Premises Caretaker and Site Manager Skills Audit Pack

A quick-and-easy pack to audit the skills of a school site manager, caretaker or premises officer. This pack contains concise guidance to support you in effectively utilising the skills audit, whether you're line managing a school site agent or whether you're a site caretaker yourself who's wanting to evaluate their strengths and areas for improvement. 

Included is an 18-page template covering the different areas of skills that a school premises caretaker may need. These are split into handy sections, such as self-management and personal skills, health and safety, site security, and cleaning and maintenance, so they can be used flexibly. Also included is a daily, weekly, termly and yearly skills list which can be used to reflect on the site agent or caretakers effectiveness and points for improvement for each task. Questions in the skills audit include: 

• What strategies do I utilise to streamline communication processes regarding the work I undertake, ensuring information is shared efficiently and accurately to all stakeholders?
• What measures do I take to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations during cleaning and maintenance activities and how do I communicate these protocols to others?
• What steps do I take to stay vigilant and collaborate with other staff members in maintaining security measures, particularly in terms of reporting any suspicious activities promptly?
• In what capacity do I play an active role in critical incident planning and management, ensuring preparedness and resilience in the face of unforeseen challenges?

The pack is aimed at supporting school premises managers and caretakers but can be used by anyone who line manages a school site agent, such as a school business manager, headteacher or a trust-wide health and safety or premises lead. This can help to inform appraisal and performance management processes, as well as identify CPD needs for the caretaker or site agent.

Whether staff members are new-to-role or have vast experience in their area, skills audits are a valuable self-evaluation tool. When a staff member reflects on their competencies and expertise, they’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the strengths they bring to their role while identifying opportunities for growth or next steps. This self-awareness can boost confidence and self-belief, as well as enabling individuals to articulate their unique contributions to the team. 

When skill gaps are identified, performance targets can include specific objectives aimed at addressing these gaps, allowing those with line management responsibilities to support the staff member through professional development and further training. Skills audits can also help school leaders to create balanced teams, prepare for change, support staff retention and assist in succession planning. 

Key questions answered:

• Why is it important for staff to utilise skills audits?
• How should a skills audit be conducted?
• How can skills audits inform performance management targets?
• How can leaders identify individual staff training needs?
• What other ways can skills audits be used?

Skills audits can be used as a valuable part of the induction process when a new staff member joins your team. Find out more about how to craft staff induction procedures that allow staff to get off to a flying start in your setting with the following pack:

• Staff Induction Pack

If you know that your staff have training and development needs, and are looking to enhance your CPD planning, this pack will support your thinking:

• CPD Planning and Preparation Pack

If you're thinking about recruiting a site agent, and want to use the skills audit as part of that process, then the following packs may be helpful:

• Premises Caretaker and Site Manager Interview Pack
• Recruitment, Interview and Employment Compliance Guidance Pack
• More information on our job interview packs for different roles
• More skills audits for different roles