


A shift in school estate management: my take on the Education Estates Strategy

Jun 30, 2026

By Chris Coyle, Operations Manager, NASPM There are moments in every sector when the language starts to change. At first, it can feel small. A new phrase in a policy document. A different emphasis in guidance. A change in how responsibilities are described. But language often tells us where things are heading. That is what stands out to me in the DfE’s Education Estates Strategy. This is not just a document about buildings, condition need or capital investment. It signals a wider shift in how the education estate is being viewed, talked about and managed. For many schools, estate management has often been reactive. Something fails, then it is fixed. A problem appears, then maybe it is escalated. Compliance has often not been fully understood, nor have the possible consequences of not being compliant.  That is understandable. School leaders and premises teams are often managing complex sites with limited time, stretched budgets and competing priorities, and often with minimal training in what managing estates compliance looks like. Where the school site is managed through a PFI contract, some schools may have, without realising it, wrongly assumed that their responsibilities sit elsewhere.  But the direction now is clearly moving towards proactive estate management by competent estates professionals, moving from a reactive maintenance mindset to one of strategic estate management. Is the school estate seen as a cost that must be kept to a minimum, or a valuable asset that requires competence, care, vision and investment?  That means understanding the framework produced by the DfE for effective estate management – knowing where you are now, and planning for how you will improve. It means having an estate vision, having governors and trustees who understand their roles and responsibilities, clear plans to maintain your estate, active management of risks, health and safety, and so on.  And who in your school will ensure all this happens, when everyone is already busy?  This shift matters because school buildings are not just the backdrop to education. They shape learning, inclusion, safety, sustainability and the daily experiences of pupils and staff. Moreover, schools are a part of our community and will be encouraged to use their space and facilities to an even greater extent to support community needs, from youth provision to family hubs and wellbeing services. How will this affect your estate management, especially around compliance requirements? When an estate is well managed, many of the benefits are almost invisible. Risks are controlled. Checks are completed. Problems are picked up early. Improvements are made. Staff know who is responsible for what. There is ownership and pride. When compliance systems are weak or insufficient, the impact can be significant. The introduction of the School Estate Management Standards, and the move towards annual returns through Manage Your Education Estate from autumn 2026, reinforces that estate management can no longer sit quietly in the background. Responsible Bodies will need to understand how their estates are being managed. Schools and trusts will need to know what evidence they hold, what processes are in place and where improvement is needed. That does not mean every school is expected to have a perfect estate. Many buildings are ageing. Maintenance backlogs are real. Capacity is stretched, staff are under pressure. Funding decisions are not always in the hands of the people managing sites day to day. But good estate management is not about having perfect buildings. It is about knowing your estate, knowing its potential and planning for it, understanding your risks and being able to show that the right systems are in place.  It’s about knowing what a Fully Effective school estate looks like and planning to get your school there – not only managing your compliance effectively, but being able to evidence it in real time – something many schools already struggle to do.  So how is your school including Premises and estates compliance into your plans to become a Fully Effective school? For schools and trusts, the sensible step now is to review what is already in place.
  • Are all necessary statutory checks completed to schedule and recorded clearly?
  • Are risk assessments tailored to your school, current and accessible?
  • Is there a planned approach to maintenance?
  • Are contractors’ competence and suitability fully assessed?
  • Do governors and trustees receive meaningful assurance of health and safety compliance?  Do they know what to look for, what questions to ask?
  • Does the premises team have the required level of competence, and do they receive training and support?
  • Can the school evidence how higher risk activities are being suitably managed?
These are practical questions, not theoretical ones. For NASPM, this is exactly where our work sits. Our role is to support the people responsible for safe, compliant and well-managed school buildings with practical resources, training, guidance and sector updates. This means Governors and Trustees, School Leaders, and the Premises Team – each has a crucial compliance role to play. The Education Estates Strategy should not be seen as another policy document to file away. It is a signal that school estate management is becoming more structured, more visible and more clearly linked to accountability. It requires many schools to start thinking differently about managing their land and buildings, and how they will meet the challenge of becoming a fully effective school. In my view, that is a positive shift – schools directly impact a person, a family, a community, a society, and they deserve to be managed with vision and with care. Safe and suitable buildings and estates do not happen by accident. They depend on competent people with vision and skills, clear systems, good records, and consistent management that embeds a culture of excellence across the school. The language is changing, the challenge has been set. Now the work is to make sure schools meet that challenge.
National Alliance of School Premises Management
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.