This is an absolutely vital time. This major investment in school buildings has made a difference, and we really can’t afford to go back to not spending money consistently on infrastructure. The sheer scale of this investment is hard to absorb for many people, and it’s been ill-served by some of the ‘research’ flying around.
The Great Schools Commission [a cross-party group set up by the BCSE and chaired by former education secretary Estelle Morris] is looking at an evidence base in the UK and abroad that says this matters. It’s not about crude research expecting attainment to rise instantly. But when you see new and refurbished buildings that are understood by teachers and learners, and designed to support what the school is, then I think the argument is pretty conclusive.
I recently met Mr Castle, an assistant head of Elm Green school in Lambeth. He had taught in six schools across London, and spoke of the difference that this majestic building is making. He said “the building allows the staff to teach, it doesn’t get in the way”. They can use double-sized classrooms when they need to, and small ones for quiet work. They have an amazing space called the market square for recreation. It’s making a difference to how he and his fellow teachers feel about teaching.
Getting our house in order
We’ve got to get our house in order, as we cannot justify the costs that have been associated with the Building Schools for the Future programme. But cutting the costs are different from cutting the investment. We need different approaches to procurement. And I think we need a national advisory council at the heart of government that can talk directly about school investment to the secretary of state. Quangos like Partnerships for Schools and BECTA, by their very nature, are not best placed to explain or defend investment to a wider audience.
I’m clear that whatever school system you have, it needs good environments. We’ve got to make the arguments: it’s about the achievements and outcomes for young people, and about jobs. You look around the world and other countries are investing in infrastructure, so it’s also about UK plc. And we should appreciate the skills that we have taken years to build up in design, construction and the supply chain.
Investment on this scale hasn’t just happened because someone waved a magic wand. We had to make a case, and we have to again, with and around other public spending priorities. I was recently at the Conservatives education policy launch, in a fantastic academy in Walworth. They wouldn¹t have launched it in an allotment shed. I think that we need to communicate to both front benches that this investment matters. And we can’t do it on our own.
This is an edited version from an ‘in conversation piece’ article with Sarah Richardson, Deputy Editor, Building Magazine. Ty is speaking at the BSEC conference next week with a hard hitting presentation – ‘the truth about school buildings’.
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