Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is part of the Government's drive to improve standards in schools. It is an opportunity for the whole school workforce to have a say in the future of their school and to help create the facilities needed to deliver an enriched curriculum.

BSF is not just about improving learning environments for pupils, it's also designed to support the Government's workforce reform agenda. The programme will provide flexible accommodation for different models of curriculum delivery and space that enable teachers to get the most out of the time they are guaranteed for preparation, planning and assessment. But all staff - not just teachers - will benefit from an improved working environment through BSF.

You will have the chance to get involved with the consultation process on the future design of your school to make sure that it will meet your needs. Schools renewed through BSF will use ICT to the full and provide the space and accommodation for a larger and more flexible workforce.

A number of organisations have information on how to make the design and construction process a positive, rather than a disruptive, experience for the whole school community. They also have suggestions for ways in which the BSF programme could be used to fulfill curriculum requirements which you might find useful.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) 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.

Information specific to ICT support staff and technicians

As part of the ICT Managed Service, network managers and technicians in schools will be given the opportunity to TUPE across to the company running the Managed Service. This does not mean that technical staff will disappear from schools or that someone will have to be 'called in'. The local authority and its schools specify the level of technical support which they expect from their Managed Service partner. This might include the retention of one or more full-time technical staff on-site in each BSF school. In such circumstances, the technician might be the same person with a different badge on their shirt. They would be working to a clearly defined set of service standards and would be trained to help them achieve those standards.

Many 'technicians' actually perform a much more varied role in schools. With the increasing reliability of hardware and software, many schools have developed their technicians so that they provide direct support to learners and teachers in the use of ICT. As technology develops, remote technical support of ICT equipment will become more efficient and offer better value for money; indeed in some cases this remote 'fixing' will be carried out by the machine itself. Consequently, pupils and teachers will gain from the opportunity that having a wider role will bring to technical staff.

In all BSF procurements to date, the local authorities have required the ICT Managed Service provider to TUPE across all existing school ICT staff and - in many cases - these staff continue to work in the same school, albeit for a different employer (if under the admitted body scheme, they probably have to work in the same institution).

Additionally, in most BSF projects to date, the solutions being tendered include the provision of a central (usually locally sited) data centre on the wide area network. There are usually still some servers retained in schools for functions such as content caching, but most server functions transfer to the data centre. Once the data centre is established it will need managing by high quality staff who understand the education sector. It is important to remember that the commercial ICT partner will need to recruit locally and will not be bringing in staff from outside. The local authority should make this a condition of awarding the contract.