ps ebook top 5 property considerations v3

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Property

Top5

Property Considerationswhen transitioning to academy or multi-academy trust status

A Useful Guide

www.strictlyeducation.co.uk

Introduction 3

#1 New responsibilities 4

#2 Buildings condition 5

#3 Budgeting and funding 6

#4 Maintenance regimes 7

#5 Health & safety 8

Testimonials 9

In Summary 11

Written by:

Mike BannisterHead of Property Services Strictly Education

[email protected] 442 5657

when t rans i t ion ing to academy or mu l t i -academy t rus t s ta tusTop 5 Property Considerations

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This e-book is aimed at head teachers and school leaders who are considering becoming an academy or part of a multi-academy trust (MAT).

Amongst the many other pre-requisites that need to be met prior to conversion, making sure your buildings and capital assets are in good repair and in a state of operational readiness is an important legal and health and safety requirement.

The hand-over of legal responsibility for your property, and the health and safety of your pupils, staff and visitors, from the local authority to the Academy Trust comes with a long list of obligations which can be overwhelming.

After helping over 200 schools make the transition to academy or MAT status we have put together this property eBook to provide you with a guide and reference tool when converting to academy status or MAT status.

We hope you find it useful!

Mike BannisterHead of Property Services

Why have we created this guide?

Introduction


What are your new building and capital asset responsibilities?

#1 New responsibilities

When a school converts to an Academy Trust it legally becomes the new leaseholder and employer.

With this new status comes the responsibility for managing the estate buildings and infrastructure in accordance with all legal and statutory requirements.

As the employer the Academy Trust also becomes the Duty Holder for aspects of health and safety including asbestos and legionella control.

Of note if there are any outstanding maintenance capital works – such as window replacement, boiler repair etc. – the financial liability passes to the academy or MAT at the point of conversion.

Quick Checklist

Responsibilities

. Reactive and planned maintenance

. Condition reporting

. Capital works

. Building systems

. Suitability Assessments

. Health & safety

. Fire safety

. Water safety

. Security

. Utilities and energy usage

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Quick Checklist

Buildings Condition

. Property Data Survey (PDS)

. Condition Survey (CS)

. Asset register

. On-going/planned capital works

Maintenance Arrangements

. On-going liabilities

. Contractual arrangements

. Strategic maintenance plans

It is important at the very beginning to fully understand the current condition of the buildings and any on-going and planned maintenance work.

The first step is to obtain a copy of your school’s government commissioned Property Data Survey (PDS). The PDS contains a high level assessment of the condition of your buildings and sets out the priority of capital works required.

Next obtain a copy of your local authority commissioned Condition Survey (CS). If one does not exist it will need to be carried out by a qualified building surveyor. The CS is a visual inspection and report that identifies repairs (revenue work), building elements that need to be replaced (capital works) and provides a view on ideally when these works should be undertaken.

Finally, you will need to find out the current maintenance and contractual arrangements as well and obtain/compile a full register or assets.

What are you taking on?

#2 Buildings condition

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Quick Checklist

Revenue Budget

. Current operational expenditure

. Strategic maintenance plans

Capital Budget

. Property Data Survey (PDS)

. Condition Survey (CS)

Funding

. Devolved Formula Capital (DFC)

. Condition Improvement Fund (CIF)

You will need to prepare both a revenue budget – on-going maintenance and repair, and capital budget – replacement and refurbishment.

In order to prepare the budgets you will need to find out the current operational expenditure and review your latest Condition Survey report to determine what capital works expenditure is needed and in what time period.

Academies will continue to receive devolved formula capital (DFC) funding direct from the DfE and are encouraged to use this fund to address the highest priority issues identified by condition surveys.

However, if this is not possible the Condition Improvement fund (CIF) is available to academies each year to address issues such as poor building condition, energy efficiency and health and safety compliance.

For more information on CIF funding please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund

What needs to be done?

#3 Budgeting and funding


Quick Checklist

Planned Maintenance

. Condition Survey recommendations

. Current arrangements

. Future set-up: LA or private?

. Monitoring processes

. Audit and completion process

Budgeting

. Understand current set-up

- Budget forecast due within 6 weeks of opening

- How repairs requested

- How repairs prioritised

- Activation and management process

- Completion, auditing and payment

Setting-up planned and reactive maintenance regimes?

Through both statute and recognised best practice there is a requirement to maintain, service, inspect and test building services and equipment.

Planned maintenance

An up to date Condition Survey is the best source to use for planning future revenue/repair and capital/replacement work to maintain a healthy and safe learning environment.

The current arrangements for planned maintenance works will need to be understood before establishing how they will be carried out, managed and monitored following conversion.

Reactive maintenance

There will always be a need to arrange – often at short notice – reactive repairs and maintenance. Ranging from a broken window to a leaking roof, a reactive maintenance regime will need to be set-up so that staff know how repair requests can be initiated, prioritised, completed and audited.

#4 Maintenance regimes


Security Checklist . Current access control

measures

. Intruder alarm installed

. Alarm servicing arrangements

. Perimeter fencing

. Measures for securing waste

. Critical incident plan

Coupled with Ofsted ‘safeguarding’ requirements there is a requirement to maintain a secure working environment. This includes the provision of access control and intruder alarm systems.

SecurityWater Safety

The Control of Legionella Approved Code of Practice (L8) requires a water risk assessment to be completed every two years.

Water Risk Checklist . Date of last water risk

assessment

. Name of contractor

. Remedial works identified

. Water temperature monitoring program set-up

Health & Safety Checklist

. Health & safety policy

. Termly inspections

. Risk assessments

. Asbestos register

. Hazardous substances inventory

Fire Safety Checklist . Copy of latest risk

assessment report

. Remedial works identified

. Training records

. Occupier checks, records and drills

- Equipment

- Escape routes and doors

- Alarms

- Lighting

Fire Safety

Fire safety legislation calls for a fire risk assessment and ‘occupier’ fire safety checks to have been completed in all school/academy premises.

As the Duty Holder, the Governing Body assumes responsibility for the health and safety of all its pupils, staff and visitors.

Health and Safety

#5 Health & safety


Testimonials

The Spinney School“As educationalists we do not have specialist expertise of the technicalities of property management such as maintenance, capital works management, fire safety, legionella’s and the other important premises issues affecting the safety of our children.

Given the numerous statutory and health and safety hoops that need to be jumped through we needed a property partner that could offer direction – in both the provision of strategic capital works guidance for our governing body and the management of day-to-day maintenance issues.”

Rachel Snape - Headteacher and National Leader of Education


Testimonials

Hayes Primary School“Their property helpdesk service is fantastic. Having advice when I need it and knowing our contractors are closely managed allows my staff to focus on their core activities.”

David Wilcox, Hayes Primary School


Content

Mike Bannister Head of Property Services

[email protected] 07884 442 5657

Where do I go from here?

In Summary

ps ebook top 5 property considerations v3

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