The refurbishment marks the beginning of Harmeny’s Acorn Project coming to life and means the Balerno charity can continue caring for children and young people currently living at Harmeny through to adulthood if this best suits their needs.

Once work is completed, the extended Caroline Cottage will feature five ensuite bedrooms, revamped social spaces and a garden. It will also enable Harmeny to help more young people by growing its residential capacity from 24 to 29 children and young people.

Harmeny’s head of care Craig Paul said: “Seeing work begin is really exciting for us all, with our young people being involved in the design and feel of the new cottage. The Acorn Project is about providing the care and education that all children need to thrive, and we look forward to expanding our services over the next year.”

Redpath Construction, which is undertaking the work on Caroline Cottage, commented on its involvement: “Redpath are delighted to be working with Harmeny Education Trust in creating much needed space and increased opportunities for young people. We will be working diligently with all project stakeholders to ensure the vision for Caroline Cottage is realised. Redpath take great pride in the community based projects we deliver and never underestimate the positive impact that they have.”

To fund this expansion Harmeny needs to build new secondary learning facilities and is raising £3.1m via its Learning for Life Appeal.