A new school of thought

The question of whether schools get

good value for money from their works department is often asked of CM Parker Browne by members of the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA).

An answer can be reached by determining what the hourly rates are for a school operative. Take the basic gross salaries of each member

of staff and add employer’s National Insurance contribution, sundry items, such as allowances, and superannuation. This gives a figure which is then divided by the 1,920 working hours in

the year (48 weeks x 5 days x 8 hours a day)

to arrive at the hourly rate.

From CM Parker Browne’s experience, typical hourly rates for school staff are generally in the region of the amounts shown in the table below; typical competitive commercial rates are also shown. Although regional variations may apply, the ‘better value’ figure expresses how much more value for money typical directly employed trades personnel are, simply in terms of employment cost.

Head teachers may find themselves with no other option than to embrace private sector principles such as introducing time limits and penalties if work isn’t completed on time

In terms of the costs of employment per hour, a school is likely to achieve very good value for money by using commercial trades people. It would be surprising if this were not the case due to contractors’ rates being subject to market forces. Currently they reflect a busy industry where tradesmen are in demand. Contractors also have to factor in levy charges and additional payments from The Construction Apprenticeship Scheme and Trade Union Working Rule Agreement which schools are unlikely to encounter.

Balanced against this, however, while school works department labour costs are often at least 28% cheaper, their output is often much less productive than that of commercial contractors. It is in this area where many schools lose out.

In a recent study of one of our client schools, we compared the time taken by the school’s works staff to undertake the re-painting of classroom block windows over a summer holiday period, with the period of time it would have taken employing a commercial contractor. We found that although the school labourer was 28% cheaper and the school painter was 46% cheaper than the commercial hourly rate, the cost to the school of having used the in-house works team was 35% more as the works department took longer to complete the job and therefore charged more hours.

Works department labour was therefore actually costing the school more than it would have cost to have employed a local painting company. This speaks very badly of the productivity of school works staff.

Of course there is much that can be done

to improve productivity in a school’s works department; close supervision and man management by a competent clerk of works are key. However, given the new scope of control for head teachers being introduced by Local Education Authorities, it could be that head teachers need to take more responsibility in project managing repairs and ensuring completion on time and to budget. With ever increasing pressure to tighten the purse strings of school accounts, head teachers may find themselves with no other option than to embrace private sector principles such as introducing time limits and penalties if work isn’t completed on time. Only then will schools be able to justify employing school works staff.