CASE STUDY
Skinners’ Academy in Hackney
Project Management, Educational Advice and ICT
3es were Overall Project Managers and also provided Educational and ICT advice, including giving advice on the Academy’s Business and Enterprise specialism and the design of the building. The recruitment of the key posts of Vice Principal and Finance Director were organised by our team, from designing and placing the advertisement through to shortlisting and obtaining references to full preparation of, and assistance with, the interviews.
We undertook workshops on education visioning within the new Academy, using our understanding of how schools work and how buildings should be arranged in order to achieve maximum efficiencies both from an educational and financial perspective. Working with the Skinners’ Company, we used our experience to ensure the new buildings were an improvement on previous successful projects while taking into account the unique pedagogies employed at Skinners’. The Memorandum and Articles for the Academy were more complex than usual and our team provided specialist advice to the trustees.
We broadened the Principal Designate’s horizons and helped her assimilate the latest technologies and appreciate what was possible in an Academy environment. This resulted in an innovative approach to the use of ICT through PDAs and laptops for students and teaching staff, a full Virtual Learning Environment and the provision of interactive display and white boards in teaching areas.
Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Our experience from academy and other programmes has helped us learn how to create excellent education environments, identifying where issues may arise, and what can be done to mitigate them. Admissions processes are also constantly changing, and vary between local authorities and sponsors. We have learned the importance of good communication and of the need to take the sponsor through the whole new school process. We do not assume that sponsors understand education jargon. We get to know the sponsors well, gauge their knowledge and then schedule regular meetings with the sponsor and the shadow governing body. At Skinners’ Academy, we met with the new Trustees so they could feel comfortable with the Academy’s projected budgets, as they did not have a wide knowledge of education finance.
Programme Management
An early problem emerged about the site, as the Council were not aware there was still a working EDF electricity substation on the site, which was in danger of delaying the programme. Through working closely with the contractor, EDF and the sponsor, the delays were mitigated and the project was pulled back on target using the contingency time we build into our programmes.
Through our meetings with the sponsor and the Council, it became clear that there was a significant difference of opinion regarding security and access of the Academy site. The Council wanted the Academy to be very open and welcoming to the community, whereas, the sponsor wanted a very secure site. We worked with both sides, and negotiated a popular compromise which satisfied both sides’ wishes and fears.
We also acted as a liaison between the Council, the government and the sponsor regarding signing of the funding agreements. The sponsor was keen to ensure their thoughts were taken into consideration, and the government wanted to ensure the contract was as standard as possible. On other projects, we have had to manage major disagreements between sponsors and statutory bodies, and through working closely with all involved on the Skinners’ Academy programme, we were able to ensure all involved were comfortable with the changes each wanted to make.
The local authority responsible for granting planning permission stipulated late in the planning process that particular views across Hackney Downs to the river were protected. This necessitated late re-designs, but our close working relationship with the architects ensured that the changes was undertaken in time for planning permission to be granted and for the programme to remain on track.
Our experience from other projects on the Academies programme enabled us to create a robust risk register, designed to involve all stakeholders on a regular basis. This ensured all those involved with the project were aware of the important risks associated with the project, and how they could take action to mitigate them.
We also held regular meetings with the contractors to discuss progress on the site, and to give them a chance to raise any issues or delays. These meetings enable us to share knowledge and information between the teams, so everybody was learning all the time. We have a programme of items which are discussed at each meeting, and this is circulated ahead of the meetings. At one meeting, for example, we discussed the colour scheme to be used within the Academy building. This was not an obvious decision at this stage in the build, but the teams made sure that orders were in place to remove the potential for delays.
Similarly, the bad weather at the beginning of 2010 could have meant the building programme was considerably delayed. However, our advanced programming ensured the contractor was still able to continue working on other aspects of the build until the bad weather passed. This has meant the programme was still running on time – and to budget.
Stakeholder Management
We always operate an ‘open door’ policy with everyone involved in the project, including those in our own team, the sponsor, the local authority and staff at the new Academy and the predecessor school, and we encourage others to do the same. This approach ensures everyone is comfortable with everyone else, and allows for a free exchange of ideas, and means that any problems can be highlighted and mitigated as soon as possible.
Many of those employed in our education team, including those working on the Skinners’ Academy programme, had worked as teachers and head teachers in the past, so they had a good understanding of how Principals operate. This is particularly useful when the Principal Designate or one of their senior staff has a query, as we are able to operate from a position of knowledge and assist with the problems which might arise.
Our team had regular meetings with the architects about all aspects of the building to ensure the sponsor was happy with their interpretation of the education vision. We spent time with the architects to help them understand that the sponsor wanted a business-like environment, and for the building to feel less like a school. We were also able to offer advice on whether the building would work from an educational viewpoint. Our participative style of stakeholder management enabled us to appraise the building’s circulation, compliance with Building Bulletins, accommodation scheduling and anti-bullying measures without detracting from the architects' own vision. This work has resulted in a design which pleases the Sponsor, the architect, the local authority as well as the students and staff.
The transfer of the land from the local authority’s control to the Academy Trust was particularly complex. The predecessor school was situated on two sites – a lower school and an upper school. The land earmarked for the new Academy building was also smaller than required, so we negotiated with the local authority for more land to be available. We were able to manage this situation and secure extra land in order not to cause additional delay.
Consultation
In common with many Academy projects, Skinners’ Academy required consultation with the predecessor school’s staff regarding TUPE. A detailed consultation booklet was produced, which the representatives of the staff Trade Unions and The Learning Trust (the local authority’s education provider) said was one of the clearest and most comprehensive they had encountered. Our work at the Skinners’ Academy shows our experience of conducting detailed negotiations with various Trade Union representatives, and an understanding of sensitive employment issues. Our approach has enabled proposals which meet everyone’s requirements to be put forward and agreed with all parties.
The original plan for Skinners’ Academy was that it would be a Community Academy, serving a new development of residential housing adjacent to the site at Woodberry Down. However, the economic climate at the time meant that Berkeley Homes’ plans had been significantly delayed. We therefore assisted the Academy in developing proposals for new admissions arrangements, incorporating the relevant legal requirements and obtaining confirmation from the Secretary of State that the necessary changes could be implemented.
Adjacent to the new Academy building is an existing residential area, so it was important that the residents were kept informed through regular consultation and newsletters. Our ‘open door’ approach extends to the local residents, as we consider them one of our stakeholders. We had no issues, and the residents were quite excited about the new building.
Finance
From our experience, we have found that it is very important to engage the project’s Academy Trustees at an early stage. Many of those who are involved in Academy finance have a background in the private sector, and do not necessarily have an understanding of school or Academy finance. Through engagement, we always ensure they have confidence in us as the Project Managers, so they can understand how the budgets operate.
We also worked with the sponsors in appointing the Academy’s new Finance Director, one of the key appointments. We then worked directly with the Finance Director to understand what work they need to do in order to set up the finance systems prior to the Academy’s opening. We also attended Finance & General Purposes Committee meetings with the sponsors, including workshops covering how Academies operate financially.
This is often necessary as the chosen candidate may not have worked in an education environment before.
On all our Academy programmes, we insist on regular updates with the Techncial Advisor teams and the contractors to ensure the ‘drawdown’ from the DfE matches the work completed, so the contractor does not get paid in advance of need. We regularly check off work completed to ensure payment is only made for work completed satisfactorily; this also helps reduce the need for a lengthy snagging process once the new building opens. This approach helped us manage the Skinners’ Academy project budget, in spite of the issues surrounding the EDF substation.