For some time now, school buildings have represented an important field in architecture, and there is an enduring interest in the challenges this design task presents. This publication explains in eleven chapters the central parameters for this architectural typology: The role of the school in the community or neighborhood, questions of sustainability, flexible spaces for learning, the role of furniture, participation in the design process, learning outside the classroom, landscape design, opportunities and challenges of special schools, and the role of new pedagogical concepts. Each theme is thoroughly investigated and illustrated with numerous buildings presenting model solutions for specific problems or aspects.
An academy is a new type of school that is publicly funded, supported by one or more sponsors and operates independently of the local authority. Their aim is to raise achievement standards in deprived areas by replacing poorly performing schools or by providing new school places where they are needed. 83 academies were in operation by September 2007, with plans for 200 academies to be opened by 2010 at a capital cost of around £5 billion. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 254, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944426) published in February 2007, the Committee's report examines the progress of the Academies Programme and whether it is on track to achieve its objectives. Findings include: i) the average capital cost of the first new-build academies was £27 million, compared with between £20-22 million for other new secondary schools; ii) exclusions of pupils are higher on average from academies that other schools; and iii) although there are signs of progress being made, such as improvements at GCSE and key stage 3 levels, achievements in literacy and numeracy levels are lower than other secondary schools and it is too early to tell whether rising attainment is sustainable. Academies need to collaborate more with other secondary schools and lessons need to be learned from completed academy projects in terms of improving project management and reducing cost overruns.
Drawing on the perspectives of architectural psychology, set against the historical development of school building in the United States, Japan and Germany, the authors’ vision is to create places where we would want to relive our own school days. The book takes the position that user design, control of stress factors and control of communication (privacy, retreats) should be allowed to modify the original architectural design to flexibly accommodate future changing requirements. The development and application of criteria for assessing functional, aesthetic, social-physical, ecological, organizational and economical aspects to various parts of the school complex call for a common language for the design process. The appendix presents 24 innovative schools from countries in five continents.
Foreword by Danny Dorling. Through revealing and forthright interviews with 14 secretaries of state from Kenneth Baker to Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson, together with many other leading figures in education Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters provide fascinating insights into the various evolutions and revolutions that have taken place in English state education since 1976. In so doing they highlight key areas for improvement and assess where we should go from here to enable teachers and schools to improve the learning and broaden the horizons of each and every one of their pupils whatever their talents, challenges, advantages or problems. Tim and Mick have both spent a lifetime in state-provided education first as pupils, then as teachers, and finally in various leadership and policy-making positions, both in and out of schools. About Our Schools is born out of their shared love for education and their appreciation of how schooling can be a transformative element in the lives of children and young people. All royalties from sales of this book will be donated to Barnardo's and the Compassionate Education Foundation.
The Children's Plan, conceived after consultation with both parents and professionals, sets out the Government's ambitions for improving children and young people's lives over the next decade. The six strategic objectives are to: secure the health and wellbeing of children and young people; safeguard the young and vulnerable; achieve world class standards; close the gap in educational achievement for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; ensuring young people are participating in achieving their potential to 18 and beyond; and keeping children and young people on the path to success. The ambition depends on all children's services working together at the local level and the final chapter looks at the systems which are needed for this to happen
'The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence provides an excellent literature review of the resources that explore the areas of focus for improved student learning, particularly the aspiration for “accessible, well-built, child-centered, synergetic and fully realized learning environments.†? Written in a style which is both clear and accessible, it is a practical reference for senior government officials and professionals involved in the planning and design of educational facilities, as well as for educators and school leaders. --Yuri Belfali, Head of Division, Early Childhood and Schools, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills This is an important and welcome addition to the surprisingly small, evidence base on the impacts of school infrastructure given the capital investment involved. It will provide policy makers, practitioners, and those who are about to commission a new build with an important and comprehensive point of reference. The emphasis on safe and healthy spaces for teaching and learning is particularly welcome. --Harry Daniels, Professor of Education, Department of Education, Oxford University, UK This report offers a useful library of recent research to support the, connection between facility quality and student outcomes. At the same time, it also points to the unmet need for research to provide verifiable and reliable information on this connection. With such evidence, decisionmakers will be better positioned to accurately balance the allocation of limited resources among the multiple competing dimensions of school policy, including the construction and maintenance of the school facility. --David Lever, K-12 Facility Planner, Former Executive Director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction, Maryland Many planners and designers are seeking a succinct body of research defining both the issues surrounding the global planning of facilities as well as the educational outcomes based on the quality of the space provided. The authors have finally brought that body of evidence together in this well-structured report. The case for better educational facilities is clearly defined and resources are succinctly identified to stimulate the dialogue to come. We should all join this conversation to further the process of globally enhancing learning-environment quality! --David Schrader, AIA, Educational Facility Planner and Designer, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)
Giving an up-to-date picture of the work of special schools, this practical and informative book provides an invaluable and timely companion for anyone teaching or planning to teach in special schools in the United Kingdom. Using case studies of good practice to provide clear suggestions on how special schools may be further developed, the wide-ranging chapters address topics such as: adapting the curriculum to give special schools more flexibility implications of Every Child Matters and multi-professional working organisational changes in special schools the changing roles of staff in the modern special school ways of assessing the progress and achievement of pupils working with parents. With a no-nonsense, non-academic approach, and with each chapter featuring think points and suggestion for further study, The Special School's Handbook contains a wealth of invaluable information, resources and advice and is a handy reference book which staff can dip in and out of at their leisure.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has made progress in improving its financial management, with strong commitment at senior management and board level. The Department's ability to reach a high standard of financial management depends partly on successful working with local authorities, other partner organisations, and the schools themselves. It does, however, face specific challenges, including the need for better strategic management of its large capital programme, and to encourage better financial management in schools. The Department has built up a large capital underspend, which increased from £1.9 billion at 31 March 2008 to around £2.4 billion at the end of March 2009. Its capital expenditure programme will need to be carefully managed given the history of underspending and the challenge of bringing forward £924 million of expenditure from 2010-11 to 2009-10 as part of the Government's fiscal stimulus. At March 2008, schools in England had a net cumulative surplus of £1.9 billion. Only 1 in 5 local authorities reduced their total net school surplus in 2007-08. Local authorities are accountable for school spending and the Department should encourage them to redistribute excessive uncommitted surpluses in line with local needs. The Department was, in 2007, one of three departments which had not implemented in-year accruals accounting systems, which would help to improve the accuracy of financial forecasting and reporting. The planned introduction of a shared services arrangement for finance with procurement and personnel support should also help improve financial management and lead to efficiencies.
Sir Cyril Taylor has been at the heart of English education for over two decades, serving as an adviser to ten successive UK Education Secretaries and Four Prime Ministers, both Conservative and Labour, including Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. His passion for education has led directly to real school improvement, from the creation of City Technology Colleges to specialist schools and academies, which together now constitute over nine in ten secondary schools in England. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the body he founded, is now a leading force in school improvement worldwide. A Good School for Every Child draws on that wealth of experience. While offering an insider's look at some of the key challenges in education, it is also an invaluable guide for parents and teachers interested in how our schools work today. There is a particular focus on how to raise standards in low attaining schools, improving levels of literacy and numeracy and teaching our children the skills they need for the 21st Century. This book is also a clarion call to our political leaders about the challenges that still remain: the education of children in care, the failure to stretch able youngsters and the problems recruiting enough good science teachers. Education is more open today than ever before, with league tables and inspection reports. Yet for many outsiders, it can seem a world clouded by its own language and rituals. Cyril Taylor opens the door to that world, through stories of inspirational headteachers and successful schools. By doing so he offers a vision that is both instructive and inspirational, one that shows how schools working with parents and the wider community can raise the standards of achievement for all their pupils.
SPON’S ARCHITECTS’ AND BUILDERS’ PRICE BOOK provides the most detailed, professionally relevant construction price information currently available for the UK. This year, for the first time, the download includes a versatile and powerful ebook. 1. The Preliminaries section has been re-written and based upon the 2005 JCT contract 2. The new section on Sustainability has been re-written and considerably expanded As well as updating all prices, this 134th edition includes the following additional Measured Works items: New, more economical, lower nickel, stainless steel rebars Schuco curtain walling Brises soleil "Ecologic" roofing tiles Velfac 200 windows Triple glazing Along with... Additional items of rainscreen cladding Additional damp proof courses Further steel lintels Revisions to Patent Glazing items An expansion of radiators and manhole covers
