Self Storage in Birmingham A Solution for Developing Free Schools

This month sees the opening of Birmingham’s first free school in Handsworth.  Nishkam Primary School is the result of two derelict night clubs being converted into one of the 24 Free Schools to be opened in England this autumn.  The School is a multi-faith school for the Midlands and has a Sikh ethos.

The task of developing a new school has fallen upon a variety of tradesmen and volunteers who have worked endlessly to make sure the September deadline was met.  The school is being praised by the coalition Government as “a flagship free school”



As the concept develops more and more communities will look to follow the Nishkam example.  Developing a school for any community is a daunting task and getting the facilities in place is “key” to the success of the school.  The project involves a high level of organisation and it all has to be done within a very limited budget.  Clearly volunteers are crucial but in addition tradesman need to be involved to create the correct infrastructure.

The School also needs to be fully equipped with desks, computers, sports equipment; the list is endless. In order to both develop and equip the school it is necessary to have storage space so as to help with the smooth running of the project.  Self storage facilities in Birmingham provide a good solution as the space that can be rented by any organisation is entirely flexible.  

At some points in the development phase of the free school it may be necessary to have a large amount of storage space.  As the project develops the amount of space required diminishes and hence the cost of space can be reduced by taking a smaller unit.  In addition, once the development phase has been completed, the school has the option to either bring the storage contract to an end or to store school equipment in the storage centre releasing valuable teaching space in the school.

As free schools are developed, lessons will undoubtedly be learnt about how tackle these projects in the most cost effective and efficient way.  It will depend very much on the buildings being constructed or converted to create the space.  However, having the correct infrastructure from which to establish the school is important in the development plan’s success.  Self storage is an option for all communities to consider if they are looking to develop a free school, or any other community based project requiring similar resources.