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 [...]
Posts under ‘School buildings’
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 [...]
School environments DO matter
Its been pretty disheartening to see the debate taking place in the media recently that are carrying stories that buildings and school environments don’t make a difference. Despite this view flying in the face of all common sense, the practical experience of teachers and young people, an enormous chunk of evidence from office, retail and [...]
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 [...]
Building Better Schools conference – have your say
Over the next few weeks we are finalising our programme for our BCSE Annual Conference – which this year has the theme: Building Better Schools – academies, free schools and the big society We are delighted to be hosting our conference this year with Manchester City Council who have led the way in thinking big [...]
Academies and Free Schools Advisory Service
Monday’s passing of the Academies Bill in parliament heralded a radical change in the landscape of education in a way not seen for 20 years. As a flagship coalition policy, Academies and Free schools will aim to shift and outperform the old way of delivering education. There are also a number of new elements in [...]
Survey shows school environment impacts on behaviour
Amidst the multitude of stories about Building Schools for the Future in the past few weeks, there has been little up to date research quoted about the impact of school environments – and a lot of incredibly woeful debates and uninformed accounts saying “do school buildings matter?”. Our most recent survey of over 500 teachers [...]
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 [...]
