23 pupils from Hadrian School in Newcastle got the opportunity to go behind the scenes of a building site and partake in dedicated activities with Leazes Homes and regeneration specialist ENGIE.
Hadrian School caters for pupils aged between two and 11 years, with a range of additional needs, including complex, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties. The school was approached by Leazes Homes, an affordable housing provider based in Newcastle, in partnership with ENGIE, to offer the opportunity for pupils to visit a new housing scheme on Dorcas Avenue.
Pupils were given a site tour and taught about the hidden dangers of a live construction site and took part in several interactive activities, including designing different types of homes at their favourite locations.
A pupil from Hadrian School helps to build a wall with staff from Leazes Homes and ENGIE
Keen to ensure the day was inclusive for every student, the teams at ENGIE and Leazes Homes tailored several activities to facilitate a blind student and made sure she was able to feel a range of construction materials to identify what they were and understand their purpose in the build chain.
Bill Midgley, Chair of Leazes Homes, said: “Leazes Homes is committed to engaging with local people in the communities where it owns properties so that as many people as possible can benefit from its build programme.
“We have worked with Hadrian School in the past and we were thrilled to do so again – it’s wonderful for us to meet such enthusiastic youngsters who may one day live in our properties! We know the practical lessons are also really useful for the children and they get lots out of it too, which is why we approached the school to see if they might be interested in a visit to site. It was great to see them enjoy their day so much”
Lee Francis, Area Director for ENGIE, said: “We love working with local schools for two very important reasons – firstly, to warn of the dangers of construction sites; but also to showcase how exciting the construction trade can be and generate interest in our field.
“It was fantastic to welcome the kids from Hadrian School on-site and see first-hand how enjoyable interactive lessons are for them. Everybody got really stuck in and we’d like to thank the teachers for allowing us this opportunity.”
Julia Kelly from Hadrian School, said: “The children had a fantastic day designing their dream home and then visiting the building site to see how houses are built. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed laying a brick to make a wall. We would like to thank everyone involved for giving the children this opportunity.”
ENGIE is delivering 32 two and three bedroom homes for affordable rent on Dorcas Avenue on behalf of Newcastle City council and Leazes Homes.
For further information on ENGIE, visit www.business.engie.co.uk/places