Care home neighbours give Dorset school a brighter look

Painters from Colten Developments, a sister company to Colten Care, have given Langside School a bright new frontage of blue, green, yellow and white.

The spruce-up is part of a series of works being completed in the vicinity of Colten’s forthcoming Bourne View nursing and residential home in Poole.

Langside School, run by Dorset charity Diverse Abilities, is also benefiting from new landscaping, railings, flood defences and a contribution towards an improved sensory room for pupils.

School principal Jonathan Seaward said, “The new look is brighter and more welcoming for our pupils, families, staff and visitors.

“We work as hard as we can for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities and we’re thrilled that our new neighbours are showing such community spirit to help us even before they open their new care home.”

The family-owned care provider is due to open Bourne View in spring 2019, adding to 20 existing homes in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Sussex.

It will offer 68 en-suite bedrooms in a grand art deco-style building, many with views over the Bourne Valley Nature Reserve. Facilities include a rooftop garden with canopy café, sheltered seating, games area and bar.

Home manager Sohail Daniel said, “We want to be good neighbours with our friends at Langside from the outset and we look forward to a warm, lasting relationship with them.”

Langside School, in Langside Avenue, provides education, therapy and nursing support for up to 28 pupils aged two to 19. The school was established in 1959.