- The DMAT team is available to offer guidance and support for all aspects of estate management, project management and procurement. Pre-selected contractor lists and approved suppliers are available when needed.
- Condition surveyors will be facilitated by the trust with short, medium and long term site investment programmes created collaboratively with schools. Where possible works will be aligned across the trust, creating economies of scale and simplifying project management. This will save Individual academies time and money and reduce the need for external support/project management.
- Risk management support and guidance. Some policies and risks will be centrally managed by the trust this will reduce workload for individual schools. Where school specific policies and practices remain, the trust team can guide the process, sharing templates, best practice and developing key colleagues.
- The cost of goods and services will benefit from increased economies of scale. Major contracts will be negotiated as trust- wide, but with individual school input. This will save time, save money and realise improved terms. Legal and consultancy fees will be covered by the trust. Major contracts will be led and performance managed by central teams saving schools significant time and complexity.
- Our focus will be to invest as much as possible into teaching and learning, this is our core purpose. The more efficiently we can operate the easier this is to achieve. As vacancies arise in schools we will always explore opportunities to more efficiently deliver the roles. This could mean the work moves to central teams which could be based anywhere in the trust, or the position could be supported by a hub school. This would give colleagues elevated responsibilities and potentially generate income for the school.
- We will provide Worknest – an App based H&S package. Simplified mandatory compliance ensures schools remain safe and legal, an easy to use system giving senior leaders an overview of compliance within their school. The trust team will also have visibility to support and guide where needed, The information within the App will help guide trust- led H&S/compliance visits. Simplification and accountability for school- based site teams and the ability to add school- specific tasks/checks supports and clarifies operational due diligence. Secondary schools will also receive two visits per year from an accredited H&S auditor from Worknest. Access to an appointed local H&S expert to support and guide is available.
IT Services
- Procurement of software and hardware can be delivered centrally. Where possible we will consolidate purchases across the trust to drive economies of scale to realise savings at school level. Trust- wide asset management systems will support procurement planning. Schools will receive regular asset performance reports highlighting focus areas and helping to develop strategic plans.
- Software maintenance and management is supported centrally. This saves school- based colleagues time. Updates and patches will be tested for compatibility prior to release. This will ensure a smooth impact free service.
- System security – virus protection, data protection, data recovery, server maintenance and monitoring is support centrally under the direction of the Director of IT Services. This approach reduces risk at school level and ensures compliance and focused support if needed.
- We will provide emergency support in the event of a malicious attack, server/system failure or any other event that would severely impact a school’s’ ability to operate
- A 3 year strategic plan is created with the support of the Director of IT in collaboration with headteachers and existing key colleagues. DMAT’s central IT team is on hand to support technical queries which cannot be resolved by school teams. Cost benefit is realised through increased purchasing power. The Director of IT supports and guide IT teams through compliance checks, ensuring appropriate processes and documentation are in place and that systems are robust and well maintained.
- GDPR – The trust becomes the data officer. GDPR requests and compliance are managed by the trust with the support of our legal partners. This removes significant risk from individual schools
- Schools joining DMAT will be required to adopt our MIS. The transition to any MIS is challenging for a number of reasons. Skilled colleagues from across the trust will be able to support with planning, training and implementation. The trust will cover the cost of initial setup and schools will benefit from MAT pricing.
- Creating a team culture across our trust is a clear focus. We will facilitate DMAT- wide IT meetings on a termly basis. This will be a great forum for ideas sharing, problem solving, networking and team development. We will facilitate training and development for IT support staff across the trust, supporting progression routes and the retention of colleagues.