EVIDENCE TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILE SCHOOLS AND THE PROGRESS OF BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE, ACADEMIES AND FE COLLEGES CAPITAL PROGRAMMES
Introduction
Background and Context - Schools estate - Capital Strategy - Investment
Building Schools for the Future - Overview and respective roles - BSF funding - BSF processes - Supporting educational change - Schools at the heart of the community - BSF and ICT - Progress/lessons learned - Inclusion of Academies in BSF plans - Academy/BSF costings - Delivering academies through PSF - Lessons learnt from academies procurement - Progress on Academies
Early Years and Primary - Sure Start and Every Child Matters - Primary Capital Programme
Private Finance Initiative - PFI overview - PUK report into signed PFI contracts - Improving PFI - what needs to be done - PFI and sustainability
FE capital
Supporting good design - Overview - Guidance - Demonstration projects - Tools - Professional Advice - Participation
Environmental Sustainability - Overview - Key Principles - BREEAM for schools - How BREEAM works - The Standard - Environmental Key Performance Indicators - Energy use and renewable energy - Guidance on environmental sustainability - Sustainable buildings - the next generation - Things to see in a sustainable school - Case study on Kingsmead School - Case study on St Francis of Assisi Academy - Case Study - BSF schools (Solihull and Lancashire)
Annexe 1 - Case Studies
Annexe 2 - What Pupils Want - Sorrell Foundation; and Acland Burghley
Annexe 3 - Combined heating and power and renewables schemes available to schools - DTI and DEFRA funding to support sustainability in schools
Annexe 4 - Healthy Schools
Annexe 5 - Supporting Documentation
INTRODUCTION
This paper sets out the government's broad capital strategy for schools incorporating Building Schools for the Future and Academies and to a lesser extent FE. It sets these programmes within the broader context of our drive to refurbish school buildings, including primary schools, and how this supports the wider agenda to improve educational provision for all our children and young people. It sets out how we are supporting good design and the processes in place for ensuring that educational transformation is at the heart of the renewal process. The paper addresses the issues of sustainability in its environmental, social and economic aspects. We cover a lot of ground but - perhaps inevitably - touch on some areas in more detail than others and therefore further information is available in the supporting documentation. However, if the committee wishes to have any more detail on anything contained in this paper or indeed anything that is not covered we are ready to provide further information as requested.
The government's aim is to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools and significantly improve half of all primary schools over the next 15 years. The school building programme, including the far reaching Building Schools for the Future Programme, supports the government's wider drive to raise education standards, personalise learning and place schools at the heart of their communities.
The investment in our school buildings provides a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to transform our schools estate so that we have buildings that inspire learning and benefit every pupil and member of staff and are a source of pride as well as a practical resource for the community. Sustainability will be at the heart of the programme. This means schools constructed and delivered in ways that are environmentally friendly; sufficiently flexible to adapt to changing methods of teaching and learning and contributing to local regeneration schemes.
The challenge is to combine excellent buildings that are good value for money with support for the highest standards of teaching and learning for years to come. The investment will enable the construction of high quality classrooms, kitchens, dining halls, sports and ICT facilities and staff and community rooms. We aim to have school buildings that are both inspirational and get the basics right; school environments that are by turns practical, sustainable, delightful, pleasant, accessible and secure: buildings that support the principle that every child matters and serve the local community.
The school renewal programme is ambitious. And with the scale of investment comes responsibility. It is incumbent on everyone involved to play their part effectively and to work in partnership to make the most of this opportunity. They include the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), local authorities, non-departmental public bodies (such as Partnership for Schools (PfS), diocesan bodies and faith groups, architects, designers, contractors and builders, the school workforce, governors and pupils. But above all success will depend on how well we work together. For instance, designers and architects are key to the programme but they may have a limited knowledge of education imperatives and practicalities. Those in education may be experts in their field but unaware of the prospects open to them through innovative design approaches. That is why effective partnership and engagement bringing different areas of expertise together early on is so important. And in terms of environmental sustainability it is most readily affordable if built in from the start and not as something bolted on later.
Good design is essential to our programme and can make a significant difference in simple ways: imaginatively designed dining halls can promote healthy eating; wider corridors can improve the flow of pupil traffic and cut down on bullying; classrooms with good acoustics and ventilation can improve concentration and behaviour. The DfES is supporting good design in a range of ways. We are producing design guidance; disseminating best practice; fostering demonstration projects, both real and conceptual; providing tools to support technical guidance or help users better understand their needs and communicate them to designers; providing professional advice on individual projects; and innovative projects that encourage greater user participation. And we have funded the joinedupdesignforschools exhibition which explored how good design can improve the quality of life in schools by listening to the pupils.
In recent years the backlog of need has been substantially addressed, and the hundreds of newly built and refurbished schools and programmes such as Classrooms of the Future have shown us what can be achieved. But there are also instances where things have not gone as well as everyone would have liked and it is important to learn from these mistakes. Later PFI programmes, for instance, have learnt the lessons of some of those earlier ones where the experience was less than satisfactory. Everyone involved needs to learn from these mistakes as well as from the wide range of successfully completed projects that point the way to an exciting future. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The Schools Estate
There are approximately 23,000 maintained schools, (excluding early years and further education), in England. 20% of school buildings were constructed before the second world war. 50% were built between 1945 and 1976, a period that included much system-building, and 30% since then. System building was typified by school designs of the 1960s and 1970s which facilitated rapid construction at a time of growing need but have left a legacy of high running costs in terms of maintenance and energy use.
The post 1976 percentage, which includes new school buildings, has doubled in the last four or five years - i.e. there has been as much new school building since 2001 as there was in the preceding 25 years. 3% of accommodation is in temporary buildings. The maintained school building stock has a replacement value of, very roughly, £130 billion.
The Capital Strategy
The government's main capital strategy was introduced in 1999 following extensive consultation and provides for a balanced programme of investment. The underlying principles represented a move away from centrally directed bureaucratic bidding processes in favour of a balanced programme of investment as follows: significant levels of funding directed locally to be prioritised locally and a move to three year budgets to provide greater support for effective planning. The investment is divided into 3 parts. · Firstly, money for every school to spend how it likes on buildings and ICT. · Secondly, funding for every local authority, diocese and their schools to spend on modernising facilities, improving disabled access and providing places for pupils. · And thirdly funding for a more strategic approach to renewal across the entire school estate, through BSF and the new primary programme. The funding is divided as follows: · Devolved: about 43% of the investment is devolved to local level allowing every school to spend on its own needs and every local authority (LA) and its partners to tackle its highest priorities. · Targeted: around 13% of the investment is through targeted capital programmes which allow high priority building projects to be progressed which cannot be tackled through formulaic allocations, or await BSF. As part of this strategy there is also a government ambition that by 2011 all LAs should have funding to rebuild at least one secondary school through BSF, the Academies programme, or the TCF funded BSF one-school pathfinder scheme. · Strategic: about 43 per cent of the money will be delivered through the BSF and the primary programme. Building Schools for the Future, in conjunction with the academies programme, aims to renew all secondary schools in 15 waves starting from 2005-06. In March 2006 the DfES published its proposals to refurbish half of all primary schools over a 15 year period. £150 million will be invested in 2008-09 rising to £500 million from 2009-10. The consultation ended on 14 June 2006 and we will report in autumn 2006. Investment
The level of investment is now six times higher than it was in 1996/97. Investment in schools in recent years has been as follows.
1996-97 £700 million 1997-98 £800 million 1998-99 £1.1 billion 1999-00: £1.4 billion 2000-01: £2.1 billion 2001-02: £2.4 billion 2002-03: £3.3 billion 2003-04: £4.2 billion 2004-05:
£4.9 billion 2007-08: £6.3 billion These figures include PFI credits and capital funding for ICT. Since 1998 the overwhelming majority of schools will have benefited from significant improvements including the replacement of thousands of temporary classrooms; new roofs; the installation of major and efficient boilers and improved toilet facilities ( in part through the 'bogs and boilers' programme); better lighting systems have been installed and CCTVs and security fencing has made schools safer. The specialist schools programme has seen expenditure of £150,000 (£50,000 raised by the school) for each school and has supported the development of facilities in line with the school's specialism such as drama spaces, sprung floors for dance and so on. We have seen the reduction in class sizes and the removal external toilets.
There has also been a PFI programme - largely new build schools with some refurbishment. The 100th schools PFI project was signed in May this year. There are now 817 schools in England covered by contracts and the total allocated PFI credits have now reached £3.658 billion. Of the 817 schools 444 are operational and 373 either building or about to start building.
BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE
Overview and Respective Roles
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment is designed to secure a step-change in achievement and attainment in our schools, and is therefore prioritised according to educational and social need (as measured by GCSE results and eligibility levels for Free School Meals).
BSF projects are managed by local authorities with the assistance of Partnerships for Schools (PfS - the non-departmental public body charged with delivering the national programme), dedicated DfES officials and the Local Government Association's Public Private Partnerships Programme (the 4Ps). Partnerships for Schools provide authorities with advice, guidance and challenge on project planning and management, procurement and their education vision on a day to day basis. DfES BSF officials provide local authorities with advice on policy related matters, and ensure that they have rapid access to the relevant policy teams where necessary. The 4Ps are the Local Government Association's project management and procurement specialists, and are available to provide training to members, senior officers, headteachers and governors through their 'Expert Client' programme - helping authorities to deal with private sector bidders in a robust, confident and effective manner. They also help authorities to identify any gaps in their internal capacity which may need to be met by using external advisers.
Once projects have received funding approval, local authorities go to market to seek private sector partners with which to form a Local Education Partnership (LEP). LEPs are a new model of procurement designed to deliver more reliable supply chains and genuine on-going commitment from the private sector partner to the successful delivery of the project. LEPs can also be used to deliver a wider range of services above and beyond BSF projects - enabling local authorities to obtain greater value for money and to develop deeper and more effective partnerships.
BSF Funding for Individual Projects
BSF funding is provided on a formulaic basis - reflecting the authorities' pupil place planning projections over 10 years - to provide sufficient capital to entirely rebuild 50% of the existing estate and to remodel or refurbish the other 50%. This formula was developed on the basis of local assessments of the condition of school buildings and to ensure equitable funding across and throughout the length of the programme. Capital funding has also been identified to support the implementation of ICT through BSF.
BSF Processes
Currently, there are 3 key approval stages for a local authority to pass through before it can commence procurement:
· Education Vision - the authority must set out its strategic plans for the future of education locally. The Education Vision must encapsulate the authority's approach to raising standards and a range of other Departmental policy priorities (eg. extended schools and community use, Special Educational Needs, 14-19, PE and sport etc) as set out in the relevant guidance. · Strategic Business Case (SBC) - the authority sets out how it plans to utilise BSF investment to secure the aims and objectives set out in its Education Vision, and what this means for the school estate. The Strategic Business Case will include details of local consultations, funding arrangements (eg. conventional or PFI, use of any other funding streams), affordability, procurement planning, project management, phasing and prioritisation of works, arrangements for lifecycle maintenance etc. · Outline Business Case (OBC) - the authority sets out more detailed plans for the delivery of its first phase of BSF investment (usually covering a smaller number of schools than that in the Strategic Business Case), that are sufficiently developed to go to market. Once the Outline Business Case has been approved by the Treasury-chaired Project Review Group the authority can issue the relevant OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) notices inviting expressions of interest from potential private sector partners. It is at this stage that bidders submit detailed design proposals and drawings on a sample set of schools within the project.
From wave 4 onwards however, (January 2007), in order to reduce the length of the pre-procurement stages - and to better ensure a closer integration of education strategies and school building proposals - we will be replacing the requirement for authorities to submit both Education Visions and Strategic Business Cases with the requirement to submit a single document entitled a 'Strategy for Change'.
In their 'Strategy for Change' proposals authorities will be expected to set out their plans for delivering greater diversity of provision, choice and access as set out in the government's recent White Paper 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for All' and the current Education and Inspections Bill.
Supporting Educational Change
All BSF guidance and documentation - from both PfS and DfES - makes it clear that BSF is not merely a buildings programme. Educational transformation is at its heart. The first formal requirement for authorities selected for BSF investment is, therefore, that they must submit an Education Vision (or Strategy for Change from 2007), setting out their strategic plans for the future of local education.
Local authorities are required to demonstrate that they have consulted on their Education Vision with the full range of local stakeholders, including: school communities, (staff, governors and pupils); Learning and Skills Council; local Further Education colleges; local businesses and employers; local faith and diocesan organisations; and Sport England and other relevant sport governing bodies (eg. FA, LTA etc). In order for a local authority's Education Vision to be approved by both PfS and the Department, it must demonstrate that it has robust proposals relating to the following areas: School improvement (including consideration of Academies where appropriate and relevant); school organisation - including diversity of provision to ensure choice for parents and pupils; Every Child Matters and Children's Trusts; extended schools and community use; Special Educational Needs provision; behaviour and attendance; healthy schools; PE and sport; personalised learning; 14-19 provision; specialist schools; ICT; and school workforce reform.
Schools at the heart of the community
The provision of extended services and activities by schools, or the offer of access to services, is a major, essential element of the Building Schools for the Future programme. A local authority, proposal, therefore, needs to demonstrate how the capital funding allocation will support the delivery of extended services and activities - accessible to pupils, families and the wider community - by schools.
We see schools as a national resource which should be fully utilised. They should be at the heart of their communities, opening up their facilities and providing a wide range of opportunities to all in an open, safe and welcoming environment. Schools have much to offer in terms of offering facilities and hosting local services, and because of this have a strong influence on local affairs. BSF proposals need to demonstrate that schools will provide access to, as well as joint use of, facilities by the wider local community. They need to identify whether physical changes are needed to buildings to provide more flexible learning spaces or additional space to accommodate community services and activities, and demonstrate flexibility of space that will be required over time with changes in community use. Through their strong connections with local people and through the extended services that many are already offering, schools have an important role to play in realising the goal of sustainable communities. Links with the community help schools in raising pupils' motivation, expectations and achievement. This leads to higher standards and improved behaviour. Support from parents and local community organisations can be a crucial factor in improving pupils' attainment and combating social exclusion. Our objective is to see all schools provide access to a core offer of extended services by 2010, and to use their teaching and wider influence to address the needs of the local environment and community. In developing BSF proposals, local authorities must demonstrate that developments will lead to better, coherent, joined up and locally provided support for children, families and communities. We also look at how well BSF and extended schools are aligned with other funding strands. Proposals should support the development of a coherent programme that enables various capital resources held by the local authority, schools and others to be better joined up for greatest impact and best use of schools as community assets.
In addition Academies are contractually bound by virtue of their funding agreement (a contract between the Secretary of State and an Academy Trust) to be at the heart of their communities, sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community. This is particularly powerful when considering that Academies are situated in areas of significant disadvantage and deprivation. Access to high quality resources, a community focal point and a source of pride in an area of deprivation will undoubtedly contribute to the regeneration of that area. The extended schools agenda is an important component in the strategy to realise this aim. The majority of Academies offer some form of extended schools provision, while others are already seeking extended schools status.
BSF and ICT
The BSF approach to ICT is founded on the following principles: · ICT provision should be seen as the 'fourth utility' by teaching staff, staff and pupils. From their perspective it should be simple to use, and integral to the school environment - from the building design stage onwards · ICT provision should be a viewed as a service that establishes the basis for the long term use of ICT · ICT provision should be seen as an agent for change, enabling teaching staff and pupils to transform the way they work.
The funding allowance for ICT within BSF is at unprecedented levels. At the heart of these principles is a philosophy that new schools will be designed and built around the use of cutting edge ICT, including teaching and learning, school management and buildings management systems and solutions. The aim is to optimise the educational impact of ICT, in a way that "retrofitting" ICT to existing school buildings cannot hope to emulate.
Progress on BSF - the current position
BSF projects are prioritised according to educational and social need. The first consultation on BSF and invitations for expressions of interest were announced in July 2003. However we had already begun working with four 'Pathfinder' projects (including one joint project involving three local authorities) in March 2003. Following the consultation a further 12 projects (including one joint project) were named in wave 1 of BSF in February 2004. In November 2004, we announced twenty new projects for the second and third waves of BSF. We began working with the authorities in wave 2 in January 2005 and with those in wave 3 in September the same year.
In total, 39 local authorities are now actively engaged in the programme with projects covering around 360 schools. Progress to date is described in more detail below.
Wave 1: Business cases have been approved for 13 of the 16 projects in wave 1. These authorities are now in the process of procuring partners to deliver BSF. Two further authorities are also making good progress but are following a slightly different process due to existing contractual arrangements (Manchester have an existing framework arrangement and Stoke have an authority-wide PFI contract to provide energy, energy management, and repair and maintenance work).
The leading wave 1 project (Bristol, one of the 'Pathfinders') appointed a preferred bidder in December and is expected to sign a contract in June 2006. This will enable building work to begin on the first BSF schools (other than a number of 'quick win' projects which were funded in wave 1 local authorities ahead of their main BSF projects). These new school buildings are due to be ready for occupation in September 2007. Three other wave 1 projects have also appointed preferred partners and a number more are expected to do so over the next few months.
Wave 2: Authorities in wave 2 are currently preparing their strategic plans and business cases. One wave 2 project has already begun procurement (in May 2006) and others are expected to follow shortly. Work on the first wave 2 schools should be completed in 2009.
Wave 3: Most authorities have now completed the first stage of developing their BSF projects, with visions for transforming secondary education in their areas approved by the Department. The first wave 3 authorities are now submitting their strategic plans to the Department for approval.
Progress on BSF - slippage and action.
There has been significant slippage in BSF projects in waves 1-3, with the majority of projects behind the ideal project timelines. Key common factors behind such slippage include: lack of capacity or experience in delivering large projects in local authorities; insufficient corporate support and leadership; insufficient involvement of school improvement teams (as opposed to solely property) at local levels; inaccurate pupil place planning (omission of SEN numbers has for example been a common flaw); planning obstacles, including unavailability of sites in London in particular; difficulties in agreeing Education Visions at a local level; and poor stakeholder engagement or consultation. Most slippage occurs at the pre-procurement and planning stage, and we have tried to address this in 2 key ways:
(i) Authorities within waves 4-6 will be prioritised on their capacity to deliver; and (ii) We have reduced the pre-procurement approval stages from 3 to 2 by combining the former Education Vision and Strategic Business Case stages into one 'Strategy for Change' stage. This will ensure that authorities can have confidence in their key strategic ambitions as early on in the process as possible, as opposed to spending a year drafting an Education Vision which fails to meet the required standards.
Lessons Learned from Wave 1
It is important that we learn the lessons from the early stages of BSF and continuously improve our processes as we progress. That is why we are introducing a new formal stage of approval within the BSF process to replace 2 existing ones. As indicated above, instead of authorities being required to submit both an Education Vision and a Strategic Business Case, from wave 4 onwards they will only be required to submit a Strategy for Change. This Strategy for Change will set out both the authority's plans and ambitions for improving education provision, and the implications of those plans for the school estate. We need to ensure that an authority's school estate plans really do underpin a strategy for change and improvement - and indeed are determined by it. By integrating educational and building plans authorities should be able to achieve a single coherent strategy, with educational priorities continuing to be at the forefront throughout the process, rather than simply being viewed as an initial hurdle.
Other lessons learnt have included: · BSF projects need the highest level of corporate support/ownership within a local authority to ensure rapid delivery · It is never too early for LAs to begin planning and consulting with stakeholders on their strategies to maximise the potential benefits of this unique opportunity for transformational investment - particularly around school organisation/pupil place planning issues, and of course to secure local consensus and support · Early planning is also crucial to securing as much joined-up funding as possible · Rationalising of the school estate, where possible (eg. Knowsley - replacing 11 schools with 8 new learning centres), maximises the potential of funding (allowing greater levels of new build) · Importance of having a local 'design champion' from the beginning of the process - hence introduction of CABE Enablers for future waves
Inclusion of Academies in BSF plans
Tackling underachievement and underperformance is a central plank of all local authorities' BSF proposals. Where appropriate, (i.e. where schools are falling beneath floor targets) we expect local authorities to objectively consider the potential for Academies in improving school standards and providing parents with access to good schools. Projects that contain innovative Academy proposals within their plans are likely to progress more rapidly to approval. Delivering Academies through BSF
On 23 March 2006 the Department announced that the Academies building programme will in future be delivered by Partnership for Schools (PfS). From this date there will be two delivery routes:
New Academies that are in Local Authorities (LAs) that are included in the BSF programme will be delivered by Local Education Partnerships (LEPs) or any other approved alternative procurement route. The delivery of these Academies will be integrated with BSF waves and will be included in BSF proposals in the same way as any other secondary school. Academy Building Projects delivered by LEPs will broadly follow established BSF arrangements.
New Academies in LAs that have yet to be prioritised for inclusion in BSF will be delivered using a National Framework that will be managed by PfS. The framework is expected to be in place by September 2006, with providers who will have demonstrated levels of efficiency and cost that are comparable to those in BSF. To build an Academy, LAs will hold a mini competition to select a provider from the framework.
Delivering Academies through BSF is a significant move by the Department to realise greater savings and efficiencies. However, in order to maintain progress, the individual Academy projects which were underway prior to the integration of the delivery of Academies with the BSF programme (ie underway prior to March this year) will continue along the traditional procurement route to completion (estimated at around 30 projects). Progress on Academies 27 Academies are already open. 18 more are set to open in September 2006. A further 60 plus are in development. We are in discussion with potential sponsors about over 100 more projects. Our aim is to have at least 200 Academies open or in the pipeline by 2010, including 60 in London.
It is early days but we have good evidence that the Academies are working: · In 2003, their first year, the average 5+ A*-C GCSE results in the three open Academies was 24%, compared to an average of 16% in their predecessor schools in 2002. · In 2004 the Academy schools achieved close to 30% 5+ A*-Cs. This included improvements at Capital City Academy, Brent, from 14% to 29% and of 26% to 33% at the City Academy, Bristol. · In 2005, Academies improved results by nearly 8 percentage points compared to last year. This is three times the national average increase of 2.4 percentage points. · The average 5+ good GCSE results of the 14 Academies with pupils sitting GCSEs was 36.4% in 2005, compared to an average 21% in their predecessor schools in 2002. This represents a 73% improvement in GCSE performance in three years. 12 of the14 Academies with pupils taking GCSE saw rises on what their predecessor schools had achieved in 2002. · The Academy model builds on the tried and tested successes of the 15 City Technology Colleges. In 2004, 11 of the 15 CTCs recorded more than 75% five or more good GCSE passes, with two achieving 100%. The national average is 53%. Their value added performance is similarly outstanding. · Parents are voting with their feet - almost all of the academies have been oversubscribed on opening and for each year afterwards. For example, in September 2005, each of Lambeth, City of London and Mossbourne Academies received over 1,200 applications for 180 places in each. · There is ongoing evaluation of the programme to make sure that it is working. An early evaluation concluded - 'Academies do seem to have made a strong impact on the educational aspirations of large numbers of children from disadvantaged areas and their families'. Costings
Academies are built to the same area and cost guidelines (Building Bulletin 98) as all other departmentally funded schools. The average cost of a new secondary school with 1,300 pupils and a sixth form in a high-cost inner-city area is £25-30 million and this is the same as the average cost of an Academy of this size and location. The average cost per pupil of new build voluntary aided schools which the Department is currently funding is £23,886; the average cost of an Academy is £23,370.
Academy cost overruns are now falling. Academy costs overall have been slightly higher to date than some other school building schemes and those currently projected for BSF projects due to the following factors:
· Academy projects usually involve complicated and restricted inner city sites with a higher than normal proportion of 'abnormal' costs; · Academy projects had, until recently, been procured on a 'one-off' basis which meant they had not been able to access the economies of scale achieved through large, multi-school PFI or BSF procurements. This is changing now that Academies can be procured as part of the BSF programme. Academies can also learn lessons on design by being incorporated into BSF and equally BSF can learn from Academies; · As Academies are independent of local authorities, we have not assumed that they can recycle fixed furniture and equipment to the same degree as other school building projects, and allowed for additional funding accordingly. Managing costs and value for money
Inevitably, at the inception of the Academies programme we focused - successfully - on making the rapid progress needed to get a major programme moving over reasonable time scales. But that does not mean that lessons have not been learnt and the need for careful management of capital costs and value for money has been ignored. On the contrary:
· lessons from the earliest projects and induction in Government guidance and standards is provided to all architectural firms; · a framework contract has been drawn up laying out common conditions and obligations for firms involved in Academy projects; · processes for analysing project designs in more detail at an earlier stage of an Academy project have been implemented; · Construction Project Managers are appointed to offer advice and guidance on design and building issues to each Academy project. Every Child Matters and Early Years Building Schools for the Future and Academies, our long-term, strategic programmes transforming secondary schools are underway. For the early years Sure Start is also providing new modern infrastructure for the expansion of childcare and the development of children's centres and Sure Start programmes for children in the most challenging circumstances. Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to: be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution; and achieve economic well-being. This means that organisations providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life.
The Government has made free part-time, early education available for all our 3 and 4 year olds, and substantially expanded childcare provision with a wide variety of providers - nurseries, childminders, before and after school clubs and holiday play schemes increasingly delivered alongside early education and other family services - to meet parents' different needs and provide real choice.
Sure Start Children's Centres enable children under 5 years old and their families to receive seamless, integrated services and information, including help from multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. Children's Centres build on the successes of the pioneering Sure Start Local Programmes, Early Excellence Centres and Neighbourhood Nurseries, and are about mainstreaming the lessons learned, so the benefits can be extended to all young children and families. Sure Start Children's Centres are one of the key features of the Government's Ten Year Childcare Strategy which aims to ensure all families with children have access to an affordable, flexible, high quality childcare. The Government is committed to delivering 3,500 Children's Centres - one for every community - by 2010.
The Strategy also includes the commitment that families with children from 3 to 14, who need it, will have access to affordable, flexible and high quality childcare from 8 - 6 and throughout the year. We are building that offer around schools as part of a range of enriching, out of hours, extended services for pupils and the local community that schools will host. We want all schools to become extended schools by 2010, providing a core offer of activities, with at least half of primary schools and a third of secondary schools doing so by 2008.
Our investment in schools also impacts on areas that are of vital importance in encouraging a choice of healthy life styles. We are therefore developing a "Healthy Schools" programme to improve health and well-being for children. The important strands for capital investment are healthy eating and sport. This means good food where possible freshly prepared on the premises from local ingredients and served and eaten in good surroundings. And sports facilities that offer a wide range of activity and encourage children to participate for more than the statutory minimum and to continue out of school.
Primary Capital Programme
We have already been improving primary school buildings, for example by tackling the backlog or repairs and reducing infant class sizes. We are now turning our attention to the long term needs of primary school buildings. Now is the time to encourage and enable all local authorities and communities to start the long-term transformation of primary schools across the country.
We published our proposals in March to rebuild, remodel or refurbish half of all primary schools over 15 years. It will help achieve a number of strategies already underway such as Every Child Matters; Better Standards for all and Primary Strategy. It also brings together the ten-year childcare strategy, workforce strategy, and ICT and extended schools programmes.
Some £150 million extra is available in 2008-09, rising to £500 million in 2009-10. It is expected that investment will remain at that level for around 15 years, subject to future public spending decisions - some £7 billion in total. This could be added to other DfES capital for primary schools to create a much larger sum for investment. On top of this could be added: other eligible investment from central government departments and agencies; local government investment, receipts and prudential borrowing; as well as contributions from the private sector and others. Only by joining up this funding and targeting it precisely will we achieve the ambitions of this programme. All local authorities will benefit from capital allocated by a simple, open formula reflecting pupil numbers and deprivation. Devolved formula capital will, of course, be available for primary schools not directly benefiting from this programme.
It should be possible, using DfES investment, to improve at least half of all primary schools and primary-age special schools. Within that, we would hope to rebuild or take out of use, as a minimum, at least the 5 per cent of school buildings in the worst physical condition nationally, and to improve or take out of use the 20 per cent of the worst condition buildings in our most-deprived communities. With strategic and joined-up planning and funding, we would hope to exceed these targets. Other schools benefiting from the programme will have substantial improvements. The programme should also contribute to other national aims such as to raise standards, improve school food or promote sport and languages. FE Capital In addition to capital investment in schools, the Government is committed to transforming the Further Education estate, recognising the legacy of underinvestment which left the sector characterised by unfit for purpose facilities. Over the past four years, capital investment has begun to have an impact on improving the quality of the estate enabling more flexible and efficient delivery. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has approved grants of just under £1bn to support 524 building projects in the sector, worth a total of nearly £3.2 billion. Evaluation of the impact of that investment by PWC (March 2004) reported that: · Quantitative evidence suggests a positive relationship between capital investment and learner outcomes, in particular success rates · Qualitative evidence provides strong evidence of a positive relationship between capital investment and a wide range of outcomes including: - Providing a catalyst for wider strategic and/or curriculum change - Improved facilities, which can raise student recruitment and retention as well as enhance the quality of teaching and learning - Improvement to college reputation resulting in better staff and student morale Earlier this year, we published the FE White Paper, Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances. It sets out reforms to the FE sector to ensure learners are equipped with high quality skills for productive, sustainable employment and personal fulfilment; and employers have the right skills for their business to succeed in a competitive global economy. The Government recognises significant further capital investment is required to support this vision. Including the new joint Schools and FE 16-19 capital fund, designed to improve choice and diversity in 16-19 provision, investment through the LSC is set to rise to £748m in 2009-10 from £291m in 2004-05. This means Government investment will more than double in real terms by 2009-10 compared to 2004-05. To help ensure this investment supports the needs of learners, employers and communities now and in the future, the White Paper detailed a number of reforms to the FE capital programme including regional capital strategies, which will guide investment ensuring that there is sufficient capacity, an effective pattern of specialisation and increasing choice and responsiveness for learners and employers. Importantly, to ensure a coherent approach to 14-19 reform through the BSF programme, the scope of Local Authorities' Strategies for Change have been extended to cover all the settings in which young people aged 14-19 will be learning in future. As funding flows through the Local Education Partnership to implement BSF, the LSC will direct its capital resources to support the FE component of the vision. This will mean that for the first time, there is effectively a fully integrated strategy to deliver for 14-19 year olds across schools and the FE system. The importance of environmental sustainability through capital investment is gaining recognition and priority in the sector and a number of reforms are underway. The LSC's Sustainable Development strategy From Here to Sustainability set out an action plan for developing a sustainable approach in relation to Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Building and Design, Procurement, Biodiversity and Travel. The Learning and Skills Council's written evidence to the committee will set out in full how the FE capital programme aims to support investment in an FE sector which meets the needs of learners, employers and communities now and in the future. Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
PFI was introduced into the schools sector in 1997 with the first project a single school in Dorset. The programme has progressed rapidly, and in May 2006, the 100th schools PFI contract was signed. This means that in total 817 schools are receiving investment through this route, with a total capital value of £3.66 billion in PFI credits. In future all PFI will be delivered via the BSF programme.
Schools PFI contracts are between individual local authorities and private sector partners for the provision of buildings and services, for the life of the contract, which is usually 25 years. The private sector partner funds and procures the investment in the school buildings (usually new build, with some grouped contracts including remodelling and refurbishment of existing buildings) and is responsible for their maintenance over the life of the contract. It is therefore in the interests of the private sector to consider full life costs and sustainability in construction.
DfES supports PFI procurement with guidance and assistance to local authorities, directly and through Partnerships UK (PUK). This includes standard contracts, which are developed with advice from PUK and HM Treasury. All PFI contacts must demonstrate value for money to be endorsed by the Project Review Group, which is chaired by HM Treasury.
PUK Report into signed PFI contracts
We know that PFI has a mixed reputation which is why we decided to do a survey to sort out the myths from the reality. The survey by Partnerships UK was published last year and is available in the House Libraries and through www.teachernet.gov.uk/schoolsprivatefinanceinitiative.
Positive feedback included: teachers report that they are delighted with the buildings, which are well designed and work well; schools delivered on time and sometimes to a higher level of finish than the specification; facilities already well respected by pupils and the community; a positive impact on children, behaviour and attendance; higher proportions of children are staying in school for lunch; improved security; buildings maintenance better than before, and applications to the school have risen.
The clear lesson is that contracts work best where there is co-operative partnership working between the public and private sectors. There are, however, also areas where some schools have been disappointed and the report makes several recommendations for improvement, all of which we are happy to accept and to work on implementing. The main areas of dissatisfaction are the working of helpdesks and agreeing variations to the contract in response to developing needs. The report was based on early contracts and many of the recommendations have already been incorporated in later contracts. The Department and its partners including PUK, 4ps and now PfS have learned from experience and worked to standardise and improve contracts. The clear lesson is that PFI is not yet perfect and we will continue to work hard in partnership with schools and industry, to implement the recommendations, to learn from experience and continuously to improve.
Improving PFI - what needs to be done
· All PFI contracts must in practice as well as in theory deliver the services specified and serve everyone's best interest. In the interests of the children, we must not have schools hampered in their efforts to give children the best education by contractual difficulties. · Working together with partners, we are acting to help some of the single schools that were the first to sign contracts and where the projects are not working as well as they should. We will continue to do this. The lessons learnt from these early contracts have been incorporated into later contracts. · We will work with schools, with authorities, with Treasury, with PfS, PUK, with 4ps and with the market, to secure further improvement. And if required, we will work directly with contractors. We are not prepared to see teachers' efforts and pupils' potential wasted because of avoidable problems. PFI and Sustainability
PFI is about a process of continuous improvement, and that includes the area of sustainability. In some early contracts, for example, energy costs were passed directly to the schools. There was no advantage to the private sector in designing buildings to reduce energy consumption. Now contracts pass the risk of energy costs to the private sector partner, ensuring they are motivated to design and build energy conservation measures from the start.
In future, all PFI credits will be allocated to BSF projects. BSF projects are required to achieve at least a "very good" BREEAM rating for environmental sustainability (see section on environmental sustainability for further details). Because of the targeted and managed nature of the programme, BSF is the first major investment programme for some time where a complex evaluation is possible. We are appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers to evaluate BSF for us. Whilst the core of this evaluation is the impact of BSF investment on educational standards, this will include evaluating the factors which act as levers to improving achievement. These will include the design and construction quality of the buildings which BSF is funding and value for money. Lessons learned will be disseminated to inform the rest of the BSF programme. SUPPORTING GOOD DESIGN
If schools are to provide excellent educational facilities for the next 20 to 30 years, designs must take account not only of current needs but also of likely future change. We need to be aware of likely educational, technological and social developments. Key drivers now include: · a more diverse and flexible curriculum; · new ways of learning (including beyond the school boundary and traditional school hours); · the impact of ICT and more personalised learning; · a range of extended services on school sites (including childcare, after school clubs, adult learning and family support) and · the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities onto mainstream school sites. New school buildings should serve their communities for many years to come and it is important that they facilitate good teaching and learning, provide attractive and comfortable environments for all users - staff, pupils and the wider community - and that they are robust enough to need minimal maintenance over time. Excellent design will inspire teachers and learners, optimise inclusion and help to improve behaviour and attendance. Design quality encompasses a number of issues but should include sustainability, flexibility, adaptability and value for money. The Department is addressing design quality on a number of fronts, recognising that the best school designs come from a successful partnership between designers, users and providers. The work we are doing to ensure good school design divides broadly into five areas: · design guidance; · inspiring demonstration projects, both real and conceptual; · tools to support technical guidance or help users to better understand their needs and communicate them to designers; · professional advice to individual projects; · innovative projects that encourage greater user participation. There are many organisations with an interest in school building design with which the Department works closely: Commissioners for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), the Sorrell Foundation, Open House (in London), the Design Council, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and School Works. We held a highly successful design conference last December (05) with significant representation from the public and private sector where we gained a greater understanding of the barriers to good design and - hopefully - inspired everyone to aim as high as possible. As a result of this we set up the School Design Advisory Council (SDAC) as a forum that brings together these and other stakeholders including Local Authorities and schools. In addition we are working closely with PFS to ensure BSF deliver excellent design. Design guidance All guidance is developed in consultation with Local Authorities, schools and educationalists to ensure it is relevant to users' current and future needs. Recent publications include: · Building Bulletin 101 Ventilation of School Buildings; · Building Bulletin 93, Acoustic Design for Schools; · Building Bulletin 98, Briefing Framework for Secondary Schools specifying space standards for school buildings and grounds; · Designing Schools for Extended Services; · Inspirational design for PE and Sports Spaces; · Primary Ideas: a toolkit of design principles, ideas and projects for primary school environments aimed at inspiring staff, pupils and parents. Forthcoming publications include: · Building Bulletin 77: Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: applicable to specialist provision in mainstream schools, co-located or independently sited special schools; · Designing School Grounds; · Building Bulletin 99, Briefing Framework for Primary Schools specifying space standards for school buildings and grounds. Demonstration projects Demonstration Sustainable Schools Thirteen new schools will be constructed within the 'One-School Pathfinder' programme. Three of these schools will be demonstration projects to reflect the principles of sustainable development. These demonstration projects will: · achieve a BREEAM School rating of "excellent" for their design and construction · incorporate a number of sustainable features that have widespread scope for replication in future school buildings, e.g. wind turbines, microgeneration, etc. · Make use of sustainable technologies to develop the curriculum
Case studies, whether built or desk-based are a valuable means of demonstrating good design. The Department has organised a number of such projects recently including: · Classrooms of the Future: 12 LAs were funded to build 26 pilot projects that create innovative learning environments, with the aim of inspiring children to achieve more. Round 2, Teaching Environments for the Future, involved 18 LEAs developing 25 further projects, with the emphasis on how building design can help resolve school workforce issues. Most of these are now finished. · Exemplar Designs: concepts and Ideas: 11 leading architects were chosen by competition to develop design solutions for schools for the future (5 primary, 5 secondary and one all-age). The resulting designs were inspiring and we understand that two are already being built. · Open House: The Department sponsored a publication to showcase London's newly designed schools, to be linked to the annual 'Open House' event in 2005. It will be extended this year to the whole of England. · Standard specifications, layouts and dimensions for schools (SSLD): In support of the huge school building programmes over the next 10 to 15 years, we are working with designers, manufacturers, suppliers and research groups to develop more standardised approaches to school building design and to encourage more off-site fabrication were appropriate. The aim is to provide consistent high quality design and supply-side efficiencies through developing clear output specifications and reducing waste and unnecessary effort in both manufacture and specification of components. Areas currently being developed include: classroom dimensions, doorsets, floor coverings, modular WC design, partitions, staircases and lighting systems. Tools · Design Quality Indicators: The DfES has worked with the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to develop a Design Quality Indicator (DQI) for schools. Through facilitated workshops, it helps raise aspirations and manage expectations of all stakeholders involved in the project. It can be used at four stages: · At briefing stage - to capture and prioritise all the stakeholders' aspirations. · At mid-design stage - to check how the design is progressing and to measure against the original aspirations. · At 'ready for occupation' stage - to check how well the building has met the stakeholders aspirations before occupation. · When the building has been completed for a year or more - as a post-occupancy evaluation tool. · The Building Research Establishment Assessment method for schools (BREEAM): assesses the environmental performance of buildings in terms of management, energy use, health and wellbeing, pollution, transport, land use, ecology, materials and water. · ClassVent and ClassCool tools to enable the design of classroom ventilation strategies and strategies to avoid summertime overheating to be used with BB101. Professional advice The Department funds 10 days support from a CABE enabler for every BSF project and 4 days support for every One School Pathfinder project. Participation The Department has supported a number of projects that aim to improve school design by encouraging stronger links between school designers and their 'real' clients - school staff and pupils. Projects include: Joinedupdesignforschools: The Sorrell Foundation arranged for designers to work with pupils in over sixty schools, identifying what concerns them and finding solutions. Many of the projects ranging from improving a dining space to redesigning a school uniform have been realised. School Works: have developed a toolkit to facilitate the consultation process at briefing stage and carried out a series of post-occupancy evaluations with schools and their Authorities. Designmyschool.com: developed by the Design Council, a website providing practical tools, ideas and resources to enable staff, pupils and parents to participate in the design of their school.
The range of design advice, demonstration projects and design tools that is available is huge. But these are not enough in themselves. Exciting new classrooms and inspiring projects with small groups of pupils can lead the way but the real challenge for BSF is to ensure that these innovative designs and ways of working (especially consultation) are mainstreamed into the whole BSF programme. We aim to do this through our key delivery partners - PFS for liaison with the private sector, CABE and others in the design community, the LGA and 4Ps for local government contacts and our own education networks. Our aim is not just to demonstrate what can be
done, but also to impress upon the market what high expectations we have for
contractors to deliver good design and to help schools and local authorities
really understand what best practice looks like and support them in demanding
it from their contractor Overview
Historic approaches to construction are unsustainable. Some progress has recently been made in improving sustainability of buildings as a result of government initiatives. Building Regulations require that today's buildings are 40% more energy efficient than those built five years ago. The DfES has its own set of policies to reflect government policy on sustainable development. The Department's Sustainable Development Action Plan was launched in March 2006 and will be followed up with a variety of tools including a sustainable development schools website and means of self -evaluation.
Key Principles
The UK's Sustainable Development Strategy, set out in Securing the Future[1], aims "to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations." It sets out five principles that provide a basis for sustainable development policy in the UK:
· living within environmental limits - ensuring the natural resources needed for life are unimpaired and remain so in the future; · ensuring a strong, healthy and just society - meeting diverse needs and creating opportunity for all; · achieving a sustainable economy - with efficient resource use incentivised; · using sound science responsibly - strong scientific evidence, taking into account scientific uncertainty and public attitudes and values; and · promoting good governance - effective, participative systems of governance in all levels of society.
The design and construction of school buildings can support these principles through a wide range of features which: · conserve energy and water · minimise waste · avoid pollutants and potential pollutants · protect or enhance biodiversity · respect people and their environment
The DfES Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) describes a number of actions we are committed to undertake in order to deliver sustainable school buildings. We expect all new schools to reach these standards, and encourage existing schools to adopt sustainable targets as quickly as possible.
Building Research Establishment Evaluation Method for Schools (BREEAM)
BREEAM schools is a tool to allow us to set robust achievable and cost effective environmental targets for new buildings and refurbishment projects. It was commissioned from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) by the Department to enable standards to be set without prescribing specific design solutions to client and design teams. It was guided by a sector advisory group comprising designers, local authority representatives, Non Government Organisations and DfES experts and officials.
How BREEAM works
The basis of the scheme is a certificate awarded on the basis of credits for a set of performance criteria. The certificate provides recognition for the building environmental performance and allows claims to be verified.
The method considers a wide range of sustainability issues within a single assessment. These cover the impact of buildings on the environment at global regional, local and indoor levels. For example, there are up to ten credits available depending on the level of emissions of carbon dioxide relating to operational energy consumption. Overall more than 100 credits are available. BREEAM provides a means of balancing these against each other as decisions are made. The number of credits attained are translated into a single score using a consensus-based weighting system. This score is them interpreted in the form of an overall rating of Excellent, Very Good, Good and Pass.
The standard
BREEAM credits are only available when proposed design and construction solutions exceed minimum standards. The Department has set standards for school buildings that are more onerous than those that apply to many other building types (e.g. offices). This means that in order to achieve the standard of 'very good', a school will have to meet higher standards than those required for an equivalent rating for other types of building. In April 2006 all versions of BREEAM were comprehensively revised following major revisions to building regulations, and now represent a higher standard than ever.
The Department considers that a BREEAM for Schools rating of 'very good' is a challenging but achievable target. We recognise that there is more to do, particularly in the light of suggestions that BREEAM 'very good' is too low a target. We commissioned a study to investigate the potential cost implications of raising the target to 'excellent'. This study confirms that a rating of 'very good' is achievable for new buildings within existing levels of funding. Additional funding, of between £40-£160/m2 (approximately 3-12% of current funding levels) depending on the location and the scale of the development, may be required to achieve 'excellent'. Further research is required before the findings can be published.
Other than cost, there are some significant barriers to raising the BREEAM hurdle. The location of a school building can have a major effect on its BREEAM rating, and on the cost of improving its rating. For school refurbishments where many facets of the design are already established, it may not be technically possible to achieve a rating of 'excellent'. Schools need to be sited to some specific catchment areas, and it may not be possible to place them close to major public transport hubs. Similarly, for rural schools on green field sites it may more difficult to achieve a target rating. It has not been established with certainty that a BREEAM rating of 'excellent' is technically possible for all school buildings, but research into other building types[2] has shown that it may not be possible to adapt the design of a building to achieve 'excellent' where the building's location is constrained.
In order to gain a better understanding of the challenges presented by raising the target to 'excellent', we are funding a number of demonstration projects within BSF. A selection of school's within the One School Offer pathfinder programme will be demonstrations of sustainability. These will be funded to achieve a BREEAM rating of 'excellent', and the buildings will contain renewable energy systems which contribute towards more than 20% of each schools energy needs. We will work in partnership with the LAs and their design teams on these projects so that the practical and financial issues surrounding environmental sustainability are addressed and understood.
More than 250 schools are currently registered for BREEAM assessments. Construction timescales are such that only a few completed schools (Academies) have received a certified BREEAM rating. Of these, the most recently certified have met the current target of 'very good'.
Environmental Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
We have developed a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of local education partnerships' (LEPs) delivery of new school buildings within BSF and other capital funding programmes. These include the following indicators of environmental performance:
· Percentage of designs achieving the BREEAM 'very good' target' · Tonnes of construction waste relative to project value · Energy efficiency of school buildings in operation
The KPIs that have been developed are consistent with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) plans to develop a Code for Sustainable Building (CSB). A consultation draft for a CSB has been developed using a subset of the BREEAM categories which could be applied to housing (e.g. carbon emissions, water use, etc.). A review of responses to this consultation is currently underway. The code would result in a more narrowly focussed and less flexible target-setting code than BREEAM for Schools. However, DCLG do not intend to apply the CSB to other sectors before it has been tried in the housing sector..
The Sustainable Buildings Task Group (which was tasked with identifying short and long term improvements in the environmental performance of buildings) has identified that significant improvements are required, within the construction industry as a whole, for energy, water, construction waste, timber and other construction materials. The Sustainable Buildings Task Group is due to publish their recommendations in June 2006, and DfES will incorporate these recommendations within their requirements for school buildings. DfES officials are also liaising with DTI and other government departments on establishing a vision and setting long term targets for more sustainable construction.
Energy Use and Renewable Energy
Energy targets for school projects within BSF are set within Part L Building Regulations[3] which require that buildings that are constructed to today's standards are 40% more energy efficient (i.e. emit 40% less carbon through energy use) than those built five years ago.
Part L Building Regulations also require that renewable energy sources and other low carbon technologies are considered, and implemented where technically, practically and economically feasible. The regulations set an overall target for carbon emissions which implies that 10% of a building's energy demand is met using renewable energy technologies - where renewable energy technologies are not adopted then the overall carbon reduction target must be met in other ways (e.g. through improved energy efficiency). Many planning authorities have also introduced a specific requirement for renewable energy which is typically set at 10% of predicted energy demand, and new schools must satisfy these local planning requirements.
We have recently appointed a specialist adviser on renewable energy and is currently developing policy guidance on the installation of renewable energy technologies. The guidance will draw on other material, including Departmental and inter-departmental initiatives such as the Biomass Task Force and the DTI's Micro-generation Strategy.
A scoping study has been completed into the carbon footprint of schools. This has established that schools account for approximately 15% of public sector carbon emissions. Almost half of these emissions are produced as a result of energy use, approximately one third are released through transport, and the remainder represents energy that is used in the manufacture and supply of equipment and consumables.
We are currently in the process of gathering detailed data on energy (and water) consumption in schools to gain an understanding of the links between energy use and factors such as ICT provision and building age. This exercise will enable us to set realistic benchmarks and will inform future targets for energy and water in BSF. It will also help to determine the scale of renewable energy systems that will be required to reduce carbon emissions by 10%.
Guidance on Environmental Sustainability
Several aspects of environmental sustainability have been addressed in previous DfES guidance, e.g. the Teachernet web-site contains advice on school design together with guidance on operational issues such as energy management. Building bulletins describe requirements for acoustic performance and ventilation, and other publications contain exemplar designs and examples of good practice.
We are now working closely with a range of authors and organisations to develop advice on all practical measures which can be taken to encourage and enhance sustainable development within a co-ordinated set of documents. Published guidance on the sustainable design of schools will be available in June 2006. This will take the form of two printed publications: a volume of case studies supported by a companion guide which describes the wide ranging features of a sustainable school.
Sustainable Buildings - the next generation
It is the children and young people in our schools and colleges who have the most to lose if we as adults do not tackle climate change. The clock is ticking and we need to act now. That includes making sure that care for the environment is second nature to all of the pupils in our schools.
Sustainable features that are established during the design and construction of school buildings and grounds can contribute to learning about the environment and prepare young people for a lifetime of sustainable living. For example, small scale renewable energy installations have proven to be a valuable teaching resource in some schools and are also useful in raising the awareness of the local community. Some schools have been constructed so that elements such as walls are fitted with vision panels allowing pupils to see thermal insulation and structural features. Grounds play a vital role in every child's learning and development and BB85, the outdoor classroom, describes the educational uses of school grounds and how this resource can be created or adapted and managed, and these principles are being continually developed by learning through landscapes (http://www.ltl.org.uk/).
The DfES launched its Sustainable Schools Strategy in May 2006. This leads schools to consider how they can commit to sustainable development through eight key areas - or 'doorways'. Each of these doorways present an opportunity for learning, and many of this can be enhanced through the design of the schools building and grounds. Food & Drink - through the availability of healthy food and drink prepared (or grown) on school premises Energy & Water - provision of metering to allow pupils to monitor use, small scale renewable energy systems provide further opportunities Travel & Traffic - encouraging pupils to participate in surveying transport arrangements, developing travel plans, and walking and cycling Purchasing & Waste - adopting measures to encourage pupils to sort and recycle waste and minimise packaging Buildings & Grounds - through the use of school grounds as outdoor classrooms, and the use of a schools building/construction as a teaching resource Inclusion & Participation - providing school facilities which enable and involve all students Local Wellbeing - measures that allow schools to develop links with local communities Global Dimension - e.g. by comparing the environmental impacts of a UK school with those in other parts of the world through twinning and joint projects
Things to see in a sustainable school
· Good control systems which are easy to understand to enable the school to manage energy and water appropriately and hence reduce the amount of these resources used. · Renewable energy sources, for example solar panels, wind turbines, biomass heating, and ground source heat pumps (but only if the school has tried, where possible, to reduce their energy use by good controls, rather than the view 'well if we produce our own we can use as much as we like'.) · The provision for pupils and staff to use alternative forms of transport safely. For example cycle racks and pedestrians and cyclists protected from traffic whilst entering the school grounds. · Low water using WCs, urinals and taps within the school building to reduce the amount of water needlessly wasted. Rainwater harvesting systems (but only if the school has tried, where possible, to reduce their water use by good controls and low water using appliances, rather than the view 'well if we produce our own we can use as much as we like'). Also, a good provision of drinking water and good design of toilet facilities can often improve the ambiance of the school. · The use of recycled materials for the building or those that have a low environmental impact, for example timber from sustainable sources. · Recycling facilities in schools, including storage for materials collected. This could include a number of materials, not just paper, including batteries, plastics aluminium, and possibly glass. The school could become the point for community recycling. There is a lot of information available from other northern European countries. It is important to remember that you may be unable to see all the aspects that make a new school sustainable. For example, · Good ventilation and indoor air quality, acoustics, natural lighting, and reducing the use of volatile organic compounds all effect the general ambiance of the building and make working conditions better (the social point of sustainability) but it would be hard to physically see anything. · Commissioning and making the building easy to maintain means that the building can be managed more efficiently and hence reduce the amount of resources used (and frustration). · Community and pupil consultation makes the community feel that it 'owns' the building which can often reduce vandalism as pupils and the community feel as though the building belongs to them, this will increase the life span of the building.
ANNEXE 1 CASE STUDIES
Suggested supporting information
Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) - see http://www.dfes.gov.uk/aboutus/sd/actionplan.shtml
CASE STUDY 4
Crispin School - Education for Sustainable Development and Prefabrication at Crispin School SummaryCrispin School in Somerset is a secondary school that embraces Education for Sustainable Development across the curriculum and the low energy prefabricated classroom extension shows the latest building techniques to reduce embodied energy and energy in use
Education for Sustainable Development is a core theme across the curriculum at Crispin School. The ESD coordinator, Paula Scoles said "Sustainable Development is not just about environmental awareness- it involves the pupils in caring about the stewardship of the earth"
Pupil participation at all levels is encouraged - the pupils run a Fair Trade Cooperative and have a Green Committee to consider recycling etc. Participation in the broader sense is also encouraged- the pupils participated in the Make Poverty History campaign, sending representatives to the G8 Summit.
A special ongoing project is their link to the village of Masana, Kenya. (See http://www.crispin.somerset.sch.uk/masana%20school.htm.) Pupils recently went there and helped in a project to reduce their reliance on plastic bags, improving the design of a solar water heater and improving the water supply. The PTA raise funds to help pay for the education of children orphaned by the Aids epidemic.
Recycling is a strong theme- the current website features an article- I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas. Artwork around the school reflects the green theme with sculptures of wildlife, art and furniture made from recycled materials. The campus boasts a Green Room with solar hot water and photovoltaics and a wind turbine and earth oven outside.
The school has Ecoschool status and is a Leading Edge school specialising in ESD and Global Citizenship among others. They use Pathways. The WWF planning framework for sustainability to assess their progress.
When a new building was proposed, Sustainable Development was a major theme in its procurement. The final building, named the Masana building is a timber framed super insulated prefabricated building on light pad foundations, clad in untreated larch. Sunpipes and double glazing provide good daylight while automatically controlled clerestory windows provide adequate ventilation and temperature control. Funding for the additional features was provided by the Sustainable Development Group at Somerset County Council.
The Head Teacher, Paul James said "It is a very pleasant place to learn- light and airy with a relaxed feel.
A pupil commented "I like the way the windows open by themselves"
Another pupil said "I like the under floor heating- it's nice and warm when we sit on the floor"
Overall design
The school shares a campus with Strode College, Strode Theatre, a swimming pool and youth club so there are many individual buildings. The main glazed façade of the Masana building faces south, giving opportunities for passive solar heating and a retrofit Photovoltaic array on the roof. An overhang on the balcony helps to prevent summertime overheating.
The construction form is prefabricated timber frame including roof and floor cassettes on a concrete pad foundation. The floor area of 316m2 includes four classrooms and an office, housing around 100 pupils. Ventilation is entirely natural, although some automatic control is provided by automatic opening of the clerestorey windows linked to a thermostat and rain sensor. Heating is provided by the existing boiler in the adjacent building via an underfloor heating system. Daylighting is provided by opening windows and sunpipes, with manually controlled fluorescent lighting as backup. There is no water use in the building. The timber frame prefabricated construction was chosen to reduce embodied energy in construction elements and to reduce build time. Figures for energy in use are not yet available. A Photovoltaic array is planned for the future, subject to available funding
CASE STUDY 5
Hagbourne School, South Oxfordshire District Council - Sustainable Primary School
Hagbourne School is a thriving village school which puts issues of sustainability at the top of its agenda with the children and the wider community. It is Oxfordshire's only Eco school and proudly displays the Green Flag which accompanies this national award. The school continues to promote recycling and energy efficiency but the latest project is to install a wind turbine. This is Oxfordshire's first wind turbine in a primary school and will provide the children with an ongoing educational resource as well as attracting other schools in the area to visit the project.
In April 2003 the school was awarded a CREG grant of £800 and £500 from South Oxfordshire District Council via TV Energy to assist with the feasibility study. Since then a bid for the final £1000 for installation was successful from Innogy and the parts were assembled. A wind turbine manufactured by Marlec was installed in March 2004 with an installed capacity of 0.8kWe to offset some energy costs for the school buildings.
This project aims to educate local children to better appreciate the value of free energy for their future and they will be able to see the energy being produced every day they are at the school. In this way the children will become familiar with this new technology and realise the benefits for the future. Energy now forms an important element in the National Curriculum and the project should reinforce the children's understanding of these useful lessons
CASE STUDY 6
Stanley High School, Sefton - Schools at the heart of their communities - extended services Stanley high school used a multi-agency and community focused launch event to kick start the development of its extended services (ES). A community forum has been set up to create a three year plan for ES provision and monitor the services as they become available. Stanley high school serves a mixed area in the Churchtown and Crossens area of Southport. The area has a number of different needs and has a varied community. Most of the area is generally prosperous but there are also pockets of deprivation and need. The school is a sports college with well established access for community users - recently, new tennis courts were built and the changing rooms refurbished to improve the community offer. The school is open until 10pm from Monday to Thursday, on Fridays until 9pm and from 10am to 2pm on weekends. The school has a youth centre on site that is open at lunchtimes for students in the school and in the evenings for use by the local community. Stanley high school also has a strong adult education offering through a link with Southport college. The courses - from cooking to languages - take place on site and in a number of centres in the area. In future, the school will offer more leisure courses as a lure to local parents with the hope of enrolling more of them on adult learning and parenting courses. Headteacher David Tansey joined the school last year, having previously worked with Manchester LA's extended services team, and made developing the school's ES provision a priority. The role of James Crowley, the school's community sports development manager, was expanded to community development manager with responsibility for extended services, community links and site management. He has since joined Sefton LA's ES team and last November took part in an NRT ES training event. Fast start to full extended provision The school is at an early stage when it comes to many elements of the core offer and to kick start the development of a raft of new services, the school decided to hold a launch event - a consultation and brainstorming session with representatives of the community and statutory agencies. Held at the end of February 2006, the launch event was a 90 minute breakfast meeting with a structured agenda. The headteacher and community development manager gave introductory speeches and then split the room into five discussion tables, with each table brainstorming one element of the core offer and its role in the community. Afterwards, the five groups reported their thoughts. There followed a general discussion and an agreement of the next steps. "We had a very positive evaluation from the people who took part," says James Crowley. "It helped us to identify the needs and aspirations of the local community, it helped us bring together representatives of the different agencies, and helped everyone have a better understanding of their individual aims and objectives." One idea that came out of the brainstorming was to make parent's evenings multi-agency events. "We are going to follow that one up very quickly," says James
CASE STUDY 7
Caslon Primary School, Dudley - extended services This primary school has focused its extended services offering on adult learning with the aim of improving standards in a deprived area. Today, more than nearly half of all pupils have at least one parent taking courses at the school and attainment scores at foundation level have improved significantly. Caslon Primary School in Dudley has put adult learning at the heart of its drive to improve standards and engage with the community. The school serves an area of deprivation in north Dudley where levels of adult education are in the lowest 10 percent nationally. Two years ago, it was decided to use an existing community room in the school for daytime activities targeted at parents. The school linked up with local youth and community service providers and together they carried out a wide consultation in the community. There was a clear demand for crafts, hobbies and keep fit classes. The school began offering these courses as a first step to vocational courses and the wider aim of helping parents become more engaged with the school. The school's learning link worker was offered a full time post and she began to recruit key individuals in the parent community to take part in the courses. A crèche was set up to allow parents with younger children to participate. Today, nearly half of pupils at Caslon primary have at least one parent taking courses at the school. Morning and afternoon courses are offered every day of the week - everything from glass painting to NVQs - including many Sure Start courses. Parents have been taking part in maths classes with year six pupils and some have gone to take a GCSE. An ESOL course was set up following a request from the local Yemeni community. It has been very popular and has transformed the level of engagement between Yemeni families and the school. One mother who engaged in courses through the school went on to train for a TA qualification and now works in the school's nursery. The school recently appointed a bursar - shared with a partner school - to help adult learners source funding for higher education. A local youth group has found a home on the school site, making use of a redundant mobile unit. These different community efforts have halted the falling rolls and the reception class is now oversubscribed. Standards are also improving. The school recently recorded its highest foundation stage scores ever. At reception, the school reached the LEA average for the first time. And there are strong links between these improvements and the adult learning activities taking place in the school - the attainment of pupils whose parents have taken courses is on average 30 points higher than those that haven't.
CASE STUDY 8
Four Acres Primary School, Bristol - Community Resource
A strong partnership between a purpose built Children's Centre and a 1 form entry primary school shows that shared planning, as well as shared spaces, can create a vibrant community resource.
School Vision Four Acres Primary School in South West Bristol shares its site with a purpose build Children's Centre which houses a Sure Start Play Centre and a Neighbourhood Nursery. The Children's Centre is a partnership between Barnardo's and Bristol City Council, based on an existing nursery and the sure Start local Programme. Four Acres' Advisory Headteacher, Wendy Marriott, sees real benefits in providing an integrated service for 0-11 year olds, as well as presenting some challenges.
Extended Services In August 2005, the following provision was brought together to for an integrated Children's Centre : - Family support through home visiting and linking to groups, community activities and training opportunities; - Day Care and early education for children 3 months to 3 years in the 30 place neighbourhood nursery; - Wraparound care for children in education aged 3-11 years; - Play and learning for children and parents in three play centres offering playgroups, drop-ins, support groups and family learning within 'buggy pushing' distance of most families in the area; - Support from Speech and Language Therapists; - Links with Health Visitors and Community midwives; and - A meeting place for a childminders' support group.
Wendy Marriott is proud of the working relationship between the Primary school and Children's Centre and visitors to the site experience a seamless service. The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has also developed links with Four Acres and Wendy feels that this has strengthened the relationship with local parents.
While the Four Acres site provision is adding value to the work of both the Children's Centre and the Primary school, both recognise that they need to develop protocols for sharing information and this is an area for further work.
Design Issues The Sure Start Play Centre has two rooms in the Children's Centre and has a crèche and play group open from 9am - 3pm, 5 days a week all year round. There are currently 70 children from 0-4 years old on roll and there is support for children with special educational needs and for those who have English as an extra language. According to Ofsted's 2004 report, Sure Start provides a warm, welcoming and stimulating environment.
The other two rooms in the Children's Centre house the Neighbourhood Nursery which offers places for babies, children from 2-3 and for children under 8 years old to provide wrap around care. The Nursery is open for 50 weeks of the year and currently has nearly 40 children on role.
Both the Nursery and Sure Start share an outdoor play area which has been designed specifically for the needs of young children. Barnardos are the Children's Centre sponsors and they have been closely involved in strategic discussions at the Primary school, which Wendy Marriott has found helpful. There are plans for a Foundation Stage Unit on site from 2006, again in partnership with Barnardos.
As a Headteacher, the main challenge for Wendy Marriott comes from the fact that the Children's Centre is housed in a new building and the Primary school is in 1960s built accommodation. Parents who visit the Children's Centre build a strong relationship with Four Acres but are often disappointed in the
physical environment when their children move to the Primary school. Wendy Marriott says one of the main challenges for her is to bring the Primary school accommodation to a standard which matches that of the Children's Centre and which provides an excellent learning environment and meets parental expectation.
Management issues Four Acres Primary works closely with the Children's Centre, using a Foundation Stage co-ordinator, who is an Advisory Teacher, to link between the two. The Children's Centre Manager, Maggie Proom, is a Governor at the Primary school. She has responsibility for child protection issues on the Governing Body and this is proving to be a very valuable source of expertise to governors.
The Primary school further encourages a close working relationship by including the Children's Centre Development Plan objectives in the School Development plan. Both the Children's Centre and Primary school are looking forward to a shared 'Vision' day where staff can discuss how best to continue to work together in future. Governors are currently discussing whether the Children's Centre Management Committee should form a sub group of the Governing Body. The Management Committee is very much driven by parents and this would be an ideal way for them to have even more of a voice in decision making'.
Advice to others Wendy Marriott is clear on the benefits of collaborative working to offer a seamless service to parents. "Relationships are everything' she says 'and we are working towards being even more integrated. Maggie Proom, says that 'the Children's Centre and primary School are inter-dependent in many ways and we intend to strengthen those links further. We want to demonstrate that every child matters at Four Acres'.
CASE STUDY 9
St Jerome's Roman Catholic Primary School - Environmental Sustainability and ICT
· St Jerome's Roman Catholic Primary School in Formby, a suburban area of Merseyside, is a one-form entry school with 210 5-11 year olds. Bordering National Trust property near the coast, it was completely rebuilt after fire destroyed the previous building. · The school, Governors, architect and Archdiocese worked closely with the DfES to design a one-storey, low-maintenance 'school for the future', using £2.2 million, predominantly DfES capital monies, together with contributions from the Archdiocese, Governors and the LA. · Sustainable features include a sedum roof, a grey water system for flushing toilets, solar panels, photo-voltaic cells, a small wind turbine, under-floor heating, double glazing, natural through ventilation and south-facing orientation for maximum light and warmth. · An IT suite houses 21 computers in clear-topped desks. The seven networked classrooms each have TV, video, four computers, a ceiling-mounted projector with electric screens, used interactively with Interwrite pads, linked via Bluetooth technology to the teacher's laptop. A Visualiser relays (and magnifies) live images to the screen. Adjoining insulated 'conservatories' offer additional flexible space.
"It's a wonderfully rich and inspiring teaching and learning environment. Everyone's very proud of it. It's a lovely work space and the children look after it so carefully now, very aware of the environmental issues. We've tried to make it unique - every child helped design a wooden sculpture of St Jerome and stained glass windows. The building is fantastic but the people in it match that." Liz Peat, Head Teacher
"The care taken over the design has really paid off. It's a lovely building in a great setting, meeting all the targets we set for sustainability. And it's helped produce innovative ideas that have enriched curriculum delivery. We're very pleased with it."
Stan Coffey, Archdiocese of Liverpool
CASE STUDY 10
LANGLEY ACADEMY, SLOUGH - environmental sustainability
The Academy is due to open in September 2008 in new buildings and will replace Langley Wood School. The Academy is sponsored by the Arbib Foundation. The Academy will specialise in science and it is the sponsor's vision to ensure that the building lends itself to showing to its students how science impacts on day to day life. A glazed plant room on the ground floor will enable students to gain an understanding of how the building operates in terms of the energy consumption, and will raise awareness of environmental issues.
The Funding Agreement in February 2006 included provision for the infra structure for a number of sustainability features. The sponsors are committed to raise further funding to ensure all of these become a reality.
The Academy will include the following features:
· The Building Management System (BMS) for operating the building will be linked to the Academy's computer network to enable students to monitor use of water, gas and electricity. · Biomass boiler- This is expected to provide over half of the total heating needs from a renewable resource and significantly reduce carbon emissions. This will provide a visible demonstration of how renewable energy when coupled with heat metering can be used as an educational resource. · Solar/ wind powered external lighting - This will be used on the approach to the Academy, and will demonstrate the commitment to the use of sustainable energy. · Rain water/grey water harvesting and recycling reed bed - This is being supported by Thames Water who have provided £100k together with technical advice. It is intended to use recycled rainwater to flush some of the toilets, and also to include meters and data loggers to monitor use of water. · Ground source heat pump - This will provide under floor heating or cooling for the restaurant and exhibition space.
CASE STUDY 11
NOTLEY GREEN PRIMARY - ESSEX
This is a sustainable school built within Local Education Authority cost limits by Essex County Council. The results of an architectural competition for a sustainable primary school design. Notley Green Primary School is the result of a competition run jointly by the Design Council and Essex County Council to produce a prototype for a sustainable school - one that is simple to manage, econmical, energy efficient and built with the minimum impact on the natural environment. The project demonstrates that a high-quality, environmentally friendly, new school can be built within a standard government budget, and it has helped to establish the principles and methods of a sustainable building
Notley Green Primary School in Essex comprises two separate but very similar buildings constructed five years apart. Phase 1 of the school was completed in 1999 to serve the new settlement of Greater Notley. The village's expansion led to a second phase being added in 2004. Despite both phases having a triangular footprint, they were designed and constructed by different teams. Among other things this enabled the phase 2 design team to learn from the successes and failures of the earlier phase.
Phase 1 has classrooms that are open to corridor (there are no doors). It also feature paired classes to that a teacher in once class can keep an eye on the pupils next door when necessary. There is a very easy access between neighbouring classes. Phase 2 has wider corridors that incorporate space for coats. The school disliked the straight corridor of phase 1 (thought to encourage children to run), so the architect introduced a curved corridor.
ANNEXE 2
What Pupils Want
The Sorrell Foundation was set up as a charity in 1999 by the Sorrells in order to use their professional experience to join up the worlds of education and design. With funding form the DfES they devised a team of renowned architects and designers with 700 pupils in over 60 schools and colleges around the UK. Challenge workshops were set up for the pupils to discuss the areas they would like to improve and common themes emerged across many of the design briefs. These themes are below.
Colour: They want to brighten up their schools with colour to enhance atmosphere and mood.
Communication: They want to tell pupils, teachers, parents and the community what is going on.
Dining Halls and Canteens: They want a civilised lunch time with less chaos and more time to relax.
Learning Spaces: They want modern, inspiring places to learn.
Reception Areas: They want parents, new pupils, the local community and visitors to feel welcome.
Reputation and Identity: They want to be proud of their school and be sure of what it stands for.
Sixth-Form Spaces: They want rooms where they can socialise and work on their own.
Social Spaces: They want sheltered spaces to 'chat and chill' during break.
Storage: They want secure places to put their books, stationery, equipment, bags and coats.
Toilets: They want toilets to be hygienic, clean and safe.
Uniform: They want comfortable, smart, 'cool-looking' clothes that they will be proud to wear.
Whole School Plan: They want to contribute to a vision for new school.
Annexe 3
Combined heating and power and renewable schemes available to schools
DTI funded the Major Photovoltaics (PV) Demonstration Programme and the Defra funded Community Energy Programme offer grants to schools but require match funding.
£800,000 of around £5m put through in the Major PV small grants programme has gone to fit PV in schools - with a total of 85 schools benefiting (about 20% of which are new build). Five schools have benefited from the major grants programme, for example Moldgreen High School in Huddersfield, a new build school due to open soon, which has installed a 15KW photovoltaic system with a £55,000 grant from the DTI programme matched with funding from Kirklees council. The programme manager of the Major PV programme explained that schools were particularly suitable for fitting with PV because such a visible system raises young people's awareness of sustainable energy and because where buildings are not used to capacity in summer holidays substantial revenue can be generated for the school by selling the excess energy generated back to the grid.
Through a £100,000 grant from the Defra funded Community Energy Programme, Springhill School in Southampton has been linked to an existing community heating/combined heat and power scheme. The school was connected alongside 164 residential dwellings, and the total carbon savings resulting from this scheme have been 12 tonnes of carbon per annum.
St Gabriels Primary School in Pimlico is connected to a community heating system originally constructed 50 years ago to take waste heat from Battersea Power station. With a Community Energy Programme grant the system has been totally modernised and now runs a gas fired CHP system.
Susan MacMahon Head of St Gabriels says "Community Heating is a very practical solution for our school; we enjoy flexible control of temperature and our maintenance costs are kept to a minimum. Its so quiet too, you hardly know its there! Pimlico District Heating also teaches our children a valuable lesson for the future of the environment."
Annexe 4
Healthy schools (This is from the Strategy for Change that the Dpartment is currently developing and is subject to final ministerial clearance)
· The National Healthy Schools Programme engages all those involved in schools. It aims to improve educational achievement through better health and well-being for everyone and making schools safe and secure. Local programmes are funded through standards fund support. · The Government vision is that half of all schools will be healthy schools by 2006 and the remainder by 2009. Physical activity and healthy eating are key objectives to reducing obesity in young people. Schools can achieve National Healthy Schools Status through meeting criteria in four key areas: PSHE; healthy eating; physical activity; and emotional health and well-being. These criteria are available in National Healthy Schools Status - a guide for schools, published by the Department of Health. It is available at: www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk The Department will look specifically at these points when assessing local authorities' Strategy for Change proposals. a. How well the authority is working with schools to ensure that children, staff and other community users feel safe and secure on school sites, including reductions in bullying and vandalism. b. How effectively the authority's BSF plans promote healthy eating by ensuring that all children have access to at least one hot school meal each day which at least reaches the required food and nutritional standards, freshly cooked and prepared where possible on the premises from local ingredients and served, presented and eaten in surroundings which encourage children to use the school's catering. c. How effectively the authority's BSF plans promote healthy and safe lifestyles by young people and support schools in achieving National Healthy Schools Status and delivering high quality sex and relationship education. d. The aspects of the BSF capital spending plans which will contribute to increasing the time young people spend doing sport. Commentary 1. Other key aspects of the Healthy Schools Programme relate to drug education, PE and school sport and sex and relationship education. 3. To support PE and school sport over £1.5 billion is being invested by the Government (from 2003 - 2008). The Government wants all children to spend at least two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport in and out of school. The DFES, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are working to implement the national PE, School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy. A joint target has been set to increase the percentage of 5-16 year olds who spend at least 2 hours each week on high quality PE and school sport, within and beyond the curriculum, to 75 per cent by 2006, and to raise this to 85 per cent by 2008. 4. Spearheading this drive is the establishment is a network of 400 sports colleges and school sport partnerships. At present there are 358 designated specialist sports colleges, including 7 academies with a sports focus and at 80 per cent of schools are now within one of the 411 operational partnerships. For more information look in http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/pe 5. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) issued guidance on sex and relationship education (SRE) to all maintained schools in July 2000. This guidance was designed to improve sex and relationship education in schools as part of a broader framework of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). Actions that schools should be taking include: · Consulting parents about their sex and relationship education programmes; · Developing a written policy for the teaching of SRE which must be available for inspection by parents; · Routine update of SRE policies; and · Enabling parents to withdraw their children from all or part of the sex and relationship education provided at school if they so wish. 6. In addition the Department is aiming to publish a guide to the design of school kitchens and dining rooms entitled 'Food in Schools - Design Guidance' by the end of 2006.
Annexe 5 Supporting Documentation
Exemplar Designs and Design Guidance
Schools for the Future - Transforming Schools (Bronze) an inspirational guide to remodelling secondary schools. Prologue
Schools for the Future - Exemplar Designs Concepts and Ideas (Silver). Prologue
Schools for the future - Inspirational Design for PE and Sport Spaces
Classrooms of the Future - Innovative Designs for Schools (Blue) Prologue
Learning by Design - Open House Exemplar.
Picturing School Design - Visual guide to secondary school buildings and their surroundings using the Design Quality Indicator for Schools.
Primary Ideas - a toolkit of design principles, ideas and projects for primary school environments aimed at inspiring staff, pupils and parents. Designing Space for Sports and Arts
SUSTANABILITY
DfES Sustainable Development Action Plan
Sustainable Schools, for pupils communities and the environment.
ACADEMIES
Prospectus
FURTHER EDUCATION
FE White Paper Further Education Raising Skills Improving Life Chances
General
Schools Capital - investment for all
Every Child Matters: Primary capital programme prospectus. Consultation document published on 14 March 2006 - ended 14 June 2006.
School Works Tool Kit
School Works - A-Z sketchbook of school build and design
Joinedupdesignforschools - putting pupils in charge of improving their schools
21st Century Learning Environments
Building Schools for the Future
Example of an Education Vision - Knowsley
Sure Start and Extended Schools
Building for Sure Start - integrated provision for under fives, client guide and design guide. Available from Prolog www.surestart.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?document=839
Designing for 3 to 4 year-olds (Historic value)
Extended Schools Providing opportunities and services for all Documents available on www.teachernet.gov.uk
Childcare in Extended Schools Providing opportunities and services for all Documents available on www.teachernet.gov.uk
Private Finance Initiative - PUK Report into signed PFI Projects
Building Bulletins
BB99 - Briefing Framework for Primary Schools Project www.teachernet.gov.uk/sbareaguidelines
BB98 - Briefing Framework for Secondary School Projects www.teachernet.gov.uk/sbareaguidelines Published 2004 Available to purchase from the Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £27.00 ISBN 0-11-271152-9
BB71 - The Outdoor Classroom Second Education Published 1999 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £22.00 ISBN 0-11-271061-1 www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/schoolbuildings/sbdupublications/buildingpublications/
BB95 - Schools for the Future www.teachernet.gov.uk/sbschoolsforthefuture Published 2002 Available to purchase from the Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £25.00 ISBN 0-11-271128-6 http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/schoolbuildings/sbdupublications/buildingpublications/
BB91 - Access for Disabled People to School Buildings: Management and Design Published 1999 Available for purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £14.95 ISBN 0-11-271062-X www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=5545
BB85 - School Grounds: A Guide to Good Practice Published 1997 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £19.95 ISBN 0-11-270990-7 To be placed on the website shortly.
BB81 - Design and Technology Accommodation in Schools: A Design Guide Published 1996, Revised 2004 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £33 ISBN 0-11-271170-7
BB80 - Science Accommodation in Secondary Schools: A Design Guide www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=6152 Published 1999, Revised 2004
BB92 - Modern Foreign Languages Accommodation: A Design Guide Published 2000 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £19.95 ISBN 0-11-271093-X
BB86 - Music Accommodation in Secondary School Published 1997 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £16.95 ISBN 0-11-271002-6 Not available on the web
BB94 - Inclusive School Design Published 2001 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 500 5522 £19.95 ISBN 0-11-271109-X Not available on the web
BB93 - Acoustic Design of Schools Published 2003 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 500 5522 £30 ISBN 0-11-271105-7
BB100 - Fire Due to be published summer 2006
BB87 - Guidelines for Environmental Design ISBN 0-11-271013-1 Available from Stationery Office £13.95
BB79 - Passive Solar Schools: A Guide Design Published 1995 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £19.95 ISBN 0-11-270876-5 Not available on web
BB83 - Schools' Environmental Assessment (SEAM) Published 1996 Available to purchase from The Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £14.95 ISBN 0-11-270920-6 Replaced by Breeam
BB82 - Area Guidelines for Schools - revised 2002 www.teachernet.gov.uk/sbareguidelines Published first 1996, revised 2002, Superseded by BB98 and BB99 (Historic value)
BB96 - Meeting the educational needs of children and young people in hospital Published 2003 Available to purchase from the Stationery Office 0870 600 5522 £25.00 ISBN 0-11-271135-9
BB72 - Educational Design Initiatives in City Technology Colleges Published 1991 ISBN 0-11-270737-8 Out of print
Asset Management Plans Guidance
Section 1 Framework www.teachernet.gov.uk/amps Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2A
Section 2 Property Information Systems and Schools Premises Data Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2B
Section 3 Condition Assessment Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2C
Section 4 Suitability Assessment Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2D
Section 5 Sufficiency Assessment Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2E
Section 6 Appraisal Guidance 2002-03 Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP2F
Section 7 Data Analysis Publication Available free from DFES publications 0845 602 2260 Ref No. AMP 7
Sprinklers in Schools (leaflet- questions and answers Published 1993
Graffiti - removal and control Available from Prolog Not available on web
Misc
Raising standards: opening doors (Developing links between schools and their communities) 1999 A guide for school governors Developing school buildings See RIBA website for details
Assessing the Net Capacity of Schools August 2002 ISBN number 1 84185 610 X Available from Prolog 0845 60 222 60
THE EDUCATION SCHOOL PREMISES RUGULATIONS 1999 STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL PREMISES Available from prolog 0845 60 222 60 Document available
[1] Securing the Future, UK government sustainable development strategy, March 2005, http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/ [2] FB10, Putting a Price on Sustainability, BRE & Cyril Sweett, BRE Trust, 2005 [3] Conservation of Fuel and Power, Approved Documents Part 2A and 2B, effective from April 2006 |