New guidance for future waves of BSF
22 September 2008
In his keynote speech at the fourth PfS Annual Conference on Thursday 18 September, the Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight MP, announced that expressions of interest were being invited from all local authorities yet to join the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
He told delegates: “To support local authorities further in addressing the needs of their schools and pupils, I am pleased to announce that on Monday [22 September 2008] we are publishing guidance to local authorities on revising their expressions of interest for projects in waves 7 to 15 of the BSF programme.
“The guidance has been developed following the recent consultation, and gives authorities greater flexibility in how they prioritise their projects in response to local need. Our aim is to start all authorities in BSF as soon as practicable with a priority project.
“This means that authorities who are not yet in the programme will be able to propose a small project which includes their neediest schools so that their pupils and staff benefit from this investment as early as is practicable.
“Authorities have until the end of November to respond to this invitation. My aim is to announce a new national programme for waves 7 to 15 early in 2009, and that PfS will then invite those authorities with the highest prioritised projects to provide evidence that they are ready to deliver. We will also shortly publish the results of the consultation.
“We have worked closely with PfS on this guidance and on the next steps in managing the BSF programme. PfS’s involvement has been invaluable, and I am confident that it will significantly strengthen future delivery of the programme.”
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, said: “With 35 schools now open and 80 local authorities already engaged in BSF, there is real momentum in the programme.
“We recognise that local authorities may have developed their strategy for the delivery of education in their area since the original submissions in 2003. Today’s publication of guidance on revising and resubmitting expressions of interest for projects in Wave 7 and beyond will help local authorities to look to the future, keeping educational transformation at the heart of their BSF projects.”
The guidance, along with a letter from Sally Brooks, Head of Schools Capital at the DCSF, is available to download from the PfS website. Details about how to make the submission and where to return forms are in the letter.
Notes to Editors:
- Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew England’s state secondary schools estate during the lifetime of the programme.
- 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.
