By Roy Pett, Director, Surveyors to Education, BSC (Hons) MRICS

When an academy is required to join a MAT in order to improve its standard of education, the process exposes various risks to both parties.

The sponsoring MAT will not only need to provide additional teaching resources, the condition of the school buildings could also be a financial burden.

The risks

Without an awareness of the condition of a school’s estate, the MAT could be subject to some unpleasant surprises, such as poorly maintained buildings, lack of regulations compliance or poor estate planning.

Without prior knowledge and the resources and funding put in place it would be very difficult to address the issues and support the required improvements in standards. This impacts on the performance of the trust, not just the individual academy.

Getting the right support

Before taking on additional schools, a trust’s management team must first understand these risks and implications in order to make an informed decision. By carrying out surveys across a school’s estate, an understanding can be gained of the likely risks and resulting financial burden.

This work makes a significant difference. Surveyors to Education (S2e) recently conducted due diligence for a trust taking on a school, identifying a maintenance backlog of over £1 million. Negotiations with the DfE’s Strategic and Complex Project Team enabled the trust to receive a grant to address the issues.

S2e: a track record in success

Trusts can be responsible for multi-million-pound estates. They need to be strategically managed to ensure a safe and productive learning environment that allows trusts to focus on raising education standards.

S2e are specialists in estates strategy, surveying and funding and work in partnership with trusts regarding all aspects of their estate management.

By carrying out a survey of the school’s estate, the financial resources that will be required to address issues can be determined.  S2e  work with the Strategic and Complex Projects Team to secure funding for the survey and then approval of a capital spend programme.

S2e also offer support for funding applications and the design, planning, contractor selection and project management of capital projects. To arrange a meeting to discuss your requirements, contact S2e or email enquire@s2e.org.uk.