Of course, the summer holiday period is when most of the school maintenance work takes place, with everything from routine repairs to more extensive building works scheduled into just a few short weeks. So it’s worth remembering that schools up and down the country are going through a similar exercise, and what impact this might have on the timely delivery and quality of work completed at your school before the start of the new term. Preparation is the key to success. It is essential that you plan early to ensure that you don’t get caught out, in terms of both availability of the right materials and suitable contractors to carry out the work.

It is important to remember that not all materials are manufactured or sourced in the UK. European manufacturers often benefit from lengthy summer shutdown periods, so any orders need to be placed early to ensure they are scheduled into the production runs leading up to the UK schools summer shutdown period. This is even more crucial when looking at more specialist or bespoke products, such as sports floors, which are often manufactured to order. Early confirmation of order, including details such as colour selection, is essential to avoid disappointment and last minute panic.

There has been a lot of media attention over recent years on the shortage of skilled labour in the construction industry and this problem is only exacerbated at this time of year. The education sector is not the only area aiming to make use of the long days and fine weather for their maintenance and building work and this can lead to serious lack of availability of contractors during the summer months. This can be a particular problem where specialist contractors are concerned, as trying to replace skilled workers with more general building contractors can often lead to issues further down the line. It certainly pays to book the best people for the job as early as possible, both in terms of ensuring a high quality of work and your peace of mind.

“It certainly doesn’t pay to leave your bookings to the last minute,” agrees Richard Bullivant of Hygienic Finishing

Systems, a firm which specialises in providing design, installation and maintenance work to the education sector. “There is a lot for schools to take into account for jobs both large and small. You may need to seek specialist technical advice on areas such as design, sustainability and energy efficiency; and with product choices, ensuring availability of materials and scheduling of contractors to be completed, you’ll be surprised how time will fly.

“We’ve already received a high number of enquiries from schools and colleges who are starting to think about their summer maintenance programmes. As we approach the busy period, we’ve already got a lot of work booked in and are quoting for more jobs each week. In fact, it won’t be too long before our order books are full. I’d encourage schools to move quickly to avoid disappointment.”

Whilst the summer holidays may still seem a long way off - indeed a whole term to go - don’t delay. Get product choices confirmed and agreed with suppliers and the work scheduled in with contractors as early as possible to ensure work on your school is carried out as planned.

For further information on Altro’s full portfolio of interior surfaces, call 0800 018 2960 or visit www.altro.com

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