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Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a £50bn programme aimed at rebuilding or refurbishing all the Secondary Schools in England. This is to be done in a series of 15 waves which will encompass every Local Authority in the country. The initial way that authorities were selected was based on a weighting of social indices – in particular GCSE results at A*-C and Free School Meals. Using these criteria we were placed towards the end of the 15 year programme.
However the criteria are likely to change and it is likely that future criteria will be based upon “Readiness to Deliver”. Kingston Council is aiming to be in the next tranche of authorities joining BSF and is now aiming to complete its Education Vision by the Spring of 2008 and show its ability to deliver. This Vision will show how Kingston Council intends to build on the Every Child Matters White Paper, the Children Act of 2004, the Higher Standards, Better Schools for All White Paper and the 2006 Education and Inspections Act, introducing measures to improve attainment and making sure schools are at the centre of the community.
A while ago we were given funding for a One School BSF project. Chessington Community College was selected for the One School BSF project and is currently part way through a large re-development. This is due to be completed by the Summer of 2009 and is currently the most advanced project of all the BSF One School Pathfinders.
In addition to BSF there is also the Primary Capital Programme (PCP) which is a 15 year programme aimed at rebuilding about 5% and remodelling at least 50% of Primary Schools. It is targeted at deprivation and population changes and is designed to support the Every Child Matters agenda, putting Primary Schools at the heart of the community. We should know in late Spring 2008 the levels of allocation available to the Royal Borough.
In September 2007 a conference was held to help start all the borough's schools thinking about the future and their visions of it. The conference was facilitated by Bryanston Square Consulting. The report is available below with a link to a full set of all the presentations from the day.