You will probably have seen the headlines made from the recent NAO report and the issue with school buildings.
CIPFA is looking to assist by training school estates people via our Diploma course and by offering a range of building surveys; the most critical in this situation being Building Condition Surveys. The Building Condition Survey will provide crucial information about the physical, mechanical and electrical condition of your School buildings. It will also identify urgent Health & Safety risks and any associated Statutory Compliance items. It will provide you with the data to draw up a Planned Preventative Maintenance Programme, which is both Prioritised, Graded and Costed; this can be on an individual school basis or across your portfolio. By prioritising and costing works this will ensure that the most urgent items are rectified first within the funding available.
Contact Jane Hughes for further information on how CIPFA can assist you: Jane.Hughes@cipfa.org.
Net capacity Assessment programme
From 2023 to 2025 the Department for Education Net Capacity Assessment programme will ensure accurate, up-to-date information on pupil capacity for secondary and special schools in England. Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will visit 4,500 schools, collecting data on pupil capacity.
VOA will:
- measure rooms
- record room types
- use the NCA tool and methodology to calculate the number of children a school can accommodate, based on the size and use of spaces available.
NCA reports will be shared with:
- schools
- local authorities
- dioceses
- multi-academy trusts.
Benefits of the programme include:
- Identifying spare capacity where demand for places is high
- Providing a complete record of pupil capacity in special schools for the first time
- More effective use of space and curriculum planning
- Independent verification of capacity for admissions/appeals.
Further information can be found by contacting dfe.ncaprogramme@education.gov.uk.