Community Use of Schools FAQS

• A written agreement is needed to record the details of the proposed use so that both parties are agreed on the arrangement. The written agreement will contain the Terms and Condition under which the arrangement is being agreed.
• A written agreement provides protection for the School, the User and the Managing Authority. Without a written agreement in place the resolution of queries and differences between the User and the school can become challenging and time consuming to resolve.

• A written agreement is needed to cover all arrangements where a 3rd party (“user”) is using school facilities. Schools should not enter into informal/non-written agreements for use of premises not should schools allow use of the premises pending completion of a written agreement.

For short term use of school facilities: Hire of Premises Form

• For the majority of requests, Users will require use of a school facility or area on a temporary/short term basis. Examples include recreational/sessional bookings for sports facilities or meeting rooms in the school. The school should use the Application for Hire of Premises Form in the DE toolkit: Application for Hire of Premises Form as the written agreement for use of premises. The User returns the completed form to the school for approval. The Board of Governors will be responsible for approving applications.

For long term use of school facilities: A written legal agreement is required. There are two types of written legal agreement

• A lease grants exclusive possession of identified space within school premises to a User for a period of time whereby the User has control and exclusive possession of that space whether inside or outside.
• A licence to use premises is permission for a User to do something on EA premises. A licence by definition is not a lease. It is a personal right or permission. It cannot be assigned and expires automatically at the end of the licence period. A true licence does not create an estate in land. In many situations, a Licence will be highly appropriate to the governance of occupation arrangements for the EA. In many cases, the EA will be agreeing for use for a particular purpose during defined hours, and there will be a sharing of possession with the EA or its users.

• Yes there are currently a number of legal agreements between user groups and schools across NI schools. Examples where long term agreements are in place include:
  • Childcare
  • Surestart
  • Playgroup
  • Constituted voluntary/community and sports organisations using school premises regularly and require such an agreement to access grant funding.

The DE Toolkit defines Long Term as “longer than two school terms” however the school should also consider if the User requires exclusive use of an area. In some cases the User will request that a legal agreement is in place. This provides proof of tenure required for accessing some forms of grant funding.

If you are in any doubt please seek advice from EA Community and Schools Team.

• For short term use the Hire of Premises Form is approved by the Board of Governors
• For long term agreements Board of Governor approval is needed to apply for the legal agreement. Approval for the agreement is granted by the Managing Authority (in the case of Controlled Schools this is the Education Authority). Permission is also sought from the Department of Education.

Short Term – Where the user requires short term/casual use of the school then an Application for Hire of Premises Form is completed and as set out in the DE Toolkit responsibility for setting charges rests with the school. The Toolkit confirms that in setting charges the school should not use its LMS to subsidise use which means that, as a minimum, running costs should be covered. The Education Authority has provided Charging Guidance to assist schools with setting charges for use of premises.

Long Term agreements – Where a legal agreement is needed this will be between the managing authority and the user. The charges to the user will consist of two parts:

Running Costs such as staffing utilities. As per Hire of Premises these will be identified by the school with assistance from EA.

Rental charge for premises (as per valuation by LPS)*

* Where Community and Schools Team can present a rationale that the User is (a) non-commercial and (b) providing a service that can demonstrate a benefit to the pupils and the local community this element of the rental cost may be derogated (discounted). This will only apply to agreements in schools where EA is the managing authority. Where this is not the case schools can seek advice from their managing authority.

This can vary depending on the Managing Authority however for the Education Authority it can take up to 18 months to complete the various phases of the process. The Community and Schools Team will provide updates on the progress. Users should be informed at the earliest opportunity regarding the likely timescale.

Yes – in discussion with the Managing Authority a school may enter into a temporary/interim arrangement using the Hire of Premises form pending completion of the legal agreement process. Users should be informed that the terms of the Hire of Premises are temporary and will change when the lease/license is agreed. This temporary agreement may help to establish a working relationship with the user.

The table below provides an outline of the process for controlled schools. This will vary for other Managing Authorities.

Minor Works Projects range from traditional maintenance schemes such as replacing doors and windows to Disability Discrimination Act upgrades, and typically cost from £1,000 up to £1 million, which can be exceeded with Departmental approval

The Education Authority carries out Minor Capital Works for all controlled schools and all non- controlled schools that DE commission the EA to complete minor capital works as per the DE and EA Memorandum of Agreement for Delivery of Minor Capital Works.

A CUOS Minor Capital Work Project is a capital project (as defined above) where the facilities of the school are improved in order to facilitate or increase use of the school by the community. Such projects must also have a clear benefit for the school.

CUOS Minor Capital Works Projects often aim to improve sports facilities in schools with a view to increasing community use of the school.

Common examples include:

• Installation of floodlights to allow out of hours use of pitches during winter
• Resurfacing/Upgrading of playing areas/pitches
• Upgrading of Gyms
• Upgrading of changing facilities

Other examples include:

• Refurbishment or upgrading of school halls to facilitate community events
• Upgrading of security or access systems at the school to make community use easier to manage
• Installation or upgrading of play equipment on school grounds

For a CUOS Minor Works

• Professional Fees e.g. project design and surveys
• Planning Permission Fees
• Delivery Costs
• Maintenance costs

Funding for such projects will come from one (or a combination) of the following sources:

• An earmarked departmental budget e.g. Your School Your Club, Neighbourhood Renewal Capital Funding
• Council capital funding to improve (sports) facilities
• Contribution from sports clubs or community groups
• Private School funds (i.e. funds raised by the school which are additional (and separate to) the school LMS)

External funders will often ask for confirmation that initial approvals, design and costs are in place for the project before funding can be granted.

Confirmation that full funding is in place for the CUOS Minor Works Project will be required before EA Asset Management Service and EA Minor Capital Delivery Service can commence work on a project.

The Education Authority allocates it Minor Capital Works budget according to current DE and EA Ministerial Priority for Delivery status.

Currently the Ministerial Priorities are as below:

Priority

1. DDA/Pupil/Person Specific/Fire/Security/Health& Safety                      
2. SEN Accommodation Projects  
3. Essential (Ready to Tender/DPRelated/SEP Related/Priority/DE Priority
4. All Other Applications                                                                                           

As a result of EA prioritising its budget in this way the majority of CUOS Minor Capital Works Projects will be funded from external sources

The EA will work with schools and external organisations to consider how already scheduled (prioritised) minor works (1-4 above) can be included in a partnership project where it is appropriate to do so. An example of this would be where the EA has agreed to resurface a playing surface for Health and Safety reasons however the school could source a grant to have floodlights installed (to promote community use) at the same time.

There are three service teams within the Education Authority that work together to provide support to schools

EA Community and Schools Team

The Community and Schools Team have a remit to deliver EA’s statutory duty.

The Community and Schools Locality Officer will be the first point of contact for schools enquiring about potential Minor Capital Works Projects.

The Locality Officer will work with the school to complete the Project Initiation Checklist (link to Appendix 2 on EA website)

Forward the Project Initiation Checklist to Asset Management Service and request that a business case be undertaken by Asset Management Service

Where appropriate establish a Project Management Team to oversee a co-ordinated approach to progressing the project.

EA Community and Schools Team Contact Details

• The EA Asset Management Service have strategic and operational oversight of all EA assets including controlled schools.
• On receipt of a completed Project Initiation Checklist an Asset Management Project Officer will be allocated to the case in order to:
  • Review Project Initiation Checklist
  • Progress Business Case*
  • Request approvals from DE and EA Resources and People Committee if required
  • Instruct Solicitors to draft agreement arising from the project (Development agreement to deliver the project and/or Licence etc. to use the new facility)
  • Upon completion ensure asset data/information is updated on Asset Register
  • Inform EA Maintenance and EA Finance of any responsibilities under the agreement
  • Instruct LPS rating valuation of changes to Assets
  • Carry out Post Project Evaluation (Lessons learned)**
  • Manage Agreement including any lifecycle costing, usage or dispute issues between parties.

**EA will carry out the PPE where EA is majority or significant funder of the project.

• The EA Minor Capital Delivery Service has responsibility for delivering Minor Works Projects. On receipt of instructions from the Asset Management Service to proceed with the project the EA Minor Capital Delivery Service will:
  • Agree to include project onto priority annual EA MiCD delivery programme and nominate a MiCD Project Manager to progress Project
  • Prepare initial cost estimate for project (where this is needed to secure funding)
  • Apply for Planning Permission (where required)
  • Prepare the relevant delivery stage “Design and Cost Proposals” for Project
  • Procure and deliver project

• A business case will be required where there is deemed to be a cost to Education Authority. Costs can be up front capital funding or ongoing maintenance commitments which will be agreed with external/ community organisations and specified in the licence agreement.
• Even where the capital cost of the project is sourced externally the EA will need to carry out a business case review of the project if there are additional long term maintenance costs liable to the Education Authority as a result of the project.
• Where there is no capital costs and no ongoing maintenance a business case is not required.

• Controlled Schools: where EA is delivering the project in a controlled school VAT can be reclaimed on the overall cost of the project. This is because EA is the owner of the asset.
• Non-Controlled Schools: Where EA is delivering the project in a maintained school (or a school in another sector where EA is not the Managing Authority) VAT cannot be reclaimed by EA and will need to be included in the overall cost of the project. Non controlled schools can consult with their managing authority regarding VAT charges.

• The Project will be approved by the relevant EA Committee and permission for the project will be sought from DE.

• It is recommended that the school should notify their managing authority in the first instance. For controlled schools this will be the EA’s Community and Schools Team.
• The EA’s Community and Schools Team can provide initial advice to all schools.

In order for the project to be accepted on to the MiCD List of approved projects for delivery (Section 7: Stage 1) the following information must be confirmed at the Pre MiCD Stage. This information includes

• Board of Governor approval
• Confirmation of funding (This should cover Stage 1-4 costs as a minimum)
• Confirmation that project will not be impacted by Area Planning, planned works or other legal commitments such as wayleaves, easements or licence agreements etc. (Due Diligence)
• Business case approval by Asset Management Service*

* AMS will prepare a business case where EA will make a financial contribution to the project. This includes ongoing maintenance commitment to the school estate as a result of the project.

The EA Community and Schools Team will work with the school to gather initial information (See appendix 2) required. The Asset Management Team, in consultation with the Community and Schools Team will then undertake a review of the project and prepare a Business Case if required.

• The timescales for Steps 1 – 4 will be dependent on the scale of the project. For smaller projects that involve no capital funding from EA and no ongoing maintenance liability these steps could be completed within 6 weeks. 
• For larger capital projects which involve significant changes to the school facility and which will have long term financial implications the business case process can take anything up to 3 years to complete.