Moving towards Academies
Many of these schools have made the move due to financial limitations imposed by public spending cuts, or the need to raise standards such as schools who currently sit in Special Measures (as rated by Ofsted). Following the change from school to academy, schools can expect to remain state funded but also utilise the support of outside sponsors such as private sector businesses and voluntary groups.
Academies will also assume greater control of their budgets rather than bending to Local Education Authority limitations; for this reason it has become essential for the construction industry to sit up and take notice, as many education establishments and now looking to improve and expand current facilities.
Speller Metcalfe has multiple years of experience working within the education sector, which extends into academies, special educational needs and mainstream establishments. We understand that education is always evolving, and that academies will need (and want) to accommodate new facilities and spaces for both staff and pupils. This will also apply to not only include new buildings and resources, but maintenance and facilities management of current provisions, of which Speller Metcalfe can offer creative solutions and experience for both new and existing requirements.
Our understanding of specific academy needs not only centres on the design and build of bespoke requirements, but brings the experience of working within a live school environment. This includes ensuring appropriate health and safety measures are put in place, taking account of time and budget constraints and keeping disruption to an absolute minimum.
Speller Metcalfe always build to the highest specifications, with sustainability at the forefront of our design. Our recent Offmore Primary School project is on target to receive an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating – a fantastic improvement on the current ‘Very Good’ assessment – and at no extra cost to the project.
These are just some of the key reasons that we achieve a high level of repeat business with many of our Education sector clients.
*Department for Education, Sept 2011