Three years ago, Tapscott Learning Trust in the London Borough of Newham began reviewing how it managed premises support across its four primary schools but found it hard to recruit suitable staff directly.

With a mixed estate of early-1900s and 1980s buildings, the trust needed dependable day-to-day site supervisor support to keep schools safe, clean, and ready for learning.

“We advertised for a site supervisor, but the candidates and the applications we were receiving weren’t what we were looking for,” says Shaz Rahman, Executive Business Manager of Operations & School Business Manager at the East London trust. 

Several candidates were looking at the role as a temporary stopgap while others were discouraged by a lack of on-site accommodation. Competition from other sectors and the lack of candidates with suitable practical skills were also significant obstacles.

Shaz began to search for an external provider who could provide premises support that included opening and closing the school sites, carrying out health and safety checks, building condition checks, overseeing cleaning, testing fire alarms and general maintenance.

That led to Judicium being brought in from September 2022 to provide premises support at one of the trust’s schools, Kensington Primary School. This arrangement quickly proved its value, and the partnership with Judicium eventually expanded to cover all four schools. 

Shaz says the service means that the trust has reliable and flexible coverage for essential premises functions. “We were finding it really difficult to find suitable people out there, and people who were interested in this role,” he said. “Judicium helped fill that gap by providing a dependable alternative to the direct recruitment route, which was frustrating.” 

The relationship has worked well over the past three years, says Shaz, who praises the Judicium team for strong communication, proactive account management, and regular service review meetings backed up by detailed notes.

The Tapscott Learning Trust is continuing to review how premises functions are delivered as leadership roles evolve and more strategic oversight is introduced centrally, but the Judicium partnership is set to play an important role for the foreseeable future. 

“I’ve already recommended Judicium to other trusts, and I will continue to do so. I know the challenges that schools face bringing in the right people for site supervisor roles and I think Judicium has nailed it. And when it comes to budget it’s no more costly than us trying to recruit directly.”

If you’d like to learn more about Judicium’s Facilities Management services, please feel free to contact enquiries on enquiries@judicium.com or 0345 548 7000