“EVIDENCE IS NOT THE PLURAL OF ANECDOTE…..”

Give me the decayed glamour of a music hall in the East End; a panel discussion on education and I’m a happy man. This week I was a guest of Teach First at a Times Plus Newspaper debate:- ‘ Are our Schools Fit for purpose? ’ at Wilton’s Music Hall just off cable Street,  London, E1. Here are some golden nuggets from this tuesday’s interesting and stimulating evening.Dylan William – I’d last worked with the Professor on last year’s BBC2 programme , ‘ Classroom Experiment’ where the BCSE and its members had re-furbished a classroom to enable a powerful teaching experiment to take place. Dylan is as lyrical as Peter Gabriel in presenting a fact-based analysis of what real support our teachers need – it’s the ‘Love the one you’re with’ strategy.

According to the Institute of Education’s, William :

• 90% of school choice is not an advantage – it matters more which classroom you are in rather than which school. It’s teacher quality within a school that is the major issue.
• We need a relentless focus on teacher improvement – real time not wished for improvement in the actual ‘craft’ of teaching.
• For many teachers there are real and serious mental health challenges – an openness and honesty is needed about this issue.
• A new strategy of ‘love the one you’re with’ ; ie: the present teacher rather than a rhetoric of good/bad school will cost more in political will and focus than we’ve ever done before.

Modelled on Teach for America, England’s Teach First is led by the quiet American, Brett Wigdorz. For Brett the key issues are these:

• Meet any six year old and it is their parent’s income that will be the key determinant of their educational future
• Who goes to University? – Pupils on free school meals -16% ; Independent school pupils – 96%

Baroness Estelle Morris is so likeable, yet she must get fed up hearing how she resigned by way of introduction.

• Estelle identified the progress that had been made – teachers are better; quality of teaching and leadership identified as really vital and schools are better at collaborating
• Yet some young people are not engaged and we’re not evidence-based
• the dividing line between education and politics is drawn wrongly

Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State – tonight an exceptional aggregator of individual and diverse opinions.

• Schools must do better – education should be a direct attack on social inequality
• Children should be the Captain of their own fate and the author their own life story
• Some of the problems are deeply buried within the education system
• Future watchwords are, school autonomy; fair accountability and teacher quality

The panels’ major area of consensus is motivating and retaining great teachers – also a key national challenge. This debate was a key dialogue and as Dylan said, ‘ evidence is not the plural of anecdote. ’

This really was an involving and inspiring natter; not top down lecturing …..sounds like a model for a new beginning? An ex Labour Secretary of State, an Emeritus Professor and a Conservative Secretary of State go into a bar….. More old music hall consensus and rational debate please.

Related posts:

1. Waiting for Superman: Free Schools vs Local Schools – the debate starts here
2. School capital investment – getting our house in order
3. Gove 1 Balls 0 – A Battle of Ideas

It’s been a long break from Centre for School Design activity – but with a lot of British Council for School Environments work in December including a study tour to New York and New Jersey, a new board of trustees and chairperson (Rachel Jones), a new office move to Islington, a second screening of the film Waiting for Superman with the thinktank Policy Exchange – and some big planning for 2011… we have used last few weeks to recover regroup!So, we are now back for a new year and geared up for a lot of important developments to come in the next few months: the implementation of the government’s White Paper, the report of the much anticipated Capital Review (we believe the full report, including an audit of the 0-19 capital estate due before Christmas, will now appear in February/March). Plus for the BCSE: the launch of our 2011 Awards and new projects, collaborations, events and activities will be unveiled shortly.

But before we set off headfirst into 2011 – there’s a small window to reflect and a chance to set out some thoughts about fresh thinking in a time of rapid change. With a decade of significant financial investment by government (and emotional investment from teachers and parents) there’s a pressing need to ensure all of that energy and ambition is not driven out of the system by the major changes that have taken place in the past 6 months. Of course there is a need for greater certainity and money is a huge issue, but thinking about education in this current climate is arguably more valuable. What is needed to unlock more work and indeed the education system is a mixture of creativity, participation and a focus on what works. The spontaneity of parents, teachers and communities can be mined in new ways to ensure we are getting the best out of limited resources.

Also – for too long – public policymaking has been a top-down process that has been monopolised and codified too tightly. Not all of the great ideas we hear about are expensive in cash terms – but the potential value of many of them is huge. Its vital that we continue to keep talking, to connect with each other across organisation boundaries. How do we do this? Some of the fresh thinking comes from outside of the sector. Take Ivo Gormley’s idea on making short documentaries about the impacts of social policy. This has an obvious application at the grassroots level to education and school design. Similarly, Lauren Currie’s ideas around how you can involve everybody – not just the self-selecting active citizens – to participate in decisions around the future direction of schooling are useful.

Tim Davies’ idea on building a consensus among public sector management that interactivity is a good thing, really needs to be promoted among the staff in local government who deal with education policy. Plus a clear message needs to be sent to government and the Capital Review team to say that frankness will be rewarded and not seen as a criticism. Dominic Campbell’s idea on making procurement a great deal more interactive – a process that could and should involve teachers, parents and local communities – can ensure that a more energy goes straight to the front line where it is needed and ensuring that procurement isn’t a wasteful dialogue between detached professionals or a budget-maximising private sector. All of these ideas are taken forward on an excellent site called Political Innovation – which argues that politics should be done differently – its surely time education was done differently too.

To paraphrase the leader of the opposition, ‘last year is a different country’. There will certainly be a range of new opportunities coming out of the Capital Review and upcoming developments in our sector.  It can be an exciting year… we are eternally optimistic.

Related posts:

1. Free Schools Thinking launched
2. Free Schools Thinking – what is our new report saying?
3. School capital investment – getting our house in order

The BCSE Building Better Schools conference was in full swing one week ago.

We are still getting some great feedback from participants and speakers alike – including this comment from leading journalist Fiona Millar:“I found it very interesting and was sorry I couldn’t stay longer as I really wanted to try and find out more about what is going to happen to the schools like ours”

We will be posting all of the main presentations, videos, photos from study tours, reflections and key outcomes of the seminars in the next week. For those who missed the event – there is a great summary of the discussions via this #BCSE twitter transcript.

In the meantime we asked one our keynote speakers Lord Knight of Weymouth (@jimpknight) to reflect on his time as Schools Minister, the successes and challenges of the Building Schools for the Future programme and look ahead to the future of school design

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1. A-Z of school design – A is for…
2. Building Better Schools conference – have your say
3. Centre for School Design at BSEC

We all have a memory of that place we call school. A moment of insight or fun; a teacher that inspired; the classroom; the sports field; an art room; a playground; a science experiment; the awful toilets. Our childhood in our schools has for many a particular and enduring place in our memories. And schools stir great passions and great divides – when in fact there is more to connect us together than divide us. And in an increasingly competitive education system globally, there is now more to gain from having a common sense view about our schools – so we don’t fall further behind Singapore, Finland or China.So what we must do is set our teachers free, set our schools free and set the system free. The trajectory of government legislation in this area is exceptionally positive – new academies provide greater freedoms in terms of staff pay, conditions and the curriculum and, as middle class parents are now saying in a recent Durham University report the results are starting to add up. Free Schools too have enormous potential to address a major problem of a lack of school places – resulting from a population timebomb of children coming into the system – and they put parents, charities and teachers into the driving seat of setting up their own school. Critically both policies are based on a growing evidence base in Charter Schools in the US, which have radically changed the education system in America.

But despite this, the education system – much like the National Health Service – is like a large tanker. It takes time to turn around, takes pioneering leaders to show the way and takes courage from the large majority of frontline teachers who, despite caricature, are small ‘c’ conservative in nature. So the question for us is – have we set the bar high enough? Are we being ambitious enough in the change we want in education? And can we free up schools even further so they and we are able to compete with other countries?

Our report launched last week, Free Schools Thinking, encourages teachers, parents and government to deliver even greater freedoms, at a faster pace of change and beyond just freeing up the model of schooling (academies and free schools) and the supply side (academy sponsors, chains of schools). More fundamentally we should be freeing up all schools in terms of:

• the time when teaching and learning takes place, including longer teaching days;
• the people who help to support schools including local businesses and entrepreneurs;
• the spaces where learning takes place including corridors, playgrounds and after school clubs;
• the places where schools can be located including redundant offices, government buildings and factories.

Free Schools Thinking also entails an understanding that school environments can be a major tool for school improvement. Every top private school, academy and comprehensive knows they must invest some of their budget in creating ‘decent school environments’ to inspire and develop future leaders of this country. And this is not about the bricks and mortar or glass atriums – which we know are just a means to an end. This is about common sense elements such as light, temperature, air quality, acoustics and decent furniture – which are important in our workplaces but sadly not in all schools. It is vital to refresh, refurbish or reuse schools to ensure they function well, last for a generation and make a difference in terms of results and achievement.

The bureaucracy surrounding such programmes such as Building Schools for the Future were an insult to our architects, construction companies and suppliers who are in fact not just building some of the best schools in the UK, but are exporting British products and expertise to a global market. The waste represented in this policy represented the ‘Worst of Britain’. Freeing up our schools to think differently about the way education is delivered, reducing bureaucracy, stripping away planning laws and rewarding excellence is the ‘Best of Britain’ and vital if we are to compete with the fastest moving economies and education systems in the world.

Let us be proud of our schools – let us set them free.

Note: this post is adapted from a ‘Platform article’ written by Ian Fordham on ConservativeHome – the most visited grassroots Conservative Party website in the UK

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1. Free Schools Thinking – what is our new report saying?
2. Free Schools Thinking launched
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At a packed event of 150 teachers, educationalists, MPs, designers, contractors and policy makers at the Houses of Parliament yesterday – hosted by Graham Stuart, Chair of the Education Select Committee – we launched our latest publication Free Schools Thinking. It comes on a historic day – when the British government announced its Comprehensive Spending Review and when funding and budgets in schools and other public services have been cut. Yet despite times of austerity, we argue that it more vital than ever for schools to be ‘freed up’ to think differently about the way they work in terms of the places, spaces, times and people who can help make our education system compete with the best in the world.

We are really pleased to have received some excellent comments from a number of high profile education leaders and some great media coverage. If you want to add your own comment, please email me at ian[at]bcse.org.uk. Our Free Schools Thinking website is also live and we are now looking for funding and support to turn this into a major site and resource for all those with an interest in New Schools, Academies and with our Free Schools Thinking approach.

Free Schools Thinking: Places and Spaces for Teaching and Learning

Comments on our Free Schools Thinking publication so far include:

“The Free Schools thinking report consists of some very good ideas”

Sir Michael Wilshaw, Principal, Mossbourne Academy

“The Free Schools Thinking report demonstrates how adaptable virtually any building can be to accommodate a learning environment and is an excellent guide for anyone that is considering establishing a school. Cast aside any preconceptions, encourage a truly open vision and together we can grow real opportunities from the most unlikely ideas.”

Rob Thornton, Birkenshaw, Birstall, Gomersal and East Bierley Community Trust, Kirklees

“The Assocation of School and College Leaders (ASCL) would have significant concerns about some of the kinds of places that are under consideration for free schools. All school leaders know that the learning environment is a crucially important factor in the quality of education schools are able to provide. But the document gives a helpful and balanced description of the issues around different types of buildings and would inform essential discussions amongst any potential new providers”

Brian Lightman, General Secretary, The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)

“The Free Schools Thinking report represents a welcome and imaginative guide for any group committed to starting up a free school.  Moving one from the BCSE’s ‘New 3Rs – refresh, remodel and reuse’ – it opens up a variety of opportunities for cost effective new schools”.

Dr Elizabeth Sidwell, Chief Executive, Haberdashers Aske’s Academies Federation

“Yet again the BCSE are at the forefront of thinking about where schools are heading in the future. The report looks at the new freedoms available to all academies and free schools and puts them to the test in the real world. It also sends out a very important message to schools and teachers across the country – free up your thinking about the places, spaces and times where teaching and learning can take place, and rethink the people who can best help support young people’s learning”

Dr Anthony Seldon, Master, Wellington College

“School buildings in this country should reflect the priorities and aspirations of a leading nation. But we need to think sustainably and economically. A great school building does not, of itself, make a great school. There are, however, many buildings which could be transformed into inspirational locations for schools as well as learning centres for communities, in a commercially and environmentally positive way. It takes lateral thinking and partnership working. Free schools now have an opportunity to tap into a rich seam of potential new locations and this excellent publication is an important step in developing new thinking.”

Sir Bruce Liddington, Director General of E-ACT

“This is an exciting and very timely report.  Academies have shown how re-thinking what schools could look and feel like raises aspirations for whole communities.  Equally, some of the most inspiring learning spaces I’ve seen have been in uncoventional settings.  This report demonstrates the importance of a thoughtful and creative approach to how we design spaces to enable young people to thrive”

Andy Schofield, Principal, Wellington Academy

Media coverage of our Free Schools Thinking publication includes:

Conservative Home

BBC Online

Independent on Sunday

Building Design

Related posts:

1. Free Schools Thinking – what is our new report saying?
2. Free schools – connecting the dots
3. Academies and Free Schools Advisory Service

I am delighted to go live with this year’s BCSE Annual Conference – hosted in partnership with Manchester City Council on the 9-10 November 2010 – which will be bigger and better than ever before. With 4 big themes around the Changing Landscape – for Schools, Academies, Free schools and the Big Society – we are looking to explore, challenge and shape the vision of where the education system is going under a new government and how this will impact and shape school buldings and learning environments in the years to come. CONFERENCE FORMAT

Day one of the conference includes 5 study tours to leading schools and learning environments in Manchester and neighbouring local authorities, followed by an unmissable evening drinks and networking reception held at Manchester Town Hall.

Day two is the start of an inspiring day based uniquely within the Manchester Communication Academy. It includes an unparalleled line-up of top speakers from across the UK and internationally plus 10 interactive workshops and break out sessions – sharing the latest thinking, practice and setting the agenda for the year ahead for the sector.

A stellar line up of SPEAKERS confirmed so far include:

• Lord (Jim) Knight of Weymouth, former Minister for Schools and Learners
• Dale Bassett, Research Director, Reform
• Sir Bruce Liddington, Director General, EACT & Principal Adviser, The New Schools Network
• Lynne Heath, Principal, Manchester Communication Academy
• Jo Twist, Education Commissioning Editor, Channel 4
• Indy Johar, DEMOS and Respublica Associate and Director, 00:/ Architects
• Mike Gibbons, Chief Executive, Richard Rose Federation and founding Director, Innovation Unit
• Jon de Maria, Neighbourhood Schools Campaign, Wandsworth
• Professor Peter Barrett, President, Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), University of Salford
• Representatives from Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland

Plus we have a number of other high profile speakers from local authorities, schools and the private sector lined up as speakers and workshop presenters – further updates will be provided in the coming weeks.

BOOKING DETAILS

We are now taking bookings for the BCSE Annual Conference:

Early bird rate (ends 30 September 2010)
£200 for schools, local government and voluntary sector (BCSE members)
£250 for private sector (BCSE members)
£450 for private sector (BCSE non-members)

Standard rate
£250 for schools and local government
£300 for private sector (BCSE members)
£500 for private sector (BCSE non-members)

To book places simply email brigid@bcse.uk.net or call the BCSE on 0207 785 6288. Note: we can now accept credit card bookings.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
There are a range of opportunities to sponsor this conference and gain profile for your organisation with over 400 delegates at the UK’s leading education, design and construction event. Connecting with the Building Better Schools Conference is a unique way to get in touch directly with your key audience and to have the competitive edge in your organisation. For further details download the sponsorship document (Conference_sponsorship.pdf) or contact Ian Fordham, Deputy Director, BCSE at ian@bcse.uk.net or 07525 458165.

HOSTS & PARTNERS
The Building Better Schools Conference is co-hosted by the British Council for School Environments and Manchester City Council.

We are also working collaboratively with some excellent partners (see below) who are helping to spread the word about the conference through their networks. If you are interested in being a conference partner, please email ian@bcse.uk.net

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2. BCSE Industry Award Winners 2010
3. Academies and Free Schools Advisory Service

In the first of our podcasts Ty reflects on the first 10 days of the new government, the newly launched coalition programme for government that shares some more detail about schools policy and the rumoured cuts to the Building Schools for the Future budget. Note: please excuse the wobbly camerawork – its our first one!

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1. New government: long signalled, swift action
2. School capital investment – getting our house in order
3. Great Schools Commission – a shake up for the system

I was invited to be part of a panel discussion at yesterday’s launch of the Welsh Assembly’s school capital programme. The 21^st Century schools programme is a major collaboration between government, the WLGA and local authorities and although the budget has not been set it could be as much as £2bn. The introduction to the conference – held at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff – from Leighton Andrews AM alone was a fascinating insight into the thinking around the programme but also education policy in Wales.

Having worked extensively in Wales for the past 10 years on agendas such as Out of School Hours Learning and Community Focused Schools I know the policy context well. It is much more locally political (it was amazing how many councillors were there) and long term in focus. I liked his personal mantra – ‘better implementation, fewer initiatives and keep it simple’ – as is their focus on addressing climate change, developing schools as community resources and using technology as the connector between buildings and learning. There were also some great case studies from Torfaen to Blaenau Gwent to Newport.

We were recently commissioned by the WLGA 21^st Century Schools team, led very ably by Martin Lipson (former 4PS), to work with them on identifying best practice, creating study tours and exploring other ways of connecting them to the BCSE and Centre for School Design’s work. Videos and materials from the day will be available soon so watch this space.

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1. Great Schools Commission – a shake up for the system
2. The truth about parent promoted schools
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Are you waiting for BSF?

Yesterday I spoke at an event entitled, ‘Why wait for BSF?’ , hosted by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. It’s early days for their work on this issue but some of the invited schools had done fantastic work. Like the BCSE’s Big School Makeover schools – these schools had not waited for permission to think about their environment in different ways. The school environment was a tool for improving their schools.

I enjoyed hearing Mark Lovat and Simon Brown from Cramlington Learning Village. These guys and their Head, Derek Wise, had toured the world and brought it all back home tailored to the needs of their learners. Dr Patrick Hazlewood and Barry Worth from the ( new) St John’s School and Community College, Marlborough spoke on BSfN (Building Schools for Nothing ) having raised £22m, then another £4.5m to design, buld and enjoy a new school. Wonderful people; wonderful leaders. Their watchwords, ‘Build your dream big enough…. And never stop making your school better.’ ‘And have a deep rooted philosophy of what education is for.’

Energetic Carl Ward from Sutherland Business and Enterprise College, Telford spoke about the first BSF ICT testbed in the country. Good idea but the spaces needs a little softening. Phil Ward spoke about the experiences of Heston Community School – they didn’t wait for BSF either.

As one Deputy in Melbourne said to our friends from Cramlington, ‘sometimes there’s a need to disturb the physical space to affect the pedagogy’ Well thought through and understood learning spaces allow a variety of approaches to teaching and learning. The Classroom – Plus school.

Related posts:

1. School capital investment – getting our house in order
2. Kunskapsskolan – new dynamics in teaching and learning?

The BCSE’s Great Schools Inquiry and Commission interim report launch is just over a month away. So now is a good time to reflect on the landscape in which we are now working.

It is clear to me that there is a time when every government policy or spending priority needs a good shake up and the school capital programme is no exception. There are 3 factors at play here:

1. there is a public and political appetite for change and education may not win out over other priorities in a new government
2. in the world of public services there is a growing uncertainty about capital as a panacea to improving outcomes in local communities
3. in the midst of a recession, industry is looking to rationalise and thinking twice about the huge bidding and procurement costs associated with this market.

So what next for this agenda? What is clear is that we know much more about what makes great teaching and learning in the classroom and how to build a great office or home, but much less about what makes a great school and how to ensure school buildings raise attainment and improve pupil and staff well being.

We know there is a ‘patchwork quilt’ of research available about what works, but there is no common methodology, no uk based longitudinal reviews and we avoid much needed post occupancy data that the system needs to learn and improve.

We are also now part of a global movement for change and similar to other countries, we are at a crossroads in major buildings programmes . With limited resources and in the midst of the crunch we have to get better at understanding and prioritising what works. Given the estimated £100bn being invested in the UK and a serious consideration being made of a new procurement framework by Partnerships for Schools, we have a once in a generation chance to get it right.

We need a number of things in place to make sure the whole of the education, design and construction industry gets the most out of this investment. We need a compelling and ambitious vision for what makes great schools for the 21st Century – developed from a robust evidence base and the views of teachers, parents and the young people – who will inhabit these buildings and bring them to life for the next 50 years.

We need industry wide engagement to ensure we circle the wagons around the investment to ensure it doesn’t lose out to political short termism and alternative priorities. And we need to make the economic case for education investment that requires more sophisticated set of metrics and a way of telling the story of the great successes the industry has brought for a range of communities

The present Government deserves praise for massive investment in our education infrastructure. We had become experts at ‘patch’ and ‘mend’. Our teachers and professionals who work with schools shouldn’t have to just make do. Yet, whilst celebrating this investment there are 3 signposts for the future:

1. There should be a greater level of connection in the policy environment between parents and schools; between the centre of government and the practice of schools. There’s also greater value to be gained in the costs and timescales for delivering major policies that could be scaled back and achieve more for less – as David Cameron says its not just pay, pensions it’s a third p – procurement.
2. We need to think deeply enough about how school capital investment and other policies are acting as a real catalyst for school improvement or improving outcomes for young people?  Is the capital investment really acting as a tool for social justice – encouraging self- esteem, civic engagement, respect and well-being. There’s also not enough sharing of what works between schools, down the road, let alone from here to Sweden.
3. And finally – we know that school buildings make a massive contribution to the local economy as much as they do to standards. We know that there is a major industry at stake if investment falters

In a debate like this – we need to make difficult decisions based on what is really working in the most disadvantaged communities. We need to place a much greater emphasis on the environment in which teachers, young people and parents connect together. In times of great difficulty we start to innovate – lets use this as a catalyst to think differently and create great schools for every community

This is an edited version of an article from the newly launched Partnerships Bulletin – as context to the Great Schools Commission. Baroness Estelle Morris, chair of the Commission, will be talking at BSEC this thursday and the interim report of the Commission will be launched in late March 2010.

Related posts:

1. School capital investment – getting our house in order
2. The truth about parent promoted schools
3. Behaviour theory and education – the nudge factor