One of the many common challenges schools in England face is managing their buildings.

The turbulence caused by RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) was a clear example but the challenges go well beyond potentially crumbly concrete.

Many of our school buildings were constructed decades, if not centuries, ago and require careful upkeep to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for students and staff.

In recognition of this, the Department for Education has released a new resource: Managing Older Buildings: A guide for estates maintenance staff. This non-statutory guide sits neatly alongside the existing Good Estate Management for Schools guide.

A school-building history lesson

This new guidance is a treasure trove of information specifically tailored to those responsible for keeping school buildings functioning at their best, with a detailed breakdown of the various construction methods used in school estates.

From traditional brickwork dating back to the 19th century, to the innovative prefabricated systems developed after the Second World War, and the modern framed structures seen in newer builds, it provides targeted maintenance advice for each construction type, highlighting areas that require special attention and the specific signs of deterioration to watch out for.

The appendices take this further by providing deeper dives into specific post-war “system build” designs that we know are commonly found.

The guide also touches on the future of construction in the school estate. With an ever-increasing focus on efficiency and sustainability, the DfE acknowledges the potential of modern methods of construction for future school builds and refurbishments.

This brief mention hints at a potential future resource that could equip schools with the knowledge to navigate the journey towards net zero, an area that we at Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) and a handful of other trusts are excited to be exploring with LocatEd, an arm’s-length body linked to the DfE.

Horsa huts risk

Elements of the guidance could raise an eyebrow and are worth reflecting on, however.

As an example, Horsa huts (hut-like buildings that were built after the Second World War) are still a reasonably common sight, despite being noted on page 12 as “beyond their expected lifespan” and requiring “careful maintenance”.

While not necessarily news, this aspect of the guidance may cause alarm at a time when, owing to limited capital funding, the ability to actually act upon it is severely limited.

The funding question

It is notable that the guidance does not touch on any advice for use of funds to maintain buildings. As a result, it does leave a question hanging in our minds: will it make a difference?

Of course we hope so, but there is an elephant in the room: how will the DfE motivate all schools to read the guidance, prioritise the funds and act? We are all aware how getting responses to the relatively simple RAAC surveys from all schools last year proved challenging.

It is highly likely that well-engaged estates professionals will have already read the guidance from start to finish but, in truth, these are the colleagues that need the guidance least as they are generally already on top of their maintenance plans.

So how can we incentivise proactive engagement with this estates challenge? One suggestion is to create a stronger tie between a building’s actual condition and grant funding.

If schools could quantitatively prove the condition of their buildings and the need of their schools, and receive funding correlated to this, it might act as a stick that complements the carrot of this otherwise extremely useful guidance.

James Browning is the chief operating officer and Ian Dickinson is the national head of operations at Academies Enterprise Trust

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