Four schools in Derby, all part of the Odyssey Collaborative Trust, have been successful in gaining nearly £1million of funding to carry out work to improve their buildings.
Cherry Tree Hill Primary in Chaddesden, Springfield Primary in Spondon, Beaufort Primary in Chaddesden and Portway Junior School in Allestree all received funding following the bid submitted on behalf of the Trust by property consultant Eddisons.
The money will come from the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund, taking the total amount the Trust has been successful in winning from this pot in recent years to £7.4 million.
Ian Dewes, Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey Collaborative Trust, said: “Working with Eddisons we have had huge success this year with our bids.
“The results announced over the Easter break showed only five schools in Derby were successful in receiving funding – four of them being Odyssey Collaborative Trust schools, so that is a great result for our schools.”
The biggest funding award went to Springfield Primary School which will receive £309,000 towards the £412,000 cost of installing new windows. The Trust will put money towards each of the projects as well.
David Blackwell, head teacher at Springfield Primary School, said: “We were delighted our bid was successful as it is the second part of a project which began, also using CIF funding, three years ago. The aim of the project is to modernise the windows in school, whilst at the same time, retaining the original character and appearance that was established when the school was built back in 1932. Hopefully this bid will help ensure the lifespan of the school premises for the next 92 years!”
Portway Junior School and Cherry Tree Hill will both receive nearly £225,000. At the Allestree school, the money will go towards new heaters, while at Cherry Tree Hill it will pay for fire doors. Fire Doors will also be installed with the £175,000 awarded to Beaufort Primary School.
The success for Odyssey Collaborative Trust was against a backdrop of disappointment for many schools across the country – this year saw the lowest number of school building work requests approved since the CIF system began in 2015. In the East Midlands, 182 (64%) of the 268 bids that were submitted for improvements and repairs to school buildings were turned down by the Government for funding.
Joseph Fitzsimmons, a director in Eddisons’ specialist education team, said: “We are proud of the great results we’ve achieved for the Odyssey Collaborative Trust in Derby, with four out of the six bids we submitted on their behalf getting funding.
“In total we succeeded in winning £20m of building improvement funding for schools across the country but this year’s funding announcement serves to highlight the stark lack of funding for school improvements, with less than a third of total bids getting the go ahead.”
