Funding

Significant changes have taken place regarding the funding arrangements for the maintenance and improvement of school property including:

• Increased delegation to schools of Repair & Maintenance responsibilities and budget
• Introduction of Devolved Capital
• Development of an Asset Management Plan for all properties 
• Changes to DfES capital strategy toward development of 3-year funding and ‘single pot’ allocation.

The prime focus of these activities is to raise standards and attainment in schools…

“...can only be achieved if we have the right schools premises in which teachers can teach and children can learn. That means that there are enough places for children to be educated, that they are in buildings which are warm, safe and secure and that the design of those buildings helps, rather than hinders, the teaching of the curriculum.”

Charles Clarke MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary for State for School Standards January 1999

Area Teams

Asset Management has been established on an Area Team Basis (North, Central & South) in order to:

• respond to these changes and feedback from schools that property issues were difficult to pin down
• manage an increasingly complex external environment, illustrated by the demands of Asset Management Planning
• forge new funding and service partnerships. 

Incorporated into the service is the management of office and other non-teaching accommodation held by the Education Service.

Roles and Responsibilities

To clarify these for Asset Management, the school and the property professional, a set of guidance notes have been circulated to all schools.  The document Roles and Responsibilities is available for viewing online.