When you are managing the infrastructure of an academy or Multi Academy Trust, you are always looking for ways of providing and enhancing the right sort of environment that will raise standards and help students to improve their attainment levels.

Putting in place an Education and Estates Strategy provides you with a complete understanding of the true potential of your premises and is essential for the provision of a safe, secure, high quality learning environment.  

The first steps to creating an Education and Estates Strategy

If you haven’t yet got a strategy in place, the first thing to do is decide who will be involved:

• Create a steering group

• Involve key stakeholders at every stage

• Map out a programme of events to inform the wider audience

When planning any journey, you need to know where you’re starting from. There are tools to help you collect baseline information:

• Condition surveys

• Measured surveys

• Energy efficiency surveys

• Space utilisation surveys

• Sports facility assessments

• Safeguarding assessments

The next stage is to identify where you’re heading. For that you need to lay out a vision of the future: what will teaching look like? What new technology will be used? How many students will be on site? Who will become new stakeholders?

Finally, how do you reach your destination? You will need to adapt to meet intermediate goals, comply with changing legislation, identify funding sources, create a timetable and project manage changes.

To make sure you’re not drifting off course you also need to measure progress by setting performance indicators: increased revenue; better usage of space; reduced maintenance and energy bills; satisfaction surveys and, ultimately, student results.

Unlock your academy’s future

Surveyors to Education are specialist academy partners for estates strategy, surveying and funding applications. Our mission is to help MATs and academies improve standards and provide the optimum conditions in which students can achieve their full potential, now and in the future.

For more information about how we can support you embrace the future, call 01530 276 127 or email enquire@s2e.org.uk.