Enfield Speciality Doors helps transform care home into £4 million SEND school

A former residential care home in Tiverton, Devon, has been transformed into a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) facility, Charlton Lodge school. The £4 million refurbishment programme included substantial alterations and extensions to the original building, which had to be delivered before the school opened in September 2019. “As with most education projects, fire safety, acoustic performance and durability were key considerations,” explains Nigel Sill, CEO of Enfield Speciality Doors, which supplied 102 bespoke fire doors to the project. The 30 and 60 minute fire doors also offered acoustic insulation/performance ranging between 33-36 dB, and were delivered on a phased, 34-week programme. The door sets were factory-prepared to accommodate special anti-ligature ironmongery, for heavy duty wear.

Nigel adds: “The combination of different materials required to give a higher acoustic performance (anything above 35 dB is ‘specialist’) can make it harder to achieve a good level of fire resistance. That’s where our expertise comes in. We’ve been supplying the market for over 30 years with custom made timber doors, advising architects, specifiers, contractors and facilities managers on the best solutions for their projects, large or small.”

Charlton Lodge is a co-education ‘free school’ run by Plymouth-based ACE Schools Trust, and caters for 70 pupils aged 11-16. Designed and managed by NPS (Norfolk Property Services) South West and Hampton Barron Smith (structural/M&E) for Devon County Council, the project was delivered by Morgan Sindall.

For more information on specialist fire and acoustic doors, or to visit Enfield’s factories, email sales@enfielddoors.co.uk, call 020 8805 6662 or visit enfielddoors.co.uk.