Case Studies
New House Farm CofE Primary School
Pre-opening Support
Schools’ Buying Club worked on the successful application for New House Farm CofE Primary School, on behalf of Derby Diocesan Board of Education, and is now supporting its pre-opening, which covers themes such as governance, finance, stakeholder consultation and capital works. Schools’ Buying Club also supported Derby Diocesan Board of Education with the successful application for pre-opening of and opening of Derby Cathedral School in September 2019. Building further on our relationship with Derby Diocesan Board of Education, Schools’ Buying Club recently supported the production of a Wave 14 free schools programme application.
National Autistic Society – Vanguard School
Pre-opening Support
The National Autistic Society appointed Schools’ Buying Club to help support the pre-opening phase of the Vanguard school in 2018. The Vanguard School is an autism specific free school providing educational day places for students aged 11-19 and was the third school to join the National Autistic Society Academies Trust (NASAT). Schools’ Buying Club was commissioned to provide overarching project management services including capital project management support, section 10 consultation, governance and education policy development support. Place Group also worked the National Autistic Society’s internal marketing and HR departments to ensure deliverables were successfully completed. Following the successful opening of the Vanguard School, Schools’ Buying Club was appointed to support the Trust with an additional project.
Brian Clarke Church of England Academy
Pre-opening Support
Schools’ Buying Club is currently supporting Brian Clarke Church of England Academy , which was approved by Department for Education in 2019, with its pre-opening responsibilities. The secondary school will be operated by Cranmer Education Trust and will open in Oldham in September 2022. Schools’ Buying Club is helping to ensure that the establishment can recognise its potential and be truly multi-faith, multi-ethnic and multi-talented. We are supporting with pre-opening governance, finance, section 10 consultation and the necessary capital works.
Edgar Wood Academy
Pre-opening Support
Schools’ Buying Club was appointed in January 2020 by the Altus Education Partnership to provide pre-opening support for the Edgar Wood Academy which was proposed to open in September 2022. However, due an urgent need for school places, the school opening date was moved forward to September 2021 following discussions with the DfE and LA. Schools’ Buying Club was able to mobilise quickly and accelerate all work streams in order to help deliver a school earlier than originally proposed. This included principal designate benchmarking, governance, finance, education policy development, section 10 consultation and capital works. We also helped develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy which helped ensure the school was oversubscribed for the first year of operation.