Unlocking the Full Potential of Your School: The Power of Strategic Estates Management

eBook 2 Unlocking the Full Potential of Your School: The Power of Strategic Estates Management

Message from the author

Strategic estates management is an essential aspect of running a successful school or multiacademy trust. It involves the efficient and effective management of a school’s whole estate, including buildings, playgrounds, sports fields, car parks, and other physical assets to support its educational objectives.

In this eBook, we will discuss the benefits of strategic estates management in schools, the key elements of what makes a successful estates management plan, and the importance of involving the whole school community in the process.

Luke Pargeter, CEO iAM Compliant

Why is Strategic Estates Management Important for Schools?

Ensuring a Safe and Suitable Learning Environment

One of the primary benefits of strategic estates management is ensuring a safe and suitable learning environment for students and staff. Proper management of school facilities, including maintenance and repairs, is crucial for the well-being of everyone at school. We also know, and can scientifically prove, how the school estate contributes to the overall educational experience and attainment, as pupils are more likely to excel in a well-maintained environment.

Reducing and Prioritising Maintenance Needs

Effective estates management helps schools reduce and prioritise their maintenance needs. Deferring maintenance is costly in the long run, so it cannot be put off just to save a few pounds today. By planning and scheduling maintenance work in advance, schools can minimise disruptions to the learning process and ensure that limited resources are allocated appropriately. This allows for a more efficient use of funds and helps avoid costly emergency repairs or untimely replacements.

Controlling Running Costs

If your school estate is well managed, it will play a significant role in controlling your running costs. By identifying areas where costs can be reduced, schools can save money and allocate resources more effectively towards improving the quality of education. This can include reducing energy consumption, streamlining procurement processes, and optimising the use of available space. One of the easiest things to do is to stick to the status quo, but have you ever considered carrying out periodic space audits to assess the utilisation of different areas of your school? The process of merely carrying out an evaluation can identify areas that are consistently under-utilised that may be better suited to accommodate changing needs, allowing you to operate your school more efficiently.

Enhancing the Reputation of the School

A well-maintained and efficiently managed estate reflects positively on the reputation of a school. First impressions last, and visitors to the school will clearly notice the high standards of the facilities they walk into. If the school is well-maintained, clean, and organised, it signals that there is a strong sense of order, care, and security. People are more likely to feel safe, comfortable, and positive about themselves or their children spending time in such a venue, as it demonstrates a commitment to providing a high-quality learning environment. We also know that the DfE published a statistic in the Good Estates Management for Schools Guide that suggests 1 in 5 teachers will leave a school if they do not feel this sense of premises safety. So a well-maintained school can also help attract and retain talented staff.

“Good Estates Management for Schools Guide that suggests 1 in 5 teachers will leave a school if they do not feel this sense of premises safety”

Key Elements of a Successful Estates Management Plan

Setting Clear Objectives and Priorities

A successful estates management plan starts with setting clear objectives and priorities for the school’s estate. This must align with the school’s wider objectives and include an outline of the vision for the estate, identifying the most urgent maintenance needs, and establishing a timeline for completing projects. By setting clear objectives, schools can ensure that their efforts are focused on achieving specific outcomes and avoid wasting valuable resources.

Identifying Policies and Procedures

It’s essential to identify and document all policies and procedures related to the management of the school’s estate. This includes decision-making processes, reporting structures, and responsibilities for various tasks. This could be as simple as having a priority level for fixing a faulty light fitting in a classroom. If there’s a clear process of who to report the issue to and who’s responsible for getting it fixed, it then has measurable accountability which avoids confusion, delays, and mistakes, and ensures that the estate is managed efficiently and effectively.

Collecting and Analysing Data

Data collection and analysis are crucial components of a successful estates management plan. Schools should gather information about the condition, performance, and utilisation of their assets to help inform decision-making processes. This can include data on energy consumption, maintenance costs, and space utilisation, among other metrics. Have you ever discovered how much energy your school is consuming between 6pm and 6am? Would it be more cost effective to pay your site team overtime to turn everything off at 6pm, and turn it all back on again at 6am? By analysing this data, schools can identify areas for improvement and allocate resources more effectively.

Community Involvement

To ensure the plan for managing the school’s estate works, it is important to get everyone involved. This means including the school leaders, teachers, students, parents, and even people from the community. By working together, schools can make sure that their plans make sense and match community requirements. This teamwork also helps get everyone on board and makes it more likely that the plan will be successful.

For example, let’s say the school is considering making changes to their sports facilities. By talking to the wider community, including local sports clubs or organisations, they can find out what kind of sports or activities are particularly popular and make decisions that benefit both the school and the wider community. It should not be ignored that your school is more likely to gain further external funding for wider sources if it has a far-reaching cross-section of users.

The Role of a Leader in Estates Management

Clearly defined leadership is absolutely key in producing your school’s estate management plan. Your site manager could be the unpolished gem that could be the answer to your prayers! Giving them ownership of this role is a major career and confidence boost! The estates leader should work closely with the management team, trustees, and other stakeholders to gather information and develop a comprehensive plan for the management of the school’s estate. The estates leader is also responsible for coordinating the implementation of the plan and monitoring its progress.

Responsibilities of the Estates Leader

• Developing the estate vision and objectives

• Identifying and prioritising maintenance needs

• Establishing governance and decision-making processes

• Coordinating the input of stakeholders

• Ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of the estate

• Monitoring the progress of the asset management plan

Producing a Comprehensive Estates Management Plan

A comprehensive estates management plan should include several key sections, each addressing a different aspect of the school’s estate. These sections should be informed by the input of stakeholders and the analysis of relevant data. Here are the main sections that you should include:

Introduction and Estate Strategy

The introduction should outline the purpose and scope of the estates management plan, as well as the vision and objectives. It should also provide an overview of the estate strategy, which outlines how the school will achieve its objectives.

Organisational Framework

This section should describe the governance arrangements, key roles and responsibilities, and policy framework for managing the school’s estate. This includes information on decision-making processes, reporting structures, and the involvement of stakeholders.

Estate Management Policies and Procedures

This section should detail the policies and procedures that guide the management of the school’s estate, including decision-making processes, performance management frameworks, and operational procedures.

The Estate

This section should provide a summary of the school’s property and fixed assets, and their current condition, performance, and utilisation. It should also identify any shortfalls in performance and outline a timeline of the priorities for improvement.

Estate Management Implementation

This section should outline how the school plans to achieve its estate management objectives, including the resources that will be allocated to various projects and the timeline for completion. It should also describe the arrangements for monitoring and reviewing progress.

Supporting Documents

The estates management plan should be supported by a range of supporting documents, including detailed information on the school’s assets, performance data, operational guides, and procedural templates.

Conclusion

Strategic estates management is crucial for the success of any school or MAT. By developing and implementing a comprehensive estates management plan, schools can ensure that their facilities are well-maintained, safe, and conducive to learning. This not only benefits the students and staff but also enhances the reputation of the school and helps attract talented individuals to join the institution. By involving the wider school community and having a clear focus on achieving specific and realistic objectives, schools can make the most of their resources and provide the best possible educational environment for their pupils to thrive.

How iAM Compliant can help!

We’re pleased to now have available our Estates Management tool as part of iAM Compliant!

Working directly with schools and multi-academy trusts to make sure it truly suits your needs, this game-changing tool allows you to:

• Save precious time and money – No more searching folders and databases, it’s all in one place!

• Prioritise problem areas – You can check the status of your estate at a glance with building-condition reports and see what needs to be fixed urgently.

• Keep on top of energy usage – Keep sustainability and those ever-increasing energy costs in mind as the tool shows your usage trends, including where energy is used (and wasted)!

• Allocate your budget accordingly – Knowing what needs to be repaired and refreshed at a glance allows you to properly budget for it and forecast future funding.

• See if your space is being used properly – Multiple rooms, multiple buildings, no bother. The tool lets you drill down to specify the type and usage of every space.

• Keep up to date with statutory training – The tool gives you access to hundreds of accredited training courses to support your premises team in their development.

Book in for a demo with the team to learn more about how the new Estates Management feature could work for your school or trust. You’ll be able to action all the advice from GEMs in no time!