New DfE Guidance: Estate Management Competency Framework
This guidance serves as a guide for individuals entrusted with supervising or governing school properties, aiding them in fulfilling their duties to uphold secure and well-maintained educational facilities in accordance with the principles of Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS).
The effective administration of school facilities plays an important role in establishing an atmosphere conducive to high-quality teaching and learning experiences, thereby ensuring optimal educational outcomes. To assist educational institutions in fulfilling their responsibilities and upholding secure, well-kept premises, the Department for Education (DfE) has recently issued the Estate Management Competency Framework.
The framework delineates the essential abilities, knowledge, and expertise needed to proficiently oversee school properties. It caters to various levels of responsibility, encompassing both day-to-day tasks and long-term strategic planning. This is done while acknowledging the diverse skills and experiences present in the sector, thus ensuring its applicability to various roles and contexts within school property management.
Crafted collaboratively with input from schools, academies, governing bodies, professional associations, and experts from the construction industry, the competency framework underscores the collaborative endeavor required for successful estate management.
Estate Management Functions
This competency framework outlines 7 functions of estate management, aligned to good estate management for schools (GEMS). These functions cover the broad range of experience and technical competency required within the education sector. We have identified a few key activities that are generally included within each function.
1. Strategic estate management
Your role may include
* Taking a strategic approach to the management of your land and buildings, in line with your school’s business planning objectives; and
* Having the right plans and documents in place to help create an environment that supports good teaching and learning.
Your responsibilities may include:
* Understanding how to manage your estate well by producing strategic plans that support your school’s educational and other goals;
* Putting together and agreeing an implementation plan;
* Setting up good governance arrangements for managing your estate well: and
* Assigning clear organisational responsibilities for the estate.
2. Planning and organising your estate resources
Your role will usually involve ensuring your school’s policies and procedures help you manage your estate effectively and efficiently.
Your responsibilities may include:
- Implementing governance responsibilities for your estate;
- Overseeing budget planning and prioritising expenditure;
- Ensuring value for money from the estate;
- Procuring appropriate estate services; and
- Overseeing business continuity and emergency planning arrangements.
3. Understanding and managing your land and buildings
Your role may include:
- Understanding the legal interests, limitations, and responsibilities of your estate;
- Possessing a comprehensive understanding of the condition, suitability and sufficiency of the land and buildings on your estate; and
- Using the knowledge of your estate to inform strategic planning and decision-making.
Your responsibilities may include:
- Ensuring clarity about the legal interests, limitations, and responsibilities of your estate;
- Assessing the physical condition of the school buildings;
- Determining whether your estate is suitable and sufficient to meet the needs of the school;
- Informing your strategic planning and budget planning processes with up-to-date and accurate information on your estate; and
- Overseeing the collection and analysis of property and condition data for your estate.
4. Performance management and sustainability
Your role may include:
* Delivering effective performance management across the estate; and
* Ensuring energy, water and other resources are used efficiently and waste is kept to a minimum.
Your responsibilities may include:
* Overseeing performance management of the estate;
* Sustainably managing energy and water use across your estate;
* Identifying opportunities to deliver efficiencies across your estate; and
* Pursuing collective buying opportunities.
5. Health and safety and compliance
Your role may include:
* Ensuring your estate is safe for all users; and
* Ensuring that the condition of the estate and supporting policies fully comply with relevant legislation and regulatory standards.
Your responsibilities may include:
* Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of all property-related health and safety issues;
* Taking appropriate actions to minimise any avoidable risks;
* Ensuring the estate complies with appropriate statutory and regulatory standards; and
* Ensuring responsibilities for health and safety are clearly defined, understood, and allocated
6. Maintaining your estate
Your role may include:
- Maintaining a safe, warm, and weatherproof estate, which supports good teaching and learning; and
- Ensuring maintenance is effectively planned and prioritised, informed by accurate and up-to-date condition data and the needs of your school’s users.
Your responsibilities may include
- Overseeing technical assessments of the condition of your estate;
- Using accurate and up-to-date data on your land and buildings to inform a maintenance strategy and plan that are fit for purpose;
- Using the maintenance strategy and plan to inform strategic decision-making and budget planning; and
- Ensuring maintenance planning is appropriately prioritised and delivered in line with statutory and regulatory requirements while minimising the impact on your school operations
7. Managing your estate projects
Your role may include: Ensuring all estate-related projects are clearly defined, follow approved processes, and use resources to best effect ensuring all estate-related projects deliver the desired outcomes.
Your responsibilities may include:
- Developing and implementing processes to ensure all projects are robustly defined, appraised, and prioritised;
- Ensuring all projects comply with statutory requirements, reflect budgetary constraints, and are effectively planned and managed to minimise impact on your school operations; and
- Ensuring all projects meet strategic outcomes and time and cost requirements.