Billions of pounds of expenditure to rebuild or refurbish around 3,500 English state secondary schools and provide a bright new future for some three million pupils by 2020 ... the scale and ambition of the government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is immense.
It's already started — back in 2005 — and for the next 10-15 years the programme will move, phase by phase, through English schools. By 2011 all local authorities should have had sufficient funding to tackle at least the most needy schools in their areas. How long the programme will actually take to complete beyond that can only be estimated.
In May 2006, the first new-build school — Solihull Centre fir Inclusive learning — opened for business. Since then at least 10 new or refurbished schools have come on stream.
This supplement focuses on their experiences to help benefit the thousands of schools to follow — it shows how such a vast programme can only work if builder, architect, teacher, pupil, parent and governor are all consulted throughout every decision-making stage.
It looks particularly at the role of information communications technology (ICT) in shaping our educational institutions, as ICT is now integral to any school's future. The government says this is a once-in-alifetime opportunity to make a real difference and to put ICT at the heart of schooling in the 21st century.
By highlighting best practice and pointing out potential pitfalls, this supplement aims to raise debate and trail issues on the agenda of the joint Guardian/Partnerships for Schools ICT in Building Schools for the Future conference in London next month (March 18) — designed to be a forum to help map out the way ahead.
