Jo Marchant, Education for the 21st Century Trust

As Head of Estates for an eight school multi-academy trust, I am responsible for prioritising how our annual School Condition Allocation funding of £1.3m is allocated acorss our school estate. The purpose of this session is to share with you my experiences of working with professional building consultants and contractors and to provide insights into how these working partnerships can be improved. My Trust’s school estate consists of one infant school, 3 primaries, 1 secondary and 3 secondary/6th Forms. Our buildings range from Grade 2 listed built in the 1880s to our newest school completed in 2019, as well as buildings from most decades in between. Our schools have between one and 11 buildings on each site and range in condition from very good to very poor. The Trust could easily spend all of its SCA funding on one school simply to achieve a fully compliant standard without enhancing the learning spaces. Typically, 25% of its SCA funding is spent on emergency compliance works annually, with 75% allocated to planned schemes. The Trust requires advice on prioritisation of projects based on objective data, how it can best achieve value for money, for example, by combining works such as a roof replacement with edge protection and PV panels, specialist building conservation advice and liaison with planning departments, recommendations of specialist contractors, and advice on energy efficiency interventions. The Trust also needs advice on its holistic estates strategy for the next 10 years. Of course, each scheme is only as successful as the contractors delivering it. There needs to be a greater understanding between the client and the contractor of the challenges and constraints that both are working under and discussion as to how each party can help the other. Come to this session and find out how this can be achieved.

Matt Isherwood, Barker & Steve Bradford, Greenshaw Learning Trust

Following the largest programme of energy efficiency projects across UK schools this presentation will review the lessons learned across the following areas:

• Measuring the impact of retro-fit energy efficiency measures - did they deliver what they promised?
• How have the projects guided the furture strategy of the trusts?
• How have energy and infrastructure projects impacted and influenced the organisation's wider sustainability journey?