Pepped up Pipworth

Infants at Pipworth School have a great new playground to enjoy and study nature in, thanks to Sheffield Homes.

 

The company, who manage the council’s housing stock, put their normal remit to one side following a plea for help to local businesses from deputy head teacher, Vanessa Langley.

 

For generations, children at the 75 year-old year old Nursery and Infant School on Pipworth Road near Sheffield’s Manor area, played on hard, grey concrete, which doubled up as the staff carpark. At the end of last year, the school acquired adjacent land – but it was still largely concrete and had been subjected to vandalism and tipping for years. While parents mucked in to help clear some of the debris, they couldn’t do much about the rest.

 

“As soon as we heard their plight, we went in to see them and decided we’d love to help,” said Sheffield Homes’ Housing Co-ordinator, Richard Crann. “The school just had funds to cover the materials, so we brought in our Estates Management Team and they sourced the materials, managed the scheme and provided the labour, free of charge.”

 

The £1,700 three-week project, which has just been completed, included leveling, turfing and fencing as well as designing and building seating areas around trees - and answering the children’s endless questions!

 

“The children were very inquisitive and were constantly asking our workers and officers what they were doing, why and how - which we took great pleasure and patience in answering!” said Area Manager Paul Walton. “It made it a particularly rewarding project to work on - they especially liked the seating and fenced areas”

 

“Quite simply, we could not have done this without the expertise, skills and support of Sheffield Homes, so we are extremely grateful to them and I’d recommend them to anyone,” said Deputy Head teacher, Vanessa Langley. “We did get some kind donations from local businesses, but we still could not have covered the full costs of the work and had no idea even where to start.

 

“It’s a huge improvement to the school. Not only are the children now thoroughly enjoying using their new playground, having a grassed area means we can create a nature area for the first time, which will help with their curriculum environmental studies.”

 

The Sheffield Homes’ Area Estates Team is responsible for all the environmental work in its designated area. This covers everything from ground maintenance to hedge cutting.

 

“This is the first time we’ve helped out with school property,” explained Richard Crann. “Our main focus is council housing and so we have to spend the vast majority of our resources on housing and council estates. So unfortunately, we are not normally in a position to offer skills and services free of charge. But we do see ourselves as a social landlord, with a commitment to tackling anti social behaviour, maintaining the environment, and making

areas safe, attractive and sustainable, so as a key stakeholder partner in this area, we felt this was worth making an exception.  With 200 now very happy children, we’re all very pleased we did!”

 

 

Press Contact: Neil Anderson on 01142 257080 (office) or 07779 292212 (mobile).