As a headteacher, Building Schools for the Future (BSF) gives you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the environment in which your students will learn for decades to come. BSF is delivering billions of pounds to help transform education across England by providing 21st century learning environments in which every young person can do their very best and which also inspire and engage teachers to stretch themselves. This is an ideal opportunity not just to renew the fabric of your buildings, but to engage with staff, pupils and the local community in thinking about the school, how it works and what everyone wants from it for the future.

This may be a daunting process, but there are two important things to bear in mind. Firstly, there should be plenty of scope for discussion and time for well-structured planning and preparation work, before any changes are made. Secondly, you will not be doing this alone. Your local authority will support you, supported and advised in turn by the Department for Education (DfE) and Partnerships for Schools (PfS) throughout the process.

The programme is also designed to minimise disruption and to ensure that your school is rebuilt or remodelled on time and to the highest standards and the private sector partners chosen to form a Local Education Partnership (LEP) will be expected to consult with you as plans develop.

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) has created a programme to support school leaders in developing their vision for future learning and managing the changes that BSF will bring about. You can read more about the BSF Leadership Programme on the NCSL website.

There is also guidance available, including 'Introduction to Building Schools for the Future' from PfS and 4ps, together with wider information from a number of organisations, some of which are listed below, on how to make the design and construction process a positive experience for the whole school community.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is the Government's adviser on architecture, urban design and public space. It advises on how to get better value through better design. CABE has produced several publications about school design, including 'Being Involved in School Design', and a range of teaching resources which are available through its website.

Construction Skills is an organisation which works with construction employers, training providers and Government to tackle the skills and productivity needs of the construction industry in the UK. It has produced a booklet called 'Being Involved in School Construction', supported by the CITB-Construction Skills Regional Education Teams, to help schools make the most of construction projects.

Lessons Learned

Experiences of those schools and local authorities in the early waves of the programme are also fed back into the process, allowing you to concentrate on creating a school that promotes the best teaching and learning, without wasting precious time 'reinventing the wheel'.