Mace Group

The Evening Standard recently reported that almost two thirds of London's primary schools are full and do not have enough room to meet the pupil demand that is being placed on them. Mace operations director David Rumsey explains how Mace Group's education team is working with councils in London to help solve this problem in a quick, affordable and permanent way.

Research suggests there could be up to 12,000 five-year-olds without primary school places over the next six years in London - a figure that will escalate to an extra 50,000 school places required in the capital by 2017. Faced with the responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient school places available to meet demand, understandably local authorities might see quick, cheap and portable buildings as the only solution.

Mace is currently working with councils in London to solve this problem in a way that's quick and cheap but also permanent. Local authorities have more options than they think, but they need to take the time to approach the problem strategically in order to get the right solution for them and their future pupils.

Temporary solutions are not the only option
A total of 16 London boroughs are currently described as “in crisis.” Putting up temporary, off the shelf portable classrooms can seem like the only response; however, at a time when schools are looking not only at cost efficiency but also at sustainability and performance issues, this option could end up costing more money, disruption and time. In addition to needing extra heating and maintenance, portable classrooms have a short shelf life and are therefore inadequate responses to a long-term challenge.

Mace can solve your problem in just five months
Mace was commissioned by one of London's largest borough councils in 2009 to provide project management services for the delivery of additional reception places. Appointed in May 2009, Mace had only five months to provide the council with ten additional reception classes for the commencement of the school year in September 2009.  Working within an extremely tight timescale and on an occupied site was a challenging brief, but Mace was able to establish the needs of each school and its stakeholders and get the professional team together quickly. Mace enabled works to commence during the summer holidays to minimise disruption. This high-mobilisation model can be applied to projects set for completion before September 2010, providing better quality classrooms for students returning to school the next year.

Three approaches meet a full range of needs
Mace has broad experience working for local authorities with a range of space needs. The following three approaches respond to urgent pupil placement:

1. Temporary classrooms
As noted earlier, erecting this type of accommodation can happen very rapidly. Ideal for temporary bulges in pupil numbers, these good quality classrooms are scalable and meet the need in the short term, but are not appropriate for surges forecasted for the long term. Consideration should be given to possible future uses for decant space whilst refurbishing other schools on your primary capital programme.

2. Modular solutions
Modular facilities provide new classrooms that are not only quickly and affordably delivered and installed, but also provide a very flexible footprint, a permanent building construction appearance, and high environmental and low carbon credentials. Mace has worked with local authorities on Environments for the Future pilot projects which funded directly by the DCSF,  aim to develop and deliver model solutions to the requirements of the next generation of pupils and teachers. Mace proposed the creation of multifunctional learning suites to one Home Counties client that would serve a cluster of schools (including feeder primary schools) and be capable of replication across the country through its modular construction. The shared facility was planned as a service centre with improved facilities for teachers’ lesson planning, preparation and pupil assessment and flexible space for teacher and NTA training, school meetings, events and after school activities.

Mace has long promoted and led the way in developing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), which promotes factory based fabrication of well designed components, or whole building sections, to reduce cost and waste. Mace helped to make one of our local authority client's Sure Start Children’s Centre programme a reality using a low-cost, environmentally sustainable system of prefabricated buildings that can be delivered, installed and made operational in the space of the school holidays, providing high quality space and a cost effective and permanent building solution.

3. The best of both worlds
Having the best of both temporary and permanent solutions is possible. Modular construction techniques can be used to very rapidly establish new classrooms on site that can be occupied almost immediately. An external skin can be applied to these classrooms to provide a more traditional appearance and more permanent solution.

Mace has helped one local authority in London to improve and develop its building stock by over-cladding existing school buildings. The system involves putting a roof onto an existing modular building and then overcladding its external facades, dramatically improving the building's appearance and energy consumption specifications. Used to both upgrade temporary modern classroom buildings and to improve existing buildings that are structurally sound but suffer from poor insulation and roofing, this system has the advantages of materials manufactured from sustainable forest timber, high environmental and carbon footprint credentials, and very fast site erection times.

Mace can help to find the best solution for specific needs, whether they require developing new modular classroom facilities or simply upgrading existing tired building stock. Research has shown that by avoiding the short-term portable solution and going straight for a more permanent solution with short installation times, Mace can save our clients up to £100,000 per classroom, provide a more strategic real estate solution, and get a school ready to provide the best service it can come September 2010.

For more informaton please contact:

David Rumsey

+44 (0)7909 918974

david.rumsey@macegroup.com