Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
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Press Releases

Press Releases

Single gateway for BSF: PfS and NCSL join forces to support schools through BSF process

29 April 2008

Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) today announced that the two organisations will be working more closely in the future to deliver training and development courses for schools and local authorities engaged in the Building Schools for the Future programme.

As the government's delivery agency for BSF, PfS will now act on behalf on the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to oversee the delivery and development of NCSL leadership programmes associated with BSF. This change is part of a wider move across government that will see departments assume a more strategic function and devolve more delivery issues to agency bodies, and follows on from the recent announcement that PfS is now responsible for managing the contract with 4ps.

The National College for School Leadership works to make a difference to children's lives through excellent school leadership by supporting current and future school leaders so that they can have a positive impact within and beyond their schools. Since October 2006, the College has provided training opportunities for local authority and school staff to build skills that enable effective change management and educational transformation.  These are delivered through programmes including the BSF Leadership Programme, which is currently available for local authorities in Waves 5 and 6.

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, said: “Building Schools for the Future is about much more than simply bricks and mortar, it’s about transforming education in order to provide the very best futures for all young people. The NCSL plays an important role in helping local authorities to hone their vision for change, and in encouraging individuals to acquire the leadership skills necessary not only for a successful BSF project, but for successful long-term management of their schools.

"I have seen first-hand how the authorities already engaged in the NCSL programme are benefiting from the opportunity to draw on the knowledge and experience of a range of professionals, including national agencies and industry."
 
Welcoming the announcement, Steve Munby, Chief Executive of NCSL, said: "We are delighted that NCSL will be working more closely with PfS in the future to provide training and development for schools and local authorities. Expectations of BSF are high, with the majority of headteachers believing that it will support educational transformation. Our research shows that leaders feel BSF is a much-needed investment that will make a fundamental change to education. 

"However, this massive transformation with its high levels of complexity requires capacity building and new knowledge, skills and expertise at local authority and school level. Therefore real and meaningful consultation and effective relationships between schools and local authorities are key to its success. Together, NCSL and PfS can help to support and enhance these relationships."

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

Notes to Editors:

  1. The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) offers opportunities to develop the potential of school leaders at every level and to enable their schools to work collaboratively with other schools.  87% of school leaders surveyed believe NCSL is helping raise standards in schools – an increase on 2006. [Source: survey of 640 heads, deputies and other school leaders in 2007 by independent research agency, EdComs.]
  2. NCSL’s four key goals are to transform children’s achievement and well-being through excellent school leadership; to develop leadership within and beyond the school; to identify and grow tomorrow’s leaders, and to create a ‘fit for purpose’ national college that is more strategic and offers school leaders even more leadership support.
  3. For more information on NCSL visit their website at www.ncsl.org.uk or phone 0845 609 0009.
  4. The NCSL BSF Leadership Programme supports school leaders and local authorities in developing their thinking and understanding of learning in the future in order to realise the opportunities that this investment provides.
  5. Spanning two academic terms, the programme includes five face-to-face facilitated days and is supported by online materials, resources and tools.  It is designed to support school leaders and local authorities in the pre-procurement stage of the BSF Capital Investment Programme.
  6. To date, 23 local authorities and 135 schools have attended the NCSL BSF programmes. In addition, the College ran programmes for One School Pathfinders which 10 local authorities and 23 schools attended.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. There are now 13 BSF schools, including "Quick Win" schools, open nationwide: Bristol Metropolitan College (April 08); 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).
  11. 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.