building futures volume 8 issue 1

BUILDINGFUTURESVol 8 Issue 1 May 2013

Tameside Conference • Welcome to Tameside

• Conference Agenda

Building on BSF A look at some of the Tameside projects delivered under BSF

WOW Factor An impressive new build academy in Medway, Kent

ALSO: Future Proofing

UK-NL School Design Platform

PLUS: Chairman’s Comment

News from the National Audit Office

Building Futures is the official journal of theEducation Building Development Officers Group

FRONT COVER.indd 1 02/05/2013 07:57

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The official journal of theEducation Building Development Officers Group

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Welcome to Building Futures

Contents2 Chairman’s Comment

EBDOG Chairman, Graham Olway, welcomes you to the Tameside Conference.

3 Capital Funding of New School PlacesNews from the National Audit Office.

4 Pupil Places – A Havering PerspectiveHow the London Borough of Havering are meeting their needs for additional school places.

5 Conference News - TamesideAn introduction to Tameside with details of the day’s planned events.

7 Hosting West SussexA look back at a challenging, but highly successful conference in November 2012.

9 Building on BSFDetails of some of the many projects delivered in Tameside under the BSF Programme.

12 Innovative Learning EnvironmentsAn insight into one of NPS Group’s key principles of creating innovative and cost effective learning spaces.

15 Rules for SchoolsA range of ideas to help you keep track of those legislative and housekeeping concerns.

16 WOW FactorFocussing on a new build academy in Medway and its success in the Medway design and Culture Awards 2012.

22 Future ProofingA school rebuild project in Leeds, effectively tripling the size of the facility.

23 A UK - NL Design PlatformIn a follow up to Liesbeth van der Pol’s “Dutch Courage” article in the last issue of Building Futures, Peter Eisenberger (STEP) outlines a proposal for a joint UK-NL design enterprise.

25 Regional NewsThe latest from the South East Regionl conferences.

FRONT COVER: St Damian’s RC Science College in Tameside.

Welcome to Building Futures

Looking back over the past editions we can see the rising pressure for the school placements and expansion of schools. With the theme of the Tameside conference; ‘Delivering more for Less’ it will be a fitting forum to share the methods to achieve a positive outcome.

Also an insightful article from the National Audit Office expressing the need for Capital Funding for school placements further supports this need.

We hope you have an informative and enjoyable conference in Tameside and look forward to future contributions for the journal.

Thank you.

Contents.indd 1 02/05/2013 07:57

2� Building Futures: Volume 8 Issue 1 | www.dmbpublishing.co.uk/BuildingFutures


EBDOG News

Welcome to our latest National Conference hosted by Tameside

Metropolitan Borough Council. Once again, so much has happened since the last conference and with it being held in West Sussex, my home authority, it was extra special. A report on the West Sussex Conference can be found elsewhere in this magazine and I am grateful, as always, to DMB Publishers for their professional production of the ‘Building Futures’ magazine. The last 6 months has seen the end of the BCSE and it is a shame, as they contributed so much to our work. My links with Ty and Nusrat were always incredibly positive, however, it illustrates there continues to be a need for EBDOG and I am pleased to see our influence and membership continues to grow.

Change is something we continue to deal with and one of the strengths of the EBDOG network is its versatility to adapt to the national scene and especially its membership. This summer marks six years since I took over from Shirley Turner as the Chairman of EBDOG and throughout that time I have been incredibly lucky to be supported and encouraged by my team and managers at West Sussex, colleagues at the DfE, PfS/EFA and especially the rest of the EBDOG Executive Committee.

I always believe in the strength of a team rather than an individual and I also believe there is usually a right time to introduce a change. After six years as Chairman, I will be looking with interest at who succeeds me in September as the new EBDOG Chairman. I wish them every success and I hope you will give whomever it is the same support you have given me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Chairman and hope that I have contributed to the greater prominence EBDOG has achieved in those six years.

Changes are also afoot at the DfE as we say goodbye to Jo Thomas from the Central Capital Unit and welcome Julie Bramman. I have met with Julie and she is very much aware of the EBDOG network and wants to work closely with us. Links between EBDOG and the DfE/EFA have never been stronger as we are regularly invited to participate in a range of discussions and this is where the wealth of experience within the EBDOG Executive Committee comes to the fore as we are getting more and more requests for advice and discussion.

The recent National Audit Office Report on School Places was based on a very high response from local authorities to the issue of school place planning and, once again, input from the EBDOG Executive Committee was sought. It is hard to forgot that the EBDOG Conference in Liverpool (May 2009) was a seminal moment when the DfE finally accepted the advice from EBDOG that rising pupil numbers was becoming a national issue. We have had numerous meetings with the DfE/EFA about school place planning and it is good to see that the DfE/EFA are listening to our requests to standardise information collection and to not keep changing the baseline!

After having Peter Lauener, Chief Executive of the Education Funding Agency, attend the West Sussex Conference, I am pleased to report that Mike Green, Head of Capital at the EFA, has agreed to attend our conference in Tameside. Several members of the EBDOG Executive Committee met with Mike Green earlier this year and found him to be incredibly interested to hear our views and wanted to emphasise that his past experience at Boots PLC has instilled in him a wish to meet the needs of his customers and he sees EBDOG members as a very influential customer.

This year is a significant year for me in various ways and I hope that it is also memorable for each of you. I particularly hope that the EBDOG network can continue to grow and develop and whether your region organises meetings or circulates information electronically, I hope you will all play your part in keeping

Chairman’s Comment

EBDOG Chairman Graham Olway

Contributions on all aspects of Building Futures are welcome and should be sent to the editor at the Kent office. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy and reliability in Building Futures, the publishers can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by the contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Copyright for all the material published in this journal remains with the publishers.

Building Futures is published byDMB Publishing Solutions Ltd19 Westgate Bay Avenue, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent CT8 8AH

T: 01843 846649 Fax: 01843 807853E: info@dmbpublishing.co.ukwww.dmbpublishing.co.ukwww.dmbpublishing.co.uk/BuildingFutures

Project EditorAdam [email protected]

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PublishersTanya Warncken & Shane [email protected] [email protected]

Chairman's Comment.indd 2 01/05/2013 14:46



EBDOG News/NAO

Capital Funding of New School Places

EBDOG the prominent organisation for local authorities when dealing with the DfE/EFA on capital funding for education projects. It is also my hope that as we move further into 2013 and beyond, our national conferences will also be of use to other sectors e.g. diocesan boards, academy sponsors and Free School providers. Whatever our views about

the different national scene, I hope we are all united in making sure the young people benefit from the capital investment on education projects that we are directly or indirectly involved with.

Finally, can I wish everyone another successful conference and I hope that this opportunity to network and

hear DfE/EFA input is beneficial to your roles. I hope to see everyone at the November 2013 EBDOG conference and please don’t forget that conference hosts are always welcomed. m

Graham Olway – EBDOG Chairman

Our report focused on how far the Department’s objectives for school places are being

achieved, how well the Department determines the size of its financial contribution to providing places, and how well it allocates this funding.

The Department has ambitious objectives to provide sufficient places and an effective choice for parents. We found that the rise in the number of children born in England between 2001 and 2011 was the largest ten-year increase since the 1950s, and led to increased demand for school places. In response, the Department has increased the funding it provides for new places. There has been a net increase of almost 81,500 primary school places in the two years up to May 2012 and the Department considers that all local authorities are currently meeting their statutory duty to provide enough school places.

Nonetheless, we also found indications of real strain on the school system. Just over 20 per cent of schools were full or over capacity in May 2012, while the number of infant classes with more than 31 children has doubled since 2007. The number of primary school appeals has also increased. According to

the Department’s figures, 256,000 new places will need to be created between May 2012 and September 2014 if forecast demand is to be met. Of these, 240,000 are primary school places, and 37 per cent of them are in London. Demand is also expected to increase beyond the 2014/15 academic year.

The Department’s assessments of the funding needed were based on incomplete information. It estimated in 2010 that it would cost £5 billion to deliver the 324,000 new places required. After the Autumn 2010 Spending Review, the Department earmarked £3.2 billion as its financial contribution from 2011-12 to 2014-15 towards the cost of new places. Since then, it has increased the amount of its new places funding to local authorities to £4.3 billion. An additional £982 million for schools capital was announced in December 2012, some of which the Department intends to use to fund further places by 2014/15 and some in 2015/16.

The Department’s financial contribution was based on local authorities also providing some funding towards places. Authorities told us that they had made a higher average funding contribution

On 15 March 2013, the National Audit Office published a report on the Department for Education’s capital funding of new school places.

Although the focus of our work was on the Department, we are extremely grateful to the help we received from EBDOG members in producing this. We would like to thank in particular the 83 per cent of local authorities who completed our survey on this topic.




NAO

towards the cost of places than the Department had assumed they would. The Department is now creating new estimates of costs, but it is unclear whether the current level of its funding will be sufficient to meet the forecast need.

The Department has used four different methods to allocate funding since 2007, while moving gradually to a method that most closely reflects local authorities’ need for new places. We found that these changes in the allocation methods, along with the use of single-year funding allocations, increased planning uncertainty for authorities. However, the current approach to allocation now provides a clearer focus on the areas of greatest need.

The Department has also been gradually improving its information on school places. In 2012 it collected for the first time more detailed

data by planning area within local authorities and data on forecast capacity, allowing it to identify more accurately local need and potential ‘hotspots’. It also intends to collect more information on the use made of its funding. However, it currently lacks a full understanding of the impact its spending is having on the number of places created, and how funding is being used.

Overall, the NAO concluded that, to improve value for money, the Department needs a better understanding of costs and of the impact its funding contribution is having on the ground. We recommended that it monitor the impact of its reforms to the school system on the delivery of new places, and develop its assurance framework to improve its understanding of whether it is achieving value for money in its distribution of funding. m

Public Accounts CommitteeOn 25 March 2013, the Committee of Public Accounts of the House of Commons met in Barking to discuss the NAO report, only the second time in its history that it has convened outside Westminster.

After a tour of local schools, the Committee questioned Department officials on the funding and delivery of school places, and the future challenges. The Committee is expected to publish its own report on school places before the Summer Recess in July.

The London Borough of Havering has, in common with the majority of London Boroughs, experienced unprecedented rising rolls in primary school numbers

in recent years driven by the growth in the birth rate. From 2006/07 to 2010/1 births in Havering rose by 16.2% which has led to plans for expanding 15 primary phase schools by Sept 2013 to provide capacity for an additional 12 forms of entry. Statutory proposals approval was required to expand eight of these, which included a voluntary aided school and following a consultation period, which involved holding lively public meetings at each school, and following the six week representation period, approval was finally given for all eight to expand. Concerns were raised by residents local to most of the schools about the problems increased pupil numbers would have on their local environment and a team of School Travel Planners, Traffic Surveyors and Parking Control representatives was set up in repsonse. The team has been busy meeting with residents, listening to their

concerns and making a commitment to do everything possible to reduce car journeys to and from schools and to operate a tighter control on inappropriate parking around these schools at the beginning and end of the school day. Havering’s Technical Services are leading the building works programme to ensure each school had sufficient capacity to admit their additional numbers on time. For some schools this investment was high to enable for example a new block of classrooms to be constructed, while for others it has been possible to successfully refurbish spaces that have been brought back to class room use. m

Pupil Places – a Havering Perspective

A brief overview of how the London Borough of Havering are rising to the challenge of providing additional school places in response to growing birth rates.




Conference News

EBDOG Conference TamesideDelivering More With Less

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council was created as a result of Local Government

reorganisation in 1974, from the former towns of Ashton under Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge and takes its name from the River Tame which flows through the borough. For a small borough there are an amazing number of well known musicians, sports personalities, actors, politicians and pioneers, in addition to a few villains.

Ashton under Lyne was home to Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat trick in the 1966, World Cup final and led to the phase “they think its all over – now it is!”, Mick Hucknall lead singer Simply Red went to school in Denton and named his band after his favourite football club up the road. Many actors appearing in Last of the Summer Wine and Coronation Street originate from this area as well as Doctor Harold Shipman and Myra Hindley who are infamous for their criminal activities.

The theme of this one day conference is “Delivering More with Less”, which is highly topical as many Local Authorities are struggling to meet increasing demands for school places, with limited capital funding and reducing staffing resources. Many of us are delivering a range of projects to increase the number of primary and secondary places in our areas, as well as condition, residual Building Schools for the Future and Priority Schools Building programmes

and waiting for the outcome of the recently announced Targeted Basic Need programme.

The conference is being held at Dukinfield Town Hall, which was opened in 1901, and built in the Domestic Gothic Style at a cost of £15,000 from designs developed by local architects J. Eaton and Sons of Ashton. A refurbishment programme in 2005, dramatically upgraded the building and also resulted in the relocation of a stained glass window from the former Lakes Road School, which was demolished a few years ago. The building is now used for conferences and events as well as being the home of the borough’s registrars service. It is with in walking distance of Ashton

under Lyne or a short taxi ride from either Ashton or Stalybridge railway stations.

It is easily accessible by road and there is parking on site.

If you need more information about the conference or for bookings please contact Janice Beck via email at:[email protected].

Have a safe journey to and from the conference. m

Elaine ToddAssistant Executive DirectorTameside Metropolitan Borough Council

Welcome to Tameside and the Education Building and Development Officers Conference.

The splendid Dukinfield Town Hall, venue for the May Conference.

Conference News.indd 5 01/05/2013 14:51

mailto:[email protected]



Conference News

TIME Item Who

8:30am Registration and refreshments

9:30am Introduction and housekeeping Elaine Todd

9:35am Welcome to Tameside Councillor Gerald Cooney, Executive Member, Learning and Achievement

9:45am The Voluntary Aided Perspective Christine Fischer, Assistant Director & Legal Adviser Catholic Education Service

10:15am WORKSHOP 1A: Baseline Designs – Update

B: Planning for Special Educational Basic Need, SCAP and Data Collection

C: Meeting the Design and Cost Challenges and How the Client Can Support the Delivery of Successful Projects

D: Making the Most of IT in Schools

E: VISITS: Hyde Community College or Denton Community College

A: Education Funding Agency

B: Department for Education

C: Adrian Mole, Tameside Investment Partnership – Carillion

D: Mike and Steven Beaumont, SCS Consulting Limited

E: Carol Tapper and Susan Lever, Project Officers

11am ~ Refreshment break ~

11:30am WORKSHOP 2As above

12:15pm ~ Lunch break and exhibitions ~

1pm EBDOG Chair’s update Graham Olway

1:30pm Sponsoring an Academy – from a Sponsor’s Perspective

TBC

2pm Education Funding Agency update Mike Green, Director of Capital - Education Funding Agency

2:45pm ~ Refreshment break ~

3:15pm Department for Education update Schools Capital Team, Department for Education

4pm Q&A

4:30pm Conference close

Conference Agenda

Conference News.indd 6 01/05/2013 14:51



Conference Reflections

Hosting a conference is always a roller coaster of emotions for all involved and it doesn’t

come much harder than when the hosts are West Sussex, the home authority of the EBDOG Chairman, Graham Olway.

Planning the November 2012 Conference began earlier in the year when Graham asked me if I wanted to organise the conference as I had been suggesting West Sussex should host it. A definite case of ‘be careful what you wish for’!

As West Sussex had hosted previously in May 2005, it wasn’t too difficult to enlist the help of several

people who were involved back then. We wanted to keep prices as low as possible but also ensure everyone went away with something to remember the conference by. We were incredibly fortunate to get the immediate support of our Chief Executive who ensured we had priority use of our County Hall North building in Horsham; possibly the first time a EBDOG national conference has ever been held in a local authority’s administrative building?

Speakers and workshops are always a challenge but Graham

wanted to do something different and contacted Vic Goddard, Headteacher of Passmores Academy that featured as part of a Channel 4 documentary – and he accepted. West Sussex has developed close links with a number of Dutch schools and architecture practices and so we were incredibly fortunate to also get Liesbeth van der Pol, former Rijksbouwmeester (Chief Adviser on Architecture) to the Dutch Government. Recognising the influence and role of the Education Funding Agency meant that we also invited Peter Lauener, Chief Executive of the EFA.

Hosting West Sussex

Sarah Thorp, organiser of the November 2012 conference in West Sussex, looks back at a challenging, but highly rewarding experience.

The main conference in progress.

Handing out the smart new conference holdalls at registration.

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Conference Reflections

We also arranged a number of workshops and a tour of a sustainability centre for delegates as we wanted to try and offer a variety of themes. When we hosted the 2005 Conference we provided a conference holdall and we felt after seven years it was time for a new version so every delegate was given a holdall and an EBDOG mug – something useful and memorable and we now have a large supply of mugs in our office!

Arrangements for the conference itself began on the Thursday afternoon and continued into the evening as we arranged for the sponsors to set up their area.

Regrettably, it carried on so long that I was unable to join the Executive Committee at their usual pre-

conference meal but I’m sure they thought of me at some point during the evening! A very early start on the Friday morning meant that many of my work colleagues arrived very bleary eyed and were given various tasks to keep them busy before they could have a breakfast.

Having attended many EBDOG conferences, I know that EBDOG delegates like their food and so I arranged some buns/pastries on arrival and a variety of food for lunch. The buns were some of the largest seen at an EBDOG conference and were well received as they disappeared very quickly.

As the conference organiser, it is always an anxious day but the support from work colleagues and Janice Beck, the long serving

EBDOG conference organiser, all contributed to the day going incredibly well. I certainly deserved the bottle of red wine on the Friday evening.

For anyone who is unsure about hosting an EBDOG conference, I would definitely encourage you to do so. If you have a large team to call on it is incredibly helpful as a team building opportunity and if you don’t, the services of Janice Beck to organise it for you can also be arranged.

I’m hoping that on past performance we might not need to host again until 2019 so I can take it easy for a while! m

Further InformationSarah ThorpWest Sussex Conference [email protected] Stigant, Chief Executive West

Sussex County Council.

Liesbeth van der Pol, former Chief Adviser on Architecture to the Dutch Government.

Graham Olway, EBDOG Chairman

Vic Goddard, Headteacher of Passmores Academy.

Jo Thomas, DfE.

Conference Q&A Session.

Peter Lauener, EFA.

Conference Reflections W Sussex.indd 8 01/05/2013 14:52

mailto:[email protected]



BSF

Tameside covers a relatively small geographic area of only 64 square miles, with approximately 100 schools and academies. Amazingly we have been able to invest of £500 million in new and remodelled school buildings over the last

ten years, including £200 million via our successful Building Schools for the Future programme.

Building on BSF

Droylsden Academy.

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BSF

The BSF programme in Tameside consisted of ten new build high schools, including

Mossley Hollins, St Damian’s R.C. Science College, New Charter Academy co-located with Samuel Laycock High School (Moderate Learning Difficulty), White Bridge College (Key Stage 4 Pupil Referral Unit), Hyde Community School, Thomas Ashton School (Behaviour provision), Denton Community College and Elmbridge School (Key Stage 3 Pupil Referral Unit) and Droylsden Academy. Work is also continuing on remodelling works to Astley Sports College and Cromwell High School. Seven of the new buildings were delivered through PFI projects with three including New Charter and Droylsden academies and Samuel Laycock through Design and Build contracts.

All were delivered on time and on budget.

The schools were procured through the Tameside Local Education Partnership, with Carillion as the main building and facilities management subcontractors. This has developed in to the authority’s strategic investment partnership delivering most of our capital investment programmes and facilities management services.

Key features of all the new buildings is that they were all designed to support the authority’s and the schools’ strong vision for raising aspiration and attainment of the young people, attending the schools and also the local communities, most have extensive internal and external sports

facilities available for hire and community use.

Mossley Hollins was the first school to open its doors in February 2011 and Droylsden Academy, Denton Community College, Thomas Ashton, Elmbridge and Hyde Community School, opened at the end of the programme in January 2012.

The new buildings provide an opportunity for over 7,000 Tameside students a year to attend new high schools with excellent facilities.

Each was purpose designed around a core vision for the school, but all with the same high expectations of quality and sustained wow factor, which in the end in all cases exceeded expectations.

Hyde Community School.




BSF

Inspiration was taken from visits to Sweden and Denmark and also closer to home, particularly Falmouth School, which became a regularly visited school for Tameside staff and students.

The finished schools are well respected and looked after by all who use the buildings and have met with universal approval from staff and students.

Cath Walker, Deputy Headteacher at Denton Community College said “Our students very special and deserve this iconic building... This building has been designed around personalised learning using the very latest technologies to enhance this.”

Students at the schools are equally impressed with the facilities stating

“the new buildings are better than we ever dreamed of.”

Returning students who assisted with the development and design of Mossley Hollins High School also said that they had benefitted from the process and particularly enjoyed learning about the wide range of careers and professions required to deliver new buildings.

Councillor Gerald Cooney said “we are pleased that we have been able to deliver such excellent new facilities for schools in Tameside through the Building Schools for the Future programme and will continue to work hard to ensure as many schools are rebuilt or remodelled as possible.” m

Mossley Hollins High School.




Design Strategy

Innovative Learning Environments

Recent research by the University of Salford claimed that a well-designed learning

space can improve child attainment by 25%. Even though the importance of the learning environment to the development of a young person might be clear, with such increasing demand for these buildings – especially in relation to school places – so is the need to make the budget go further.

For NPS, this is where good design is crucial. Demonstrating value for money and providing creative solutions to meet cost requirements,

Creating high quality, innovative spaces

which inspire people to learn, flourish and

realise their ambitions has always been a key

priority for the NPS Group. Increasingly

however, the challenge for educational building is continuing to provide

the best possible environment for

learning but far more cost efficiently.

The Climbing Tower at the Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre in Exeter.

NPS Article.indd 12 01/05/2013 16:49



Design Strategy

while still meeting the needs of the end users and the client is essential, and something which is demonstrated in two recent schemes.

NPS was asked to design a new primary school building for 525 pupils on the existing Rose Hill Primary School site in Stockport. The brief was simple – to create a building which will meet the educational needs and aspirations of over 500 pupils well into the 21st Century, and add into the mix the hopes and desires of the local community.

Potentially conflicting issues such as positioning of the new building, how to keep the existing school operational and safe during the construction period and how best to accommodate the differing access demands of cars and people, were quickly identified. All needed to be assessed, incorporated into the design and be met within the available budget, so identification of best value was critical to the delivery of the scheme.

To maximise its potential, stakeholder involvement and ownership of the scheme was essential. A number of design workshops involving pupils, staff, governors, parents and community representatives ensured the brief was better informed and priorities were established and agreed by all involved in the process. The scheme was also presented to the local community during public consultation events. Once appointed, the successful contractor was required to develop the detail of the scheme bringing their specific input and perspective on construction methods and solutions that represented best value.

This included reviewing the potential materials and specifications against existing local supply chains to ensure value for money.

Crucially, prior to commencement, a cost evaluation exercise was required to realise 10% savings on the overall project budget. Having identified the core elements of the design and brief, and others that could be reviewed, workshops were arranged with key disciplines and the contractor’s team including supply chain members in response. The project was reviewed from the ground up and each element was again assessed to outline potential cost reductions.

Successfully, following a final stakeholder review, enough elements that could be omitted or alternatively specified were identified to enable the scheme to progress within the revised budget. Overall this amended scheme still responded to the core requirements of the client, creating an inspiring space to meet the needs and expectations of the stakeholders that were so carefully sought during the development.

With the high profile Haven Banks scheme, many months of careful negotiation with users, planners, Councillors, conservation groups and local residents took place before NPS gained planning permission in 2009 for a new Outdoor Education Centre within Exeter’s busy and popular quayside Conservation Area.

This £5.6m project funded by Devon County Council, is seen as a regeneration catalyst for the area. The new facility, once fully completed, will provide a modern hub for outdoor adventure activities

for young people and adults from Exeter and across the region.The new buildings, set between the river, canal and Listed stone warehouses, replace existing dilapidated facilities. They vastly expand the Centre’s potential with the incorporation of a 23m high climbing tower, indoor rock form caving system, 7m high rock faced climbing walls, kayak and canoe equipment stores, changing facilities for 120 students, five training rooms and a wet meeting room. External areas include a new 45m long pontoon fronting the canal, dedicated service yard, new granite paved public open space and upgraded canal side public footpath. The design approach respects its historic setting obligations by the blending of functions through three separate building forms. The main three storey centre building is sensitively scaled to present a modern interpretation of warehouse architecture. Accompanying this, the stores building and climbing enclosure beyond, reduce in scale along the site making use of natural limestone, timber cladding and zinc standing seam roofing. The use of quality natural materials, reflect and enhance the working nature of the existing canal setting.

As funding began to be realised in early 2011, NPS was charged with saving £1m without compromising the planning permission. A wholesale review of the construction approach was therefore undertaken looking at all aspects whilst ensuring a robust thermally efficient and compliant solution. This resulted in simplified wall and roof constructions and more focussed attention to the sourcing of materials.

Rose Hill Primary School in Stockport

NPS Article.indd 13 01/05/2013 16:50



Design Strategy

Further InformationNPS Group Lancaster House, 16 Central AvenueSt Andrews Business ParkNorwich NR7 0HR

Tel: 01603 706066www.nps.co.uk

Cost saving requirements also provided the multi-disciplinary team within NPS the opportunity to challenge conventional thinking.

A clear demonstration of this was the omission of the roof mounted solar panels to be replaced with water source heat coils lowered

into the canal basin below the pontoons. This not only realised a 50% capital cost saving but also a more reliable and efficient heat source to serve the underfloor heating system.

Financial constraints and design skills were tested further by the additional requirements

of a new partner to the project – Exeter College. This required major re-planning of internal spaces by incorporating training spaces without losing functionality of the core brief set by the Devon Youth Service.

The NPS project team have also worked hard with the contractor Midas Construction, to manage and control the construction process on a difficult site.

Once again, the end result for users is an efficient yet innovative approach to education and training, with provision encompassing the needs of a wide range of students; including those currently disengaged from education through to professionals undertaking training and development in leadership and management. m

Close to completion – Haven Banks in Exeter.

NPS Article.indd 14 01/05/2013 16:50



Compliance & Legislation

With the ever-changing directives from government, along with the James review, we keep hearing the same point asked; are we reaching our responsibilities for schools?

W ith additional placement programmes and schools capital allocation from DfE, we need

to consider the property maintenance of not only existing schools, but new builds and upcoming projects. This is the time that we need to support and encourage those responsible to seek the advice and coaching of literature available.

n This ensures our educational properties are fully equipped to handle and manage all issues that may arise.

n With the headteachers being responsible for their properties adherence; not only ensuring the safety of the property, but also the pupils and staff.

n With innovative planning and building solutions, these need to be correlated to the property maintenance and management of each individual site.

DMB can deliver this in the form of informative handbooks for the headteachers, bursars and so on, which can involve the need for an additional resource, when these are currently limited or overstretched.

With legislation in place, there are many wall charts and planners we can offer to cover all necessary scopes, in a clear and concise manner. This minimises the need to seek extra resources, ensuring delivery of deadlines, checks, and inspections, in a fresh and simple approach.

These wall charts range from Health & Safety, Preventative Maintenance, Servicing & Testing to Energy wall charts for children, plus many more including bespoke planners and charts. m

A range of attractive, informative wall planners from DMB Publishing Ltd.

For more information call us on 01843 846649.

Rules for Schools.indd 15 01/05/2013 16:42



New Build

The project is a new secondary school for Medway for 1500 pupils along with community

facilities. It is innovative in the approach to construction using off-site panel construction for the external walls to speed up the programme, reduce construction traffic in the local area and minimize disruption at the Academy. The Academy also innovated with its approach to sustainability and renewable energy with Medway’s first wind turbine on a school. This will generate up to 17% of the school’s electricity needs as well providing an income stream through the feed-in tariff. The partnership between the Council project team and the contractor using collaborative design workshops with the Academy Trust and sponsors has enabled the building to meet the requirement from the sponsors for ìan inspirational learning environment”.

The design and build contractor, BAM Construction, ran learning and education programmes with the Academy using the company’s multi-disciplinary teams. Over 2,300 students took part in activities such as site tours, how to design a science laboratory, how to build an insect hotel, team building, building a solar panel and running sustainable design workshops.

Strood Academy in Medway, Kent, is a new build project and is an entry into the new build category in the Medway Design & Culture Awards 2012.

WOW Factor

Medway - Strood Academy.indd 16 01/05/2013 17:14



New Build

Contribution to MedwayThe new buildings contribute to the regeneration of Medway and raise aspirations within the community both in education terms and in terms of participation in sport and community activities. The new academy is improving its standards having been Medway’s most improved school at GCSE level in 2011-12 and the new buildings promote continuous improvement for students and staff as well as encouraging students to take up sixth form and higher education options. The wind turbine is a visual signal of the building’s contribution to a more sustainable Medway.

Over 75% of the construction workforce were local to Medway and across the Academies programme 20 new apprentices have been employed.

BAM’s project staff gave up time and effort to raise money for local causes and, in all, contributed £14,600 in time and cash to the school and local community.

BAM contributed to local residents through the regular newsletters informing them of planned construction activities. They also provided a web cam, time-lapse photography and a Facebook page displaying the latest project news, progress photos, and images of the completed buildings.

Delivering/attracting new audiencesThe school is very popular with new pupils moving up to secondary school and also with sixth formers. The project included opportunities for primary school pupils to take part in education activities and visits, as well as visits for prospective parents to see the facilities available to new entrants.

The Academy has invited parents and guardians on tours of the new facilities, which act as an excellent marketing tool for the Academy.The wind turbine was supported by the local community and was requested by pupils in their design

WOW Factor




New Build




New Build

Further InformationProgramme Manager: Cathy Arnold, Medway CouncilArchitect: Nicholas Hare ArchitectsConstruction Partner: BAM Construction LimitedLead Sponsor: University for the Creative Arts

workshops in the early stages of the project. The turbine promotes the school as an environmentally friendly organisation.

The new facilities enable wider participation in sport and performing arts for the pupils and the local community. The Academy is able to market services to residents and visitors for sport, a fitness suite, room bookings and a range of other areas bringing more people into the area.

QualityThe materials and finishes used on the new building are extremely high quality and reflect the business and enterprise specialism of the Academy. This quality has resulted in students commenting “Wow!”, “I love my new school” and “Is this really for us?” High quality fittings and equipment provide the Academy with an aspirational environment in which students will be able to thrive. This quality also feeds into the external spaces where the Academy has a science courtyard with geological specimens from Kent, a variety of planting for study and hard landscaping to support maths lessons, such as fractions paving and musical notes, along with an arts courtyard with performance space and planting for art and nature study. The final sports provision will include extras such as a fitness trail and an all weather pitch.

National recognitionThe project has already received awards during construction from the Considerate Constructors’ Scheme that place it in the top 10% and it is

in line to receive an Award as part of the scheme’s annual awards. The last report from the Scheme said “It is difficult to find more superlatives after two years and four reports, where the team’s hard work has produced not only a contented school and client, but a happy workforce and happy neighbours. This is an exemplar project, which has been a pleasure to visit and report on!”

The project has also received BAM Construction’s award for Education & Community Engagement (copy attached) as well as a nomination for the Kent Design Awards and the Local Government Chronicle Public-Private Partnership award. At a recent open day held at the Academy, visitors included architects, designers, contractors and other professionals from the construction community across the country and they were very impressed with what they saw.

The project has been hailed an exemplar of modern public procurement methods with excellent collaboration between the parties. Key milestones have been marked throughout with press coverage at

the start up ceremony with Zandra Rhodes, the new unveiling of the new Strood Academy signage on the front of the building by Debbie Moore founder of Pineapple Studios.

Accessibility/UsabilityThe building provides an educational environment that is fully accessible to all sectors of the community through thoughtful design and collaboration with students, staff and the local community during the design stages. This includes outside spaces such as the landscape and teaching courtyards as well as all the sports facilities, which is particularly appropriate in this Paralympic year. All areas of the Academy are accessible to all students meaning everyone can access all aspects of the curriculum. The technology being used in the building also means that teaching and learning can stretch beyond the physical building by using recording techniques and the Internet to link with other schools and other parts of the community. The Academy is sponsored by the University for the Creative Arts who have promoted access to students studying at the further education level through workshops with degree students and mentoring schemes. m




School Rebuild

The project has further cemented the school’s position within the local community

by including dedicated extended services provision within the building. The landscaping has also provided exciting opportunities for play and outdoor learning including designated areas for hard and soft play, garden allotments and a Rugby Football League standard rugby pitch. The school’s vision is that these facilities will be used by the community and local clubs out of hours.

The building also includes a number of innovative and ‘future proof’ features including wide corridors - or ‘learning streets’ for breakout work, small group rooms for personalised learning; dedicated multi-purpose

community space; and a multi-purpose hall.

The school was successfully handed over on time and opened in September 2012 with much praise from the headteacher, staff,

parents and the governing body. The dedication and commitment shown from all stakeholders and the excellent working relationships within the team ensured the project was a success. m

Richmond Hill Primary School was rebuilt by Interserve Construction Ltd (ICL) as part of Leeds City Council’s Primary Capital Programme.

The school has tripled in size from 1 form entry to 3 form entry due to the demand for pupil places in the area and includes a 26FTE nursery and a 16 place resource

base for children with autism.

Future Proofing

AwardsSince handover the school has won the following awards:

Yorkshire & Humberside Best Practice Awards 2012 – InnovationConsiderate Contractors awardSustainability award (an internal Interserve award)

It has also been shortlisted for the following:

RICS Pro Yorkshire Awards 2013 – Design & Innovation (Announced on 26 April)Construction News – Project of the Year under 10 million.

Leeds - Richmond Hill.indd 22 01/05/2013 16:40



School Design

The United Kingdom and The Netherlands have both invested heavily in the design and construction of school buildings in the last 10 years. More

specifically both countries have sought to transform the concept of school, both in terms of facilities and learning. Within these two parallel developments a number of key issues have been and are still being addressed:

•Investigationofspatialandpedagogicflexibility

•Relationshipofschoolstotheirsurroundingphysicalcontext[withinurban,sub-urbanandruralcontexts]

•Exploringthepotentialofcombiningschoolswithotherfacilities[UK–throughschools,NLBredeorBroadschools]

•Thecreationofschoolsthatarethefocusofcommunitylife

•Newconceptsforschoolsthatspecialiseinaparticularaspectofeducationorspecialism

•Alternativeformsofprocurement

There are also examples of architects and construction companies employing their expertise in the other country, further exploring the similarities and contrasts between the two countries and reinforcing the links in their educational building programmes.

The establishment of a UK – NL school design platform would provide an opportunity to review and compare the design merits and approaches of schools designed recently in both countries. Recent government policy in the UK has changed the direction of school design and building. It is therefore an opportune moment to review the designs that have been realised previously, particularly from an alternative perspective of a different country.

Whilst the linkages between school construction and pedagogic development in the UK and the Netherlands offer an opportunity for further analysis and comparison to develop better learning environments, the differences between the two are equally important, providing opportunities to question alternative socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-educational approaches.

In order to investigate the synergies and dichotomies between school design in the UK and NL a multi-disciplinary platform group is proposed, comprising professionals, academics, teachers and designers from both countries.

Aims and objectivesLink relevant organisations in NL and UK – in the interests of sharing knowledge, experience and the potential to establish partnerships.

Evaluate and compare contemporary school policy and practice, in order to establish areas of synergy/conflict between UK and NL with specific emphasis on:

•Design,procurementandconstructionprocesses

•Pedagogicapproachesacrosstheeducationsystem

•Keydriversindesignandlearning

Develop a cross-country evidence base of the innovative school designs and processes addressing:

•Innovativeapproachestosustainableandenvironmentallyconsciousdesign

•Collaborativedesignofschoolswithstakeholders

•Approachestocreatingflexiblelearningspaces

After the HORSHAM EBDOG conference November 2012 and in addition to the contribution of Mrs.Liesbeth van der Pol: “Dutch Courage”, Peter Eisenburger of STEP, offers an exciting proposal.

A UK-NLSchool Design Platform?

NL Platform.indd 23 02/05/2013 08:14



School Design

Proposed Programme 2013School visits in The Netherlands (to gear with EBDOG) 2 days / 3rd day: 3hour – mini NL-UK conference. Costs : depending on the number of attendees (9 persons/ €450,- pp)School visits in UK 2 days / 3rd day: 3 hour – mini NL-UK conference / starting the Platform

If you are interested in attending the NL programme, please send an email to [email protected]

Leo Care (Bureau – design + research. The University of Sheffield

Peter Eisenburger (STEP)

Tanya Warncken (DMB Publishing Ltd)

Influence contemporary school design and building processes and champion the need for architectural and pedagogic design to go hand in hand.

Advocate the importance of headteachers and senior leadership team in the development of new school spaces and pedagogies.

Compose a strategy for all relevant participants in a school building process to make appropriate communication possible.

Stimulate architects to be as inventive as possible to create as much as space and flexibility inside the building, within the budget.

ActivitiesThe principal activities would be centred on sharing good practice in school design and disseminating the lessons learned within both countries through:

• Field trip visits and design reviews

• An online forum

• Knowledge exchange seminar

• International Webinar

• Professional job exchanges

An ‘exchange exhibition’ – Photographic exhibition of UK schools presented in NL schools and vice versa. In support of this, an online exchange website celebrating the cultural exchange is proposed.

‘School stories’ – examples of headteachers experiences of the design and realisation process of new schools.

The shared knowledge could then inform future school design policy and practice in both countries contributing to the creation of richer learning environments.

With DMB Ltd already entering in to the partnership, they will act in facilitating the online forums and administrative view for the partnership. DMB Ltd also brings many years experience to the platform offering their insight to the aftercare of the projects; supporting the asset management and schools with property maintenance guidance.

With thorough direction and advice, they can help sustain the life span of the schools with effective management guidance.

ConstitutionThe platform would be formed from representatives across the architecture-construction-education spectrum, representing both countries. The cross-sector approach would enable a balanced view of the holistic design of schools:

• Educationalists [representing education policy and theory]

• Teachers [head/senior teachers providing learning practice present and future]

• Academics [to link architecture and education and provide a research perspective]

• Construction specialists [to provide insight into construction and procurement]

• Architecture and related disciplines [representing the design team]

• Landscape Architects [providing linkages between building and landscape]

A platform of 10-12 people is proposed which would be jointly chaired between one UK and NL representative. m

NL Platform.indd 24 02/05/2013 07:58

Building Futures: Volume 8 Issue 1 | www.dmbpublishing.co.uk/BuildingFutures


Regional News

South East – February 2013As EBDOG goes from strength to strength, the regional groups have started to emerge as significant contributors to the national agenda. Conferences throughout the nation are attracting more interest from their ‘catchment areas’. They are proving to be a valuable interim forum for sharing information, ideas, views and concerns about the extensive investment opportunities for re-shaping or rebuilding our schools. EBDOG Chairman, Graham Olway and the EBDOG Executive Committee welcome a different perspective from its members, and Regional Conferences provide the perfect forum for such debate.

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!Please send us your regional

conference news and pictures to:

DMB Publishing Ltd, 19 Westgate Bay Avenue,

Westgate-on-Sea, Kent CT8 8AH Tel: 01843 846649 Fax: 01843 807853

Email: [email protected]

NEXT ISSUE COPY DEADLINE

To be announcedFor further information and updates, visit our website:

www.dmbpublishing.co.uk/BuildingFutures

Hosted by West Sussex County Council, the main agenda covered:

Presentation by Mairi Johnson, Deputy Director, Design, from Education Funding Agency on the developments regarding Baseline Designs. The aim of the suggested designs is to demonstrate what can be achieved with areas, costs and constraints.

This was followed by a comprehensive Q&A session on some of the practical issues LA’s are encountering and how some of the elements of the Baseline Designs could be incorporated. One of the major issues for LA’s was insufficient funding to build from new and therefore adapting existing premises and if these new Baseline Designs could assist.

Feedback from various meetings:

Several colleagues had meetings over the last few months on various Working Groups with colleagues at both the DfE and EFA and were able to provide updates on topical items including:

• SCAP data collection issues• Property Data survey

progress• SEN/Special schools

specifications and high cost implications

• Academy partnership working on matters such as Basic Need

• National Audit Office report on Capital Funding

• Maintenance Guidance• VAT Guidance• Section 77 and delays in

dealing with applications

The EBDOG session covered:

• Feedback from the previous committee meeting 29th November, including:

• Presentation from EFA on the Property Data Survey

• Feedback from around the Regions

• Feedback from Working Groups – continued close working relationship and consultation with DfE and EFA colleagues

• Next Conference Tameside 10th May 2013

SEEDOG’s future meetings are:Thurrock – 11th July 2013 Surrey – October 2013 (Day TBA)

For further information about SEEDOG meetings please contact either: Clive Mailing, Chairman 01634 331144 or email: [email protected]

David Gatherall, who maintains the membership list.01245 436901 or email: [email protected]


Regional News.indd 25 01/05/2013 14:56

Please contact me with details of your planned regional meetings so that they can be included in future issues of this journal.

Graham Olway, Chairman EBDOG

EBDOGCONFERENCE

DIARYEBDOG Conferences

10th May 2012Tameside

Dukinfield Town Hall

Next ConferenceTBA

Visit the Building Futures Website: www.dmbpublishing.co.uk/BuildingFutures for additional information as it comes in.

BACK COVER.indd 1 01/05/2013 15:12

building futures volume 8 issue 1

Documents

tameside conference

issue of building futures

tameside projects

school placements

enjoyable conference

successful conference

medway design

future proofinga school