Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
33 Greycoat Street
London SW1P 2QF

Press Releases

Press Releases

Partnerships for Schools to deliver future Academies

23 March 2006

In a written statement to the House of Commons and House of Lords today, the Minister of State for Schools and 14-19 Learners, Jacqui Smith, announced that Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is to take on responsibility for delivery of the building part of the Academies programme. This follows the proposal made by the Secretary of State, in her response to PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ second annual evaluation report on the Academies programme, to align more closely investment in Academies with Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

Welcoming the announcement, Partnerships for Schools Chief Executive, Richard Bowker, said: “I am delighted that PfS has been asked to take on an enhanced role in the delivery of the Academies programme.

“It is a real endorsement of our proven ability to manage major project procurement and delivery programmes in the Education sector. By integrating academy delivery into BSF we will be able to harness cost-effective economies of scale for the entire programme. PfS will take responsibility for delivering around 130 of the 200 academies scheduled to be open or in the pipeline by 2010.

“We are looking forward to working with our partners in the DfES in delivering this exciting and challenging Academies programme and look forward to working closely with local authorities and individual Academies to continue to build on the success of the Academies programme.”

The Minister's Written Statement:

The Minister of State for Schools and 14 – 19 Learners (Jacqui Smith):

The Secretary of State, in her response to PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ second annual evaluation report on the Academies programme, announced proposals to align more closely investment in Academies with Building Schools for the Future (BSF). It has now been agreed that Partnerships for Schools (PfS) will have responsibility for the Academy building programme.

PfS is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) wholly owned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and managed and funded under a joint venture between the DfES and Partnerships UK (PUK). PfS was established in March 2004 to work with local authorities (LAs) and the private sector to rebuild or refurbish the secondary school estate.  PfS is a national delivery vehicle for BSF, which is a government programme to renew all the secondary schools in England over a 15-year period. PfS ensures that secondary schools buildings are well-designed, built cost-effectively and on time, and that they are properly maintained. PfS does this by building strong Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), enabling the public sector to benefit from the best skills and expertise available in the private sector, and thereby achieving greater efficiencies and economies of scale.

Within the BSF programme education and design specialists from PfS work with LAs to create innovative and exciting learning environments for schools. In addition, the procurement and project management expertise which PfS provides also ensures that the programme is delivered effectively and that economies of scale are achieved, and that the BSF programme is delivered in the most cost-effective and efficient way. By including the delivery of Academy buildings within PFS’s remit we will ensure that these aims and objectives are delivered for Academy buildings and ensure that Academies are established as part of a strategic programme of investment for each LA. Closer integration of the two building programmes will also enhance the capacity of PfS to secure high standards and greater procurement efficiencies.

A standardised approach to procurement will both support these efficiencies and drive the creation of excellent educational environments which will make a major contribution to radically improving educational opportunities in areas of significant social and economic deprivation.

As a result of the closer integration of the Academies building programme with BSF, there will be some technical changes to the way in which Academy buildings are procured and constructed. The Department is currently working closely with PfS on the detail of how this closer integration will work. Our intention is to minimise any changes to the way PfS and LAs currently work together. The closer integration of the BSF and the Academy building programmes will also support the sharing of good practice in building excellent learning institutions within both the Academies and BSF programmes.