Parents in Leeds say new BSF schools are helping transform education

28 November 2008

Parents whose children attend one of the new Building Schools for the Future schools now open in Leeds believe that the new teaching and learning environment and 21st-century facilities, including state-of-the-art ICT, is making a positive difference to their child’s education.

A survey of over 200 parents in Leeds asked for their views on the range of facilities offered by their child’s school, the state of the buildings and grounds, and whether design features – such as improved toilet blocks, wider corridors and flexible classrooms – made a positive difference to their child’s education.

Parents with children at one of the new BSF schools were significantly more positive about the impact of these aspects on the quality of their child’s education.

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the organisation responsible for the delivery of the national Building Schools for the Future programme, said: “This is the first time we have sampled the views of parents in new BSF schools to help us understand what matters to them and what difference they think BSF is making to their child’s education. Even though it is still early days, it’s very encouraging to hear that already parents believe BSF is having a positive effect on their children through the improved environment and enhanced resources that goes hand in hand with BSF investment.

“This seems to suggest to us that this generation of parents, many of whom were educated themselves in buildings which were far from ideal places to study, are hearing from their sons and daughters about the state-of-the-art facilities, inspirational and safe environments, and new ways of learning brought about by BSF.

“This information from parents, combined with the views we hear from students and from local communities, will help us to understand in greater detail the impact and outcomes of BSF and feed this back into later waves as the national programme gathers momentum with more local authorities joining BSF next year.”

Among the key findings are:

• Nearly all the parents of children who attend a BSF school (95%) were happy with the overall state of their school buildings and grounds, compared with only 54% of parents whose children attend other schools saying they were happy;

• 92% of parents with children at new BSF schools in Leeds said they were happy with the sport, dance and drama facilities at their child’s school, compared to 74% of those with children at non-BSF schools;

• When asked how happy they were with the IT and computing facilities at their child’s school, 97% of ‘BSF parents’ were happy (75% very happy) compared with 77% (33% very happy) of non-BSF parents;

• 71% of BSF parents in Leeds were happy with the quality of teaching offered, compared to 63% of parents attending a non-BSF school;

• 81% of respondents with children at a new BSF school in Leeds said they would  recommend the school to other parents, compared with 72% of parents with children at another school;

• When asked how much of a difference flexible learning spaces which can be moved around for different classes – from group teaching to individual learning – 86% of parents of BSF school students said it made a big difference, compared to 68%;

• Wider open spaces were also considered by 83% of parents of children attending a new BSF school to make a big difference, compared with 64%;

• Up-to-date IT equipment was thought by nearly all parents interviewed to make a big difference to their child’s education, with 97% of parents whose children attend a BSF school saying it makes a big difference, compared to 90% in non BSF schools;

• Specially designed toilet blocks which help minimise areas where bullying can take place was thought to make a big difference to their child’s education by the majority of parents. Again it was parents with children at BSF schools who were most likely to say that toilets made a big difference (87% compared to 78%);

• Nearly all parents in Leeds [88%] interviewed thought they would prefer to send their child to a recently rebuilt school rather than a school built in the 1950s or 1960s.

Notes to Editors:

1. Four Leeds schools - Allerton High School, Pudsey Grangefield School, Rodlillian School or Temple Moor High School – opened in September. Allerton High School is being officially opened by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and Secretary of State, Ed Balls, accompanied by PfS Chief Executive Tim Byles, on Friday 28 November.
2. A video of students and staff from Allerton High in Leeds talking about their new learning environment and their hopes for the future is available on the PfS website at: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/bsf_voices_gallery.jsp
3. The survey was carried out by Populus on behalf of PfS in October 2008.
4. 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.
5. 42 BSF schools have now opened, with over 1,000 secondary schools engaged in the programme, between design and delivery. More information about schools already open can be found at: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/programme/school_search.jsp
6. Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery organisation 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. PfS is a 100-strong organisation, with specialist expertise including educationalists, designers, ICT specialists, commercial managers and project management.