Cressex Community School in High Wycombe has significant experience in hiring out its facilities, something it has been doing for more than 13 years, and it has gone from strength to strength.
The school brings in around £110,000* each year which helps pay for repairs and maintenance that might otherwise wait years to get done.
Here we explore what the Cressex team have learned from their experiences to help other schools thinking about doing the same.
The challenge
Schools have buildings that sit empty most evenings and weekends. At the same time, many struggle to fund repairs and improvements. Hiring out space seems like an obvious answer, but can bring challenges.
Staff can feel protective of their classrooms. Cleaning and security need sorting. School events need to be balanced with bookings. And someone needs to manage it all.
What Cressex Community School does
The school hires out its main hall, a large dining area, sports hall, standard classrooms and playing fields. Rooms with computers or specialist equipment are excluded.
At first, the school business manager handled lettings alongside other duties. After a few years, the school employed a dedicated lettings officer for 15 hours a week who coordinates all bookings, works with the site team, and builds relationships with regular hirers.
The school invested in booking software to manage reservations and invoices. Legal advice was also sought to create proper terms and conditions, which are reviewed regularly.
For cleaning, ad hoc weekend cover was added to the school's existing cleaning contract. For security, contractors are used rather than relying only on caretaker overtime. This offers flexibility without burning out school own staff.
The results
The school earns about £110,000* each year from lettings. After paying the lettings officer's salary, cleaning, security and energy costs, the remaining money goes towards maintenance and repairs.
Vicki Hillier, School Business Manager, said: "The extra income helps towards some of those repairs that you might never be able to afford if they were desirable rather than essential."
Most bookings come through word of mouth. The school gets up to 10 enquiries a week and has regular hirers who return year after year, including football teams and theatre groups.
Do you have what you need to make it work?
Cressex Community School has good facilities because it was a new build. Not every school will have the same sort of spaces that work for hire.
In addition to time, staff, money and suitable spaces, here are some things to consider:
pricing legal requirements safeguarding requirements and responsibilities booking systemsResearch market rates by looking at what local venues charge and be realistic about your facilities. When Cressex Community School priced its theatre at the standard hourly rate, it came to £3,000 a day, which was more than the local theatre. More market research was carried out to find a fair price.
The upfront costs could include booking software, legal advice for terms and conditions, and possibly extra staff hours. Cressex Community School is a Risk Protection Arrangement member (DfE’s alternative to commercial insurance), and this covers school buildings for lettings, which removes one barrier.
Kathryn King, who manages lettings, explained: "There's always a balance - you may think we could make X amount more money, but you have to consider what is going to work for and is right for the school."
Recommendations for schools considering venue hire
The Cressex team has over 13 years’ experience hiring out the school's facilities, here are their top tips.
Remember you are in control - You decide what works for your school. If a booking does not fit, you can say no. The main thing you are trying to achieve is learning. Everything else comes second. Balance income against effort - Always weigh the money you could make against the work involved. Get staff buy-in early - Introduce venue hire at a whole-school level. Explain how it benefits everyone. Check safeguarding requirements - Make sure all hirers who need safeguarding policies have them in place. Get assurance checks where required. Watch out for lettings creep - What starts as a small booking for a few people can grow into a large event with storage demands. Keep control from the start and set clear boundaries. Consider in-house management - Using a lettings company means they take a cut of your income. You still deal with the problems yourself. Employing your own lettings officer keeps more money in the school and protects your reputation. Research your pricing - Look at what commercial venues charge locally. Think about community rates for local groups. Be clear about what you are offering. Plan for exams and school events - Think about how you will handle, for example, exam periods and parents' evenings. Some hirers want every week of the year. You may need to find creative solutions to keep bookings going. Think about the neighbours and community - Consider traffic, noise and lighting. Your neighbours' goodwill matters. Build relationships with regular hirers - Regular bookings are easier to manage than one-off events. Spend time building relationships.Vicki said: “I think if schools can hire, and have the capacity to do it, that additional income is really useful.”
Important note: Land ownership and legal constraints
Before proceeding, it is essential to understand how your school's land is held. including any restrictions on subleasing land held on a lease, or any restrictions around the use of charitable land. You will also require the consent of the freehold landowner.
It is also important to be aware that the use of proceeds derived from lettings may need the agreement of the freeholder.
While schools have significant control over their lettings decisions, this is subject to an important limitation: you cannot permit or encourage any use of your premises that the freehold landowner or trustee would not allow. We recommend seeking appropriate legal advice if you are unsure about the terms under which your land is held.
* Figures provided by Cressex Community School have not been verified by the Department for Education
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seen at 16:37, 25 March in Buying for Schools.