After a long wait, we finally have the Independent Review of Education Capital – the James Review – which sets out the 16 recommendations for the reform of the way schools are procured, designed and built.
Posts under ‘Refurbishing schools’
Still waiting for Sebastian James…
The long heralded James Review on the future of schools capital seems to have had more pencilled-in launch dates than a NASA Shuttle. But we are pretty confident it will be launched shortly… For an industry that thrives on certainty, local authorities that need to plan and schools that need investment, this delay has implications. [...]
New Year: time for fresh thinking on school capital
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 [...]
Free Schools Thinking launched
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 [...]
Free Schools Thinking – what is our new report saying?
We are really thrilled to be launching our new BCSE / Centre for School Design publication Free Schools Thinking on the 20 October 2010 – the day of the announcement of the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. The timing is not a coincidence. We feel strongly that despite budgets in education and across the public [...]
Hard politics and new directions for schools
This is a swirling and confusing time for those involved in schools and education. As a new landscape is taking shape there are a few things to note and a some to be wary of. It’s a heady mix for teachers and those at the sharp end as we wait for the headline spending figures [...]
Navigating and shaping the new landscape
We are back after a summer break and straight into a new term with a number of key milestones ahead – the interim Capital Review report expected in early October, the wide ranging Comprehensive Spending Review on the 20th October, this week’s announcement of the first set of 16 free schools plus a gentle but [...]
The Best of Britain’s Schools
We must remember amidst all of the challenges and difficulties presented by the last 2 weeks and the cancellation of the BSF programme that teachers, local authorities, architects, contractors and suppliers have been and are still building some world class school buildings and learning environments. So with an unashamed focus on the positive – here [...]
Free schools – connecting the dots
The news has been full of stories about Free Schools recently. We have seen stories that concentrate on parent power and the freedom to set their own curriculum, and in contrast we have seen stories concentrating on how shops such as Woolworths and other buildings will be converted to house these schools. But what has [...]
What you may have missed in June?
It’s been a busy month in the world of school design. Amid the financial uncertainty, a number of key annual industry events took place during the month, including the BCSE Industry Awards – a great evening with a range of inspirational speakers. You can see a full list of the winners here and we’ll be [...]
