A NORTH Wales construction firm has been appointed to design and build up to 13 early years provisions for schools across Flintshire.

Wynne Construction is in the design stage of Flintshire Council’s multi-million pound contract, with the project offering wraparound childcare for three to four-year-olds, providing support before and after school.

The Bodelwyddan-based contractor will deliver indoor and outdoor environments ready for children to use by mid-2021.

They will incorporate a mix of new buildings and refurbishments and will be constructed using Wynne Construction’s off-site modular process, which adopts a ‘fabric first’ design approach. This provides high levels of insulation, therefore making them energy efficient and reducing running costs.

The overall carbon footprint is also lowered due to the manufacturing process being carried out off-site, resulting in reduced travel to and from each of the sites.

Each of the facilities include indoor and outdoor play areas, kitchen space, adult and children’s toilets, a meeting room and reception area with room for pushchairs.

Chris Wynne, managing director at Wynne Construction, said: “We are pleased to strengthen our existing relationship with Flintshire County Council, having recently completed works at Ysgol Penyffordd and been appointed at Ysgol Glanrafon, Mold.

“We used our off-site methodology at Ysgol Penyffordd and will continue to do so on these projects. It’s a form of construction which involves assembling sections off-site and then delivering them to the school, meaning less operational work around children which improves health and safety.

“We look forward to working closely with social services, design consultancy and education teams to create calm, uplifting and safe areas that will benefit the community through childcare support.”

The plans are part of the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools Programme. The completed project will ensure there is sufficient childcare in the right areas, supporting co-location. Currently, three to four-year-olds are entitled to a minimum of 10 hours a week of funded early education.

Andy Garner, design manager at Wynne Construction, added: "We have overcome challenges presented by COVID-19 to ensure we are still on programme. Our processes and in-house technologies have ensured that our collaborative design stage procedures have not been affected by the government’s lockdown requirements.

“All parties are working remotely, but using cloud-based software, we have been able to continue with client meetings, workshops with the school teams, and coordinate activities with consultants.”