New nursery building at Holton St Peter Primary School begins to take shape

Construction work has recently begun on a new 30 place standalone nursery building on site at Holton St Peter Primary School in the village of Holton, Halesworth. Suffolk County Council and East Suffolk Council are working together to expand the schools offering to now include children aged two and three years old.

The new nursery will also be run by the ASSET Education Trust, whose vision is to ‘seek to equip and empower the next generation of children and create a more compassionate, equitable and sustainable world where they personally and collectively thrive’.

Christine Starkl, Headteacher at Holton St Peter Primary School, said: “I am over the moon to be able to soon offer a high standard facility that will give the young children of Holton and Halesworth a fantastic start to life. Holton St Peter School currently has a very small number of nursery children; these children are excited to be housed in a new building. Our local children deserve the best that our small school and village can offer so I am pleased that work is finally progressing on site”.

Nursery education is paramount to the lives of young children so those in Holton, Halesworth and surrounding areas will benefit from their very own learning environment. The main contractor for the scheme, Brooks and Wood, are working with Concertus Design and Property Consultants to provide the new facilities which will include an office, a quiet room, a kitchen, and a classroom which will lead to additional outdoor learning space.

Natalie Finnigan, Associate Director at Concertus, said: “The team have been delighted to be involved in this project at Holton St Peter and support the local community with this much needed early years provision. With sustainability high on everyone’s agenda the scheme incorporates PV panels and air source heat pumps to support carbon neutrality, as well as providing a design that incorporates both timber cladding and brickwork to complement the existing school building and the local aesthetics with planting beds and climbing plants to soften the overall feel of the build. With a small site on an existing school, we’ve been keen to provide a compact design that provides the required areas for learning without disrupting the current teaching provision.”

Stuart Boardley, Director at Brooks and Wood, said: “Brooks and Wood are delighted once more to be selected as the delivery partner for this scheme at Holton St Peter. We are looking forward to working alongside Concertus, Suffolk County Council and of course, Christine and her staff at the school to deliver this much needed additional provision for the local community to enjoy for years to come.”

The governors, staff and children are so excited about the new project, that children at the school are currently creating and gathering items to put into a ‘Time Capsule’ which will be placed near to the front door of the new building.

Philip Ridley, Head of Planning and Coastal Management at East Suffolk Council said: “Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding is used to support improvements to community facilities which enhance the lives of local residents. In 2021, East Suffolk Council allocated £6.3m in CIL funding to support the expansion of schools, leisure, and health facilities in the district, including the expansion of Holton St Peter Primary School, and it is wonderful to see this project get underway.”
Works are due to complete later this year, allowing the school to welcome more children from the local area.