Old factory to be turned into school for pupils excluded from mainstream
A FORMER factory is being converted and extended to provide a new home for a school which teaches students outside the mainstream.
The building, in Wood Street, Hinckley, will be the new base for Uneek Learning, a facility for children aged 12 to 16 who cannot be educated in an ordinary school environment.
This may be for several reasons, such as a pupil’s non-engagement in school, exclusion from mainstream education, or if they have mental health issues.
The school will include three individual classrooms on the ground floor and a larger learning space on the second floor.
The current building will be extended on the ground floor to provide offices and on the second floor, to provide the large classroom and toilets.
A maximum of 20 students will be on the site at any one time during the school day, between 9am and 3.30pm.
The facility will replace Uneek Learning’s two schools in the town, in Druid Street and Lower Bond Street.
The young people will be educated one-to-one or in a small group, for maths and English.
Teaching will also take place for practical subjects, such as vehicle mechanics or food technology. The students may also have gardening lessons outside. A planning document filed for the scheme said the school will provide “a calming urban setting to help vulnerable children flourish and develop”. It also said the school facility would provide “a proactive learning facility that is intended to encourage the pupils to catch up with their education and prepare them for the world beyond”.
A planning document said the school will provide ‘a calming urban setting to help vulnerable children flourish and develop’