Early years learning is where the backbone of education begins and delivering an environment that provides younger children with the necessary infrastructure to support good practice in sports, communal areas or teaching rooms is an essential element in the education mix.
At the new flagship Pencoed Primary School near Bridgend in Wales they make it their mission to ensure that every child learns in a friendly, happy school where they feel valued. Work on the brand new £10.8m Pencoed Primary School has now been completed with the school bell ringing for the first time at start of the Autumn term last year. When pupils walked through the doors it was the first time that the whole primary school has been on one single site since the old school was built in the early 1900s. For more than a century, there were separate infant and junior sections, with buildings across either side of the busy Penprysg Road as well as premises at Heol y Cyw. Now with 600 children presently on the roll in one single site it’s their aim is to deliver an environment suitable for all needs.
Councillor Huw David, Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council said at the time, “I can’t emphasise enough how proud I am that we have been able to deliver an outstanding new school for the people of Pencoed. The old school buildings served generations of local people, but this modern integrated facility is required so that we can move with the times and can provide the best educational environment possible.”
When the school needed flooring for this massive new build project they turned to international flooring specialists Gerflor to deliver a fantastic selection of fit for purpose, future- proof solutions.
With over-70 years’ experience Gerflor has honed their expertise in safety flooring to produce the highest standards of safety and durability, coupled to delivering stunning, beautiful designs that are both inspirational and eye-catching. In 2016 Gerflor won the CFJ/CFA Product of the Year category with their Taralay Impression Control safety flooring range. Not an easy undertaking by any means.
Taralay Impression Control is the perfect option for a wide variety of education new builds and refurbishments where high volumes of footfall are expected and there is a need for safety and slip resistance. A multi-purpose floor covering available in 2m sheet format with a Group T wear rating, it’s ideal for a host of heavy traffic environments where slip resistance is a must.
Jason Burton MCIAT, Principal Architectural Assistant, Bridgend County Borough Council commented, “We have a long-standing working relationship with Gerflor formed over years of specifying and dealing with their products. Any specification used has continually met the needs of the building and has stood the test of time. They have many design options within each range, affording us the opportunity to be as creative as possible. Their pre-sales and specification support are exemplary and after care equally so.”
Taralay Impression Comfort from Gerflor comprises a Very High Density (VHD) foam backing reinforced with a glass fibre grid and a printed design that’s protected by a transparent wear layer (0.65 mm thick) which offers 19 dB sound insulation and an indentation resistance of 0.11 mm. The product is protected by a UV cured surface treatment Protecsol® 2 which is easy to maintain and permanently eliminates the need of an acrylic emulsion (metallisation). It does not contain any heavy metals or CMR 1&2 and it is 100% compliant with REACH.
Changing rooms and showering areas in many educational locations can often be wet and slippery environments and that’s where Tarasafe Ultra H20 from Gerflor is the ideal solution. Intended for traditional barefoot spaces where there are continuous wet areas, Tarasafe Ultra H20 also offers a shod solution, providing a perfect blend of flooring applications for those areas where wet flooring conditions can be an issue.
Commenting further on the project Jason Burton added, “We have used Gerflor many times and were delighted with the outcome. We had numerous discussions with the Head Teacher and the colour and finish selections were co-ordinated with a lot of the loose furniture options that the School selected. Overall the result has been very well received.”
For more information on Gerflor Ltd, please click [here]