Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership needed a reliable commercial plumbing, heating and gas contractor to support multiple school sites with a more proactive approach to servicing, compliance and long-term asset reliability.
Sector
Schools & Education
Location
Bath Somerset
Services Used
Commercial boiler servicing
Commercial plant room services
Commercial gas
Commercial plumbing and heating
Domestic gas servicing
Planned Preventative Maintenance for School Heating Systems
Commercial heating, gas servicing and compliance support across education sites.
Before we became involved, many sites were receiving minimum compliance safety checks. While this helped meet basic statutory requirements, it did not give the trust the level of visibility, preventative care or system-level maintenance needed to reduce breakdowns and plan ahead.
We implemented a structured planned preventative maintenance programme designed for live education environments. Since the programme began in 2022, the trust has recorded a 71% reduction in breakdowns, helping improve heating reliability, reduce disruption and support safer, more comfortable school buildings.
The Challenge
The trust needed to move beyond reactive repairs and basic annual checks. Heating and plant issues were creating avoidable pressure for site teams and increasing the risk of disruption during the school year.
Frequent boiler and plant breakdowns
Inefficient heating systems and rising energy costs
Inconsistent heating and hot water delivery
Reactive maintenance causing disruption to staff and students
Reduced lifespan of critical plant and equipment
Limited visibility for future maintenance and budget planning
In one example, a significant pipe burst in the science block at a Yeovil secondary school within the trust, which meant the department had to close and pupils needed to be relocated. This created immediate disruption for both staff and students.
In another case, a main plant room boiler failure created a serious heating and hot water issue while replacement boilers were being sourced.
Why Planned Maintenance Made the Difference
The improvement came from treating the heating systems as long-term assets, not just equipment that needed annual checks.
We reviewed the wider heating infrastructure, identified developing faults before they became major issues and introduced a more structured maintenance routine. This meant the schools were not simply reacting to failures after they happened. They had better visibility of asset condition, compliance requirements and future maintenance priorities.
For education estates teams, this kind of approach helps reduce avoidable disruption, gives site managers clearer information and supports better long-term budget planning.
Our Solution
We implemented a planned preventative maintenance programme tailored to commercial education environments.
Full servicing of appliances to manufacturer specifications
Annual and scheduled maintenance aligned with commercial gas safety requirements
Inspection of wider heating systems, not just individual boilers
Early identification and rectification of developing faults
Forward planning support for future maintenance and capital expenditure
Working Within School Environments
Schools need contractors who understand compliance, safeguarding, communication and the need to minimise disruption around pupils, staff and site operations.
All our engineers are fully qualified and have an advanced DBS
Clear communication with site teams and decision-makers
Planned scheduling around school operations where possible
Compliance documentation to support audit and internal record keeping
Practical reporting to help sites understand priorities
Maintenance planning that supports safe, warm and operational learning environments
We work closely with schools to schedule disruptive works during holiday periods wherever possible, while also planning carefully around live term-time environments so essential works can be completed safely, efficiently and with minimal disruption.
Compliance & Qualifications
All works were carried out by qualified engineers with relevant commercial experience, including:
Gas Safe Registered (Commercial & Domestic)
Commercial Gas Qualifications (COCN1, CODNCO1, CIGA1, ICPN1, TPCP1/1A)
OFTEC where applicable for oil systems
Unvented Hot Water Systems (G3 Certified)
WRAS Awareness
Compliance with relevant health and safety responsibilities for commercial and education environments
Delivery & Results
Following implementation of the servicing programme in 2022, the results were immediate and measurable.
71% reduction in breakdowns recorded in 2023
Reduced emergency callouts and unplanned heating disruptions
Improved heating and hot water consistency across school sites
Increased efficiency of plant and reduced energy waste
Extended lifespan of key equipment
Greater visibility of future maintenance requirements
The result demonstrates the value of moving from minimum compliance checks to a structured planned maintenance programme. Schools experienced fewer urgent callouts, fewer recurring faults and improved reliability across their heating systems. With clearer reporting and greater visibility of asset condition, site teams were able to plan maintenance and future investment more effectively, reducing unexpected costs and improving budget forecasting. Most importantly, by reducing reactive breakdowns and improving system performance, we helped minimise disruption to teaching and learning throughout the academic year.
Reduced disruption to teaching and site operations
Improved heating and hot water reliability
Better visibility of ageing plant and future replacement needs
Greater budget predictability
Reduced risk of emergency failures
Stronger compliance records and maintenance documentation
Better long-term value from existing heating infrastructure
This case study shows how a structured planned preventative maintenance programme can help education providers protect buildings, support site teams and reduce the operational risk caused by repeated heating failures.
Looking to Reduce Breakdowns Across Your School Sites?
Whether you manage a single school, academy trust or wider education estate, we can help you build a planned maintenance programme that improves reliability, supports compliance and gives you clearer visibility of future heating and plant requirements.
We first engaged Wilkins Plumbing & Heating in January 2022, primarily to address the high number of call-backs and repeat breakdown visits across the plumbing and heating systems within our Academy Trust. We were also keen to improve the longevity and performance of our existing plant and equipment through a more proactive maintenance approach.
The comprehensive servicing and maintenance programme implemented by Wilkins Plumbing & Heating has delivered outstanding results. Since 2023, we have seen a 71% reduction in system breakdowns, significantly reducing operational disruption and helping to create a more reliable environment across our sites.
The consistent quality of service provided by their skilled, knowledgeable, and professional engineers has been invaluable to our facilities team. Their expertise, responsiveness, and commitment to preventative maintenance have made a measurable difference to the performance and reliability of our assets.
We have been extremely pleased with the partnership and would confidently recommend Wilkins Plumbing & Heating to any organisation seeking a dependable and proactive mechanical maintenance provider.
