Building on the need 
for quality education

Schools and other educational facilities face two important issues relating to the built environment that they need to be able to see beyond to help them improve learning and educational standards.

First of all, achieving high standards of learning is dependent on the quality of the built environment. This means providing quality solutions both in terms of the design of the learning facility as well as the construction of the building.

Secondly, schools need to be redesigned to meet the need for more capacity. This means remodelling existing facilities to improve the learning environment, expanding capacity and facilities and building extensions. And non-school buildings being converted into 
free schools must also seek refurbishment solutions that will produce an environment where students can thrive.

The Priority School Building programme has only scratched the surface and there is much to be done to meet the demands of the modern education system. Commissioning and managing works can present an administrative hurdle with red tape and bureaucracy to navigate through.

Solutions must be identified which will provide best value whilst meeting acceptable quality standards. To make the situation more challenging, many local authorities have lost expertise, both technical and procurement, as cuts and efficiencies dig deep and departments are forced to shed jobs.

Complex tendering
In England, academies are faced with an even greater problem. They are finding themselves stretched and unsupported as they no longer have the same level of help that was previously provided by local education authorities and their technical and procurement resources. Academies now have to deal with complex tendering and procurement processes before construction has even begun, and they will often not have the expertise to deal with these themselves.

This is why academies have been encouraged to group together to form procurement consortia for many of their needs. But accessible existing consortia may provide a ready-made solution for them. Consortia such as LHC offers framework arrangements to those needing refurbishment, extensions and maintenance works.

Free schools find themselves in a similar situation. Although these have the support of the Education Funding Agency, they still need quick and effective procurement solutions to meet tight time frames.

Pre-tendered framework arrangements or agreements provide a solution for all local authorities, public sector schools, colleges and other educational establishments. As well as giving specialist expertise and routes to quality and best value procurement for establishments, which do not have the full in-house resources, framework providers can also provide support to established technical and procurement teams. This will help them to commence and complete works quickly and efficiently, which is important when deadlines are tight.

Framework arrangements allow those involved in the procurement process to access companies who have already been through the sometimes complex tender process and proven their ability to do the task at hand within required benchmarks.

Costly consequences
EU and UK regulations govern how public bodies purchase goods, services and works above a specified value through EU procurement thresholds. It is likely that many refurbishment, extension and maintenance works projects will exceed these values and schools will need to adhere to the regulations when procuring. This is also often referred to as the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) process.

However, getting it wrong can lead to consequences. Contractors who believe the correct procedures have not been followed  by a school or local authority could mount a legal challenge, which would probably delay the works and prove costly, particularly if their challenge is upheld.

Companies appointed to LHC framework arrangements have been through the OJEU tender procedure, thus avoiding the need for prospective users to go through this process. This can save both time and money.

Even where the value of the works falls below the OJEU threshold, many public sector organisations choose to go down the framework route. This is because it can significantly speed up the process for contracting companies to be appointed and complete the works. This route also provides reassurance about the competency of the contractor to meet the required standards, as they will have been assessed fully by the framework provider.

Avoid Disruption

Other significant benefits of using frameworks are that they are often provided by specialists, such as not-for-profit LHC, which focuses on the public sector building refurbishment, maintenance and construction sectors. For this type of work, using LHC frameworks will help get the work needed done on time and within a timetable that minimises disruption to the learning environment.

Avoiding disruption is particularly critical in the learning environment, especially if work is necessary during term-time. This is also an important consideration during the tender process conducted by LHC, and companies will need to demonstrate that they have experience of school refurbishment and building work to be appointed. LHC will also ensure projects are completed on time to minimise disruption to learning timetables.

LHC can provide procurement advice, ensure adherence to health and safety standards and offer best-value technical solutions for sustainable school buildings.

LHC’s experience in providing framework arrangements for educational establishments has resulted in the development of a new specialist framework arrangement for schools and community buildings due to be launched in June. The Schools and Community Buildings (SCB1) framework arrangement replaces and builds on LHC’s specialist Education Contractors framework, which came to the end of its term at the end of 2012.

John Skivington, director of LHC, said: “Over the past few years we have seen demand increase for our frameworks from schools. Sometimes this is for the completion of a specific type of works, such as a new roof or replacement windows. However, increasingly as schools modernise and expand, the requirement is for an all-encompassing framework, where the contractor will take on extensive works for refurbishment and new build extensions with supported design.

“Many schools are now used as a community facility and LHC has experienced interest from those managing community buildings who wanted to use the previous Education Contractors framework, but fell outside of its scope. Additionally, many more councils are turning to frameworks for all there other buildings for public use,” Skivington continued.

“The new Schools and Community Buildings framework was designed to include the requirements of schools and other educational establishments as well as other community buildings. The framework covers external works that will include roof coverings, windows, doors, cladding, insulation and landscaping of buildings, including resurfacing of car parks and updating outdoor sporting areas. These kinds of works are vital to maintaining a building’s lifespan,” explained Skivington.

Fit for purpose
Internal works, including refurbishment of learning environments, such as science laboratories and home economics facilities, remodelling of buildings and refurbishment of sports changing facilities, are also all covered by the new framework.

“Learning environments have got to be fit for purpose if schools want to be able to offer the best to their pupils and get the best from them in return,” added Skivington.

“Classrooms and other facilities need to be fully functional and offer students the best possible place to learn. Whether it is refurbishing physics labs or updating home economics kitchens, remodelling works give existing school buildings a new lease of life and helps make teaching that bit easier.

“Many of the UK’s educational buildings are still rooted in old-fashioned architecture, with single-glazed windows, archaic layouts and sub-standard facilities. This is not the face of education in 2013 and school leaders are trying desperately to modernise these tired buildings,” added Skivington.

An example of this was Burnham Upper School in Buckinghamshire (now called The E-ACT Burnham Park Academy). It used LHC’s Aluminium Windows and Doors frameworks to install aluminium windows, saving money and energy, and improved heat retention, as a result. Bob Walter of Buckinghamshire County Council said: “The existing windows were providing insufficient insulation in the cold winter months, plus they could not be opened in the warmer weather.”

“By procuring through LHC, work could begin on site quickly and complete in good time for the benefits to be felt. Euro Windows supplied and installed new, fit‑for-purpose, aluminium windows, which have already reduced heat loss and are helping to deliver energy savings. The result is both the aesthetic appearance and working environment of the school is much more pleasing and a reduction in heat loss is helping to deliver significant energy savings,” Walter continued.

The project was carried out during term-time, with minimum disruption to the academic timetable enabled by scheduling delivery and work times around school hours.

At a time when school and educational sector budgets are under pressure, it is essential that local authorities, schools and other educational establishments can ensure that much-needed repair, maintenance, refurbishment and remodelling projects are quickly and efficiently completed without the need to compromise on quality.

Further information
www.lhc.gov.uk