Mobile Classroom Building at Kington St Michael Primary School

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Mobile classroom

Mobile classroom

It is finally in and operational! Delivered as a pre-manufactured mobile classroom, the school were enjoying their first class in there just 10 days after we delivered the building to site. The teachers and staff (and the children) are absolutely delighted with it and in this cold weather, they are more than warm!

And a quote from the headteacher:

“The children love it. It has a fantastic atmosphere, and is a really nice learning environment. We wanted a building in keeping with the school and our rural surroundings. We also wanted it to be smart, not like an old-fashioned mobile classroom, and to be a permanent fixture that would last.”

Tracy Cornelius, Headteacher,

Kington St Michael CE Primary School, Wiltshire

For further information, please contact Simon Fearnehough on simon@hideouthouse.com or phone 01865 858982

www.hideouthouse.com

WIth solid log walls interior

WIth solid log walls interior

Superglamp – A New Division For The Hideout House Company

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full package

Our business has always been involved in the educational sector and we have hopefully built up a good reputation with schools for supplying quality outdoor classrooms, eco classrooms, school buildings, playground equipment and bespoke landscaping projects.

But we started to get quite a few enquiries from the leisure and hospitality industry for play equipment, multi purpose buildings such as offices, reception buildings etc and mobile buildings which could be adapted for accommodation purposes…so we have started a new division called Superglamp to service this growing and exciting industry. Not only do we create unique products, we create unique concepts which includes accommodation units in many different guises,  products which compliment the trend for wellness breaks, multi-purpose outdoor buildings and our very own “unique chic boutique” which includes such novel items as grass covered outdoor sofas!

Eco tourism is very important in this industry too so we have managed to utilise a lot of our knowledge, experience and products from the educational sector into the Superglamp brand…such as our pod lodges which are totally off-grid and self sufficient.

For more information, please visit the website www.superglamp.com

Or contact us on 01865 858982 or email info@hideouthouse.com

 

 

 

Mobile School Classroom Building at KSM

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P1090016

Yesterday we delivered our new modular/mobile classroom building at Kington St Michael School in Wiltshire. It is an attractive, off-site pre-manufactured classroom building which comes in four sections which are all then bolted together once sited. At this particular school, we had to use a crane to lift each section into place due to the access problems there but all went without a hitch and within the day, we had pretty much completed the siting process.

The school are delighted because of course mobile classrooms of this type of modular build system happens very quickly (compared with a traditional on-site build which for a project such as this would have typically involved a contract period of 6-8 weeks at the school) and therefore does not interfere too much with their average school day. Once all of the services have been connected up and the flooring laid, the school should be using the building and be fully operational by the end of next week.

This particular school classroom building has a classroom area size of 54m2, a kitchenette area, services and storage cupboard, lobby and entrance area and 2 x WCs.

Watch this space for further updates….

For more information, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email simon@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

P1090035

An Easy Way to Raise Funds for Your School Playground Project

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Last week we very kindly received an order for an outdoor classroom and some playground equipment from a school whose name I didn’t immediately recognise. On consulting the database, I noticed that the original enquiry was from two and a half years back but it had taken this amount of time for the good people of the PTA to raise the necessary funds of £10K. God bless them and no doubt that constituted many hours of organising events, fayres and much cake baking! Without PTAs, companies such as mine who supply products for the school playground would be struggling because we do appreciate school budget funds are tight and that this is the age of austerity.

But there is now an alternative as we could probably have got them the same amount of money in 6 months and all that they would have to have done is give us half an hour of their time to brief us on the project and their school and complete a 2 page check list. That is all! We have devised a proven track success in how to successfully raise funds and for the projects we have worked on this year, we have enjoyed a 100% success rate. If we are not successful, it hasn’t cost the school a bean apart from a bit of time.

PTAs can still run their fundraising activities concurrently with what we are doing as well.

For further information on this scheme, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email simon@hideouthouse.com

and visit www.hideouthouse.com

The Benefits of Eco Classrooms

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There are indeed some very good reasons why your school should consider buying an eco classroom building as opposed to a more traditional design and specification. Below we list the principle reasons for going down the eco design route:

  • It goes without saying of course that eco classrooms are environmentally friendly and are doing their bit to keep the environment in check. Quite simply, you are protecting the planet for future generations to enjoy
  • Reduced costs – energy efficient and sustainable buildings reduce overall energy bills
  • With modular builds, you save on transport and on-site build costs and therefore reduce the CO2 footprint of costly distribution and production methods
  • Your school can promote environmental awareness to the school and local community as well as connecting children with nature
  • Use the building as an educational resource so that children can actually be part of the sustainability knowledge process
  • They are usually manufactured from eco friendly materials – accredited sustainable timber from managed plantations, living sedum roofs, rainwater harvesting systems and sun pipes
  • They can use renewable energy sources for heating and lighting (solar panels, wind turbines and air source heat pumps)
  • Eco classrooms can help towards your Eco Schools accreditations as they compliment some of the major eco school topics – RENEWABLE ENERGY, BIO-DIVERSITY, SCHOOL GROUNDS, RE-CYCLING & GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
  • There could be some grants available too which will support the funding of these types of classroom buildings

For further information, please visit

The Hideout House Company Ltd

www.hideouthouse.com

eco outdoor classroom

eco outdoor classroom

The Green Room

 

 

Why You Should Buy School Playground Equipment Made From Recycled Plastic

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If you are looking to replace your existing school playground equipment or indeed are looking to purchase some additional items, then we would advise you to strongly consider buying it out of recycled plastic as opposed to traditional timber. I was at a school just last week who are wanting to replace some existing adventure trim trail items because they have split very badly and when the site manager tried to move them found out that they were rotten to the core below ground level. And this is equipment which was only installed less than five years ago!

Nowadays you will probably see in school playgrounds a lot of outdoor picnic tables made from recycled plastic and there are some very good reasons why. We love selling it because it is of course very eco friendly due to the fact that it is made out of 100% recycled materials – mainly plastic bottles. But aside from saving the planet, these are the other principal benefits of recycled plastic play equipment:

Maintenance free as it doesn’t ever rot, corrode or splinter like traditional timber

Crack proof and does not have “shakes” (like traditional timber)

Eco friendly as it is made out of recycled plastic bottles and is fully recyclable at the end of its use

UV resistant with little colour loss due to direct sunlight

Resistant to graffiti, insects and algae

Less flammable than traditional timber and resistant to most chemicals

Hard wearing and exceptionally durable – typically lasting five times longer than timber and does not degrade with age

With budgets tighter than ever, schools have to ensure that they are getting value for money but a quality product too which is going to last. That is why we strongly believe that in the non too distant future school playground equipment made out of recycled plastic will be the standard specification.

For further details, please visit

The Hideout House Company

www.hideouthouse.com

Recyled plastic Trim trail

Recyled plastic Trim trail

Forest School Outdoor Classroom

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Fire pit building

Fire pit building

We have had many enquiries from schools this past year for outdoor classroom buildings for their forest school settings – be it on their own grounds or as part of a shared facility with a local established forest school set up.

You could argue that the forest or woodland itself is the outdoor classroom – which of course it is – but our buildings are principally used as an outdoor classroom facility where a class can easily sit down, undertake their learning-outside-of-the-classroom studies or simply take shelter! But like always, we have adapted our buildings to enhance this environment – for example we have supplied a  fire pit shelter and outdoor classroom building with a cooking area fire pit in the middle and a hole in the roof so that the smoke can easily exhaust out and upwards; another one had built-in bug hotel wall panels so that the children could get up close and personal with those mini beasts; we have supplied observation tables with magnifying glasses and you can even have one with living wall panels where growing plants (or creepers) gradually grow up the side of the building to give that ultimate hideaway courtesy of Mother Nature!

We can also put outdoor toilets in them too. And if they are fully enclosed, you can heat them via a wood burning stove from wood and logs the children have collected from the wood or forest.

Forest schools provide a great opportunity for children to learn to play outdoors all year round and to learn about their natural environment. We just help that process with the products we supply

For more information, please visit Forest Schools or contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982, email info@hideouthouse.com or visit www.hideouthouse.com

Outdoor classroom in forest school

Outdoor classroom in forest school

firepit_03

 

Mini Mobile Outdoor Classroom

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We have developed with our partners Cedartree a new mini lodge for the holiday and glamping market but we have already had a few enquiries from schools who are wanting to use this for their outdoor or forest school classroom buildings….or even as an office or reception area for the school.

It measures 5.3m x 3.3m, is pre-manufactured in the factory and comes delivered off the back of a low-loader truck. It is fully insulated too and if needs be it can come with a WC and mini kitchen area. We are also currently researching whether it can be used totally “off-grid”. A decking area is also available.

The great advantage to a school is that it requires minimum on-site time compared with a traditional build and is capable of being moved or removed. But if you needed to offer it as providing accommodation, again no problem because this is what it was actually designed for!

As far as we are aware, there is nothing else on the market like this so we are hoping for great things!

For further information, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email: simon@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

Faraway Montana Selection 1

The SEN Outdoor Classroom

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in a sensory garden setting

in a sensory garden setting

We get a lot of enquiries from SEN schools who are looking for outdoor learning experiences and outdoor classrooms which can be adapted to their needs. So as always, we have created our very own SEN outdoor classroom which has the following extra features: sensory planters, multi-coloured light panels, musical panels, sensory cubes which are either grass covered or with multi-coloured light panels, tactile wall panels and our renewable energy systems including dynamo bikes (or hand cranks for those children in wheelchairs) and wind turbines and solar panels.

We have also done quite a bit of research on the grant funding opportunities for these type of buildings for the SEN educational sector and the good news is that a lot of funders will support projects such as these. So please do talk to us about this.

For further information, please visit SEN outdoor classrooms

The Hideout House Company

www.hideouthouse.com   email: info@hideouthouse.com

Eco Classroom Project at the Green Britain Centre

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eco outdoor classroom

eco classroom

We have an exciting project coming up with the Green Britain Centre in Norfolk where we are soon to be supplying them with one of our eco classrooms. The Green Britain Centre is part of Ecotricity’s Green Britain Foundation and we are extremely proud to have an on-going relationship with this forward-looking company.

The centre is a popular destination for school and college trips so our eco classroom will be used by visiting school children to conduct outdoor lessons and studies. It is a 5m octagonal classroom and will be enclosed with glazed panels so that it can be extensively used all year round.

It will be installed by the end of the year. If schools want to take the opportunity to find out first hand about renewable forms of energy, new forms of transport and sustainable food, then this is the place to go. You can also climb to the top of their windmill (wind turbine) and it is the only one in the world which allows people to do so.

For further information click on eco classrooms and the Green Britain Centre