Created: 26th February, 2026
Robert joined Barker in 2002 and is a Partner based in our Braintree office. A Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, he has over 20 years’ experience of all core building surveying services and provides strategic estates advice to key accounts in the education, commercial, ecclesiastical and public sectors.
An education specialist, he provides the following services: estates and energy strategy, asset management planning, project management and capital funding applications.
Robert works closely with clients to plan and implement energy efficiency and sustainability strategies to save money, reduce carbon emissions and meet ESG objectives.
As a RICS Certified Historic Buildings Professional he provides conservation consultancy for clients with listed and historic buildings.
Robert is an experienced APC Assessor and Chairman and is also an external examiner for Anglia Ruskin University
As a Partner Robert leads the Business Development and Marketing function at Barker, builds relationships with key sector bodies and helps steer the strategic growth of the company.
Email: rgould@barker-associates.co.uk
Tel: 01279 648057
The Department for Education (DfE) has published its Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, setting out the government’s reform agenda for the school system in England.
This is a formal policy statement. It does not allocate funding directly or introduce legislation, but it does define strategic direction and signals how regulation, capital and accountability will evolve.
The scope of the School’s White Paper is wide and education-led. Its centre of gravity is SEND reform and inclusive mainstream provision. From an estate’s perspective, this is significant.
It reshapes how school buildings are expected to function and where capital is likely to be prioritised over the next decade.
The document sits directly alongside the recently published Education Estates Strategy.
For Responsible Bodies, the message is clear: inclusion, suitability, and adaptability are now core estate functions.
The primary policy driver is SEND reform.
The government’s intention is to shift from a reactive, EHCP-led system towards earlier intervention and stronger inclusive mainstream provision.
Over time, fewer pupils should require specialist placements because mainstream schools will be better equipped to meet needs internally and will have provided intervention earlier.
This has material implications for buildings, space planning, and capital investment.
Mainstream schools will increasingly require:
There is also an increased expectation that mainstream teaching spaces become more accessible and aligned to neurodiverse learners.
Many existing estates were not designed for this level of inclusive provision. Suitability, not just condition, becomes central.
Learn more about designing school buildings for pupils with SEND
The Education Estates Strategy introduced a structural reset: proactive lifecycle management, renewal before rebuild, data-led funding, and stronger accountability.
The White Paper reinforces that direction of travel. It confirms:
The strategic emphasis is clear: adapt and improve the existing estate wherever possible, rather than defaulting to wholesale rebuild. The alignment between policy reform and estate strategy is deliberate. Inclusion, early years, enrichment, and community integration are now embedded estate priorities, not peripheral considerations.
Schools will need to demonstrate that their buildings can support inclusive mainstream delivery. That requires structured planning of space, circulation, acoustics, access and specialist accommodation, not just reactive, room-by-room adjustments.
The £3.7bn commitment signals a sustained programme of specialist expansion and mainstream adaptation. Trusts and local authorities that are strategically prepared – with feasibility studies and prioritised estate plans – will be better positioned to benefit.
Condition remains important, but suitability now sits alongside it. Enrichment entitlement, attendance reform, and inclusive provision all rely on environments that are safe, calm, and fit for purpose. Estate quality increasingly links to performance outcomes.
The expansion of school-based nurseries and family hubs will require reconfiguration of primary estates and clearer strategies for surplus space. This connects directly with the Estates Strategy’s work on demographic change and flexible use of school space.
Where schools are adapting for SEND or suitability improvements, there is an opportunity to embed fabric upgrades, low-carbon heating and improved ventilation.
The Estates Strategy emphasises renewal, climate resilience, and net zero readiness. Inclusion-led capital projects provide a practical delivery vehicle for those objectives
The direction of travel is consistent across both the White Paper and the Education Estates Strategy: reactive maintenance gives way to strategic stewardship.
For many organisations, this represents a cultural as well as technical shift.
We welcome the clarity of policy alignment between SEND reform and the Education Estates Strategy.
Over the next decade, the market is unlikely to be defined by large-scale rebuild alone. It will be shaped by adaptation, inclusion planning, lifecycle management, trust-level capital prioritisation and integrated energy strategy.
Responsible Bodies that prepare early, with evidence-based estate planning and clear governance, will be best positioned to respond as capital programmes expand.
To explore the practical estate implications of both the Education Estates Strategy and the Schools White Paper, we are hosting a focused briefing for Responsible Bodies and trust leaders.
Education Estates Strategy: What Responsible Bodies Should Do Now
Wednesday 18th March
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
If you would like tailored advice on what the Schools White Paper means for your organisation, speak to a member of our education estates team.
