By Lindsey Crabtree, Education Sector Lead at GRAHAM

Demand for a modern, sustainable education estate is being driven by the ageing building stock and the pressing need for new schools that meet contemporary standards. As existing facilities struggle to keep pace with evolving educational requirements, the challenge of delivering high-quality projects within tight timeframes remains critical for the sector.

New school builds or refurbishments are often programmed around academic calendars, so any potential delays are especially disruptive. In addition to tight timeframes, projects must navigate planning constraints, site-specific complexities, and sustainability targets. While standardisation has been an effective way to meet public sector timelines in recent years, every school has different requirements. To meet growing demand and address these challenges, the industry must balance the efficiency of standardised approaches with the flexibility to provide tailored solutions, ensuring each project meets specific client requirements.

Standardisation is not a cookie-cutter approach

At GRAHAM, our use of standardised components and processes, such as our education ‘kit of parts’, allows us to streamline both design and construction. We use standard templates, protocols and ways of working internally to ensure consistency across regions, helping us to meet deliverables on time and within budget. This approach reduces the need to reinvent solutions for each project, improving efficiency and maintaining high standards.

However, we know that standardisation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. While it can greatly improve efficiency, flexibility remains essential in adapting to the specific challenges posed by sites and client needs. Each educational setting has unique challenges and requirements, and it’s important to ensure that standardisation supports, rather than restricts, the creation of bespoke learning environments.

GRAHAM’s ‘kit of parts’ standardised solution allows us to speed up the pre-construction and construction process while still tailoring projects to each school and its community. For example, we work closely with clients to ensure that regulations and sustainability targets are incorporated in new educational settings from the concept stage. Factors like net zero carbon in operation, landscape design, urban greening, and biodiversity net gain are considered early in the design process, enabling us to find creative ways to meet targets without compromising on quality.

This approach strongly aligns with the key policies of the Construction Playbook for schools and other public sector buildings, which emphasises the importance of best practice, effective programme management, the use of standardised, interoperable components and assemblies, leveraging modern construction methods that enhance quality and safety, and ultimately deliver projects that are “better, faster, and greener."

Quality through engagement and collaboration

Early and well managed stakeholder engagement is an essential component of project success. Clear communication between whole project teams around input to meet key deliverables from the outset helps to manage the design and construction process effectively. This ensures that programme, budget and high quality standards are maintained throughout a project’s lifecycle.

When working on education projects, we find that a client-focused approach, combined with a personal touch, fosters trust and leads to better results. This approach strengthens our relationships with schools and local authorities. By involving clients and end users from the pre-construction stage, we can better respond to each school’s needs and the aspirations of staff and pupils. This goes beyond just technical and operational considerations, extending to aesthetic design, thoughtful layouts, and creating spaces that positively impact communities.

A balanced approach combining early engagement, collaboration, and standardisation offers clear benefits for seamless project delivery. It allows us to meet the immediate demands of education projects while planning for future needs, ensuring that schools are built to the highest standards – safe, sustainable, future-proof, and inspiring. By finding the right balance between standardisation and flexibility, each school becomes a space where students, staff, and communities can truly thrive.