Government’s White Paper sets out ambition for 21st century schools to become hubs for communities
01 July 2009
The Government has today published its White Paper on 21st century schools which seeks to place schools at the heart of communities and underlines their importance to the development of future generations.
The White Paper includes plans for schools to offer more in the way of co-located facilities which can be used by local residents, as well as students providing a focal point for the community. This builds on the work already being done through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme and the £200m Co-Location Fund – which are managed and delivered by Partnerships for Schools (PfS).
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of PfS stated: “The Government’s White Paper sets out its plan to transform the lives of every school child in the country. The BSF and Academies programmes are already helping to encourage wider community engagement by making schools hubs for the local area. Mirroring how people live their lives now, the work we are doing, together with the developments in the White Paper, will help all members of the community to access services such as education, health and employment advice in a single place.”
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) this month announced that the £200 million Co-Location fund will be shared across 101 local authority projects around the country. The fund builds on the once-in-a-generation BSF programme which is proving an invaluable vehicle for the regeneration of communities. The projects receiving funding range from a ‘super campus’ in St John’s Wood, London to a series of ‘hubs’ in County Durham which all provide a raft of services for local people.
Notes to Editors:
- 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). PfS is a 120-strong organisation, with specialist expertise including educationalists, designers, ICT specialists, commercial managers and project management.
- 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”
- The Minister for Schools announced in June that PfS is to assume responsibility for the management and delivery of all school building and refurbishment programmes from 1 October 2009. Day-to-day responsibility of schools capital programmes, including the Primary Capital Programme, will transfer from the DSCF to PfS.
- Examples of local areas benefiting from the £200m Co-Location Fund include:
- In Birmingham, Stockland Green Young People’s Centre will provide a flagship facility delivering a full range of sexual health services, innovative provision for children with autism and their families, an informal setting providing information, advice and guidance on a wide range of issues and space for professionals from a range of agencies including the Speech, Language and Therapy Service, Youth Service, Connexions and Youth Offending Team.
- Lancashire County Council and NHS East Lancashire have masterminded a bid to provide facilities for the whole community in Burnley. Alongside the recently-built Cherry Fold Primary School, Hameldon Community College and nearby, Rose Special School, the project will develop an Integrated Health and Services Centre to provide access to and space for professionals from a range of agencies including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), school nurses, family social care and parenting support, drug and alcohol treatment and sexual health services. They will also be able to access lifelong learning, ICT and sports facilities.
- Durham’s Integration Project will see the creation of a network of "hubs" across the county providing a “one stop shop” for young people, including support for learning in the centre and in school, support for emotional wellbeing and health needs, parenting and other issues. The hubs will act as a base for different teams who can offer services for children and young people aged 5-19 through satellites including individual schools, and, on an outreach basis.
- The Lower High Street building in Watford, owned by Hertfordshire County Council, will be transformed into a £2.5 million centre with dance, music and film studios, sports and meeting rooms and a Youth Connexions ‘one stop shop’ offering young people information, advice and guidance.
- At Leicester YMCA’s East Street building, the fund will be used to renew supported housing accommodation alongside existing facilities for education, the arts, sports, health and fitness, advice and information and health services, providing a high-quality transition for young people into independent living. This will involve the implementation of the second phase of a capital refurbishment programme creating a vibrant, modern environment within a Victorian Grade II listed building based in Leicester city centre.
- The proposed Marlborough Hill Campus in St John’s Wood, London will deliver co-located community services including: primary and secondary education, children’s services, children and family based NHS services, youth services, social services, leisure services and the Metropolitan Police from a single parkland campus. The project adds value to the existing Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and Primary Capital Programme plans for the local schools and provides high quality space for health and community leisure facilities.
- A full list of Co-Location Fund projects can be found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/pnattach/20090106/1.html
- 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.
- 80 local authorities are now engaged in the BSF programme, with 20 Local Education Partnerships formed to deliver school building projects in these areas. Almost 90 schools have now benefitted from BSF investment across England.
- For more information see: www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/programme/school_search.jsp
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