Gary Benn, director of building and projects consultancy at Eddisons, looks at the importance of keeping education estates strategies up to date

With a new government comes an overhaul of policy, legislation, and processes that have become second nature over the years.

As the Government readies the country for another Budget, our eyes are focused on the education sector and how Downing Street will respond to a higher demand for school spaces, a bigger push on rebuilding while material costs continue to increase, and a glut of PFI contracts expiring in the next year or two.

A state of flux

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will close at the end of March and integrate with the Department for Education (DfE), which will take responsibility for financial management and support of all school and trust estates in the United Kingdom.

This could be a great move toward efficiency and streamlined processes for our schools. But we must hold off celebration until we have confirmation of what parts of the ESFA and its sister schemes will remain.

For instance, we are unsure that the Schools Rebuilding Programme will continue in its current form. Could we see a recommencement of the Building Schools for the Future scheme, one of the first things the Cameron-Clegg government scrapped in 2010?

Decarbonisation is key to the future of schools’ longevity; moving from fossil-fuel-powered heating systems to air- and ground-source heat pumps will put schools in good stead to move forward as our energy sources change

There are currently 400 live projects within the Schools Rebuilding Programme, so something must be done to continue this important work.

What’s more is that the funding required to complete these works is also looking uncertain.

As a business that has spent many hours working with schools and trusts to apply for funding to make their buildings safe and contemporary, we know that these are less like grants and more like lifelines.

The future

Construction projects across the country are focusing on carbon neutrality and the general sustainability of its buildings – and the people would live, work, and learn in them.

Focusing on schools, a lot of these projects prioritise saving on space and energy.

But for every mezzanine addition, or multi-use games area, there is a decarbonisation project to fund.

Decarbonisation is key to the future of schools’ longevity; moving from fossil-fuel-powered heating systems to air- and ground-source heat pumps will put schools in good stead to move forward as our energy sources change.

But this is half of the battle.

The future is on our collective mind, but the actual buildings themselves need bringing up to date as well.

The current state of schools

70% of the UK’s schools were built before 1976, meaning they are not all up to the task of being decarbonised.

Some of these schools can’t even get rid of the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) that we heard so much about last year.

Of course, this issue was a key concern for many schools across the country but, as this happened, other more-prevalent issues were sidelined.

The pipework for our heating systems is often as old as the buildings they serve and only has a life expectancy of 50-75 years.

Replacing pipework and its heat emitters, ie radiators, is a huge job, and one that isn’t done for free.

So, as many schools and trusts find themselves needing to update their existing buildings before improving them, how do they go about it while running an occupied school?

Let’s get ready

Older buildings will most likely take precedence over newer buildings, but that shouldn’t completely dash your interest in funding applications. We all must be prepared for when the DfE starts the stopwatch for these deadlines.

Our role is to help you collect all this information about your school and turn it into a cohesive strategy that will shape your estates management

Firstly, look around your estate and decide what requires repair and what is a ‘nice to have’ cosmetic upgrade.

Remind yourself that the Government’s priority is to keep people ‘warm, safe, and dry’. This should shape your strategy.

Working these things out ahead of time will help consultancies like us in researching and analysing how necessary these repairs, upgrades, and replacements are.

Schools and trusts are not expected to have the knowledge of construction or design, but we do have it.

Our role is to help you collect all this information about your school and turn it into a cohesive strategy that will shape your estates management.

All schools and trusts that are looking to go on this journey will need the below items to prove they are serious about their investment of time and effort before receiving the monetary investment:

• Condition survey – provided by an RICS-certified surveyor, this will ascertain the quality and condition of your building and what defects could affect its performance
• Asset management plan – a suite of documents that serves to manage an organisation’s service offering, including physical and intangible assets as well as the outer infrastructure
• Estates strategy – a long-term plan that provides direction for the parts of an estate, which sits alongside your asset management plan
• Climate action plan – every school needs one of these by the end of 2025, which acts as a policy for the school/trust in adhering to specific green goals
• Sustainability strategy – similar to a climate action plan, but more technical in terms of its content that can include documents such as economic viability assessments

 

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

When embarking on a project like this, having an informal plan that will see you through the process of improving your buildings will help identify possible setbacks before they turn into tangible issues.

We also recommend putting the works out to tender.

A competitive tender process can help you find the best suppliers for your project.

Our project management team has a strong background in hiring across a diverse scope of tradesmen, contractors, and subcontractors, providing our clients with the same unparalleled service that we offer ourselves.

Expiring PFI contracts

In addition to School Condition Allocation and Condition Improvement Funding, there are many other avenues that people have used to achieve their goals.

The Private Finance Initiative was a hugely-popular scheme in the 2000s, which helped many public sector buildings to grow and develop their estates.

When embarking on a project like this, having an informal plan that will see you through the process of improving your buildings will help identify possible setbacks before they turn into tangible issues

Contracts were drawn that allowed organisations like schools and trusts to borrow money from private organisations to improve their spaces, and pay it back with interest.

Now that first round of contracts is close to expiry, schools are finding they are in a worse state than when they started – with a hefty bill to pay.

If you are in a position where you are close to leaving your contract, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your situation:

• Survey for satisfaction – appoint an RICS-qualified surveyor to conduct a final condition survey, to ensure your estates are in a better state than when you started the contract
• Review the contract and finances – across the 25 years, the contract may have become outdated, or the private organisation may not have fulfilled all its duties
• Recoup the shortfall and negotiate – ensure your equity is managed and your returns are processed fairly