What are the challenges in education in 2023?

Looking ahead to the MAT Growth Conference 2023

2023 has already provided a lot of obstacles and challenges for the property industry, and the education sector has had its own issues to contend with too. Amongst other things, those working on education estates face budgeting restrictions and safety concerns within buildings, all while trying to provide the best learning environment for children.

Estate management within the education sector has its own unique set of challenges to overcome – some financial, others more physical. We’ll explore these problems before we join you all at the MAT Growth Conference in May.

Budgets

Working your budgets around the school year can prove stressful when other tasks need to be prioritised. To get the most out of your funding – be that organic income, or partially raised through Condition Improvement Funding, or another way – consider our simple steps:

Review your spending – Many schools and Trusts we have worked with often inherit costs from previous holders of the role, which are sometimes found to be obsolete. Make sure to cut any unnecessary expenditures where you can, and assess the cost-effectiveness of your current contracts
Evaluate the effectiveness of your ‘soft’ facilities – Can you reduce, replace, or remove any of the ‘soft’ facilities you have in place? Take time to shop around for new suppliers and service providers like cleaning companies, grounds maintenance businesses, and caterers
Monitor your current ‘hard’ facilities – Make sure the contractors who deal with plumbing, electrical and gas maintenance – and the work they do – are managed and monitored, so that costly repairs won’t surprise you at more vulnerable times

Safety

Our schools and academies are places in which children should not only learn but also feel safe. Having potentially spent a large part of the pandemic unoccupied, there is a higher risk that our educational buildings may have experienced wear and tear that has gone unnoticed.

Keeping students safe can take on many different guises and, in our capacity of building and property consultants, we can ensure that these buildings are in a suitable condition through regular condition surveys, creating and keeping up to date estate plans (and the creation of a Good Estates Management Strategy) and expert inspections where required.

We should all be working towards providing the best learning experience for all children, especially after the upheaval of their routine in 2020. Our advisory work contributes to creating a safe space for them to thrive, not to mention creating a safe space for staff to work in.