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How to review your premises management policy

Your school or trust isn't required to have a premises management policy, but it does need premises management documents to show how it deals with things like asbestos, statutory testing or fire safety. Find out how to review your policy, and use our models as a guide to what good looks like.

Last reviewed on 19 March 2024
Ref: 38494
Statutory/mandatory for:
Maintained schools
Academies
Free schools
Independent schools
Sixth-form colleges
Pupil referral units
Non-maintained special schools
Contents
  1. Key facts
  2. Points to look out for
  3. Questions to challenge the policy
  4. Model policies
  5. Examples from schools and trusts
The DfE withdrew its guidance on Statutory Policies for Schools and Academy Trusts on 7 March 2024.

Details of statutory policies have now been incorporated into the new governance guides for maintained schools and academies.

We’ve reached out to the DfE to clarify some of the detail on the statutory policy list in the new guides, and we will update our related articles with any updates in due course. Select ‘Save for later’ at the top of this page to be notified when this article has been updated.
The DfE's guidance on good estate management for schools was updated in June 2023 to include an estate management competency framework, but this does not affect our model policies.

Key facts

  • This policy is non-statutory, but if you don't have one, you must have premises management documents covering management and maintenance of the premises
  • You can delegate the approval of this policy to your headteacher/CEO, an individual governor/trustee or a committee
  • The governing board should review these documents/policy annually
  • The headteacher, governing board and site manager(s) will be responsible for the implementation of this policy

Points to look out for

Below we suggest what might be included in a premises management policy but, since it’s not statutory, policies can vary.

It’s not meant as a guide for writing a policy, since that’s your senior leaders’ job. Instead, use it to give you a sense of what to look for when reviewing it.

Aims and objectives

For example:

  • How buildings and equipment are managed in an efficient and legally compliant way, including:
    • Asbestos
    • Fire safety
  • How buildings and equipment are inspected and tested in line with statutory requirements and general best practice
  • How buildings and equipment are maintained in a way that promotes the health and safety of staff, pupils, parents and visitors

Roles and responsibilities

Who does what under the policy, such as:

  • Governing board - ensures the policy is properly implemented, monitors the effectiveness of the policy and holds the headteacher to account
  • Headteacher - makes sure the policy is implemented and adhered to and that it meets stated objectives, and that relevant risk assessments are conducted and reported to the governing board
  • Site manager - inspects and maintains school premises and conduct repairs
If you're reviewing a trust-wide policy

Ultimate responsibility for the safe management of all premises sits at trust level, but how tasks are delegated varies.

Some trusts have a central team member in charge of premises management, some have individual site managers at their schools, and some use a combination of both. Similarly, some will delegate responsibility for overseeing this to local governing bodies, whereas some may keep it at board level.

Make sure this section reflects your trust's approach. 

Inspection and testing

For example:

  • How the school and/or trust maintains records of statutory equipment tests and certificates
  • What happens if an inspection report highlights that action is needed
  • An inspection table, including:
    • Issues to inspect
    • Frequency of inspections and how this is carried out
    • The person responsible 

Questions to challenge the policy

You need to ask challenging questions of senior leaders when the policy comes to you for approval so you can be sure the policy-reviewing process is robust.

1. How did you decide what to include in this policy?

Ask leaders how they're confident the policy includes everything it needs to, considering there's no all-encompassing list of equipment that schools need to test and inspect. 

Senior leaders should be able to explain how they came up with the list of issues that require inspection, and confirm that the policy is compliant with appropriate legislation, including health and safety.

2. How will we know this policy is being implemented properly?

Ask who will be the point of contact for premises issues, and how they will report to senior leaders. If this person will be carrying out risk assessments, ask where copies of these documents will be kept, and for how long.

3. Will this policy need to be updated if new equipment is installed?

Ask who will decide whether new equipment or furnishings need to be covered by this policy, and how the policy will be updated in between its annual review.

There may be some overlap between this policy and your health and safety policy. Ask what the difference is, and how the two policies work together.

Model policies

These model documents are not meant as a guide for writing a policy, since that's your senior leadership team's job, but use them to give you a sense of what a good policy looks like. 

They've been approved by Forbes Solicitors, and are designed for your senior leaders to adapt to suit your context. 

Model policy for single schools (including single-academy trusts)

Download: model premises management policy (schools)

Model trust-wide policy for multi-academy trusts

Model policy: premises management policy (trusts)

Note: These policies are aimed primarily at maintained schools and academies, but can be adapted to suit any school type. If you want to use a policy in a different type of setting, we recommend you check it against any requirements or considerations specific to your context and adapt it accordingly.

Examples from schools and trusts