Teaching staff need to know, understand and support that “their’ space will be a joint use space. So it is important to consider how your management arrangements will accommodate this and how you will communicate with the relevant parties.
Some considerations:
- What happens when there are changes to key staff and/or operations?
- How does the supply teacher know about community use?
- What is the protocol for the return of a room after use?
No matter how good the planning and preparation, conflicts and issues are likely to arise between school and community parties, but this can be simply and effectively managed. Practice on the ground suggests that bringing the school and community users together at the start of an arrangement, and gaining regular feedback, often works best to resolve these types of issues.
Whoever has the responsibility for leading on site services at a school level needs to be a core part of your planning and management arrangements. The best premises teams understand that community users are customers in the same way as school students and staff. Managing customer expectations and assessing what is realistically deliverable is as important as good customer care. You will need to ensure community use is planned alongside school events, cleaning schedules, maintenance work and building projects.
TOP TIP: "Employ a dedicated role to ensure community use is managed professionally and opportunities are maximised." Laurie Marshall, Marketing and Facilities Manager at Landau Forte Charitable Trust