Clearbox Inside helps Kier complete North East schools

Clearbox Inside was initially invited to scope out the FF&E for Vane Road Primary School, the sample scheme for the DfE in the North East. We attended client engagement meetings, producing detailed, co-ordinated drawings, schedules and catalogues with accurate costings after each revision. With our experience and in-depth knowledge of FF&E, together with our ‘tried and tested’, but also adaptable information, we were able to help the team win this project and the follow-on schemes.

Each scheme, either new build or refurbishment, varied in size and complexity and incorporated new fixed and loose furniture, which complemented the existing legacy where used. Our system enabled the FF&E to be continually tracked, scheduled, costed and co-ordinated through each stage which helped keep the projects on track.

At Dinnington First School in Northumberland, the team completely replaced the existing building, providing 326 junior school places. The external works for this £5.2m project were completed 12 weeks earlier than planned.

Cullercoats Primary School in North Shields was completed an impressive 23 weeks early. The site team did a phenomenal job handing the £4.7m project over well ahead of the planned date in February 2020.

The team undertook detailed consultation and planning with the school, which allowed them to gain early access to areas of the building during term time. The project involved a phased refurbishment to bring the building up to current standards and meet the condition needs of the Department for Education (DfE) programme.

The Kier North East team also worked with the DfE and the Local Authority as part of a £5.5m project to replace the existing school at Vane Road Primary School in Newton Aycliffe. The school now caters for 420 junior school pupils and was ready for the start of the new school term in September.

Finally, at Toner Avenue Primary School in Hebburn Kier provided a seamless handover of this £8.8m project ahead of the new school term. The DfE, Local Authority, teachers, parents and pupils are very happy and are settling into their new building, which caters for 630 pupils and 39 nursery places.

Phil McDowell, Kier’s Operations Director in the North East said: "I'd like to say a huge thank you to our teams who have worked incredibly hard to deliver these projects, not only on time but to hand them all over early is a fantastic achievement and is testament to the teamwork, commitment and planning of our site teams working on each of these projects.

"We've delighted our customers, providing an excellent example of delivering our projects by focusing on what matters most."