A secondary school in Norwich needed offsite storage for records from several different departments, but a lack of space on site had become an obstacle. Years of records were stored in a shipping container on the school grounds, but they had concerns about relying on this for the long term. They wanted to find a safer space for their records, and free up the container for something more practical, like storing sports equipment.
The challenge
The school’s shipping container held years of records, tucked away in the grounds. Over time, this became difficult and unsafe for staff to access, with boxes poorly organised, loose paperwork on the floor and shelving that had started to give way.
The paperwork had built up gradually over the years, and without much time to dedicate to sorting it, boxes weren’t organised in a way that made things easy to find. Finding a specific document among so many boxes was nearly impossible, which made preparing for an audit or tracking down a leaver’s file far more time consuming than it needed to be.
Alongside this, the school set time aside during an inset day for staff to sort through their current records. The Facilities Manager led the project and asked each department to label their boxes with a brief description of their contents, and a review date for when the records could be destroyed. This created a large number of new boxes ready for offsite storage, alongside the archive already sitting in the container.
How we helped
Our team started with the older archive. Due to the condition the boxes were originally stored in, some were in poor condition and needed to be re-boxed in order to be stored safely on our shelves.
We then turned to the boxes filled during the inset day. We collected these separately, which helped the school clear its hall in time for the start of term.
Every box was barcoded and logged on our system, along with the descriptions and destruction review dates that staff has already added. This gave the school a comprehensive, organised inventory of everything stored offsite.
The Facilities Manager wanted a simple way to manage the school’s records and stay on top of annual data audits. Our client portal gave the team an easy way to see what records they held and which ones were due for destruction. This helped the school stay compliant and avoid keeping records longer than needed.
The result
The school now has one clear system for managing its records, and each department understands why ongoing records management matters. The client portal gives the team full visibility over their records, so the school stays up to date with destruction dates and avoids holding onto data it no longer needs.
The school also keeps a clear record of what has been destroyed and when. This supports the school in meeting government guidance on records management.
With the container cleared, the school now has space in the grounds for sports equipment, easily accessible for lessons and after school clubs. This gave the Facilities Manager a quick way to create more storage space, saving the time and cost of building or remodelling to solve the same problem.
Storage containers aren’t built for the job
Many schools and businesses use storage containers on site to deal with an overflow of paperwork, assuming it’s a low cost and simple fix. But these containers are rarely designed for storing records. They’re exposed to damp and often poorly organised, which puts confidential documents at risk of damage or unauthorised access.
Archive-Vault can collect, categorise, and index your records at a box or file level, giving you a clear, organised inventory you can rely on. Get in touch with our team today by calling 01603 720722 or sending an enquiry via our online form.
