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Our Academies and Voluntary Aided (VA) schools are all owned by the Diocese and provided to the Catholic Education Trust (CET) or school Governing Body (GB) for them to use for the purposes of delivering Catholic Education. The CET Board or Governing Body are effectively the Trustees of the school premises.
These Trustees are the custodians of the diocesan Property - the school and grounds - and responsible for keeping this in a safe condition and maintained in a way which allows future generations to enjoy an outstanding Catholic education.
Ensuring that buildings are safe, warm and dry requires schools to ensure that statutory duties are undertaken properly, regular surveys carried out and remedial action taken where required.
The UK government website provides the information schools need to ensure that they fulfil their statutory and other duties. The website can be accessed here.
Within the School Business and Buildings section, some pointers are provided which aim to support VA school Governing Bodies in particular, both through provision of material specific to this Diocese and by pointing to other, external references.
A particularly useful document for Governors and School Business Managers is the diocesan Education Service’s ‘School Handbook 2020 – Buildings.’ This document has important sections which cover the management of school property, funding for school buildings, financial administration and fundraising, Gift Aid and policies and guidance.
The Education Service maintains an excellent network of School Business Managers (SBMs). This network provides highly effective diocesan and peer-to-peer support for professionals involved in the running of Catholic schools and academies across the Diocese.
