Denby manufacturer Liniar’s generosity makes a difference to Ripley Junior School

At Liniar, we’re committed to helping our local community, whether through charity donations, fundraising initiatives or the donation of Liniar products and our time to install them. Our team is encouraged to nominate projects where they believe we can make a difference to a local community group.

Mark Thawley from Liniar’s Quality Assurance Team nominated Ripley Junior School to have its fencing and decking replaced, which was very old and no longer fit for purpose or safe for the pupils.

Mark says, “My wife, who works at the school, told me about the state of the decking and fencing and how Ripley Junior School would struggle to fund its replacement. As Liniar designs and manufactures maintenance-free decking and fencing, I nominated the school for a Liniar community project, as I knew it would really make a difference for the pupils and the school. Our products have a really long-life span, don’t splinter or fade and stand up to all weather conditions – so I knew the school would have decking and fencing perfect for their needs over the long term. My wife and I were over the moon when we found out the project had been chosen and I am so proud to work for a company that genuinely believes in giving back to the local community.”

Jen Clarke, the Head Teacher at Ripley Junior School tells us, “We’ve had the original fence across our large playground for as long as anyone working at Ripley Juniors can remember. It had been there at least 20 years, if not more. It was certainly getting to the stage where the paint was holding it together!

“We also had an outdoor decked stage area on our school field, which had been a very loved and well used space for about 10 years – but just like the fencing, it was in a state of disrepair and wasn’t safe for our children to use any more. There were parts of it that we had repaired and repainted, but after lots of robust use, it had got to the point that we couldn’t repair anymore and we had to tell the children that they couldn’t use it.

“This was sad and disappointing and not the environment that we wanted for the children at our school. We wanted them to have a space that was fit for purpose and inspired them in their learning.”

Jen continues, “We weren’t sure how we’d be able to replace both the decking and the fencing. We knew that removing the old items, together with purchasing the new parts and paying for labour that we’d have to raise around £10,000, an amount that we would really struggle to find in the budget when we are looking after such a large school site that had other areas that had not been updated in a long time.

“These items would not necessarily be counted as essentials that needed replacing immediately due to the additional strains on our budget because of Covid and other building maintenance that needed to be completed from a safeguarding point of view. We didn’t think we’d be able to make replacing them a reality, so the only way would be to fund raise until we had the amount needed.

“Luckily, we were able to speak with Jack Mayfield, Operations Manager, after Mark Thawley kindly put our name forward as potential community project. Mark brought Jack to meet us and visit the site. They listened to our aims and hopes, understood our difficulties in being able to complete the work ourselves and set about making plans to help us.

“We were so very grateful and were completely taken aback by the generosity of Liniar and the proposals that were made. Every step of the process has been so easy. Liniar staff, have been so friendly and approachable. Jack and the team have stayed in constant contact and anyone visiting the site went out of their way to make sure there was very little disruption for the children. No request regarding the logistics of the installation was too much to ask. We have been regularly updated, and asked at every step of the way how things are going and whether we are happy with both the process and the progress.

“We cannot believe what a difference the new fence makes to the look of the playground. It really helps makes the space look so much smarter. Most importantly, it makes the space fit for purpose and safe for our children once again. The children love the new staging, which is used almost daily whilst they are playing or learning outside. It has become the new ‘meeting area’ for our Forest School sessions and enhances how we use our outdoor space as part of our curriculum.

“Everyone who has been on the school site comments on what a difference the new fence and stage makes. When we shared photos with our parents and governors, they couldn’t believe how great it looks and how much more suitable both areas are. The children have commented on how much they like the playground looking instantly smarter and are so pleased to be able to use the stage area again. Our staff team are also very grateful for Liniar being able to make this a reality as they know how much safer and happier the children will be on the playground and they really appreciate having the outdoor learning space back again to enable outdoor learning to take place.”

Jen concludes, “I couldn’t quite believe the generosity and the kindness of the team at Liniar and the speed at which the project moved. In the blink of an eye, we went from Liniar saying that they would do everything they could to help us and any stress we had surrounding the completion of the work was completely removed.

“I cannot thank Liniar enough for everything they have done. I hope that they know how grateful the whole community at Ripley Junior School is and what a difference they have made to the children here.”

You can find out more about Liniar’s decking and fencing ranges on our website.