Education Business

Children in Newcastle are benefiting from a £220 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment – the largest educational investment in Newcastle’s history.
    
Over 7,500 students from eight schools across the city are now benefitting from buildings that have been totally rebuilt or refurbished, including Kenton School, one of the largest schools in the country with over 2,000 students.
    
Newcastle City Council’s commitment to this programme underlines its drive to transform education in the city and increase ‘life’ opportunities for those living there. Development under BSF is also fully integrated into Newcastle’s wider regeneration plans to create a vibrant, inclusive, safe and sustainable modern European City.  

Inspiring environments
The BSF programme has successfully delivered eight first phase schools while the final eight are currently moving through the planning process. Construction work will start later this year with completion of all schools by 2012.
    
Already, the new schools have proved popular with staff, parents and pupils alike.
    
“Schools will always be less about buildings and more about the people inside them,” explains Don Smith, head teacher of Walkergate Primary. “The change in our school since the new building opened has been phenomenal. It’s really lifted the whole school, there’s just such a happy, welcoming atmosphere everywhere now.
    
“We want to inspire the children to come to school and what we have now is completely awe-inspiring.”
    
Since moving to its new home, Thomas Bewick Special School has become a regional Autism Resource Base in partnership with the National Autistic Society. Head teacher, Audrey Lindley, explains: “The move has had a really positive impact on our pupil’s learning and as a specially designed autism-friendly environment is a lot more relevant to their particular needs.
    
“We now have a much bigger and more spacious building, and the increased space and facilities have led to a real sense of calm and focus across the school, which our children are really responding to.”

Success through partnership
The ongoing success of this huge investment programme has been helped by the close partnership between Newcastle City Council and private sector partner Aura.
    
Aura is delivering and part-funding the BSF programme, as well as designing, building and maintaining the schools. It is also the country’s most productive local education partnership and has now delivered eight of the 58 new BSF schools completed nationally to date.
    
“Our aim is to transform education in the city and create a better and brighter future for thousands of children across the region,” explains Aura chief executive, Kirsty Thirlwell.  
    
“The programme involves more than just delivering new facilities with modern technology. Although very challenging for all parties, it demonstrates how reform can be driven across schooling, teaching and learning, to inspire young people to reach their full potential. Already, schools handed over last year are reporting changes in behaviour, with students showing a new sense of pride in their schools and a reduction in reported incidents.”

New opportunities
Not only has the delivery programme led to new facilities for pupils, from state-of-the-art computer and IT to covered outdoor play areas, it has also given them new opportunities.
    
Aura has incorporated classroom layouts that allow individual year groups to share breakout spaces in many schools, providing flexible learning, and wireless ICT facilities are standard so pupils and staff can access computers anywhere.
    
The schools are also more energy efficient and ‘greener’, explains Aura’s design manager, Gary Jemmett. “Three will achieve BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) ratings of ‘excellent’ and the remaining 13 will achieve ratings of ‘very good’. This is based on the use of active systems and passive elements that promote environmental awareness and eco-friendly behaviours.
    
“Energy efficient elements include biomass boilers that burn wood pellets, high levels of thermal insulation to reduce heat loss, which combine with the use of maximum natural lighting and ventilation to optimise energy performance.”

Transforming learning
Alongside the build programme, the council and Aura have supported the schools to change educational delivery through a range of packages focusing on transformational learning practices and vocational education. They have worked with each of the secondary schools to develop a range of programmes including mentoring and life skills courses to support Key Stage 2 learning.
    
Over 11 different transformational plans have been developed with the secondary schools that will be delivered over a two year period by September 2010. Each plan will measure the impact on learning and become part of the annual review of school improvement. Plans showing the greatest positive impact will be incorporated into Newcastle’s Virtual Learning Environment for all secondary schools in the region to use.
    
With the significant level of capacity available to Newcastle through the partnership between the council and Aura – which is already managing 18 schools at different stages from design to operation – the partnership business plan covers future delivery of a broader range of services covering primary schools, youth projects, city regeneration and social care.

Improving academic attainment
Councillor Nick Cott, executive member for Children and Young People, explains: “BSF is about much more than replacing old buildings with new ones – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform the way our young people feel about their schools.
    
“National research has shown huge increases in the number of children who feel proud of their schools, enjoy school more, and plan to stay in education longer after transformation work at their schools.
    
“These changes will help to drive the ongoing rises in academic attainment in Newcastle schools in recent years, with GCSE results improving every one of the last eight years – up 25 per cent in just five years – and with the number of students staying on at school to do A-levels going up by over a third since 2003.
    
“We’re determined young people in Newcastle will have the very best learning opportunities and the highest quality facilities, and the Building Schools for the Future programme is allowing us to make sure every child in Newcastle gets the education they deserve.”

BSF – key facts
The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will see every state secondary school in England, around 3,500 in total, rebuilt or remodelled over the lifetime of the programme.
    
Launched by the Department for Education & Skills in February 2004, BSF is the largest and most ambitious scheme of its kind anywhere in the world. It will transform education for some 3.3 million students aged 11-19.
    
The scale of BSF enables local authorities to move from patch and mend spending on schools to rebuild and renewal, with a more strategic approach to funding, design, procurement and management of buildings.
    
BSF is not just a building programme; it aims to create learning environments which inspire all young people to unlock hidden talents and reach their full potential; provide teachers with 21st century work places; and provide access to facilities which can be used by all members of the local community.

Areas of involvement
Funding: On average £2.5-£3 billion of capital investment is being spent on the programme each year. The Comprehensive Spending Review settlement for 2008-11 gives £9.3 billion for the BSF programme over three years.
    
Sustainability: The BSF programme is committed to reducing carbon emissions from schools, with all buildings making the most of sustainable features to help protect the environment and reduce overheads. In some schools students can monitor the amount of energy consumed, rainwater is used to flush toilets, and recycled materials are used for construction.
    
Design: BSF schools are helping to reduce bullying and other anti-social behaviours through the use of good quality, thoughtful design. Wider corridors and toilet blocks located near to classrooms and staff rooms allow these areas to be passively supervised.
    
ICT: Technology plays a key role in helping to achieve educational transformation in BSF schools. BSF provides a high level of capital funding for ICT equivalent to £1,675 per pupil place.
    
Consultation: Students, teachers, parents and members of the local community are all encouraged to have a say in the design of their school under BSF. In addition to public consultation, many students have already had an opportunity to take part in design workshops with architects and contractors.

Aura is a partnership between Newcastle City Council and Parsons Brinckerhoff, Sir Robert McAlpine and Robertson Capital Projects.