Single gateway for BSF through Partnerships for Schools

21 April 2008

Partnerships for Schools and 4ps today announced closer working relationships between the two organisations as part of the move towards a single gateway on Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

As the government's delivery agency for BSF, responsibility for managing the contracts with 4ps which support BSF has transferred from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to Partnerships for Schools. This is part of a wider move across government that will see departments assume a more strategic function and devolving more delivery issues to agency bodies.

As local government's project delivery specialist, 4ps' role in BSF is to support local authorities in delivering their projects, particularly through advice and support to elected members, corporate and project management teams and school governors. This is delivered through two contracts: the Gateway Review and the Expert Client Programme. Worth £2m and due to run until the end of September 2008, the contracts will continue unchanged, but under the management of Partnerships for Schools.

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools said:

"4ps make a valuable contribution to the delivery of BSF through their work with local authorities and I am keen for this to continue as the programme gathers pace.

Half of all upper tier local authorities are now engaged in the programme and the current consultation from the DCSF looks set to bring more local authorities into the programme earlier than was previously possible. Against this backdrop, ensuring there is sufficient capacity and capability within local government is critical and I look forward to working closely with 4ps to develop proposals to address this."

Welcoming the announcement, Chris Wilson, CEO of 4ps said:

"4ps has been working closely with PfS to assist local authorities to engage with the BSF programme throughout the last four years and we welcome the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with them further.

4ps team is working with most of the early wave authorities, all of the Wave 4-6 authorities, and is now starting to provide early support to those expecting to be in the next group of projects later in 2008. We have been instrumental in developing new support to the sector providing project team training, skills audits and gateway reviews along with other direct engagement with projects. Our new relationship with PfS should enable us to further help the development of the programme and feed into future programme planning."

For more information contact Amy Leonard, Communications Director, on 07960 116966

Notes to editors

1. 4ps is local government's project delivery specialist body, a member of the Local Government Association Group. In relation to BSF, 4ps' Schools team delivers an "Expert Client Programme" providing capacity-building support of various types. This is directed at improving the skills of the Authority to deliver their project successfully and on time and is aimed at elected Members, corporate management teams, project teams and at school leaders and Governors. The content ranges from workshops providing a broad understanding of how BSF works, through project team training on specific elements such as the workings of PFI, LEPs, and the Competitive Dialogue process, to best practice in project management and governance. 4ps also conducts skills audits for authorities at key stages of development, and is now developing the provision of advice on establishing effective client-side capacity and skills in the operational phases of BSF (see www.4ps.gov.uk for more details).
2. 4ps is the accredited provider of OGC Gateway Reviews to the local government sector. In this role 4ps commissions peer reviews at key stages of the projects which assist authorities to successfully deliver their programmes. To assist in capacity building in local authorities 4ps has launched its new Project Director Development Programme to train up the next generation of project leaders, many of whom would work in the BSF programme.
3. Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. BSF will provide world-class teaching and learning environments for all pupils, teachers and communities in England.
4. Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery agency for Building Schools for the Future. PfS was established in April 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and is operated and funded under a joint venture between DCSF (formerly DfES) and Partnerships UK.
5. 19 BSF projects have now signed contracts with private sector partners. These are: Bradford; Bristol; Greenwich; Knowsley; Lambeth; Lancashire; Lancashire (repeat);  Leeds; Leeds (repeat);  Leicester; Lewisham; Manchester; Newcastle; Sheffield; South Tyneside and Gateshead; Solihull;  Sunderland; Waltham Forest; and Westminster.
6. There are now 12 BSF schools, including "Quick Win" schools, open nationwide: Ifield School, Kent (March 08); Michael Tippett SEN School, Lambeth (Feb 08); Sandon High School, Stoke (Feb 08); Birches Head, Stoke (Oct 07); Elm Green, Lambeth (Sept 07); Bristol Brunel Academy (Sept 07); Sixth Form, Haringey (Sept 07); Oxclose, Sunderland (June 07); Chaucer, Sheffield (Oct 06); Bamburgh, STaG  (Oct 06); All Saints, Newcastle (Sept 06); and Solihull Centre for Inclusive Learning (May 06).
7. The new PfS website (www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk) includes progress reports on every BSF scheme, and a new online collaboration tool will be launched shortly to give stakeholders the chance to form online networking groups to discuss BSF issues and challenges.