Building Schools for the Future is an unprecedented rebuilding and refurbishment programme for secondary schools in England which will transform education and life chances for millions of young people, provide better work places for thousands of teachers, and put schools back at the centre of local communities.

The programme was established by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly DfES) in 2003, and is being delivered by Partnerships for Schools. BSF is about much more than just bricks and mortar. In addition to new and improved buildings and facilities, it provides an opportunity for schools and local authorities to rethink how they facilitate learning for students and members of the community more widely; about the possibility of co-locating other services, such as dual-use leisure facilities, healthcare or libraries; and a chance to think about other changes to how school currently operate, such as flexible timetabling.

It would be impossible to undertake a programme of this scale in one go, and so BSF is being delivered in a number of waves covering the whole of England. In the early stages of the programme, local authorities have been prioritised according to greatest need. Investment began with schools where the standards were lowest, and the greatest impact on standards could be achieved. In some cases this means that only part of the schools estates within a local authority area is already in the BSF programme, while in others it includes every secondary school. As the programme rolls out, consideration will also be given to how ready local authorities are to join BSF, and so early schools and councils are urged to start thinking about their plans for capital investment in their area.

BSF is a long-term programme of investment and change in England which will help transform education for secondary school age students by providing 21st century learning environments that engage and inspire young people, teachers and wider communities.

BSF will ultimately reach every part of the maintained secondary school system in England, including:

• 11-16, 11-18 and upper schools
• Middle schools deemed secondary, and secondary and all-age secondary schools
• All categories of secondary schools - community, voluntary controlled, voluntary aided, foundation, Trust and Academies.

"Educational transformation" is not a single process, and it will not stop when the individual school buildings are completed. It is a big leap, rather than a small step, to:

• improve learning and achievement for every child and young person
• enhance school diversity and parental choice
• increase the use of schools by the community
• use new thinking and opportunities and be creative in designing for learning
• seize opportunities through new technologies, and
• produce places for learning that are exciting, flexible, healthy, safe, secure and environmentally sustainable.

The BSF programme will help inspire and engage all who learn in, work in, lead and visit schools.

Education is a recognised priority, not just for the Government, but also for society as a whole. It is the key to preparing the nation for the emergence of the knowledge economy and its increased demands for skills and human capital. Despite the importance to successful education, the vast majority of existing schools are now old (built before 1976) and are increasingly unsuitable for modern teaching and learning. Research indicates that improved (new or refurbished) buildings contribute to pupil performance. To succeed in raising educational standards and improving attainment levels we need to examine how to make our existing schools better and ensure that new school buildings are well designed and built to be suitable to the needs of education in future years. BSF is not simply about bricks and mortar. The programme creates an important opportunity to transform the way secondary schools function, developing buildings for the 21st century with teaching and learning to match.

If schools are to provide excellent educational facilities for the next 20 to 30 years, designs for new school buildings and major adaptations need to take account of current and likely future developments in education and technology. Schools, local authorities and designers need to be aware of key drivers for change in schools, including the likely impact of a more diverse curriculum at 14 and above; new ways of learning and the impact of ICT; opening up the school to other pupils and the community as a whole and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs into mainstream schools.

Yes. BSF includes local authority-controlled secondary special educational needs (SEN) schools and secondary places in all-age SEN schools. Local authorities? proposals for BSF must show how the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, will met by strategic groupings of schools, with SEN schools, special units or resourced provision in mainstream schools for those with more complex or severe needs.

The DfE Design Team has revised Building Bulletin 77: Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and the current funding for BSF should be sufficient to build or remodel SEN schools to the standards recommended in the publication.

It may do. Local authorities should use the opportunity offered by BSF to review whether the location of schools reflects parental demand and demographic changes.

BSF is about ensuring the most effective educational provision for the local area. This means:

• schools being in the right place and of the right size to meet the needs of the community
• the school organisation offering choice, diversity and access, and
• the overall pattern of schools locally being sustainable for the foreseeable future.

Extended schools are a key vehicle for delivering the Government's objective of lifting children out of poverty and improving outcomes for them and their families. An extended school works with the local authority, local providers and other schools to provide access to a core offer of integrated services, including study support; sport and music clubs; childcare in primary schools; parenting and family support; swift and easy access to targeted and specialist services; community access to facilities including adult and family learning, ICT and sports grounds. These will often be provided beyond the school day but not necessarily by teachers or on the school site. The Department for Education (DfE) expects that by 2010 all children have access to a variety of extended services in or through their school. Children with disabilities and/or special educational needs must be able to access all extended services.

The Building Schools for the Future programme will create schools that are local community hubs and is a powerful catalyst for bringing together other funding streams to provide a range of extended services. These additional facilities and services will be dependent on the needs, requirements and resources of each school involved in a local BSF project.

The Children's Plan, announced on 11 December 2007, is a ten-year strategy to make England the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up. The plan is built on the fact that young people spend only one fifth of their childhood at school, and that they learn best when their families support and encourage them and when they are experiencing positive activities outside the school day. It sets out a series of ambitions for all areas of children's lives. It also means a new leadership role for Children's Trusts in every area, a new role for schools as the centre of their communities, and more effective links between schools, the NHS and other children's services so that together they can engage parents and tackle all the barriers to the learning, health and happiness of every child.

The unprecedented levels of capital investment available to local authorities and schools through BSF have a crucial role in supporting this agenda, and in transforming standards in our schools. Projects will not be approved unless Ministers are content that plans are transformational. Local authorities must ensure that schools can transform the learning experience of pupils and achieve a step change in educational outcomes for children and other learners. As local authorities plan their BSF strategy with schools they will be seeking to secure:

• outstanding designs in a school estate rationalised and fit for the 21st century;
• improved standards in all schools;
• innovative, high-quality teaching and learning for all;
• increased diversity of provision to meet parental choice and secure improved educational outcomes for all young people - including through Academies and Trust Schools where appropriate and the expansion of successful and popular schools;
• the removal of surplus places;
• school buildings and grounds that support the principles of sustainable development through their design, construction and operation;
• schools relevant and accessible to local communities; and
• extensive local collaboration and parental involvement.