Boston Endeavour Academy Hydrotherapy Pool

Formerly known as The John Fielding Special School, Boston Endeavour Academy is a newly built school for children aged 2-19 with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities.

Located in the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire, the £13.2 million school opened to 100 children in September 2021, with that number expected to rise to 140 in the coming years.

To accompany the state of the art facilities including therapy rooms, specialist classrooms and a life-skills suite, Boston Endeavour Academy also wanted to install a hydrotherapy pool.

Hydrotherapy provides a number of benefits including improving skin and muscle tone, boosting the immune system, and improving the function of the internal organs by stimulating the blood supply.

With this in mind, the school got in touch with Innova Care Concepts for their expertise in designing and installing stainless steel hydrotherapy pools.

Watch the video below to see the hydrotherapy pool and plant room we installed for Boston Endeavour Academy.

The Challenge

As a new build school that caters primarily for students with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), Boston Endeavour Academy were interested in incorporating a hydrotherapy pool into their new facility.

Their previous building didn’t have a hydrotherapy pool that students could use, so instead they would hire a local facility.

By using a local hydrotherapy pool, they saw the benefits it brought to their students, from improving skin and muscle tone, to encouraging relaxation.

However, the cost to hire a pool, sending support staff to get students changed and then dressed, was a significant cost to the school.

Therefore, they wanted to install a hydrotherapy pool of their own that students could use all year round, without having to travel to another pool.

Having installed stainless steel hydrotherapy pools for a number of SEN schools and rehabilitation centres, Boston Endeavour got in touch with Innova Care Concepts for their expertise.

Boston Endeavour Academy required a pool that could provide hydrotherapy treatment that catered for different healthcare needs, as well as helping with infection prevention.

Space was at a premium, so the school also needed a plant room that was very small, but still able to function exactly the same as a normal sized plant room.

Innova’s Solution

Having never previously had their own hydrotherapy pool, Boston Endeavour Academy sought the advice of Innova’s projects team on what sort of pool would most suit their needs.

Through a number of consultations, Innova were able to advise that a 6m x 4m 316 grade stainless steel hydrotherapy pool would be the perfect option.

By including this grade of stainless steel, the pool features the addition of molybdenum that gives it improved corrosion resistance, ensuring it lasts longer and makes it easier to maintain.

The inclusion of stainless steel also made it perfect for an SEN environment, as its smooth, completely intact service eliminates any potential nooks or crannies where bacteria can harbour, helping to enhance infection prevention.

To overcome the issue of a lack of space for a plant room, Innova constructed a very compact plant room design.

Not only did the innovative design allow for enough space to be big enough to house all the technologies, but there was also enough space in the fabric of the building to get all the services and ductwork to the appliances.

This was all achieved without being aesthetically intrusive or clashing with any structural elements or other critical services.

Innova also included a number of hydrotherapy pool options to aid sensory stimulation including Venturi bubble jets and colour-changing lights, as well as an automated pool cover for added health and safety.

What Innova installed:

Items supplied:

• 6m x 4m 316 graded stainless steel hydrotherapy pool.
• Automated pool cover.
• Venturi bubble jets.
• Colour-changing light system.
• Plant room.

Comments

“The hydrotherapy Pool has been an amazing addition to our new school, Boston Endeavour Academy. It is used throughout the week by various individuals providing different opportunities to them.

A small group have daily access, first thing every morning to allow for self-regulation before their school day begins.

Our PMLD children, who are wheelchair users, enjoy the sensory environment we have created.  The buoyancy and the warmth of the water is helping to reduce the weight bearing stress on their bodies, which allows for freedom of movement and more mobility of some limbs that would usually be painful on land.

Some pupils are using the pool for rehabilitation exercises and muscle strengthening post-surgery. Using the pool also provides a positional change for all our wheelchair users, which has allowed one pupil the ability to walk around the pool, simply using a float in each hand.

The pool has also allowed some students to develop their water confidence, as well as provide opportunities for Intensive Interaction on a 1:1 basis. We are also fortunate to be able to offer some parents/carers into school to support their child during their Hydro sessions, continuing to develop parental rapports with the school, and provide them with a relaxed environment to interact with their child.

We are extremely grateful to have a hydrotherapy pool on-site and have greatly enjoyed the experience and reactions we have witnessed from staff, pupils, parents, and carers.”

Kayleigh Tooby, Moving and Handling Coordinator at Boston Endeavour Academy