Little Paxton Primary School

When Barbara English, the Head Teacher of Little Paxton Primary school in Cambridgeshire, undertook one of the largest projects her school had seen, she relied on the expert knowledge of her Strictly Education property consultant for advice and guidance.

"The work was a very large project to replace our old boiler, remove excess piping, install a control panel and most importantly, project manage the whole process" explains Barbara.

"Because of the size of the spend, we had to demonstrate Best Value by going out to tender. It’s not an area I have experience in and I put my trust totally in our consultant."

Having found a contractor for Little Paxton, work commenced, but part way into the job, the contractor went into administration. "What could have become a total nightmare was all handled for me. Strictly Education not only found me a replacement contractor, but managed the co-ordination between the new supplier and the company that had gone out of business. It really proved to me the value of having a project manager handling things."

Barbara believes the success of the relationship is the personal approach her consultant takes. "He lives quite close to the school and can pop in at short notice.  And he’s brought all the people in the Strictly Education office that we deal with into the school.  It means we have more of a connection when we ring up.  The people working on our account know what the school is like and can picture what we are talking about which helps communication.  It’s a two way process."

Now the boiler is up and running, but there are still a few snagging jobs to be completed. Strictly Education is managing this, meaning Barbara doesn’t have to spend her time doing so. "Another benefit is that Strictly Education organised staged payments. The final payment won’t be released until my consultant advises me that the work has been completed to specification and I am totally happy."