Sharing good practice: new suite of BSF Case Studies launched
17 March 2009
Building on its commitment to share good practice and lessons learned from the early waves of the Building Schools for the Future programme, Partnerships for Schools has launched a new Case Studies section on its website.
Speaking at the third annual conference on ICT in BSF, PfS Chief Executive Tim Byles said that there was growing body of knowledge and experience from across the BSF community which could help inspire and inform those in the early stages – or yet to start – their own transformational journey.
“This isn’t about PfS telling BSF teams what to do – this is about us encouraging schools, local authorities and the private sector to share the approaches they have taken and the tips they can pass on so that there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to BSF. Everyone has their own experience of choosing an ICT provider, how they got students and staff involved in the design process, or how private and public sector are working together and learning from each other within a Local Education Partnership, but there will be many common themes that echo across the BSF programme nationally.
“For this reason we are committed to disseminating this wealth of accumulated knowledge as widely as possible. With 54 schools now open and 80 local authorities engaged in BSF we know there are many more ‘lessons learned’ we can share. So today I am calling on the BSF community to help us populate this site with more examples of both their successes and the challenges they have overcome.”
The Case Studies site showcases 20 new case studies, including:
• Teddington School’s ‘Pilot Zone’ which gives students and staff the opportunity to test new ICT and furniture before they move into their new BSF school;
• How Mossley Hollins High School and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council have worked together to establish a strong student voice that is guiding their BSF project;
• The e-learning strategy for Leeds and how training opportunities for staff and students is helping them get to grips with new technology.
In the opening address at the conference the Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister for Schools and Learners, announced that the £200 million cross-Government co-location fund will be overseen by Partnerships for Schools. The fund, part of the Children’s Plan One Year On strategy, is designed to encourage external agencies and local authorities to consider co-locating services such as education, social services, libraries, police and health centres when planning their capital strategies.
He said: “Co-location can make it easier and simpler for people to access the services they need and assist those services in working together more effectively and efficiently for the benefit of their users. We are committed to supporting local areas in developing the right facilities for their communities.”
The Minister also confirmed in his speech that DCSF is currently looking at ways to extend PfS’s delivery responsibilities across the range of schools capital programmes. DCSF and PfS are currently in the early stages of a process to work through the detail of this with a view to transferring appropriate responsibilities from DCSF to PfS during the coming financial year.
Notes to Editors:
1. The two-day Education Guardian/Partnerships for Schools conference focuses on ICT in BSF (Tuesday 17) and workforce transformation (Wednesday 18). Around 250 delegates from schools, local authorities and the private sector will attend each day of the event in London.
2. Speakers at the conference include:
(17 March) Professor Angela Macfarlane of the University of Bristol speaking about using ICT to facilitate the delivery of world-class learning; Jon Barker, headteacher of Hugh Christie Technology College on the reality of using the ICT managed service; Paul Kelley, headteacher of Monkseaton High School and Andy Tyerman of Becta, about how the concept of ‘anytime, anywhere’ studying happens in reality.
(18 March) Kerri Facer, Professor of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, on ideas for promoting radical ideas for transformation; Professor John West Burnham of St Mary’s University College on leading change; as well as case studies on transforming, change management and leadership from school heads, local authority officers and private sector partners.
3. The creation of a £200m cross-Government Co-location Fund was announced in the Children’s Plan: One Year On progress report document, published in December 2008. This fund will complement and add value to Government’s existing capital programmes by offering a direct incentive for local partnerships to develop facilities that will enable services for children, young people and families to be delivered in a more joined-up way by September 2011. The closing date for applications is 6 April 2009, with successful projects announced at the end of May.
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. 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. In 2006 PfS also assumed responsibility for delivery of the Academies programme.
6. The National Audit Office report into BSF, published in February 2009, stated that the programme is now being well managed and that PfS is keeping costs under control. It added: “BSF schools have been built to a higher specification and space standards than previous schools”.
