Education projects are governed less by the building and more by the calendar. Whether we're working on a primary school refurbishment, a university teaching block or a sixth-form expansion, the operational programme of the institution sits over the construction programme and rarely yields. Term dates, exam periods, open days, holiday clubs, summer lettings: each one is a hard constraint, and the cost of overrunning an Easter holiday possession is measured in safeguarding risk and parental complaints, not just liquidated damages.

Our preconstruction approach in this sector starts with the operational calendar and works backwards. We map possessions, decant routes and phased handover dates against the construction sequence, identify the trades and procurement items that will determine whether holiday possessions are deliverable, and pressure-test MMC and offsite options where they can compress on-site duration. We also factor in the less-discussed elements: DBS clearance for operatives, segregated welfare, hoarding routes that don't cross pupil flows, and FF&E procurement that has to be ready to install during a two-week window.