Statement: High-quality school buildings are central to BSF’s success
24 July 2008
Partnerships for Schools has issued the following statement in response to an article in The Guardian [21 July] regarding the quality of school design in the BSF programme:
“High-quality school buildings which provide safe and inspiring places for students to learn and for teachers to teach are absolutely central to the success of BSF. That is why we have been working closely with CABE's enablers - who have offered expert advice to all local authority BSF teams - as well as its review panel, which has more recently tracked how design proposals are faring.
“In May the BSF contract with CABE transferred from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to Partnerships for Schools (PfS). Since then we have been working very constructively with CABE, the DCSF and other users to ensure design quality continues to be safeguarded in the BSF programme.
“Schools that are now open demonstrate the impact of high-quality design on pupil engagement and aspiration. The Bristol Brunel Academy – one of the first schools to be rebuilt under BSF – has recently won a RIBA award and independent research carried out by NFER shows the very positive impact that the new learning environment is having on students: increasing their sense of pride, enjoyment and safety on the one hand, and reducing bullying and graffiti on the other.
“High-quality design that produces this type of response from students and teachers is a non-negotiable in BSF. We are currently in discussion with the DCSF about establishing an objective set of criteria to ensure that every school benefits from the highest quality designs that will deliver educational transformation. This is likely to include, but not be limited to, the expert views of CABE. When considering the effectiveness of a new building the views of the users, and others stakeholders with expert opinions, must also feature.”
A letter from Tim Byles, Chief Executive of PfS, has been published in The Guardian’s letter page [24 July]. The test of the letter is as follows:
Design lessons for schools
The Guardian, Thursday July 24, 2008
"Inspiring", "motivating", and "stimulating" - most definitely not "mediocre" - these are the views from the students and teachers already benefiting from the new schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme (£35bn revamp will produce generation of mediocre schools, July 21). For Partnerships for Schools, design is not an end in itself, but a means to helping transform education. Indeed, in comparison with the proposed designs reviewed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, actual BSF schools now open demonstrate the impact of high-quality design. The Bristol Brunel academy has not only recently won a Riba award, but independent research by the National Foundation for Educational Research illustrates the positive impact that the new learning environment is having on students.
As guardians of billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, we at PFS are working hard to make sure this unprecedented investment is spent wisely, and we are learning and applying the lessons from earlier phases of the programme to later schemes. This is happening in the realm of design and procurement, with many more opportunities now for students and teachers to influence finished design through bodies like the Sorrell Foundation, and a growing awareness within the design community of what makes a safe and inspiring school.
Tim Byles
Chief executive, Partnerships for Schools
