CUSTOMER:
Leigh Academies Trust
PROJECT:
Maintenance Services

Enhancing Educational Infrastructure Though Partnership

Leigh Academies Trust is one of the country’s largest and most-established multi-academy trusts operating across Kent, Medway and South East London. It contains primary, secondary and special academies and is highly inclusive and successful. Their mission is to deliver “education for a better world” by ensuring that young people in their academies have an excellent start in life regardless of their background or ability.

Today, it oversees 32 academies and supports over 20,000 students, aged from just 2 months to 19 years old.

The Challenge

With 50% of its academies being primary and 50% secondary—ranging from state-of-the-art campuses to heritage sites—LAT faced increasing difficulty maintaining consistent service quality across its diverse and expanding estate. A tailored, professional and consolidated approach was essential to meet the demands of a growing portfolio and ensure a safe and efficient learning environment.

In December 2023, LAT appointed DMA Group to help elevate its estate management standards and create greater consistency across its facilities. The goal: enable operational efficiency while enhancing student and staff wellbeing.

The Solution

DMA’s team at LAT consists of a dedicated technical lead, supported by a team of field-based engineers, including fabric, air conditioning, gas, plumbing, and electrical engineers. This core team serves as LAT’s primary point of contact and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations, maintenance, and support of its facilities. Service providers include water treatment specialists, lift engineers, insurance inspectors, drainage engineers, and fire and security engineers.

Both LAT and DMA shared a vision of elevating educational infrastructure standards. For LAT, this meant providing warm, safe, and optimal learning environments while DMA committed to delivering consistent, high-quality service across all properties. By leveraging DMA’s expertise and embracing a partnership approach, LAT has been able to enhance efficiency, minimise disruptions to classes and general school operations, and prioritise pupil and staff well-being.

DMA has also shared its technical expertise with LAT’s on-site FM teams. Through tailored training programmes, interactive workshops, and knowledge-sharing sessions, DMA has empowered LAT’s teams to enhance their skills in fault finding, first response checks, energy management, and sustainability.

Using DMA’s proprietary service management platform, BiO®, over 6,400 LAT assets are now tracked in real-time. On average, the system manages 80 reactive jobs and over 140 planned maintenance tasks (PPMs) per month.

Accessible from any device, BiO® delivers live dashboards for estate and facilities managers, service partners, and LAT stakeholders. This includes:

  • Full visibility of individual site activity
  • Up-to-date PPM data
  • Compliance and certification records
  • Asset status
  • Financial tracking and reporting

Thanks to BiO®,  every engineer arrives fully equipped and certified, supporting the Trust’s goal of achieving “right first time” work. As of January 2025, 94% of all PPM tasks met this benchmark.

The Outcome

DMA has also delivered technical upskilling for LAT’s in-house teams through interactive workshops, training programmes, and knowledge-sharing sessions. LAT’s FM staff are now more capable in fault finding, energy management, and sustainability-first thinking.

With Minster Academy recently added to the contract, the partnership is scaling smoothly. BiO®’s flexibility allows LAT to integrate new sites with ease and future-proof its estate strategy.

Together, LAT and DMA Group are setting new standards for educational estate management, underpinned by professionalism, transparency, and innovation.

”The mobilisation process with DMA Group exceeded expectations, with a dedicated team committed to ensuring a seamless integration. We were particularly impressed with the team’s accessibility and openness to feedback. Engineers and service partners continue to demonstrate exceptional knowledge and a willingness to go above and beyond, fostering a transparent and collaborative working relationship.

Simon WoodridgeHead of Estates Operations at LAT

”Our primary goal was to change LAT’s perception of outsourcing partners. We aim to be a true collaborator that prioritises communication, reliable attendance and efficient, high-quality delivery. LAT’s success is our success.

Steve McGregorExecutive Chairman, DMA Group