Improvement work continues while school’s out for summer.

Thousands of Nottinghamshire youngsters may be off school enjoying the summer holidays, but for council teams and local suppliers, the hard work continues to make the county’s school buildings and classrooms a better place to learn.

More than £15 million has been invested in a range of improvement work taking place at 25 schools over the summer break. This is all part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s wider School Building Improvement Programme.

One of the biggest school upgrade projects in the county at the moment is at High Oakham Primary School in Mansfield to help extend the life of the building.

Work is well underway to boost the building’s infrastructure, including a replacement roof, which will also improve energy efficiency and save on bills. This major refurbishment work is expected to be completed by June 2027.

Councillor Simon Wright, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND and Councillor Richard Ward Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, and visited the school to see for themselves the work happening behind the scenes.

Cllr Wright said: “There is an incredible amount of work happening in our schools over the holiday period to improve and enhance them.

“Every child deserves to learn in the best environment possible, so it’s vital that we invest in our future generations.”

Cllr Ward added:

“It’s fantastic to see how our investment is taking shape to help benefit this school.

“This work, as well as the dozens of other projects happening over the summer, is also supporting a wide range of local SMEs through our supply chain. This helps us to keep money within the local economy and support family-run businesses across Nottinghamshire.”

Shaun Middleton is the Director at Lukes and Godwin, a Mansfield-based electrical contractor and engineer. He said that working with Arc Partnership and Nottinghamshire County Council has given them the opportunity to build strong, ongoing relationships with schools such as High Oakham and other local organisations. He said:

“This contract has also helped us develop a reputation as a reliable and responsive local electrical contractor. Working within schools has also allowed us to demonstrate our ability to work safely and professionally in sensitive environments, often around pupils and staff, whilst minimising disruption to the school day.

“With the continuation of local work, it has also given us the opportunity to build a relationship with West Notts college, which we currently employ three Apprentices from, and also looking to work with them in the near future to offer work experience placements for their T-level students in building services.

“Local work means we also use local suppliers for materials building relationships with these and most recently completed the national 3 peaks challenge to raise money for Wellchild.”

Paul Goulding is partner at Arnold Electrical, a family-run business that has been serving Nottinghamshire since 1994. It is one of the many local contractors working on school projects this summer, including High Oakham. Paul said:

"At Arnold Electrical, we're incredibly proud to be involved in this project and it's particularly rewarding to contribute to projects that directly benefit local schools and the wider community.

“This contract has provided valuable work for our team and allows us to continue investing in our skilled workforce while supporting the next generation through improved educational facilities. Seeing our work make a tangible difference to the environment where children learn and develop is something we take great pride in. We are pleased to be working alongside Arc Partnership and Nottinghamshire County Council to help deliver improvements that will have a lasting positive impact for pupils, staff, and the local community."

Arc Partnership, a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and SCAPE, designed, delivered and cost managed the improvement scheme.