Spatial Initiative wins place on third ESFA School Building Framework

Spatial Initiative (Initiative) – the joint venture (JV) between Styles&Wood and Extraspace Solutions – has been appointed as a primary contractor on the £250m Lot 1 of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Secondary Block Framework.

Under the four-year agreement, Initiative’s third framework appointment by the ESFA, the JV will use modular construction methods to replace buildings at secondary schools across the country.

Initiative has now been allocated 10 projects worth £43m across the three frameworks. The projects, which span from Sussex to Yorkshire, include a mix of primary and secondary schools and feature both new build and refurbishments.

The company has also begun works on-site at the first of those projects, a £3.3m modular construction scheme at Highcliffe primary school in Birstall, Leicester.

The Secondary Block framework appointment, follows the business securing primary contractor status on Lot 1 of the £95m Primary Block framework and being appointed to eight regional lots under the ESFA’s £4.4bn national School Buildings Improvement programme.

Sarah Morton, framework director at Initiative, said:

“This further appointment from the ESFA is a vote of confidence in our model and shows the momentum in a scheme that will use modern construction methods to deliver exceptional learning environments across schools in England.”

“The expertise within our JV structure will see us handle all elements of these schemes, from design and securing planning consent, through to the project management and delivery of all on-site work. We’ll also be carrying out building performance assessments, to feedback intelligence to ESFA to inform the design of future schemes.”

Initiative will work with its established strategic partners AHR Architects and S I Sealy on the design of the projects for the Secondary Block framework, while Leeds-based Southerns, which is part of the same group of specialist companies as Styles&Wood, will provide furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) solutions.

Initiative was established to combine Styles&Wood’s expertise in fast-track project delivery in complex, live environments with Extraspace Solution’s knowledge of offsite modular construction.