The Acorns Primary School & Nursery Case Study

The Acorns Primary School & Nursery, Cheshire

Client: The Rowan Learning Trust
Product: The Coniston Wall Mounted Canopy
Accessories/Upgrades: Side fills and roller shutters
Size: 10m x 4.4m
Frame Colour:  Hipca White Frame & Traffic White RAL 9016 Roller Shutters
Installation Date: August 2024
Intended Use: Outdoor Classroom for Early Years

The Brief

The Acorns Primary School & Nursery in Cheshire, is a primary school that caters to 369 pupils aged between 2-11. This school belongs to The Rowan Learning Trust which is a multi-academy trust that 11 primary and secondary schools belong to, which are based in Wigan, Knowsley, Bury, Lancashire, and Cheshire West & Chester. The trust’s and school’s goals are to maximise the potential for all meaning to keep their learning facilities to the best standard so all their pupils can learn to their full potential.

As a previous customer, The Rowan Learning Trust’s Director of Operations, contacted us to arrange a survey to discuss what shelter and canopy options we could offer to The Acorns Primary School & Nursery.

In February 2024 we completed another canopy project for the school’s trust at Hawkley High School, which had a 12 m x 6 m Welford Dome Freestanding Canopy with Side and Front Infills and Roller Shutters which could be used as an outdoor classroom for their construction lessons.

The Acorns wanted to upgrade their existing facilities from a worn timber canopy (installed by a different contractor) to a modern efficient solution. We carried out our first survey in February 2024 then a second survey in March 2024 with our solution.

The school wanted the canopy so that their early years children can have access to inside and outside learning zones as part of the Early Years curriculum, which has numerous benefits to pupils and their learning and also will give the school another teaching space with a great chance for the pupils to have a great lesson experience.

Proposal

After the second survey, our surveyor suggested that the school get a canopy with two side fills across the front of the Canopy and one down the side, we also installed a small infill panel to cover the gap under the roof overhang at the front of the canopy and showed the canopy at a School in Hertfordshire as an example. The client liked the idea of this and asked for a quote.

We put together and sent out a quote for this project that was the removal of the 7m  x 4.3m Timber Canopy (not a canopy we installed) and replace it with a 10m x 4.4m Coniston Wall Mounted Canopy with three front fills and two side fills and a 6m x 2.5m Roller Shutters. This Canopy is also known as a Coniston Modular Outdoor Classroom, which offers more protection and benefits than a canopy on its own.

The Installation

In May the school placed the order with us for their Coniston Wall Mounted Canopy with front and side fills and Roller Shutters. We were able to install the Canopy and side fills first in August 2024 during the school summer holidays and then returned at the beginning of September to the school to install the Roller Shutters to cause as little disruption to school life at The Acorns Primary School and Nursery. With the installation completed at The Acorns Primary School & Nursery, they now have an extra classroom they could use all year round and the children and staff would be protected from the elements, but they could also learn outside which has numerous benefits for children, especially at a young age. The Canopy can also be used as a storage facility meaning that the school can put all their equipment inside the canopy and the equipment will stay dry and protected.

The school and trust were pleased with the result of their new canopy installed. The pupils and staff were able to enjoy their new outdoor play area upon their return to school in September.

If you require a canopy for your school, contact us today to discover the perfect solution.