Category: Insights

Every year, the Department for Education gives money to schools to help them maintain and improve the condition of their grounds and buildings. There are two funds for this purpose: the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) and the School Condition Allocation (SCA).

Schools, colleges and academies play a vital part in creating the environmental stewards of tomorrow. But educational facilities are not only responsible for informing the attitudes and behaviours of their students. They also have a more practical role to play. 

Updates in the Academies Accounts Direction (AAD) 2024 now emphasises the use of independent external valuations.

Phase 4 of the PSDS scheme includes several key updates and modifications aimed at making the application process more efficient.

With energy bills rising, schools need more efficient buildings. This article covers the benefits of energy audits, what they involve, and whether funding is available.

Schools often require formal valuation of their education estates and assets. Discover how RICS Red Book valuations support informed decisions about your assets.

Building condition surveys are a valuable tool for schools and academies that enables them to better understand their estates and maximise the value they get from their maintenance budget.

A comprehensive estate maintenance plan is vital to keeping school buildings in good condition. But buildings still age and reach a point where refurbishment and modernisation projects are essential.

Here we discuss what estate maintenance planning is, what a good maintenance strategy includes, and the information you need to put an effective plan in place.

What is a decarbonisation strategy, how do you create one for your school estate, and can you fund it via the Public Sector Secarbonisation Scheme (PSDS)?

With the operational costs associated with educational buildings, and estates on the rise, we discuss the steps you can take to manage and reduce them.

As the call for sustainable practices intensifies, schools across the UK are stepping into a greener future by embracing solar energy.

ESG is a framework used to measure and evaluate an organisation’s wider impact on society and the environment, as well as its internal management and leadership.

Energy efficiency means using less energy to complete a task while achieving the same result. For example, an energy-efficient building requires less energy for heating to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Every year the Department for Education (DfE) allocates funding to help eligible schools maintain and improve their buildings.

We discuss how academic building design affects student performance and explore the steps you can take to build with learning outcomes in mind.

Find out what estate management planning for schools is, how it can help you achieve your goals and what you can do to put a plan in place.

Everything prospective T-Level providers need to know about T-Level Capital Funding, from the type and value of funding available to how you can apply.

We’ve made a quick checklist on how to manage fire door safety requirements, what you should do to maintain safety, and why we should all be working to improve our fire door strategies.

GEMS, an acronym for Good Estate Management for Schools, is guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) for the best practice design, construction and maintenance of educational estates.

Make your estate a competitive advantage with our key principles for designing sustainable school buildings that are better for pupils and the planet.

Rising energy costs are affecting us all, so it’s little surprise that nurseries, schools and colleges, with their large estates and limited budgets, are also struggling. 

Off the back of the National Audit Office and Department for Education’s report into Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in schools...