Archived decisions

Contact: Bob Eardley, Strategic Planning Manager, 01962 846275

1. Summary

1.1 This report summarises guidance issued by the DfES on implementation of "Building Schools for the Future" (BSF), its new capital strategy for schools for pupils of secondary age. It proposes an approach to the submission of Expressions of Interest for projects to the DfES.

2. Background

2.1 On 22 May 2003, the Executive Member for Education approved a response to "Building Schools for the Future", a DfES consultation paper on the future of capital funding for secondary schools. The consultation proposed that from 2005/06 some £2.2bn p.a. would be earmarked nationally for targeted allocations to LEAs, aimed at the comprehensive renewal and replacement of schools for secondary aged pupils in specific geographical areas. This approach would replace the current arrangements for LEA capital investment in secondary schools and special schools with secondary aged pupils. Currently, funding is allocated by formula through the New Deal for Schools (NDS) Modernisation Fund, according to pupil numbers and relative building needs identified through Education Asset Management Plans. Existing formulaic allocation arrangements will continue for all other NDS funding; devolved capital allocations to schools are unaffected.

3. DfES guidance

3.1 Following consultation, the DfES issued guidance on the implementation of BSF in July. Although there were some modifications to the consultation proposals, the main thrust of the policy remains unchanged. The principles are summarised below:

· a commitment by DfES to a programme of rebuilding and renewal to ensure that schools for secondary aged pupils in every part of England have facilities suitable to meet the curricular needs of the 21^st century;

· delivery through a ten to fifteen year programme (subject to future public spending decisions);

· targeted expenditure on geographical areas, rather than through formulaic allocations based on building need;

· prioritisation of areas according the extent to which:

_ capital investment will support the raising of standards;

_ current GCSE results are low relative to national performance;

_ the numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals are high relative to national levels;

_ investment is large-scale and strategic and is packaged in procurement proposals of between about £50m and £150m in value;

_ schools and other partners support the proposals, following appropriate consultation.

3.2 LEAs were invited in the guidance document to do one of two things:

(a) to submit a proposal by 31 October 2003 which would start on site during 2005/06; and/or

(b) to submit an Expression of Interest by 19 December 2003 for schools to be included in future years' BSF programmes.

3.3 The guidance emphasises that projects for submission for 2005/06 must be very well developed and have been the subject of detailed consultation with schools and other partners. Given the scale of the individual area submissions invited (a minimum of £50m), the County Council was not in a position to make such a submission, particularly as the DfES has stressed that projects must be capable of starting in 2005/06 and must be of high priority nationally according to the assessment criteria summarised in paragraph 3.1. Only 10 to 15 allocations are expected for first year projects (up to 10% of LEAs) and these will be well advanced in planning. In view of the amount of work required in the time available to prepare projects to an advanced stage, the criteria being used to set priorities and the critical need to consult widely, this was not seen as a realistic option.

3.4 The alternative approach of preparing expressions of interest involves detailed analysis of secondary and secondary age special schools and their needs and a prioritisation of areas against the DfES criteria. Other factors, which are not included by the DFES, also need to be considered, in order to arrive at appropriate strategic decisions to meet local needs, particularly once funding allocations are made.

3.5 Of the £2.2bn p.a. available nationally, it is anticipated that about £1bn will be made available through conventional credit approvals and £1.2bn through Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits. There is a clear expectation that a significant amount of the investment to be delivered through BSF will be via PFI projects.

4. DfES criteria for assessing expressions of interest

4.1 An important element underlying the BSF initiative is that it incorporates a range of non-building related issues in the prioritisation process. LEAs are asked to prioritise areas according to:

· relative educational and social need, as measured by pupils' GCSE attainment and eligibility for free school meals; and

· the phasing and investment requirements of the schools.

4.2 Submissions need to include:

· preliminary strategic plans;

· consultations on plans;

· schools grouped into discrete geographical areas;

· attainment and social deprivation data listed in paragraph 4.1.

· an indication of the year in which the LEA would like to see work begin;

· type of work, e.g. replacement, refurbishment and remodelling, minor refurbishment, or no work required.

4.3 Following the submission of expressions of interest by LEAs, it is the DfES' intention to announce by March 2004 a significant number of areas to receive investment starting in the two or three years from 2006/07; it is unclear whether indications will be given of the timing of allocations for later years.

5. Approach to preparing expressions of interest

5.1 Given the scale and comprehensive nature of investment available under BSF, submissions are expected by DfES to take a strategic approach to the secondary education needs of an area and address the following issues:

· opportunities to raise levels of attainment and address changing curriculum needs, e.g. through the provision and updating of specialist teaching accommodation;

· the 14-19 agenda and the relationship with further education provision;

· the provision of an appropriate number of secondary school places to meet future needs (particularly in the context of future falling rolls);

· major repairs and maintenance;

· community needs and the Extended Schools agenda;

5.2 Investment will be on a very large scale and the DfES envisages that it could involve the total rebuilding of a number of schools and major work at many others. Using the information required by the DfES as a starting point, a comprehensive analysis of all schools catering for secondary aged pupils has been carried out, in order to build a picture of need across the county and serve as a basis for categorising and prioritising bids. This analysis has been used to:

(a) build up a picture of the need for capital investment in secondary schools in each geographical area of the county, taking account both of current and forecast requirements;

(b) prioritise areas according to the DfES criteria and to suggest a programme year in which investment should begin.

6. Proposals for inclusion in expressions of interest

6.1 Geographical areas have been identified by taking into account the amount of capital investment estimated to be required in each school, bearing in mind the requirement for each area to contain projects ranging between £50m and £150m. DfES guidance suggests that packages should where possible be towards the higher rather than the lower end of the range. Because it is not possible within the time available to identify exactly what work will be required and to prepare cost estimates, cost ranges have been identified using Asset Management Plan data for condition (fabric) and suitability (fitness for purpose of accommodation). More detailed work will be needed, in conjunction with individual schools, once the likely starting date for projects in each area is known.

6.2 While in some cases areas correspond well to operational groupings of schools and/or planning areas in the School Organisation Plan, in others, the geographical groupings are broader, recognising the DfES' wish to see a total of about seven groups for a county the size of Hampshire.

6.3 Appendix 1 lists each of the geographical areas and the schools within them. It shows numbers on roll in January 2003 and how each school ranks according to the DfES' two primary prioritisation criteria: percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals and GCSE performance. Those schools with 0% GCSE 5 A*-C passes are special schools.

6.4 The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has already begun preliminary and feasibility work on major schemes in the first tranche of projects. A specialist secondary schools team already exists and is currently undertaking the bulk of the secondary school projects and designing the new John Hunt of Everest Secondary School in Basingstoke. This team will take on the development further feasibility, planning and preparatory work for Building Schools for the Future. In addition, the Property Management staff are continuing to upgrade Asset Management Plans so that the County Council is in the strongest position to back up and provide strong bids for the future.

6.5 The Cabinet agreed some months ago to allow the Director of PB&R to develop major procurement and Framework Arrangements with contractors who are now undertaking the bulk of the County Council's work. These procurement routes will be developed to include PFI and other arrangements which would put the County Council in the strongest position to translate any successful bids into work on the ground.

6.6 The development of new and swifter procurement arrangements, allied to the design templates and work done for our secondary school proposals, puts the County Council in a very strong position to implement the relevant works irrespective of how the funding should be allocated.

7. Prioritisation of areas

7.1 LEAs are asked to prioritise their geographical areas in the context of the DfES criteria and to assign a suggested funding allocation date for each of them, bearing in mind the anticipated 10-15 year length of the BSF programme.

7.2 The scale and cost of the work which needs to be carried out to maintain and improve school buildings in Hampshire has been demonstrated through Asset Management Plan data and recognised by the DfES in the size of the allocations made so far through New Deal for Schools Modernisation. The scale and timescale of the investment required remain the same, in spite of the change in capital allocation procedures for secondary buildings.

7.3 It is proposed, therefore, that the seven areas shown in Appendix 1 should be submitted with anticipated years of allocation ranging from 2006/07 (the first allocation year for expressions of interest) until 2010/11, a period of six years. In practice, allocations for each area are likely to be spread over two to three years, as not all projects will start in the first year when funding becomes available.

7.4 Taking into account the DfES' key criteria of free school meals eligibility in 2002 and GCSE performance from 2000 to 2002, the following prioritisation of the seven areas is proposed. An approximate project value is indicated, although this will be subject to much more detailed work and consultation with schools. The estimated cost figure is not asked for by the DfES, but is shown here to indicate the anticipated relative size of the area packages. These figures are necessarily very approximate at this stage.

Area refer -ence	Area	Proposed allocation year	Estimated project value £m
A	Havant/Hayling/Waterlooville/ Cowplain/Horndean	2006/07	110
F	Totton/Waterside	2006/07	100
B	Basingstoke and Deane/ Andover	2007/08	160
D	Fareham/Gosport/Hamble	2008/09	100
C	Alton/Petersfield/Fair Oak/ Hedge End/ Eastleigh/Swanmore	2009/10	110
E	Hart/Rushmoor	2009/10	130
G	West Hampshire	2010/11	90

7.5 Hampshire's schools for secondary age pupils have relatively low levels of free school meal entitlement and relatively high performance at GCSE, when compared to national performance. In terms of the DfES' criteria for BSF assessment, this means that Hampshire is unlikely to attract a large number of areas for funding allocations in the early years of the BSF programme. AMP data, however, indicate urgent wide ranging needs and these should be reflected by weighting Hampshire's submission significantly towards the early years of the programme. Despite this, there is a real chance that investment in Hampshire schools through BSF will not start for several years.

7.6 It is recommended that a submission of Expressions of Interest should be made to the DfES as set out in the table in paragraph 7.4.

8. Consultation

8.1 Initial consultation on the response to BSF and on the proposed submission to the DfES has been carried out with the following:

· Secondary Headteachers' Conference

· Special Headteachers' Conference

· County Governor Forum

· Dioceses

· Learning and Skills Council

· Individual secondary and secondary age special schools, through letter/email to chairmen of governors and headteachers to meet DfES timescale).

8.2 Consultation at this stage has been very broad, focusing on the principles of the new policy and the anticipated implications for Hampshire schools. Much more detailed work and consultation with individual schools, groups of schools and other partners will be needed when the DfES has responded to the proposed submission.

Recommendations

1. That Education Policy Review Committee advises the Executive Member for Education on the content of the proposed Expression of Interest to the DfES under the Building Schools for the Future initiative.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None.

Appendix 1

Area A - Havant/Hayling/Waterlooville/Cowplain/Horndean

Area B - Basingstoke and Deane/Andover

Area C - Alton/Petersfield/Fair Oak/Hedge End/Eastleigh/Swanmore

Area D - Fareham/Gosport/Hamble

Area E - Hart/Rushmoor

Area F - Totton/Waterside

Area G - West Hampshire