7th December 2021

Wates appointed by Department for Education

Wates Group has been appointed by the Department for Education (DfE) to 11 lots of the DfE’s new 2021 Construction Framework (CF21).

Under the four-year framework, Wates Construction will continue to deliver projects worth £12m and above in the North and South of England, and for the first time deliver Low Value Band (£500,000 to £6m) projects across the country, alongside Wates Smartspace.

Wates has been a key DfE supplier since 2011 and is their first contractor Strategic Supplier Relationship Management partner. Alongside the new framework Wates is currently delivering work via the DfE’s Modern Methods of Construction (MMC-1) framework, which was awarded in January 2020. These framework appointments put Wates at the heart of the Government’s strategy including opening new free schools, and their ambitious 10-year School Rebuilding Programme.

The announcement builds on Wates’ heritage as one of the country’s most prolific builders of schools and educational facilities in the country, which dates back over 60 years.

School stats

£2bn of Wates delivered schools in the last 15 years
120,000+ pupil places created/supported
244 schools completed, including 75 (£900m) via DfE frameworks
£400m+ of school projects currently in preconstruction or on site
£15.2m social value generated in 2020, including £7.6m of Social Enterprise spend
2,700 Apprenticeship weeks since 2017

The Marketing to Contractors & Housebuilders feature (which is sponsored by South East Construction Expo) in the Sectors section of our Directory provides an overview of the sector, including
details of its various media channels and events, together with access to our downloadable database of those with responsibility for procurement at key firms.

Since Wates built its first school in 1961, it has been at the forefront of innovation in educational design, including its industry leading ‘Adapt’ solution, a component-based school kit which deploys offsite manufacture to provide a more efficient and sustainable method of construction. Now in its third iteration, Adapt has been used successfully to build 64 schools, saving waste and ensuring a consistent, high-quality approach.

The Group has also pioneered the development of Net Zero Carbon in Operation (NZCiO) schools, with four Adapt-Zero (NZCiO) schools currently under construction in the North of England via the MMC-1 framework, demonstrating readiness for the CF21 framework NZCiO requirement.

Steve Beechey, Group Public Sector Director, said, “We’re proud of our record as one of the country’s leading school builders and excited to be appointed across multiple CF21 lots enabling us to continue and expand upon our long-standing, and successful partnership with the DfE, one of our most important customers.

“Over the last ten years, our partnership has been built on the excellent relationships we’ve developed with the DfE, its technical advisers, and the schools themselves.

“Our ongoing commitment to delivering the best learning environments has seen us drive innovation in advanced standardisation, delivering the greatest social value and now the smallest environmental footprint – via the NZCiO environments, where our next generation of young people will learn.”

The Construct UK Sales & Marketing Directory hosts over 75 articles, 1,000 construction events and 30 different databases for download. The annual £195 (+VAT) subscription fee provides unlimited access to all resources on the site.

Keep up to date with the latest construction marketing news by registering for our regular free construction sales and marketing e-bulletin here.

Follow us on Twitter