacting the various companies who supply educational pre-fab buildings which are delivered to site on the back of a truck and then either craned or winched into position. And due to the nature of their build and construction method, they can of course be removed at a later date if so required. If they ever are as from my experience, they tend to stay there for quite some time!
But even if you are electing to have the above on a temporary basis, you will still need to apply for planning permission, will still have to put some sort of base down and run and connect all the services out to the classroom building and will probably have to apply for building regs as well. And then of course, you have the cost of the rental plus the various siting and delivery costs – and if access isn’t great at the school, you will have to pay extra for a crane to lift the unit onto site. It’s worth doing the maths.
But we have an alternative but it might only suit some schools or requirements as the size could be a limiting factor. We have a range of temporary classroom buildings which are below 30m2 so you don’t need to apply for buildings regs. We are able to install double glazing and insulation into these buildings and can put down a timber sub-frame base as well. We have a range of access doors including both bi-folds (so you can literally open up one side) or attractive French doors. These classrooms are built on site so in the majority of cases, a tricky access is no longer an issue. Typically they are installed within a week so the disruption to the school is minimal and because they are built in a modular panel format, they can easily be taken down again at a later stage and either sold on or be re-sited somewhere else.
And with prices running from £20 – 30K ex VAT for these type of classroom buildings, it might also make quite a viable financial alternative.
Another factor to bear in mind is that when they are no longer required as a temporary classroom, they could be used for a whole host of alternative applications – nurture rooms, extra staff room, community room, a room to rent out to the local community, music or art studio etc. And if that is the case, we might also be able to help you with grant funding.
For further information on our temporary outdoor classrooms, please call us on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com