Charter East Dulwich building work?

[jc2]

?seems to have stopped. Any update to when it will resume and a new schedule of completion posted? Thanks!

[redjam]

Yes it's been very frustrating. There was an update that went out to parents recently from the CEO of the Charter Educational Trust - as it was a public letter I trust they won't have any objection if I reproduce it here (I've removed email addresses):

Dear Staff, Students, Parents and Carers

I am writing to give you an update on the completion of building works at The Charter School East Dulwich. I know what frustration and disappointment you have felt on seeing the empty building site over the past few months, and would like to reassure you about what we are doing to make sure we can all enjoy our new environment and spaces as soon as possible.

The Charter Schools Educational Trust is working with Southwark Council and the Department for Education (DfE), who are paying for the new building. There have been quite a few challenges in the course of this project. The impact of the pandemic on companies in the building industry has severely delayed the development of the design, and costs for Phase 2 of the building programme during this time have risen dramatically. The higher costs mean we have had to re-think our designs to reduce cost, and then get the new designs and revised budget approved. This process hasn't yet finished, but the local authority and the DfE are doing all they can to make decisions as quickly as possible.

As a Trust, we have continued to stress to the DfE and Southwark Council, how urgent this project is for our growing school, and how much our community needs the external space and access to specialist resources. We have worked alongside the DfE and the local authority to push the project on as fast as possible. The Trust has also contributed some of the shortfalls in funding to make sure that the quality of our school environment continues to be high despite needing to re-think our designs.

So, where are we now?

The demolition and the clearing of the site are complete, and the building of a multi-use games court has also been completed. Next year, Phase 2 of the project will begin. This will include:

➢Main school hall

➢Specialist Sixth Form workspace

➢Specialist music classrooms and instrumental studios

➢Drama studio

➢Main school library

➢Administration and support service offices

➢SEND resource base

➢Increased outdoor space with complete landscaping to the site, including outdoor seating.

The Phase 2 works are planned to begin in February 2022 for completion during the 2022-23 Academic Year. We are working with the project managers to make sure spaces can be released for use quickly as they are completed, focusing on classrooms and workspaces for teachers.

Our school will continue to provide a full curriculum, making careful use of our current buildings. Our main teaching block already provides over 85% of the total teaching space for the completed project, including all classrooms, state-of-the-art science labs, specialist Art and DT departments. We also benefit from our purpose-built Sports and Catering block. In September 2021, the school took ownership of our new purpose-built MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area), providing much-needed outdoor sports facilities, and this is already being used by pupils.

As construction gets underway on the land adjacent to the current school site, there will inevitably be some disruption, but we know we can rely on our school community to be responsible, flexible and understanding. We will keep you fully informed of progress at every stage via our regular newsletters to you all.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch with Justine Brennan, the school's Director of Operations, or with me personally - we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

[goldilocks]

Hi redjam - have you heard anything further on this please? The letter indicates that phase 2 works are planned to begin in feb 2022, so wondered whether there had been any update as to whether the funding has now been secured?

[redjam]

Haven't heard anything since then, sorry.

[goldilocks]

Hi Redjam - wondered whether you had heard anything further from the school as to whether the funding has been agreed please? As its now March clearly work hasn't started as anticipated, but wondered if there had been any update for parents?

[redjam]

Sorry, there hasn't been any news for parents on this recently. Have you tried contacting the school direct?

[goldilocks]

No - I will do. Thanks for the update.