Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Ian Fordham, Deputy Chief Executive, British Council for School
Environments (BCSE)
RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
BCSE feel strongly that the government needs
to commit funding from its £94 million research and development
budget, or the £200 million colocation fund, to tackle some
of the systemic issues that effect the school building programme.
A research programme that tackles fundamental issues of lighting,
furniture, acoustics and the integration of services need to be
prioritised and any consequent knowledge shared rapidly with local
authorities, schools and professionals to improve the design and
construction of schools. If this research and knowledge sharing
stage is avoided, it is the view of our members that problems
will be "hard-wired" into schools with a negative impact
on the health and well being of teachers and pupils and the success
of the schools and the system in which they work.
In addition to this research programme, the
DCSF guidance on extended schools (Designing Schools for Extended
Services) is now almost three years old and is in need of urgent
updating, given the wealth of good practice at local authority
and school level in integrating services, and the need for schools
to respond to the Community Cohesion agenda.
THE IMPACT
OF BSF ON
PEDAGOGY AND
TEACHING PRACTICE
The PwC Evaluation of BSF identified a gap in
the system around the link between capital investment and pedagogy,
flexible learning spaces and teaching practice. This is an area
where the BCSE have developed a particular expertise. At the end
of our witness session, you suggested that it would be useful
for committee members to visit schools or locations where best
practice is happening on the ground.
We are currently working with a global expert
in pedagogy and teaching and learning, Dr Kenn Fisher from the
University of Melbourne, who ran a series of seminars for the
BCSE in December 2008. He is due to be back in the UK at the end
of March and we would be happy to set up a session for the committee
with Kenn to help identify and clarify these issues and work on
how things can be improved. Kenn has a wealth of experience from
his work around the world to show how starting with clarity about
the pedagogical model, and designing spaces to support delivery
of that model, can have a positive impact. He can also talk about
how innovation has been embedded in the design of schools in South
Australia.
GREAT SCHOOLS
INQUIRY
As part of our work to share best practice in
school design and construction, we are about to launch a major
campaign called "Great Schools" which aims to ensure
that we maximise the impact of the major school building programme
on children and young people's life chances, particularly those
in the most disadvantaged areas. A key part of this work is a
Great Schools Inquiry, which will call for evidence from
BCSE members and key groups nationally including young people,
teachers and school based staff, headteachers. local authorities
and professional working across the education sector and beyond.
The inquiry will explore best and emerging practice
across the system in five areas: teaching and learning; design
and process; health and well being; sustainability and integrating
services. The inquiry aims to develop a rigorous and "open
source" evidence base that can be used by schools and local
authorities across the country and help support the government's
ambition to transform education. We will report back regularly
with its findings on each discrete theme as well as drawing findings
and recommendations together in a major report in Autumn 2009.
We hope that we will be able to share the emerging findings of
the inquiry with you and at the next and future select committee
sessions.
February 2009
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