Star Academies is a leading multi-academy trust that runs a growing network of primary and secondary schools across England.

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Recently we caught up with Matt Little, Procurement Manager on the positive impact he has seen since working with Vivify.

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What was the main challenge with school lettings for star academies before starting with Vivify?

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Before starting with Vivify, we ran our own lettings programmes in some of our schools, but not consistently, and maybe not to their best capacity. Initially, we did it to provide access to our local communities and generate income for the schools, as opposed to thinking strategically around the longer-term goal.

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Having suitable security on site outside of the school day had sometimes been an issue in the past. There were also capacity issues to make the most of lettings.

 

Through working with Vivify, our school lettings are better managed, and it is now a more structured operation. As a result, we see more and more people from the local community come through our doors.

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Why did you choose to outsource community lettings to Vivify?

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What sets Vivify apart from the others, is the connection and alignment of vision and values to ours. It’s not only about letting our facilities but also about benefiting and supporting the people around us. Vivify was, by far, the supplier that seemed to understand this the best, as well as what the trust was trying to achieve.

 

We believed they were going to work with us to achieve our goals. When you’re trusting somebody with your school, you want to know the people in charge are trustworthy, professional, and supportive.

 

We are proud of our schools and the importance of them in our communities, and we want them to be treated with the respect that they deserve. Knowing they are going to be treated as if they were their own provides us with peace of mind.

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As a multi-academy trust, how did you find the onboarding process with Vivify?

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The process was positive. We’ve had consistency with the operations and customer experience team, which has been great.

 

We laid out exactly what we wanted, including our KPIs, and how we wanted the partnership to work. With any operation like lettings, there can sometimes be teething problems, but the response has been so quick and Vivify has always worked closely with us and our schools to overcome anything that’s cropped up.

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What impact has community lettings had on your schools and pupils?

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We have created a route for our schools to be more actively involved in the community and we’ve also seen an increase in pupil engagement, as they now have additional after school clubs, and opportunities to be involved in.

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Where does any revenue generated go?

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From a financial point of view, the money goes directly into the school’s account and currently, it is a great contingency fund for unforeseen expenses or for improvements. The recent increases in energy bills are an example, so the additional revenue is a great supporting fund.

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We currently partner with Star Academies on a number of their schools including Tong Leadership Academy, Bay Leadership Academy, Starbank School, Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Birmingham East, Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Birmingham, and Highfield Leadership Academy.

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Considering outsourcing lettings? 

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Here at Vivify, we understand the time pressures and financial challenges, schools are facing across the UK. A robust lettings programme can help tackle some of these issues while enhancing your school’s reputation.