After another successful completion of the School Works programme, our Lifecycle Projects team have reviewed this year’s programme to reflect on what has been achieved and delivered through Imagile Professional Services (IPSL) over the six-week summer holiday period and the two-week October half term.
Completing renovation and construction work in numerous educational environments can pose several challenges. – from managing live environments to working to short timeframes, there are many things that contractors and asset management teams must consider.
This year, the School Works programme ran alongside numerous holiday clubs and community hub activities. This required a more thorough examination of health and safety regulations compared to a school without ongoing activities or students present on-site. This demanded the project managers and contractors delivering the programme to adhere to strict time management and clearly defined schedule of works.
The School Works programme at IPSL, includes a range of educational buildings from primary education to special education needs facilities situated across the UK, ensuring that facilities, design and internal layouts of the schools are continuously improved and safety maintained.
2023 School Works
In 2023, IPSL consulted on 43 schools with a total capex value of over £4.4m, making it the highest value portfolio of School Works projects IPSL has completed. Each site has its own refurbishment plans and specifications that range from decoration to groundworks.
The types of work completed included:
- Flooring Contracts
- Decoration Contracts
- Roofing Contracts
- Kitchen Equipment Contracts
- Window & Door Replacement Contract
- Boiler and pipework replacement
- M&E Installation Contracts
- Lighting & Fire Detection Contracts
- Groundworks Contract
- Asbestos Management
This year, the School Works programme prioritised mechanical and engineering aspects over aesthetics. The cyclical nature of the programme dictates varying levels of investment in different areas each year. Specifically, during this summer, the focus was on replacing boilers, hot water storage tanks and pipework. A total of 20 new boilers were installed across the 43 schools as part of this initiative, providing a school with an average carbon emission reduction of 28%. The IPSL team also installed 1,066 m2 of roofing and improved insulation, which can provide a school with an average of 20% off their annual energy costs, equating to £6,200 on average for a UK primary school.
Lifecycle Planning Team
At IPSL we have a dedicated team of experts who work closely with our clients to deliver budget forecasts and cost analysis for each project. For the School Works projects, the lifecycle team begin planning as early as February. This early start ensures the projects are executed with cost-effectiveness and prioritises health and safety throughout the planning phase. The team collaborates closely with the client, relevant construction partners and internal teams such as SHE (Safety, Health, and environment) throughout the entire process.
Strategic Partners
Throughout the School Works programme, the IPSL delivery teams worked with 47 strategic partners to deliver all aspects of the project to the highest standard and best value for the client. Our network of strategic partners have worked in collaboration with the IPSL Lifecycle team for many years and are selected on the synergies in standards and abilities to provide end user clients with the service they expect.
One of the key partners for the Leeds education facilities, NOVO, were a new consultancy onboarded specifically for the type of works required for this year. They were on hand for design queries raised by IPSL and have local contacts immediately available for any concerns. Partnerships with local companies will be important moving forward into the 24/25 lifecycle programmes where we aim to deliver quality works alongside value for money.
Maintaining longstanding, quality and value for money strategic partners is key to IPSL delivering lifecycle programmes throughout the year to the standard end-user customers expect.
Phil Ledwidge, Head of Construction Delivery at IPSL, “The School Works programme is a time of the year that the Lifecycle team look forward to. From planning, to surveys, to implementation it’s a project that is clear to see the value it brings to the client.
“It’s a fast paced eight weeks, and it comes with its challenges but the various teams within IPSL and partners involved complete the works to a high standard and on time, again and again, which is testament to our skill and expertise in this area.
“This year the renovation, refurbishment, and extension of over 40 schools across the UK was a record number of projects of this nature for us. The teams have completed over 300sqm of flooring a day and 36sqm of roofing a day across the programme duration which is incredible, and we couldn’t have done it without the dedication, skill and hard work from the teams and our partners.”
