15/07/10 - The Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, made a statement in the House of Commons on 5 July 2010 relating to the future of the national BSF programme.  The outcome of this for schools in Essex is that wave 4 schools will proceed but projects in waves 5 and 6 will be stopped. Whilst we are pleased that a number of schools in Essex will receive funding, we are naturally disappointed that schools in later waves will not proceed for the time being.

The loss of BSF funding does not reduce the need for investment in the county’s school infrastructure and Essex County Council will be monitoring the government’s review of the existing capital expenditure closely, together with other educational initiatives to be introduced and will be lobbying the government to ensure full advantage is taken to secure any future funding opportunities.
Essex County Councillor, Stephen Castle, Cabinet Member for Education

In light of these announcements the information on this website has been adjusted.  Please bear with us while we update all information and be aware that you may see further changes to the content in the coming weeks.

Building Schools for the Future programme reaches financial close for Wave 4 in Essex

01/05/10 - Skanska RM were announced as the preferred bidder in February, to carry out this ambitious project with ECC, and together have brought Wave 4 of the project to financial close ahead of schedule, in just over 12 weeks.

In the next step towards completing the programme, Skanska RM and ECC will establish a Local Education Partnership (LEP) which will be set up in Essex to manage delivery of the programme and bring to life the educational vision of ECC for its secondary schools.

Councillor Stephen Castle, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and the 2010 Games said: “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone in the Building Schools for the Future programme, which will see state-of-the-art educational facilities that will inspire learners for years to come, as we aim to increase the attainment levels in the county.”

Councillor Derrick Louis, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Major Projects and Commercial Services, said: "Building Schools for the Future brings substantial investment into Essex and we look forward to working with Skanska RM on this exciting project, which will deliver first-class learning environments and facilities to benefit the whole community."

The Essex Building Schools for the Future programme, one of the largest in the country, will be carried out in a number of phases, known as waves, and will see Skanska RM develop eight schools in the first phase (Wave 4), making world-class educational facilities and information technology available in the county to help learners reach their full potential.

Not only will the school buildings themselves be transformed, but BSF will also bring considerable investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), creating access to 21st century, anytime, anywhere learning opportunities which are inclusive and personalised.

Steve Cooper, Development Director, Education, for Skanska RM, said: “We’re very pleased to have reached financial close, and now look forward to focusing on the delivery of the first phase of these exciting new schools. Both Skanska and RM are proud to partner with Essex as we work together to create learning environments capable of transforming the way young people are educated in the county.”

For more details about the Building Schools for the Future and the schools included in the programme visit www.essexbsf.org

For more information contact Lorna Gott in Communications on 01245 433150 or email lorna.gott@essex.gov.uk

Notes to editors 

1. The Wave 4 sample schools include, Columbus, Pioneer, Cornelius Vermuyden and Castle View.  

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Third independent evaluation of BSF published

31/03/10 - The third annual independent evaluation of the Building Schools for the Future programme carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – which finds clear early evidence that Building Schools for the Future schools are raising pupil aspirations and improving behaviour – is published.

Over eight out of 10 headteachers surveyed believe the Government’s once-in-a-generation programme to rebuild or refurbish England's entire secondary school estate is transforming learning in schools, according to a new report published today.

Other key findings from headteachers surveyed as part of the evaluation include:

• 81 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that BSF will contribute to educational transformation in their school;
• 77 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that BSF is more visionary than other capital investment programmes;
• 84 per cent believed that BSF is enabling their school to improve relationships with parents;
• 80 per cent believed BSF has the potential to improve the quality of teaching and learning; and
• 89 per cent believed BSF will enable their school to be at the heart of their community.

A copy of the PwC report can be found online at www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf. A supporting Technical Report is also available, as are the earlier annual reports.

A new school to replace the existing Edith Borthwick and Southview schools is proposed

16/03/10 - A public consultation event has been arranged at Tabor High School, Panfield Lane, Braintree on 31st March 2010 at which you will have the opportunity to see the proposed plans and provide your views.

As part of the ECC BSF programme it is  proposed to amalgamate Edith Borthwick and Southview Schools and relocate them to a new state of the art building on Springfield Drive, Braintree. This new building will accommodate 240 pupils and will cost around £20 million.

Details of the event can be found here | see consultation page »

Public consultation on the transfer of Glenwood School to the site of Deanes School

02/03/10 - Essex County Council is conducting a public consultation on the transfer of Glenwood Community Special School to the site of The Deanes School, Daws Heath Road, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex SS7 2TD.

Any person may object or make comments on what is proposed by sending their representations in writing to the Executive Director for Schools, Children and Families, c/o Essex County Council, School Organisation and Planning, Schools, Children and Families, PO Box 4261, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1GS or email to: admin.strategy@essex.gov.uk

The expiry date for comments or objections will be 1 April 2010. Download the Glenwood Consultation Document

School design exhibitions open to the public

18/02/10 - ECC and Skanska RM, our Preferred Bidder partner, are pleased to invite parents, students and the local communities to a series of public design exhibitions around each of the first four schools to be redeveloped as part of the Essex Building Schools for the Future programme.  See the [Consultations page] for more info.

Skanska RM selected as the Preferred Bidder

01/02/10 - ECC are pleased to announce that Skanska RM have been selected as the Preferred Bidder for our programme.

Councillor Stephen Castle, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education said: “We are delighted to be working with Skanska RM on this exciting project. BSF will bring substantial investment to Essex, enabling us to build world class facilities which will transform education and the way it is delivered.”

Councillor Derrick Louis, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Central Services said: “Skanska RM have successfully demonstrated that they can meet the very high standards that we have set for our preferred bidder. Under the partnership we will create state of the art facilities which will inspire generations of learners to come.”

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the Government organisation responsible for delivering the national BSF programme said: “I am pleased that Essex County Council has appointed a selected bidder for its BSF project.  This is an important milestone and means that the council can progress with its plans to design and refurbish the area’s schools which will benefit the lives of not only school pupils but local communities as a whole.  With 146 schools and over 125,000 pupils benefiting from BSF investment across the country, I look forward to similar work taking place in Essex to offer pupils the best start in life.”

Steve Cooper, Development Director, Education, for Skanska RM, said: “Everyone at Skanska RM is delighted with this announcement, now the hard work begins and we look forward to a long-term partnership with Essex County Council to deliver the schools for the future.”

ECC Wave 4 Project Manager to get married

26/01/10 – Bryony Huckle, our Wave 4 Project Manager will be getting married on 30 January.  The BSF Team send their congratulations to the bride and groom.

Bryony Huckle

 

Bidders presented their final bids

12/01/10: Both Bidders braved the snow to give us a presentation on their final bids last week. Everyone is now focussing on the evaluation of these bids. We expect to select the preferred bidder on 1 February.