The Educator Magazine U.K. Jan-April 2025 issue - Magazine - Page 50
Can modular buildings
provide a swift solution
to support students with
additional needs?
Adaptable Inclusive Learning Hubs from TG Escapes: Fast and Cost-Effective
The escalating shortage of SEND and
SEMH provision across the UK has reached
a critical point, leaving many parents,
schools and local authorities deeply
concerned and struggling to meet the
urgent needs of vulnerable children.
In response to these needs, mainstream
schools are being called upon to enhance
their specialist resource provision, while
specialist schools are working hard to
expand their capacities. Ofsted’s emphasis
on demonstrable inclusion underscores the
importance of this work.
Additionally, the options of therapy,
sensory, and meeting spaces provide
Multi-Disciplinary Teams with a high-quality
environment where they can effectively
collaborate and support their work with
children.
These buildings are designed to be
net-zero in operation following biophilic
principles, maximising natural light and
ventilation,using sustainable materials,
and creating strong visual connections to
outdoor planting and landscaping.
Modular Construction is well understood
to be a quick and cost-effective way to
provide education buildings. However,
there are many misconceptions about the
suitability of modular buildings for students
with additional needs, particularly their
robustness, acoustics, lack of design
昀氀exibility, bouncy 昀氀oors, etc.
TG Escapes, through original end-user
research and in collaboration with
Haverstock Architects and The Blue Iris
Partnership, have designed Inclusive
Learning Hubs using their modular timber
frame system. This collaboration has
informed the development of predesigned, DfE Spec 21 compliant solutions
for both primary and secondary settings.
Principles
The designs aim to keep specialist
provision within mainstream schools
wherever possible, facilitating inclusive
education with 昀氀exible spaces that blend
seamlessly between the main school and
the Inclusive Learning Hub. Each building
is organised around a central activity area,
with classrooms thoughtfully designed to
give young people a choice of spaces, both
Inside and out, where they can retreat to
support their learning and sensory comfort.
These options empower students to 昀椀nd
environments that best meet their needs,
fostering emotional regulation and creating
a supportive atmosphere.
Speci昀椀cations and Funding
These 16-place and 32-place concepts
meet DfE Output Speci昀椀cation-21
standards for robustness, 昀椀re safety,
acoustics, sustainability, and adaptability.
Timber Frame construction is inherently
robust. As a natural product, timber has
an impressive strength-weight ratio, making
it the perfect construction product.
The walls use severe-duty plasterboard,
which has the highest robustness rating
available. Acoustic standards in BB93 are
achieved with standardised acoustic wall
types along with Class A Ceilings and
Acoustic Bass Pads.
Every setting has unique requirements so
TG Escapes provide free tailored designs
featuring a variety of spaces which can be
used to support students with a range of
needs including ASD, ADHD, MSI, and
SEMH.
The hubs are also designed with funding
requirements in mind, allowing academies,
free schools, and local authorities to
con昀椀dently apply for grants.
Delivery
With over 20 years of experience working
in school environments, TG Escapes
understands the unique challenges that
come with delivering projects in sensitive,
operational settings. Their team ensures
that construction causes minimal
disruption to the daily lives of students
and staff, working closely with schools and
local authorities to deliver high-quality,
functional spaces that meet urgent needs.
The key elements of these designs are
already completed and ready to go,
facilitating signi昀椀cantly reduced lead times,
whilst each building can be tailored to
meet speci昀椀c needs. By utilising a
modular timber frame system, the
construction process is both expedient
and sustainable: timber, as a renewable
resource, plays a critical role in reducing
the carbon footprint. The net-zero 32place setting can be completed in 30
weeks onsite and the 16-place setting in
24 weeks onsite.
TG Escapes modular eco-buildings use
modern methods of construction,
traditional materials and sophisticated
technology. They have provided over 800
buildings UK wide winning Contractor of
the Year at the 2021 Education Estates
Awards, and Public Sector Building
Innovation (2023), Project of the Year (2023)
and Manufacturer of the Year (2024) at the
Modern Methods of Construction Awards.
Customers rate them 4.9 out of 5 based on
193 reviews.
For more information call 0800 917
7726, email info@tgescapes.co.uk or visit
www.tgescapes.co.uk.
