Project: New Canopy Project
Schools: West Newcastle Academy
The Brief
The school was under pressure from the inspectorate to provide an adequate covered outside area. They received quotes from various other companies which had been high and hadn’t considered the brief provided. The cost needed to be low because the school was set to move site and therefore spending a large amount on this project wasn’t an option.
- Pressure from Ofsted
- Difficulty finding a suitable brief
- Tight budget
The Approach
We work closely with canopy and outdoor furniture companies and so we reached out to our network with a summary to see what solutions and ideas were offered which would satisfy the inspectorate while keeping the costs low. Keeping the project inside the budget was incredibly difficult, it required us becoming heavily involved in the negotiation with the supplier to provide a reasonable solution. Our team have worked on many of these canopy projects so were able to transfer an idea we had seen at another school, 250 miles away, to come up with a plan that the supplier could implement. We then had to work hard to convince the supplier that the solution was viable and pushed hard to ensure that they could and would complete it within the budget.
- Use of extensive network
- Negotiation of price to meet budget
- Idea generation
The Outcome
The canopy was successfully built that completely satisfied the inspectorate. The price eventually came in at under half the original price (the original quotes hadn’t met the inspectorate’s requirements). There was a small snag concerning the height of the table, so we liaised with the supplier who agreed to revisit the site and rectify the snagging issue for no costs.
- Ofsted satisfied
- 50% cost saving
- Negotiated snagging work
“As a School Business Manager in a small primary school, I often feel I don’t have enough time but am hyper-aware of the necessity of ensuring value for money. The Better Schools Project has been extremely helpful in ensuring I save both time and money. I was initially wary of how a free service would work and cautious as to whether I would genuinely receive the best quote. However, I can now say I am extremely happy with the service provided.
The Better Schools Project will source the requisite number of quotes and will help oversee the ordering process. They will help chase late deliveries and ensure goods are fit for purpose. I often give them a pretty wide brief, but they are always good at supporting me through the options”
Rae Lowe, Business Manager
