Building Better Schools - Scottish Government€¦ · Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland’s Future The Strategy both builds on and supersedes the one published in 2003

BuildingBetter Schools:Investing in Scotland’s Future

The Scottish Government, Edinburgh, 2009

BuildingBetter Schools:Investing in Scotland’s Future

© Crown copyright 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7559-8172-4

The Scottish GovernmentSt Andrew’s HouseEdinburghEH1 3DG

Produced for the Scottish Government by RR Donnelley B58823 09/09

Published by the Scottish Government, September 2009

Further copies are available fromSchool Estates TeamSchools DirectorateVictoria QuayEdinburghEH6 6QQ

Email [email protected]

The text pages of this document are printed on recycled paper and are 100% recyclable

Foreword 02

Executive Summary 06

Section 1 – Introduction 14

Section 2 – What is the School Estate? 18

Section 3 – Changing Contexts 24

Section 4 – Vision and Aspirations for the School Estate 32

Section 5 – Guiding Principles and Objectives 38

Section 6 – Next Steps 50

Case Studies 58

Annexes

A – Membership of the School Estate Strategy Working Group 68

B – National Performance Framework 69

C – Stakeholders involved in the development of the Strategy 70

D – The Audit Scotland report Improving the School Estate recommendations 76

E – Sources of further information 86

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Inverclyde Academy - Inverclyde Council

Education is a top priority for localand Scottish Government. Thequality of our education systemand outcomes is absolutely key todelivering the sustainable economicgrowth that is a pre-requisite for a

more successful Scotland. We are creating a smarter, greener, healthier, saferand stronger, wealthier and fairer nation, one which maximises all our talentsand is thereby better able to compete globally. Providing all of our children andyoung people with the best possible start in life and ensuring that each ofthem reaches their full potential is critical to this.

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BuildingBetter Schools: Investing in Scotland’s Future

The Scottish Government and COSLA havealready signalled a new focus on supportingchildren (and families) during their early years.The overriding goal through their schoolyears is on further enabling them to becomesuccessful learners, confident individuals,responsible citizens and effective contributors.By expanding opportunities for communityand adult education we are also looking toimprove the lives of everyone in Scotland.

Schools, as learning environments whichembody a learning-centred philosophy forboth pupils and adult learners, are crucial toachieving these fundamental objectives. Theyare much more though than just ‘educationalestablishments’. The availability andaccessibility of school buildings and facilitiesfor community use – be it educational,recreational, sporting, cultural, social or other– are equally important. That has been anaspiration for sometime now. We arebeginning to see it realised and one of themain aims of this Strategy is to consolidateand accelerate that trend. With a lifespanmeasured in decades and a cost in billionsof pounds, the need for adaptable andflexible school buildings and facilities that will

better meet future demands and changes intechnology and learning and increasingly,the challenges posed by climate change,cannot be overstated. It is though at theindividual and personal level that their realimpact is concentrated. The state of aschool speaks volumes to each community,parent, pupil and teacher about how wevalue learning. Children and young peopleespecially respond to that, but so too do allthe other ‘school users’.

The range of activities that schools support,provide and make possible, beyond the purelyeducational, mean that this School EstateStrategy has implications across the entirepublic sector. It supports each of the 15national outcomes and many of theunderpinning policies and initiatives. It isnecessarily ambitious in a way that will deliverreal benefits for people and communities. Itrecognises the different social and learningexperiences and expectations of today'schildren and young people; and it addressesour aspirations for lifelong learning, a seedwhich must be sown at a young age. ThisStrategy is about achieving our vision of allpupils being educated in fit for purpose,

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Foreword

engaging and inspiring environments. Inorder to achieve this, Scottish Governmentand local authorities will need to work towardseradicating sub-standard schools and ensurethat the whole of the school estate isprioritised, reorganised where necessaryand well maintained. The Strategy is relevantto all aspects of the school estate – newbuildings and improvement of existing ones.

A fundamental change is underway in Scottisheducation – a holistic approach to moreeffective learning and teaching. Curriculumfor Excellence is already driving changes tothe concept of the school – its purposes,functions, design and the way spaces areused. In turn, the buildings, the physicalenvironment and facilities must themselvesalso be drivers of change. They need to bemore than just passive or responsive, to beused and adapted. They need to inspire andchallenge both learners and teachers to thinkin new and imaginative ways about thesurroundings within which learning takesplace, indeed about the very ‘how’ it takesplace. Buildings can and should be realcatalysts for creativity.

What needs to be done to bring this Strategyto life is clearly set out in these pages and willbe further expanded in the Financial Strategyand Implementation Plan which will follow.There is a joint Concordat commitment on thepart of both local and Scottish Governmentto working together to continue to improvethe school estate and learners’ experiences.During the current Parliamentary period,Government has signed off further PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) and Non ProfitDistribution (NPD) school projects and these,together with the record levels of capitalfunding in the local government settlementfor 2008-11, are supporting a currentprogramme of local authority investment inthe school estate in excess of £2 billion.

The Scottish Government is committed tocontinuing to work with local governmentpartners to bring to bear the financial andother resources still needed. A cleardemonstration of this commitment was theGovernment’s announcement in June 2009of an additional £800 million of fundingtowards a £1.25 billion local authorityprogramme of new school building.

We recognise that although the currentgovernment and councils together canensure that progress and improvements aremade, in time the task will inevitably becomethe responsibility of governments andcouncils yet to come. The contents of thisStrategy are commended to futureadministrations, who will need to continuethe investment in the school estate andensure that all the ground gained is held firmand consolidated – as we each play our partin creating a school estate which is a creditto our nation and schools which are a sourceof pride and pleasure to all who use them.

Finally, we would wish to thank themembers of the School Estate StrategyWorking Group and those who gaveevidence to it or contributed in other ways,for all the work that has gone into thepreparation of this Strategy.

Fiona HyslopCabinet Secretary for Education andLifelong Learning

Councillor Isabel HuttonCOSLA Spokesperson on Education,Children and Young People

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Dalry Primary School – North Ayrshire Council

BACKGROUND

This School Estate Strategy has been prepared by a School Estate StrategyWorking Group which was jointly chaired by COSLA and the ScottishGovernment. Members included representatives of the Society of LocalAuthority Chief Executives, the Association of Directors of Education inScotland and the Scottish Futures Trust. The Strategy greatly benefited frominput from a wide range of stakeholders – individuals as well as organisations– who were invited to give evidence to and engage in discussion with theWorking Group, or who attended organised events.

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The Strategy both builds on and supersedesthe one published in 2003 by the thenScottish Executive and COSLA. AuditScotland’s March 2008 Report Improvingthe School Estate acknowledged thatsignificant progress had been made since1999 in improving the estate and overtakingthe legacy of underinvestment in schools,but that much more still needed to be done.This Strategy is a direct response to that, allof whose 19 recommendations have alreadybeen jointly accepted by COSLA and theScottish Government.

The Strategy is relevant to all parts of theschool learning environment – the buildingsand spaces, the grounds, the fixtures andfacilities, even the furniture – and to allschools, not just those being replaced orrefurbished. It is focused firmly on thosewho benefit from improvements to theestate – the pupils, the staff, the parents andthe wider community.

The Strategy will contribute towardsachieving the Government’s overarchingPurpose, 5 Strategic Objectives and all 15national outcomes. It is an integral part ofthe Curriculum for Excellence focus on more

effective learning and teaching. It alsosupports the Government’s threeframeworks to tackle inequality: Early YearsFramework, Equally Well and Achieving ourPotential. This Strategy also provides a keyopportunity for local and ScottishGovernment to demonstrate action in linewith the new statutory duty placed on publicbodies by the Climate Change (Scotland)Act 2009.

It reflects too the new partnership betweenthe Scottish Government and localgovernment around the delivery of keypolicies and public services and newsupporting funding arrangements. Theexplicit commitment in the Concordat is thatboth partners will each do what is requiredto improve the learning experience forchildren and young people, including byimproving the fabric of schools andnurseries.

Delivery of the strategy will depend not juston this partnership between central andlocal government but also on the keyinvolvement of stakeholders such asArchitecture+Design Scotland, TheLighthouse, The Carbon Trust,

Strathallan Nursery – Fife Council

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Executive Summary

sportscotland, Grounds for Learning andothers whose advice and guidance willfurther improve the quality and efficacy ofthe school estate. The Scottish FuturesTrust will have a major role to play, both indelivering and maximising value for moneyfrom the new £1.25 billion school buildingprogramme and also in supporting widerlocal authority school investmentprogrammes. Value for money will beparamount in the context of increasingcompetition for tightening public finances.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009introduces a new era of year-on-yearreductions in Scotland’s greenhouse gasemissions and the need to ensure that allservices are resilient to the impacts ofclimate change. In January 2009, the

Scottish Government announced measuresto work towards a lower carbon schoolestate. The focus of attention will now beredoubled on energy efficiency measures,renewable technologies and the design of allaspects of ‘sustainable’ schools, so that theschool estate (which represents a sizeableproportion of public sector buildings) playsits full part in delivering the Act’s targets foremissions reduction of 42% by 2020 and80% by 2050. Following publication of theSullivan Report in 2007 Government iscurrently consulting on changes to therelevant building standards for 2010. It willbe important, in context of the new publicsector duty introduced in the Act, thatschool buildings are indeed exemplars ofbest practice in this regard.

VISION, ASPIRATION AND PRINCIPLES

The Scottish Government and local government’s shared vision for the future of the schoolestate is set out below. The Working Group also articulated a set of aspirations, and nineguiding principles and objectives for future planning and action to be taken into account bylocal authorities, community planning partners and Scottish Government.

Vision

“Our vision is for schools which signal the high value we place onlearning; which people and communities can enjoy using and can beproud; which are well designed, maintained and managed and whichencourage continuous engagement with learning; which are far morethan just ‘educational establishments’ whose quality of environmentsupports an accessible range of services and opportunities and whichenrich the communities they serve and the lives of learners and families.”


Meldrum Academy – Aberdeenshire Council

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Aspirations for the school estate

f All children and young people will beeducated in, and community users will use,schools that are ‘fit for purpose’ in termsof condition, suitability and sufficiency.

f Schools are well-designed, accessible,inclusive learning environments that inspireand drive new thinking and change andwhich support the delivery of high qualityeducational experiences throughCurriculum for Excellence;

f Schools are integral parts of thecommunities they serve, with pupilsmaking use of community facilities andcommunities accessing school facilities;

f Schools accommodate and provide arange of services, activities and facilitiesthat make a difference to people’s healthand well being, to sustaining economicgrowth and to the strength and vibrancyof communities;

f A sustainable school estate whosedesign, construction and operation isenvironmentally and energy efficient;contributes directly to delivering theyear-on-year reductions in greenhousegas emissions introduced by the ClimateChange (Scotland) Act 2009, which isresilient to the impact of climate changeand which leads by example in matters ofenvironmental performance;

f A school estate that is efficiently run andthat delivers maximises value for money;

f A school estate which is flexible andresponsive – both to changes in demandfor school places and to learners’ andteachers’ requirements and wishes, andwhere the beneficial impact of change ismaximised by thorough consultation andengagement with users and stakeholders.

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Executive Summary

Schools are integral parts ofthe communities they serve,with pupils making use ofcommunity facilities andcommunities accessingschool facilities.

Guiding principles and objectives for future planning and action

1) Good consultation means betteroutcomes – engaging with, consultingand involving all the potential users andinterests helps to highlight expectations,identify the options and refine the objectives.

2) Innovative design and change is betterinformed by experience – improvementsin school design will be accelerated byspeeding up the rate at which lessons arelearned from experiences, both locallyand elsewhere.

3) A more integrated, holistic and longerterm approach to change – taking anintegrated, holistic view of the school –the buildings, the grounds, the fixtures,facilities, even the furniture – will result inbetter planning and design and deliverbetter outcomes.

4) Schools whose condition supportsand enhances their functions – a schoolin good condition – irrespective of age ordesign – signals to all the users (pupils,other learners and staff) that learning is avalued activity, and that the learningenvironment is a priority.

5) More ‘suitable’ and ‘inclusive’ schools,better future-proofed for flexibility andadaptability – schools should be fit forpurpose: the design and layout shouldenhance their function and use; theyshould be ‘inclusive’ and accessible tothose with disabilities; and they need tobe able to ‘flex’ in response to futurechanges in the scale and nature ofdemand and usage, ICT and othertechnology and the changing ways inwhich education may be delivered.

6) Schools which are ‘greener’, moresustainable and environmentallyefficient – school buildings will contributeto the statutory framework of annualtargets for cuts in greenhouse gasemissions and lead by example inenvironmental performance.

7) A well-managed school estate whichrepresents and delivers best value – itis to the collective benefit of everyone –learners, teachers, parents and taxpayers– and of every community, if the schoolestate is efficiently and effectively managed.

8) Schools which both drive and supporteffective learning and teaching –Curriculum for Excellence – schoolsshould be attention-grabbing, eye-opening,thought-provoking and empowering –inspiring and driving the approach tomore effective learning and teachingwhich is Curriculum for Excellence.

9) Schools which best serve theircommunities – close engagement withcommunities and community interestsand partners will better identify localneeds and wishes and result in schoolswhich offer a wider and more accessiblerange of public services, opportunitiesand facilities to complement thoseavailable elsewhere in the community.

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NEXT STEPS

The School Estate Strategy represents thefirst step in a long term programme of jointwork by Scottish Government and localgovernment on the school estate. The nextsteps will be to develop a Financial Strategyand Implementation Plan for its delivery. Thethree parts – the Strategy itself, FinancialStrategy and the Implementation Plan – willform a joint strategic approach to and planfor the continuing improvement ofScotland’s school estate.

The Scottish Government makes capital andrevenue resources available to authoritiesthrough the local government settlement.That funding supports a current programmeof local authority investment activity in theschool estate which exceeds £2 billion. InJune 2009 the Government announced anadditional £800 million of funding towards a£1.25 billion school building programme thatwill see the replacement of around another55 schools, benefitting around 35,000 or5% of Scotland’s pupils. However, the scaleof the estate and of the task ahead – andthe shared commitment which this Strategyrepresents – mean that investment in schoolswill always need to feature as a majorconsideration in successive governmentspending reviews and local authority budgetsetting processes and capital plans.

The set of guiding principles and objectivessets the parameters for and will provide astimulus to future work at both local andnational level. This will be progressed byway of a series of partnerships, through jointand commissioned work, publications,conferences, seminars, workshops,networking and the development of guidanceand better ways of sharing good practice.

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Executive Summary

The School Estate Strategyrepresents the first step in along-term programme of jointwork by Scottish Governmentand local government on theschool estate.

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INTRODUCTION

St Thomas of Aquin’s High School – Edinburgh City Council

The School Estate Strategy both builds onand supersedes the one published in 2003by the then Scottish Executive and COSLA1.There was insufficient detailed informationabout the school estate at the time toenable the 2003 Strategy to set out clearobjectives or targets beyond the generallyaspirational, or to say in any detail whatneeded to be done or how it would beachieved. The 2009 Strategy remedies that.The information base now establishedthrough the collection of the Core Factsallows the vision and aspirations for thefuture school estate to be underpinned bymeasurable targets and clear principles,objectives and a programme of work. Asignificant difference between the twostrategies is that the previous one was set ina policy context that focused particularly onthe number of schools. The policy focusnow, in the context of Curriculum for

Excellence, is very much more on thebeneficiaries of high quality school buildings– the pupils, teachers and localcommunities.

The pace of change and range of newchallenges mean that any strategy has toevolve. Much has been achieved over thesix years since 2003, but that in itself hasalso served to highlight what still requires tobe done.

The view that it was time to reflect on progressthus far, to learn lessons from recentexperience and to review how the schoolestate can better contribute in the widestsense to the richness of Scottish life wasreinforced by Audit Scotland’s March 2008report Improving the School Estate2. Thismade clear that significant progress hadbeen made in improving the estate and

By any reckoning the scale of the school estate represents a huge publicinvestment in a national and community asset. The challenge which thisStrategy addresses is how best that investment and asset can enhance thequality of life and outcomes for the people of Scotland. Jointly developed bylocal and Scottish Government, it sets out a shared vision and aspirations forthe school estate, the guiding principles and objectives which will be key totheir achievement and a comprehensive programme of supporting work,some new and some building on work and initiatives already underway. Anational strategic direction – a ‘route map’ – is spelled out, with clear signalsas to the intended direction of travel and destination. The Strategy isexpressed in flexible terms – so that it is relevant to every local authority,school and community. It recognises that authorities should have scope totake different routes towards implementation, according to their differentstarting points, circumstances and local priorities.


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1 Scottish Executive – Building our Future: Scotland’s School Estate (February 2003) –www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/02/16251/17422

2 Audit Scotland – Improving the School Estate (March 2008) –www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/work/central_national.php?year=2007

Section 1 - Introduction

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3 Audit Scotland – Asset management in local government – (May 2009)www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/docs/local/2009/nr_090507_asset_management_councils.pdf

overtaking the legacy of pre-devolutionunderinvestment in schools (whenexpenditure on maintenance, repair andreplacement failed to keep pace with therate of deterioration), but that much morestill needed to be done.

This Strategy is therefore a direct responseto the Audit Scotland report, all of whose 19recommendations have already been jointlyaccepted by COSLA and the ScottishGovernment. They are set out in detail inAnnex D. In May 2009 Audit Scotlandpublished another report entitled AssetManagement in Local Government3. This isdirectly relevant to and reinforces a number ofthe recommendations in their earlier report –such as those relating to managementplanning, the measurement of ‘suitability’,the focus on whole life cycle costings,sustainability and consultation.

There were two other key ‘drivers’ behind thepreparation of this Strategy. The first was anintention that it should be relevant to allschools, not just those which are being

rebuilt or refurbished. The second was adetermination that attention should switchaway from inputs or ‘numbers of schools’ –which are merely the means to the end –onto impacts and outcomes. The Strategytherefore focuses ultimately on thebeneficiaries – the proportion and number ofpupils (and adult and community learners)whose experiences, attainment andachievements are enhanced as a result oflearning in good condition and suitableenvironments; and what that means in termsof sustained engagement with learning, bothduring the school years and beyond. Theseare the real prizes.

This Strategy has been prepared by theSchool Estate Strategy Working Group. TheGroup was jointly chaired by the ScottishGovernment and COSLA and membersincluded representatives of the Society ofLocal Authority Chief Executives, theAssociation of Directors of Education inScotland and the Scottish Futures Trust.(Full details are set out at Annex A.)

Kyle Academy – South Ayrshire Council

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WHAT ISTHESCHOOLESTATE?

Denholm Primary School – Scottish Borders Council

We are in the midst of one of the mostintensive ever periods of investment in theschool estate. The years 2000-2011 will seethe major refurbishment or replacement ofover 570 schools or 21% of the entire localauthority stock. The annual publication ofCore Facts data in the School EstateStatistics6 represents the best overall indicationof the evolving physical condition of the schoolestate. In 2008, around 1850 local authorityschools or 68% of the total were in good orsatisfactory condition, with 832 or 31% inpoor or bad condition7. (No condition ratingwas given for the last 1%.) That compareswith a ‘low point’ around 2000 whensignificantly in excess of 40% of all schoolswere in poor or bad condition. By 2011,approaching 80% of all schools are expectedto be in good or satisfactory condition.

In terms of numbers and proportion ofpupils affected, in 2008 around 200,000 or29% of pupils were still being educated inpoor or bad condition schools. That figure isexpected to halve by 2011. Looking beyond2011 there are already indications of someauthorities’ future investment plans, asignificant part of which will be focused ontackling the 500 or so schools which are stillexpected to be in poor or bad condition in2011. Part way through such a long-termimprovement programme, there is theappearance of something of a ‘two-tier’estate – with a marked contrast betweenschools already improved and those still inneed of attention.

First, the facts and figures. There are 2713 local authority schools in Scotland4

– 375 secondary schools, 2152 primaries and 186 special schools cateringfor pupils with additional support needs (although many such pupils areeducated in mainstream schools). Together the school estate represents alarge proportion of Scotland’s public buildings. Schools account for somethinglike 20% of all council properties. Their estimated total value of £7.1 billionrepresents 53% or more than half of the £13 billion value of all local authorityproperty assets (not including council housing)5. The school estate alsoincludes approximately 400 ‘standalone’ authority-run nursery schools,distinct from those located alongside or within primary schools.

A DYNAMIC ESTATE


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4 The Scottish Government – Pupils in Scotland, 2008 (April 2009) –www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/01090908/0

5 Audit Scotland – Asset management in local government – (May 2009) –www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/docs/local/2009/nr_090507_asset_management_councils.pdf

6 Scottish Government – School Estate Statistics (September 2008) –http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/29091400/0

7 The condition categories are defined as:A: Good – performing well and operating efficiently.B: Satisfactory – performing adequately but showing minor deterioration.C: Poor – showing major defects and/or nor operating adequately.D: Bad – economic life expired and/or risk of failure.

Section 2 -What is the School Estate?

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SCHOOLS AS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Schools – the buildings and spaces, thegrounds, the fittings and facilities, even thefurniture – are learning environments in thebroadest sense. All these component partspervade and play a part in helping to deliverpositive outcomes. Those outcomes are firstand foremost educational, but also social,recreational, cultural and other. The state ofthe learning environment says a great dealabout the ethos of a school as an inclusivelearning community, welcoming andaccessible to all, reflecting the commitment offirst-rate teachers, other staff and encouragingbetter and closer relationships between allstaff working both in and out of school.

Most school-based activities can still takeplace despite poor quality buildings andfacilities. However, where a school is fit forpurpose – in good condition, of a design thatis inspirational and flexible, with suitable anduser-friendly facilities and an environmentthat is conducive – the results and outcomes,the levels of usage, the enjoyment, satisfactionand the achievements of all users (pupils aswell as adult and community learners) aremore likely to be richer, better and morelong lasting.

Alloa Academy – Clackmannanshire Council


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THE PLACES AND SPACES WITHIN A SCHOOL

Schools are complex establishments. Theyserve many purposes and comprise an arrayof potentially multi-function spaces. Outdoorsare the circulatory and access areas forvehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, as well asthe playgrounds and various ‘green’ spaces– sports and recreation facilities, gardens,landscaped and quiet areas – indeed allmanner of ‘outdoor classrooms’. There iseven more variety of internal spaces – foyersand entrance areas, atria and other socialand circulation spaces, administrative areas,dining areas and kitchens, gyms, fitnesssuites and pools, changing facilities, showersand toilets, halls, stage and drama facilities,all the ICT infrastructure and facilities,libraries and of course both general andspecialised learning areas. Some spaces areclearly single use, but the design of many ofthe spaces and the way that fittings andfurniture are configured can open up myriadpossibilities for different uses.

An appreciation of how all the different sortsof places and spaces within a school’s

perimeter interact and of their potential,reinforces the importance of designing inflexibility. We continue to develop ourunderstanding of the links between spaceconfiguration, flexibility and the morecreative approaches to learning andteaching which are integral to Curriculum forExcellence. The Scottish Governmentfunded publication Changing Classrooms8

encourages schools and teachers to becreative – to look afresh at how spaces maybe re-configured to inspire and introducenew learning dynamics, inspiration,interactions and experiences. What isencouragingly evident is that the dominantfactor in all of this is not so much anyphysical constraints, as people’s imagination,empowerment and freedom. Creativity anda new approach can achieve a great deal inexisting schools which are not beingrefurbished or renewed, despite some ofthose constraints. The important point isthat this Strategy should be every bit asrelevant at the small scale as at the large,and for all schools, not just new ones.

8 The Lighthouse – Changing Classrooms (August 2008)www.thelighthouse.co.uk/content/publications/70,250/ChangingClassrooms.html

Schools are complex establishments.They serve many purposes andcomprise an array of potentiallymulti-function spaces.

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THE SCHOOL’S WIDER ‘NETWORK’

Looking outwards, the extensive network oflinkages, movements and activity generatedby each school is another important aspectof its dynamics. The daily pattern of home toschool travel on the part of pupils, staff andcommunity users of school facilities is the mostvisible manifestation of this and reaches intoevery community in the land. In the ‘opposite’direction pupils will, during the course of theschool day, also be accessing local communityfacilities. Movements vary according to thetime of day – breakfast clubs, the ‘schoolday’ itself, often linking directly into after-school

activities and care, evening and weekendusage – and also to the time of year. Schoolsare significant generators of traffic, have areal environmental and local economic impactand are often hubs of social and communityactivity too. Understanding these networksand how they link to the various schoolfunctions and activities is crucial to successfuldesign, planning and management. In turnthat will help to establish a school estatethat meets demands and expectations in asustainable way and maximises the value ofthe assets and investment.

WHO BENEFITS FROM IMPROVING THE SCHOOL ESTATE?

Much of the focus of this Strategy isnecessarily on the buildings and physicalfacilities. The potential benefits of a goodquality school estate are only realised throughthe people who spend time in and interactingwith those buildings and facilities. Aroundtwo million or 40% of Scotland’s people aredirectly affected by or have a close interestin the nature and state of our schools. Mostobviously, there are the 680,000 pupils whoattend school on a daily basis for at least11 years of their life, their 1 millionparents and carers, the 75,000 staff whowork in schools and the many thousandsof community users of school facilities.

In truth, we all indirectly benefit from goodquality schools because of the way theyimpact ultimately on our learning and skills,our health and wealth, our quality of life –including by reducing the effect of climatechange – and overall, on this country’ssustainable economic growth. Investment inschools represent a major component ofScotland's investment in her people, hercommunities and her future.

Section 2 -What is the School Estate?

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CHANGINGCONTEXTS

Raploch Community Campus – Stirling Council

Nesting Primary School – Shetland Islands Council

A high quality school estate helps to makeScotland…

f Smarter – by supporting the quality andrange of lifelong learning opportunities onoffer for people of all ages: from pre-schoolright through adulthood;

f Greener – through school buildings whichare sustainable, resilient, with low carbonfootprints, which help to meet our climatechange targets and which support the‘greener’ aspects of the curriculum;

f Healthier – through accessible sport andrecreation facilities, and in some caseswith other health facilities incorporatedwithin schools;

f Safer & stronger – through schoolswhich are ‘safe’ places to learn in, andwhich in turn strengthen and help localcommunities to flourish;

f Wealthier & fairer – through schoolswhich are welcoming, accessible andinclusive places of opportunity and whichnurture talent and potential.


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This section of the Strategy sets out the policy context around itsdevelopment, the areas where improvements to the school estate will havethe biggest impact and the relationships and partnerships that will determinehow it will be actioned and implemented.

THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK

The Scottish Government’s overarching purpose, 5 strategic objectives and 15 nationaloutcomes are set out in Annex B. A high quality school estate, ie buildings and facilities whichboth drive and support the provision of a range of high quality education and learningopportunities, will contribute to that overarching purpose – by providing the opportunities foreveryone to flourish and fulfil all of their potential and so increasing sustainable economicgrowth. Good schools also support each of the strategic objectives and every single one of the15 national outcomes – in some degree, either directly or indirectly.

The ways in which a well-designed andsustainable school estate underpin andcontribute to achieving the 15 nationaloutcomes are only illustrated here – butconsideration of any one of them is sufficientto highlight the direct relationship betweenthe quality of our schools and achieving theoutcomes. For example, schools directlyenhance the quality of our built environment,support the achievement of each of the‘education-focused’ outcomes and enrichand strengthen local communities. Theyenhance Scotland as a place to live andwork, help tackle the significant inequalitiesin our society and provide amenities andservices in ways that are responsive topeople's needs.

Local government too is committed to all ofthese policies and priorities. Local authoritieswill be looking to align the aspirations andprinciples set out in this Strategy with theirown views of local needs and priorities andtheir own approaches to fulfilling their statutoryduties and responsibilities. These includeachieving best value in the use of resources,working with other public services on ashared services agenda, delivering sufficienteducation accommodation and provisionefficiently, ensuring wide engagement withcommunities in planning and developingschools (as with other services) andensuring inclusion, accessibility and equalityof opportunity for individuals and groupswithin those communities.

Section 3 -ChangingContexts

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EFFECTIVE LEARNING AND TEACHING – CURRICULUM FOREXCELLENCEFundamental changes are underway inScottish education that will improveoutcomes for all learners. Curriculum forExcellence empowers and enables bothteachers and learners to design and delivermore effective learning and teaching, in newand different ways. The result is moreenjoyable and interesting learningexperiences, ones that will be moreengaging and inspirational, better tailored toeach learner’s needs, wishes and aptitudes,and delivered in ways that will better providechildren and young people with thefoundation and skills for continued learningon into adulthood and the world of work.

School buildings and facilities are far more thanjust part of the supporting cast for Curriculumfor Excellence. They are at the heart of the

whole philosophy and approach to effectivelearning and teaching and play the fullest partin helping to achieve change for the better. Theethos of the school as a learning community,presenting challenges and opportunities forpersonal achievement, development andinterdisciplinary learning are all a part of, andcolour, a child or young person's experienceof learning and the curriculum.

The emphasis is also on an inclusion agendathat provides effective learning and teachingfor all learners. The importance of a learningenvironment that is welcoming andaccessible to learners with disabilities is acritical aspect of this. Legislation9 alreadyrequires authorities not only to takereasonable steps to avoid putting disabledpupils at a substantial disadvantage, but

9 Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 –www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2002/asp_20020012_en_1


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also to prepare ‘accessibility strategies’ forall schools in order to improve access toeducation for pupils with disabilities – accessboth to the physical environment and to thefull curriculum, in particular supported byICT facilities and developments.

The importance of buildings and facilitieswhich are responsive, flexible, adaptableand malleable – to new ways of learning – iscritical. In many instances though, flexibilityof mindset in the way places and spaces areperceived and used is as important as thephysical structures themselves. It is essentialtoo that the buildings and spaces themselvesshould be agents of change, inspiring bothlearners and teachers to new thinking abouthow education might happen in new and

more effective ways. Creativity of design willlead to creativity of thinking and of use,inspiring and inviting exploration of the useof the environment and space in differentand imaginative ways. There is a need tolearn lessons from the succession of noveland sometimes unexpected ways in whichspaces are already being occupied,transformed and used. That needs to feedback into improving the way we design,build in flexibility and incorporate features infuture schools. The emphasis must be oninnovation and personalisation rather thanon standardisation, on presenting learners,teachers and schools with the continuingchallenge and inspiration of flexible andsometimes non-standard spaces of differentdimensions and configuration to explore.

WIDER POLICY CONTEXT

The Scottish Government and local authoritieshave together set out a comprehensiveapproach to tackling inequalities in our societyin three inter-linked policy frameworks.

The Early Years Framework10 addresses theprovision of services and support to childrenand families whilst Equally Well11 andAchieving our Potential12 address healthinequalities and poverty respectively. TheSchool Estate Strategy also focuses onoutcomes for people – buildings whichprovide or through which are provided theright range of services to people andcommunities, both directly and indirectly.The Strategy’s objectives are entirely

consistent with and supportive of those ofthe three frameworks. All public services –whether delivered by local government, theNHS or the voluntary and private sectors –need to combine in pursuit of this commongoal of improving outcomes. In somecircumstances schools will facilitate theintegration of services physically; in others,schools may provide an appropriate localvenue for services which address people’sneeds and wishes, support and improvetheir skills and above all enable them to helpthemselves. The design, public ‘face’ andperception of the school needs to be of asafe, welcoming and supportive environment ifthese common objectives are to be achieved.

10 The Scottish Government – The Early years Framework (January 2009) –www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/01/13095148/0

11 The Scottish Government – Equally Well – The Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities (June2008) – www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/Inequalities/inequalitiestaskforce

12 The Scottish Government – Achieving Our Potential: A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality inScotland (November 2008) – www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/11/20103815/0

27

There are many links between this Strategyand other government policies, both nationaland local. For example schools built over thenext few years – in light of the Olympics in2012 and Commonwealth Games in Glasgowin 2014 – need to lead the way in provision ofschool-based sport and recreation facilitiesand activities, both indoor and outdoor, allcontributing to achieving a healthier Scotland.In addition, the community sports hubsdescribed in A Games Legacy for Scotland13

aim to specifically improve the use of andaccess to facilities for physical activity andcompetitive sport. A school’s social spacesalso help children and young people to learnthose social, relationship and citizenshipskills which make such a difference to theirown well-being and that of our whole society.

Local and Scottish Government are alreadyworking together to ensure that schools actas exemplars of environmental performance.Schools which are sustainable, energy,waste and water efficient, with low carbonfootprints and responsive and resilient to theeffects of climate change, will not only helpmeet our climate change targets but alsoconvey the right messages to tomorrow’sdecision makers and consumers about whysustainability and the ‘green’ agendamatters. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act2009 introduces a new era of year-on-yearreductions in Scotland’s greenhouse gas.In January 2009, the Scottish Governmentannounced measures to work towards alower carbon school estate. The focus ofattention will now be redoubled on energy

efficiency measures, renewable technologiesand the design of all aspects of ‘sustainable’schools, so that the school estate (whichrepresents a sizeable proportion of publicsector buildings) plays its full part indelivering the Act’s targets for emissionsreduction of 42% by 2020 and 80% by2050. Following publication of the SullivanReport in 200714 Government is currentlyconsulting on improvements to energystandards within building regulations. It willbe important, in context of the new publicsector duty introduced in the Act, thatschool buildings are indeed exemplars ofbest practice in this regard.

It is an increasing priority too to ensure thatschools are genuinely a communityresource, a hub and focus for community lifeand activity. They should be providingaccessible resources and facilities thatcomplement those nearby and which meetthe learning, leisure and social needs of thewider community, in ways that enrich thosecommunities and help them to be viable andto flourish. This will be facilitated, whereappropriate, by schools including scope forthe provision of childcare for pre-5s as wellas for pre-school education, in an integratedway which better meets the needs offamilies. Advice and support services forparents could also be located in schoolsthereby reducing the risk of stigmatisingsuch services and underlining the contributionof schools to the social and learning needsof the communities they serve.

13 The Scottish Government – A games legacy for Scotland (September 2009) – www.scotland.gov.uk/gameslegacy14 Scottish Building Standards – A low carbon building standards strategy for Scotland (December 2009) –

www.sbsa.gov.uk/sullivanreport.htm



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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LOCAL AND SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

The Concordat15 between the ScottishGovernment and COSLA established a newrelationship between local and Scottishgovernment, a new partnership approach tothe delivery of key policies and public servicesand new supporting funding arrangements.These developments are already changingthe way in which the future school estateimprovement programme is being plannedand will be implemented. The Concordat hashad a direct influence on how this Strategyhas been developed. It also commits localand Scottish Government to each do what isrequired to improve the learning experiencefor children and young people by improvingthe fabric of schools and nurseries.

The Scottish Government will continue togive clear, national, strategic focus to thewhole programme of improvement and

investment, including appropriate levels ofsupport, both financial and other, in asstraight-forward and flexible a way aspossible. At local level, building on the nowwell-established information base of schoolestate management plans and processes,local authorities have the freedom andresponsibility to set local, strategic andinvestment plans and then to prioritise anddeploy resources as they see fit. Realisingthose plans and delivering improvements onthe ground, to locally set timescales, will allbe done within a more flexible and lessring-fenced funding environment. TheConcordat makes clear that improvingoutcomes is the primary aim of both localand Scottish Government, with SingleOutcome Agreements16 as the means ofmaintaining and demonstrating progress.

15 The Scottish Government – Concordat between the Scottish Government and local government (November 2007) –www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/923/0054147.pdf

16 Single Outcome Agreements are agreements between the Scottish Government and Community PlanningPartnerships which set out how each will work in the future towards improving outcomes for the local people in away that reflects local circumstances and priorities, within the context of the Government's National Outcomesand Purpose.

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WIDER PARTNERSHIPS

Successful implementation of this Strategywill depend on more than just the relationshipbetween local and Scottish Government.Firstly, the increasing degree of engagement,sharing and benchmarking betweenauthorities themselves, such as through thelong-established Local Authority SchoolEstates Network Group, will be an importantpart of the process. Other partnerships willalso be key to achieving the vision andaspirations set out here. In many cases it willbe a matter of building on relationshipsalready well established. The Lighthouseand Architecture+Design Scotland, bothsupported by Scottish Government, arealready working alongside local authorities onthe consultation and design fronts. There isincreasing involvement too of organisationssuch as the Carbon Trust, Grounds forLearning and sportscotland in schoolplanning and design. Their advice and input,and that of a range of other specialistorganisations, will further improve the qualityand efficacy of the school estate.

The Scottish Futures Trust has a major rolein delivering and maximising value for moneyfrom the £1.25 billion school buildingprogramme announced by the ScottishGovernment in June 2009. They will develop,recommend and implement approaches thatwill secure a better school building programmeacross Scotland, better value for money thancould be achieved by each authority workingseparately and better integration andcoherence of procurement and delivery ofpublic sector projects through approachessuch as the hub initiative17. A number of localauthorities are already looking to the ScottishFutures Trust to assist and support aspectsof their wider school investment programmes.

17 The hub is a programme of the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). It will provide a procurement vehicle supporting along-term programme of investment driven by service needs for local authorities, NHS Boards and other publicsector bodies across Scotland. It will provide a mechanism for delivering community based infrastructurerequirements more quickly, effectively and thereby delivering better value for money and will provide a systemicapproach to service and infrastructure requirements in the short, medium and long term.


Successful implementation of thisStrategy will depend on more thanjust the relationship between localand Scottish Government.

4

VISIONANDASPIRATIONSFORTHESCHOOLESTATE

Ardnamurchan High School – Highland Council

“Our vision is for schools which signal the high value we place onlearning; which people and communities can enjoy using and can beproud; which are well designed, maintained and managed and whichencourage continuous engagement with learning; which are far morethan just ‘educational establishments’ whose quality of environmentsupports an accessible range of services and opportunities and whichenrich the communities they serve and the lives of learners and families.”

Also set out in Annex C is an illustrative butby no means exhaustive list of some of themany points, suggestions and argumentsput to the Group by those who gaveevidence either directly or at the stakeholderevent. The Strategy – its vision, aspirationsand the guiding principles and objectives –has, to a large extent, emerged from therecurrent themes running through thestakeholder input. There was also anencouragingly widespread recognition that

much of what was being emphasised,valued and sought is already happening insome or significant measure.

After full consideration of all of the input andviews expressed by stakeholders, as well asof the role which both tiers of Governmentwish to see schools fulfil, the Working Groupagreed a statement of shared vision for thefuture school estate:


32

This Strategy has greatly benefited from input from a wide range ofstakeholders – individuals as well as organisations – who were invited to giveevidence to and engage in discussion with the School Estate StrategyWorking Group, or who attended organised events. Contributors are listed atAnnex C, which also includes ‘briefs’ developed from the stakeholder andpupil events.

Section 4 - Vision andAspirations for the School Estate

33

ASPIRATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL ESTATE

Our aspirations for the school estate expand on the statement of vision and spell out what we –local and Scottish Government and local authorities – want to achieve together, namely that:

f All children and young people will be educated in, and community users able use, schools thatare ‘fit for purpose’ in terms of condition, suitability and sufficiency as defined overleaf;

f Schools are well-designed, accessible, inclusive learning environments that inspire anddrive new thinking and change and which support the delivery of high quality educationalexperiences through Curriculum for Excellence;

f Schools are integral parts of the communities they serve, with pupils making use ofcommunity facilities and communities accessing school facilities;

f Schools accommodate and provide a range of services, activities and facilities that make adifference to people’s health and well being, to sustaining economic growth and to thestrength and vibrancy of communities;

f A sustainable school estate whose design, construction and operation is environmentallyand energy efficient; contributes directly to delivering the year-on-year reductions ingreenhouse gas emissions introduced by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act, which isresilient to the impact of climate change and which leads by example in matters ofenvironmental performance;

f A school estate that is efficiently run and maximises value for money;

f A school estate which is flexible and responsive – both to changes in demand for schoolplaces and to learners’ and teachers’ requirements and wishes, and where the beneficialimpact of change is maximised by thorough consultation and engagement with users andstakeholders.


34

18 These measures are set out in the detailed ‘condition’ guidance Scottish Executive – The Condition Core Fact –(March 2007) www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/12142801/0

19 The Scottish Executive – Guidance on the preparation of Accessibility Strategies under the Education (DisabilityStrategies and Pupils Educational Records) Act 2002 – www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/09/15494/11272

20 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050013_en_121 The Scottish Government – The Suitability Core Fact: Scotland’s School Estate (October 2008) –

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/19123626/0

f condition – no-one would endorse anaspiration that referred to fewer than allschools if that consigned some tens ofthousands of pupils and other users tolearning in ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ conditionschools (condition categories C and D;the measures of which are set out in thedetailed ‘condition’ guidance18). Thatsaid, even when the continuing schoolimprovement programme has reached apoint where the proportion of schools or,more importantly, the proportion of pupilsbeing educated in such schools is downto below 10% and still falling, in reality itwill never reach 0% because all buildingsdeteriorate, sometimes in sudden andunpredictable ways. The cycle ofbuildings’ deterioration, repair andreconstruction is a continuous one.

f Realistically, the target underpinning thisaspiration must be that where there arestill poor or bad condition schools thereneed also to be firm plans to address thesituation by removing those schools fromCondition C and D – either by repair orrefurbishment, or by replacement. Thecritical equation is that the proportion ofpupils educated in condition A and Bschools + the plans for tackling conditionthe C and D schools in which the balanceof pupils are being educated must =100%. The target is that the proportion ofpupils within the first two categories (A andB) of schools should well exceed 90%.Reaching that point by any given date willbe dependent as much if not more on thedecisions of future Governments and

councils than it will be on the decisions ofthe current Scottish Government andlocal government partners who havejointly articulated the aspiration and target.

f suitability – how the design, spaces andconfiguration of the school impacts onfunction is crucial. Ease of use andaccessibility also has a direct bearing onthe all-important inclusion agenda incontext of authorities’ ‘accessibilitystrategies’19 and their responsibilitiesunder the Disability Discrimination Act20.The aspiration and eventual target will beto apply the same approach as hasalready been applied to measuringcondition, to suitability – although thedevelopment of a standard, reliable andconsistent ‘measure’ is intrinsically morechallenging and at a much earlier stage.That precludes at least for now anypossibility of setting a measurable target.

f After much consultation, discussion andcollaboration between ScottishGovernment and authorities, detailedguidance on the development of such ameasure (again based on four categoriesof ‘suitability’ – A to D) has issued21 and isbeing trialled and tested by authorities.As was the case with condition, furtherdevelopment work will be needed beforea measure of suitability is developed tothe point where it is generally acceptedand understood by all, consistentlyapplied and can take its place alongsidethe measure of condition to informplanning and investment decisions.

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f sufficiency – adjusting the pattern andsupply of schools and school places in away that better adapts to changing‘demand’ is challenging but essential.Some ‘room for manoeuvre’ is desirablebut maintaining too many surplus orunderused areas is wasteful and dilutesthe productive deployment of resources.Changes can be implemented in variousways – new buildings or school closures,catchment area adjustments and byaltering capacity through extensions, moreflexible use of space, or occasionally bytemporary accommodation to cope witha short term fluctuation.

f Authorities’ responsibilities to preparestrategic and local development plansallow for extensive public engagement ofthe need for and location of new schoolsin the wider context of planning newresidential areas, open spaces and otherinfrastructure. Where new housingdevelopment results in a requirement foradditional school capacity, options fordelivery, including the possible use ofdeveloper contributions, should beidentified and the mechanisms agreed,including the phasing of additionalcapacity in relation to the occupancy ofthe new housing.

f Our aspiration is to achieve an estatewhose configuration, and for schoolswhose capacity can be adjusted inresponse to changes in policy, bothnational and local and to local changes in‘demand’. Authorities also have tobalance this with the fulfilment of theirstatutory duties to maintain a sufficiencyof accommodation and secure theefficient provision of school educationwhilst taking into account the needs andwishes of people and communities.Improvement in the projection of schoolrolls is needed, as well as better‘indicators’ of capacity, occupancy andthe relationship between supply anddemand in order to facilitate this.Formulaic measurement of whatconstitutes ‘sufficiency’ in any givenlocality is perhaps the most challengingmeasure of all, because so many factorswill bear on that judgement or decision.

The vision and aspirations should and will inform decisions takenregarding the strategic planning of the future school estate. The ninegeneral principles and objectives set out in the next section will guidehow each school is planned, designed, built and ultimately used andenjoyed.

Section 4 - Vision andAspirations for the School Estate

5

GUIDINGPRINCIPLESANDOBJECTIVES

Sgoil Nan Loch – Comhairle nan Eilean

38

This section is the heart of the Strategy – a set of nine guiding principles andobjectives for future planning and action to be taken into account by localauthorities, community planning partners and Scottish Government whenconsidering changes to the school estate. Better strategic thinking, planningand management of change will result in better focus of effort, investmentand more successful outcomes. These guiding principles and objectives arenot presented as any sort of blueprint or ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. At thelocal level it will of course be for authorities to judge how best they should beapplied or incorporated into planning and management of the school estate.The principles and objectives, although peppered with ‘action points’, arenot ends in themselves. They will be applicable in varying degrees todifferent types of change and development, according to localcircumstances. Each should be given consideration, with a presumption infavour of applicability unless there are strong counter arguments. The nineguiding principles and objectives together represent a coherent package thatwill deliver the Strategy’s vision and aspirations. Other considerations are ofcourse to be welcomed if they lead to better long-term improvements andoutcomes and will inevitably emerge as the programme of investment matures.


Kingspark School – Dundee Council

Section 5 -GuidingPrinciples andObjectives

39

PRINCIPLES FOR GUIDING AND MANAGING CHANGE

1 – Good consultation means better outcomes

Whatever the scale and nature of the change proposed – everything from a whole newschool to changing a room’s furniture around – the benefits of engaging with, consultingand involving all the potential users and interests cannot be overstated. It helps to highlightexpectations, identify the options and refine the objectives based on the widest possibleevidence base22. Local and Scottish Government will:

f use partners such as Architecture+Design Scotland and The Lighthouse further tochampion the message that consultation and involvement is the essential pre-requisite tochange both at the early design stage and the later statutory land use planning process;

f improve ways of consulting appropriately with children and young people, according totheir ‘age and stage’ – which can produce some of the most novel and best ideas aboutdesign and space usage;

f achieve greater involvement of interests and users in post-occupancy evaluation processesin order to improve the way lessons are learnt that will benefit future plans and projects;

f consider how the input and impact of consultation may be better captured and measured.

22 The National Standards for Community Engagement (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/engage/standards) offer a helpful framework for improving practice in consultation and engagement.The community engagement database, VOICE (which is based on the Standards) may also help authorities toplan, review and record the outcomes of consultations.

St Peter the Apostle High School – West Dunbartonshire Council

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f develop further the means of capturing experiences and verdicts (post occupancyevaluations of all types of change) and of disseminating and sharing them more effectivelythrough publications and guidance, web-based means, better networking etc;

f build on existing work with Architecture+Design Scotland and others to champion andenhance good school design – both ‘whole school’ as well as aspects or components;

f explore what indicators, comparators and exemplars of good school design there alreadyare, or might be, developed.

2 – Innovative design and change is better informed by experience

Improvements in school design will be accelerated by speeding up the rate at whichlessons are learned from experiences, both locally and elsewhere. Systematic review,learning loops and other feedback mechanisms are vital, as is a willingness to admit andshare mistakes as well as to showcase the successes and the best. Important too is akeenness not just to replicate what works or has been done before, but also to develop,innovate and try something new. Local and Scottish Government and other partners will:


Williamwood High School – East Renfrewshire Council

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f consider how the approach of adopting a more holistic way of looking at a suite ofinterrelated issues such as heating, lighting, ventilation, acoustics etc. as set out inOptimising the internal environment23 could be better implemented in new and existingschools because overall levels of ‘comfort’ are vital for good learning and teaching‘performance’ and how it might be replicated in other areas of design;

f consider how to make best use of school grounds and the outdoor spaces as an integralpart of the learning environment ensuring that landscape design is at a par with buildingdesign;

f focus more on consideration of whole life cycle costs and implications for all changes, notjust new builds. Factors such as durability, rates of deterioration, obsolescence, expectedlifespan, long term contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, management andmaintenance implications need to be considered;

f improve the way we think about a school’s ‘fit’ with its surroundings and relationship to thecommunity.

3 – A more integrated, holistic and longer-term approach to change

As Charles Rennie Mackintosh demonstrated a century ago, taking an integrated, holisticview of the school – the buildings, the grounds, the fixtures (which nowadays of courseinclude ICT infrastructure and resources), facilities and the furniture – will result in betterplanning and design and deliver better outcomes. This means looking at the school as anentity which embraces all of its functions – learning, recreation, social, cultural etc. – inrelationship to its surroundings and to the local community. To this end, local and ScottishGovernment, will:

23 Scottish Executive - School Design: Optimising the Internal (March 2007)www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/28144045/0


Carnoustie High – Angus Council42

PRINCIPLES/OBJECTIVES WHICH RELATE TO THE STATE OFTHE SCHOOL ESTATE

4 – Schools whose condition supports and enhances their functions

Condition has a direct impact on what goes on in the school. Appropriate forwardplanning and prudent, timely decisions on ongoing maintenance will best enableauthorities to sustain the quality and asset value of their school buildings over the longterm. Schools in good condition – irrespective of age or design – signals to all the users(pupils, other learners and staff) that learning is a valued activity, that the learningenvironment is a priority and often gives that all important ‘feel-good factor’. Local andScottish Government will:

f build on standards of school condition already set out in detailed guidance, in order toimprove interpretation and consistency24;

f take a more prudent, long-term approach to maintenance and its implications; and

f develop ways of capturing the day-to-day experiences and users’ perceptions ofcondition, in ways that could better inform future planning and investment.

24 Scottish Executive – The Condition Core Fact – (March 2007)www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/12142801/0


Achahoish Primary – Argyll and Bute Council43

5 – More ‘suitable’ and ‘inclusive’ schools, better future-proofed forflexibility and adaptability

Suitability is a measure of whether a school is fit for purpose – whether its design andlayout enhance its function and use, whether there is space and scope to accommodateall the pre-school and after-school demands and services, whether it is ‘inclusive’ andaccessible to those with disabilities, how capable it is of adjustment or adaptation, howable to ‘flex’ in response to future, sometimes unforeseen changes in the scale and natureof demand and usage, to changes in climate and to changes in ICT and other technologyand the ways in which education may be delivered. Local and Scottish Government will:

f utilise and build on the new guidance25 on the measure of suitability issued by the ScottishGovernment to improve its usage, application and consistency of interpretation;

f further support the inclusion agenda and improve access to education by enhancing thesuitability of all schools to meet the special requirements of pupils with additional supportneeds;

f improve analysis of longer term community needs in order to ensure that schools are betterable to meet those needs and deliver an appropriate range of services for years to come;

f consider whether a measure of ‘adaptability’ should be developed and would be of value.

25 The Scottish Government – The Suitability Core Fact: Scotland’s School Estate (October 2008) –www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/19123626/0


Dunning Primary – Perth and Kinross Council44

6 – Schools which are ‘greener’, more sustainable andenvironmentally efficient

Sustainability needs to become a core aspect of planning, design, development andmanagement of schools and changes to them. Schools will be a significant contributor tomitigating the effects of climate change and meeting the Scottish Government’s climatechange targets and need to lead by example. In turn, they also need to be adaptable tothe unavoidable consequences of it. In addition, ‘greener’ schools, in themselves, are apowerful learning and teaching tool. Local and Scottish Government will:

f refocus attention on all aspects of sustainability and environmental efficiency – constructionmaterials, design, the importance of natural daylight, ventilation etc., energy, waste andwater efficiency, options for on-site renewables, options for sustainable travel, carbonfootprint, environmental impact, enhancing biodiversity – all in context of both new buildsand adaptations of existing schools;

f promote better understanding and consideration of the full environmental andcarbon/energy implications of options, better appreciation of cost-benefits in the widestsense and life cycle and longer term (best value) implications especiallyof future climate projections;

f consider how sustainable school design and practice can increasingly become a teachingtool (for tomorrow’s decision makers and consumers) and an inspiration to the communityand other parts of the public sector.


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7 – A well-managed school estate which represents and deliversbest value

This is a fundamental aspect of school estate management. Audit Scotland rightlyfocuses on ‘best value’; an issue of heightened importance at a time of pressure on andcompetition for public finances26. Collectively we must maximise the benefits from ourinvestment in the school estate and the assets created, throughout their life cycle. Allstakeholders – learners, teachers, parents, communities and taxpayers – stand to benefitif the school estate is efficiently and effectively managed. There are undoubtedlychallenges in securing value for money overall, while balancing the particular interests ofindividuals and individual communities and of increased carbon efficiency. Everyonerecognizes that, and that the responsibility for striking the right balance falls, ultimately, tothe local authorities. The Scottish Government has introduced legislation27 which willimprove the robustness, openness and transparency of consultation and decision makingprocesses around proposed changes to the configuration of the school estate. Localauthorities, in partnership with the Scottish Government will:

f look at ways of further improving public understanding of option appraisal processes andcost-benefit analysis, of why proposals for changes to the configuration of the schoolestate have to be considered and of the ‘opportunity cost’ and wider community andshort-term versus long-term implications of such proposals.

f consider whether and how best measures of sufficiency, or aspects of it (e.g. demand forplaces, capacity etc.) could be developed.

f work with the Scottish Futures Trust to maximise synergies in the co-ordination of design,procurement and financing of the school building programme.

26 For example, Budget 2009 projects that across the UK capital investment will fall from the current level ofbetween 2 and 3 per cent in this Spending Review period to 1.25% of GDP by 2013-14.http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_completereport_2520.pdf

27 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill - www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/23-Schools/index.htm


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OBJECTIVES WHICH RELATE TO SCHOOL FUNCTIONS

8 – Schools which both drive and support effective learning andteaching through Curriculum for Excellence

Design, management and use of schools of course very much focuses on the educationalneeds and wishes of learners, on supporting effective, learner-focused ways of learningand teaching which are at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence. Social and learningenvironments need to be supportive, responsive and reactive. More than that, they mustalso provoke and generate new ideas, new expectations and ways of learning, proactivelyand continually challenging learners to engage with learning through school and to stayengaged with learning after they have left. Schools should be attention-grabbing,eye-opening, thought-provoking, empowering and should thereby inspire and drivenew the approach to effective learning and teaching which Curriculum for Excellenceembodies. To help achieve this local and Scottish Government will:

f focus attention not only on how the physical environment and facilities (especially ICT)support new ways of learning and delivering the curriculum, but also on how theythemselves are instruments of change in thinking and practice, encouraging and enablinginterdisciplinary learning, enhance teacher collegiality and collaboration etc;

f further extend the Building Excellence28 programme which looks at the learningenvironment as an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence – highlighting the opportunitiesfor adapting and using space within existing schools as much as the design of new ones,and challenging designers to think afresh and in radical ways about the relationshipbetween the environment and effective learning and teaching;

f highlight the inspirational ‘wow’ factors, including designs, features, spaces, places,colours etc. – both indoor and outdoor – in ways that engage pupils and other schoolusers in shaping their learning environment and the way it is used.

28 Scottish Government – Building Excellence: Exploring the implications of the Curriculum for Excellence for SchoolBuildings (December 2007) www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/14115428/0


9 – Schools which best serve their communities

Schools are major public and community assets. School estate management planningneeds to be better integrated into wider council asset management planning and the fullrange of community planning processes. This should include building effective links withlocal community regeneration strategies. A school can be a real catalyst in tackling highlevels of deprivation in both urban and rural areas and in stabilising and helping thecommunities served to be viable and to flourish. Local and Scottish Government will:

f better integrate school estate management planning with wider corporate asset planningand link with the asset plans of community planning partners;

f jointly identify the longer-term role of schools and their relationship to other local assetssuch as health centres, libraries, leisure and recreation centres and childcare facilities;

f further develop the concept of the school as a ‘community hub’ – where the schoolaccommodates and supports provision of a range of community services, eg health,community education, sport, recreation, social and cultural activity etc;

f explore how best to encourage community use of both indoor and outdoor facilities withinthe school estate by making schools more open, accessible and welcoming at all times –to entice the community in and continue to engage with learners. Schools and localcommunities should be more open and accessible to each other for mutual benefit.

CASE STUDIES

A series of case studies focusing on different aspects of improvement to the school estate,illustrating a range of achievements and best practice to date, are set out on page 58. Theyillustrate aspects of good design – consultation, the classroom, the outdoors, sustainability,and a community campus – as well as on wider issues of investment strategy, planning andcorporate asset management.

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6

NEXTSTEPS

Sanderson’s Wynd – East Lothian Council


50

The School Estate Strategy represents the first step in a long-termprogramme of joint work by Scottish Government and local government onthe school estate. The next steps will be to develop – as recommended byAudit Scotland – a Financial Strategy and Implementation Plan by 2010 fordelivering the Strategy. The three parts – the Strategy itself, the FinancialStrategy and the Implementation Plan – will constitute a joint strategicapproach to and plan for the continuing improvement of Scotland’s schoolestate. As the Strategy itself sets out the agreed policy objectives andframework within which local activity and planning will take place, the overallImplementation Plan will represent a national summation of 32 localstrategies and plans for action. Equally, the Financial Strategy will be aboutlocal authorities matching the Scottish Government’s commitment throughpreparing long-term plans in the context of local needs, priorities andresources so that the principles of this School Estate Strategy can bedelivered in full.

Troqueer Primary School – Dumfries & Galloway Council

Section 6 - Next Steps

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RESOURCES AND FUNDING

Appropriate resources and funding will befundamental to achieving the aspirationsand objectives set out in the Strategy.Scottish Government makes capital andrevenue resources available to authoritiesthrough the local government settlement.During the current Parliamentary period,Government sign off of further revenueschools projects (including NPD and PPP)and the inclusion of record levels of capitalfunding in the local government settlementfor 2008-2011 are already supporting aprogramme of local authority investment inthe school estate in excess of £2 billion. Inaddition, authorities will continue to invest,year on year, in their school estates, utilisingthe capital funding provided in future localgovernment settlements and other fundingsources available to them such as capitalreceipts and developer contributions.

In June 2009 Government announced anadditional £800 million of funding towards a£1.25 billion school building programme thatwill see the replacement of around another55 schools, benefitting around 35,000 or 5%of Scotland’s pupils. This represents the nextphase of the school investment programmeand the next steps towards achieving thecondition target set out on page 34.

Local government in turn applies additionalresources from various other potentialsources to the overall amounts which aredeployed locally for investment in the schoolestate. The scale of the estate and of thetask ahead – and the shared commitmentwhich this Strategy represents – means thatinvestment in schools will always need tofeature as a major consideration in successivegovernment spending reviews and localauthority budget setting processes andcapital plans.

The Audit Scotland report indicated that itwould require at least another £5 billion ofinvestment in order to overtake the legacy ofunderinvestment and attain a state ofequilibrium where the rate of improvement ofthe school estate matches the rate ofdeterioration. Achieving this will involve agenuine sharing of responsibility across localand national government for the funding ofimprovements and the phasing of progressdepending on the availability of resourcesand both national and local prioritisation.Moreover, amid a tightening environment forthe public finances, it will require commitmenton all sides to prioritise resources andmaximise value for money from investment inthe school estate. This approach reflects boththe current economic realities and the principlesset out in the Concordat. The Strategy mustabove all serve to ensure that deployment ofresources and funding is best targeted.

The Financial Strategy will focus on identifyingthe scale and sources of the funds requiredto deliver the Strategy. It will look attimescales, procurement options, and thechanging balance of expenditure asbetween new build, refurbishment, repairand maintenance we approach that state ofequilibrium. Of course, by no means allschools which are categorised as being in‘poor’ condition (category C) requireimmediate replacement. In most cases theirremoval from condition category C will beachievable through appropriate repair,refurbishment or modification. The FinancialStrategy (and the Implementation Plan) willneed to recognise the range of appropriateworks, different degrees of urgency anddifferent levels of investment requirement toaddress the remedial action required toschools in condition categories C and D.


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The Scottish Futures Trust will also play asignificant role in the development andimplementation of the Financial Strategy.

Experience suggests that the pace of forwardprogress will depend on a number offactors, not all of them financial. For instance,capacity constraints in the constructionindustry or financial sector and the capacity,skills and expertise of local authorities toplan, manage and deliver large scale changeand improvement will all bear on the rate ofimplementation of this Strategy. Moreover,inadequate spend on subsequentmaintenance can lead to inflated repaircosts later on and a truncated lifespan.Constraints and factors such as thesehighlight the increasing need to share andimprove best practice and experience, anddevelop expertise and capacity at bothnational and local level. The Scottish FuturesTrust again play a role here.

There is also both a need for, and a potentialbenefit from, looking at the school estate notin isolation from, but alongside and in contextof other public sector assets. Consideringthe schools dimension within the widerstrategic processes of local authority assetmanagement planning – entirely appropriategiven the range of public services deliveredthrough schools – should serve to improveefficiencies in planning, investment andmanagement across the public sector, and toopen up new possibilities for the way fundingpackages for improvements are put together.

MEASURING PROGRESS

When the focus of attention is a capitalintensive fixed asset with a long lifespan,where the lead-times for planning andbuilding new schools are long, success inturning aspirations into reality will only reallybe demonstrated or measured over atimespan of years, even decades. Weshould nevertheless strive to improve theclarity of the early indicators which will signalover the next few years whether the firststeps that we take are in the right direction.The School Estate Strategy itself will beginto make a difference immediately byprompting people to think in new waysabout the planning and management of theschool estate.

Local and Scottish Government haveworked together in recent years to developthe information base of Core Facts data onthe school estate. That was embarked uponin order to improve the national picture andunderstanding of the state of the schoolestate and inform policy and decision-making.Scottish Government has also supportedthe development of local School EstateManagement Plans as a means of assistingindividual authorities to plan, develop andmanage their school estates in a strategicand better-informed way.

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This Strategy builds on that developinginformation base, looking ahead to what localand Scottish Government want to secureand achieve in return for the huge investmentwe make in the school estate. It will not beachieved overnight but the Strategy identifieswhere resources should be directed – towhere there is greatest need and where wecan achieve maximum impact and benefit.

Success will be a school estate whichcontributes to the delivery of national andlocal objectives and policies and positivesoutcomes for the people of Scotland. Thatwill be hard to measure directly because thecausal effect of good school buildings andfacilities for instance on attainment andachievement are difficult, if not impossible,to separate out from all the other inputfactors such as quality of teaching, parentalsupport and so on. That said, improvementsto the school estate will feed through intoand be detected across the suite of nationaland local indicators set out in the Concordat,the National Performance Framework29 andauthorities’ Single Outcome Agreements.

The well-established Core Facts dataset isbeing continually refined and expanded toensure greater robustness and consistencyacross the board. At present the bestdeveloped measure is of the condition of

schools. Work though has been underwayfor some time to develop a new methodologyfor systematically measuring the much morechallenging issue of a school’s suitability orfitness for the purpose of supportingmodern education. Further work is alreadyplanned to look at indicators of capacity andoccupancy that will shed light on whatconstitutes maintaining a ‘sufficiency’ ofschool accommodation in the face of everchanging patterns of demand. Throughout,the emphasis will increasingly be on lookingnot just at ways of measuring the state ofschools but also on ways of attempting tomeasure impact and advantage for thosewho benefit from the improvements – thepupils, staff and other school users.

Aside from further development of the CoreFacts data signalled above, the forward planof work will involve a range of other initiativesand developments all intended to helprealise the Strategy’s aspirations. The set ofguiding principles and objectives sets theparameters for and will provide a stimulus tofuture work at both local and national level.This will be progressed by way of a series ofpartnerships, through joint and commissionedwork, publications, conferences, seminars,workshops, networking and the developmentof guidance and better ways of sharinggood practice.

29 The Scottish Government – www.scotlandperforms.com



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LOOKING AHEAD

This Strategy will have an impact for a longtime to come. In order to deliver theimprovements we want to see in outcomesthere is need to plan for the short, mediumand long term. Set out below are factorswhich have to be considered over differenttimescales in planning future schoolinvestment.

We recognise that educational anddemographic changes will have a majorbearing on the shape and nature of thefuture school estate. The pace of changeand evolution is determined by a number offactors – some within the influence of localand Scottish Government – and someoutwith our control. Indeed a Strategy whichis having an impact will quicken the pace ofchange. Therefore, we fully expect theStrategy to be reviewed and refreshed in afew years, in order to take account ofchanging policies, resource availability,progress achieved and a new perspectivefrom a new point in time.

For now, we need to consider the view fromthe point we have reached in the currentprogramme of school estate investment,and in the widest possible context. Thisprovides our present sense of perspective,

though that can be distorted if the issue ofimproving the school estate is consideredover too short a timeframe. Parts of theschool estate include Victorian buildingsdating back 150 years, some of which may(with appropriate adaptations) well servecommunities for years to come. Lookingahead we hope that well designed andmaintained new schools will last for at least60 and perhaps a hundred or more years.Therefore we are dealing with buildings andfacilities spanning more than 250 years intotal. Decisions taken now on procurementand on maintenance will resonate fordecades to come.

We need to resist the temptation that thisStrategy looks ahead over a finite orspecified period of time. Planning for thefuture school estate needs to take a rangeof future timescales into account. By way ofillustration, the Climate Change (Scotland)Act 2009 sets a target for a 80% reductionin greenhouse gas emissions by the year2050. Funding arrangements involvingrevenue finance or indeed borrowing torepay capital can often extend over atimescale of up to 30 years – which willtherefore extend to around the year 2040.The Audit Scotland Report suggests that it

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may take until sometime into the 2020s toimprove the condition of all the schools whichare still in poor or bad condition and to reachthat ‘state of equilibrium’. In terms of publicinvestment plans, anything significantly beyond5 years ahead – ie beyond the middle of thenext decade – is of necessity more in thenature of a ‘statement of intent’ than a detailedplan because neither local nor ScottishGovernment can project resource availabilityand therefore expenditure levels muchbeyond the 3-year cycle of Spending Reviews.

This strategy represents the start of asignificant new phase in the journey todeliver a modern, fit for purpose school

estate. The emphasis needs to be more onthe start of that new phase than on the endof the journey. The Strategy must speakmost clearly to those taking decisions nowabout the first new steps down the road. Noone administration, national or local, cancontemplate or be responsible for ‘completingthe task’ of improving the school estate. Itis, by its very nature, a continuous process.Each successive administration, nationaland local, working in partnership, must playits part in the endeavour, ensuring that theschool estate fulfils its potential to improveour society, economy and the lives ofeveryone in Scotland.


St Bride’s Primary School – South Lanarkshire Council

CASESTUDIES

Strathesk Primary School – Midlothian Council

Good design, innovative thinking about the use of space or small ideas and changes canenable teachers to undertake different activities and facilitate different types of learning.Spaces are not just where pupils gather together in order to learn but can be key to the waythey learn and the quality of their learning experience. Good spaces inspire, stimulate,challenge and support pupils and teachers.

Changing Classrooms30 was produced by The Lighthouse (the Scottish Centre for Architecture,Design and the City), in partnership with the Scottish Government, to illustrate the importantrelationship between space and learning. It offers examples of good and interesting ways in whichspaces can support teachers to improve learning in the context of Curriculum for Excellence.

Changing a room’s layout, re-arranging furniture or using it differently, creating places withinspaces, and better use of open air spaces can all help support a variety of activity andimplementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Changing Classrooms highlights eight examplesof innovative use of space in schools which demonstrate how good design, innovativethinking or small ideas or changes have led to a better learning environment.

Changing ClassroomsCaseStudy

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Galston Primary School – East Ayrshire Council

30 The Lighthouse – Changing Classrooms (August 2008)www.thelighthouse.co.uk/content/publications/70,250/ChangingClassrooms.html


Architecture itself can be a learningresource. It can illustrate philosophies,theories, ideas and inspires curiosity. Itmakes the invisible visible. It may confusethe senses. It is this understanding andmisunderstanding which makes anenvironment stimulating. The design of thenew Dalry Primary School in North Ayrshirereflects the process of learning throughdiscovery and demonstrates the value ofinvolving the whole school community in anschool building project.

This innovative project involved the closecollaboration of artists, architects, pupilsand teachers in the design and realisation ofa new concept in primary schoolarchitecture. The school has been designedas a learning prototype, offering usersmultiple opportunities to engage withdifferent organisational and teachingmethods and to use or modify the facilitiesand spaces.

The aim was to create a new language oflearning projects, ideas, concepts and datawithin the fabric of the new school throughthe adoption of the concept of ‘imbeddedintelligence’, where routes tell stories, layoutsuggests systems of measurement, andspecific spatial relationships inform aboutthe local and global environment. Facts,figures, phrases and stories have beenincorporated into the structure withhistorical, site specific text and informationand these help to prompt pupils to engagewith their environment, to ask questions andencourage them to take responsibility fortheir learning.

CaseStudyInnovative Design

CaseStudies

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Dalry Primary School – North Ayrshire Council

Inverclyde Academy opened in January 2009, with an Energy Performance Certificate ‘A’rating – a significant achievement for a secondary school building. The Council werecommitted to producing a landmark campus that would also act as an exemplar to inform thedesign of subsequent schools.

The design of the new Academy makes excellent use of natural daylight and ventilation toprovide a high quality learning and teaching facility for the children and wider community. Highefficiency condensing gas boilers and heating and water services systems are installed andinsulation and air tightness are above current building standards regulations. Sustainablysourced materials, such as Forestry Stewardship (FSC) sourced timber, were specified wherepractical and affordable. A 50kW wind turbine will provide 15-20% of the power to the schoolas well as helping to reduce ongoing energy costs and CO2 emissions.

The Council has incorporated the lessons learned from the Academy project into their PPPSchools programme, which will deliver two new primaries and two new secondaries by 2011.In the first tie-up of its kind in Scotland, the Carbon Trust worked alongside the Council andthe building consortium E4i through the procurement process, providing a range of technical

advice on issues such as the use of naturallight, improved insulation and high standardsof air tightness, to minimise the carbonfootprint of the four schools and ensure highquality learning and teaching environmentsare provided within them.

The Carbon Trust is now working with otherauthorities on a similar basis to help deliverschool buildings that contribute to the ClimateChange agenda whilst also providing highquality learning environments.

Sustainable schoolsCaseStudy

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Newark Primary School – Inverclyde Council

The new Academy makesexcellent use of naturaldaylight and ventilation toprovide a high qualitylearning and teaching facility.


The ongoing Senses of Place: Building Excellence project, commissioned by the ScottishGovernment in 2007, demonstrates the importance and immense value of involving childrenand young people in school design from an early stage. The project, led by The Lighthouse,aims to make consultation an active, engaged and useful process. It tests the idea that byimproving the capability for building users to contribute to its design, a better building will result.

The results of the first phase of the project were presented in a book, published in 2008,which explores some of the processes which can lead to successful consultation. Fiveprojects were undertaken, each with a different local authority and a different architecturepractice. In each case, stakeholders – pupils and teachers – participated proactively in aconsultation process to develop design briefs for environments that would support deliveryof Curriculum for Excellence.

The enthusiasm of the young people and others involved in the projects and the richness ofthe ensuing design briefs act as an inspiration authorities, architects and others involved inschool design across Scotland in thinking carefully about the contribution the schoolenvironment can make to learning and teaching. A second phase of the project nowunderway will further develop effective, practical approaches to stakeholder engagement onactual school building projects to ensure the learning and teaching environments in schoolsare the very best they can be.

Case StudyEngaging users in the process of design

Case Studies

St Andrew’s High School – North Lanarkshire Council

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The pupils of Blairdardie Primary School, inNorth West Glasgow, felt their extensiveschool grounds, which incorporate grassedareas and asphalt, did not reflect the vibrancyand positive ethos of the space inside. Theentire school community was consulted onhow to develop the grounds, with each pupildrawing a design showing the improvementsthey would like to see take place.

The resulting plan included something tomeet the needs of children in all year groups:a bike rack, static play equipment, a traversingwall, table top games, a large wall mural,mobile football goals, an outdoor classroomincorporating carved wooden benches, abog garden and a woodland walk.

The project was implemented in stagesto allow curriculum links and learningopportunities for the children to bedeveloped – for example, problem solving,measuring, planting, designing and paintinga large wall mural and creating the designsfor the wooden benches.

The grounds are now used extensivelyfor outdoor learning, with enhancedopportunities for physical activity andseating areas which encourage socialinteraction and emotional health, whilst thebog garden and woodland area give thechildren the chance to interact, and developa connection, with the natural world.

The school was helped with funding from avariety of sources, including the nationallottery, Glasgow City Council, the RoyalBank of Scotland and the Parent Council,whilst Grounds for Learning, Kelvin ClydeGreenspace and various professional artistsprovided advice and support.

School groundsCaseStudy

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Blairardie Primary School– Glasgow City Council


The Raploch Community Campus is a flagship education project at the centre of theregeneration master plan for the Raploch area of Stirling, comprising of three primary schools,a special school and a nursery. The Campus also provides Forth Valley College with teachingaccommodation, while the local community benefit from extensive community sports facilitiesand office space, which is used both by the Council and other community partners.

The Campus, developed by the Council with the schools, teachers, parents, pupils andmembers of the local community, provides excellent opportunities for co-operative workingboth between the educational establishments and with the wider community partners. Itprovides a range of leisure and further education opportunities in a building that members ofthe local community can truly feel is their own. Catering, including the school meals serviceand a bistro open to the public, is provided through a partnership arrangement with ForthValley College where the kitchen provides a training venue for the college. There are also hairand beauty training facilities provided by the College within the Campus.

The Campus demonstrates that it is possible to find an appropriate balance between publicand private space. It provides a high quality environment conducive to learning and teachingin the 21st century and the type and variety of spaces support positive integrated working aswell as supporting the principles of Curriculum for Excellence.

CaseStudyA Community Campus

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CaseStudies


North Lanarkshire Council’s ‘Schools and Centres 21’ school upgrading programme aims topromote high quality learning and teaching; to address inadequate buildings and facilities; toaddress inequalities in the quality of school buildings; to make more efficient use of resources;to enhance community facilities and develop schools as community hubs; and to stimulatesocial and economic regeneration, particularly in deprived communities.

To achieve this, the Council is seeking to significantly improve the condition and educationalsuitability of school buildings. The approach varies according to the individual needs andcircumstances of particular schools. In some cases a new build will offer best value becauseof long terms costs and other financial considerations, whilst in other cases modernisation ofthe existing buildings will be the most appropriate option.

The Council adopted the following terminology to differentiate between the various levels ofmodernisation required in school buildings:

f renovation – maintenance of the existing fabric, eg painting, floor covering and ceiling finishes.

f refurbishment – partial upgrading of the existing building and facilities, eg partial DDAcompliance and asbestos removal.

f remodelling – extensive upgrading of the existing building and redesign of theaccommodation, eg curriculum-led upgrades, new facilities and full DDA compliance.

f reconstruction – eg partial demolition and rebuilding to modern standards.

The Schools and Centres 21 Strategy is based on remodelling and reconstruction to supportthe extensive modernisation of each school in the programme. This strategy will maximise theimpact on the educational facilities in each school, thus promoting high quality learning andteaching. In addition, it will promote longer term savings from the reduction in running costs.Finally, the Council feels it reflects the expectations of parents, pupils and staff for equity inthe provision of educational facilities – the school upgrading programme will eventually give allcommunities and all parts of each school access to the same high quality facilities as thoseestablished in the Council’s earlier ‘Education 2010’ PPP schools programme.

Council wide approach to the modernisation ofthe school estate

CaseStudy

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This strategy will maximise theimpact on the educationalfacilities in each school, thuspromoting high quality learningand teaching.


West Lothian Councils Corporate AssetManagement Plan was approved by the CouncilExecutive in November 2007. The plan contains a wide range of asset objectives that set outthe council’s aspiration for managing all of its assets and a fully funded 10-year investmentstrategy for property, open space, roads, structures, street lighting, water-related infrastructure,housing, fleet and ICT.

In preparing the plan, future aspirations and investment needs were identified for all councilassets, including the school estate, and developed into Strategic Outline Business Cases.Likely financial resources available over the 10-year period were established and an optionappraisal prioritisation exercise undertaken to match priorities with resources. The resultantinvestment strategy ensures that all assets, including the school estate, will be maintained overthe long term and that key priority projects that support corporate objectives will be delivered.

A corporate approach to identifying investment needs ensures that information collected aspart of the School Estate Management Plan, such as that relating to condition, suitability,sufficiency, consumption and information management is fully integrated into the prioritisationprocess. Investment decisions can then be taken based on complete picture of needs andpriorities and this ensures that the key requirements of the school estate are an integral partof the management of the entire Council’s property portfolio.

Bathgate Early Years Centre – West Lothian Council

CaseStudyCorporate Asset Management Planning

CaseStudies

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ANNEXES



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MEMBERSHIP OF THE SCHOOL ESTATE STRATEGY WORKINGGROUP

Scottish Government: Eileen Gill (Co-Chair) to March 2009Scottish Government: Colin Reeves (Co-Chair) from March 2009COSLA: Robert Nicol (Co-Chair)COSLA: Laura JamiesonSOLACE: Dave Jones (Clackmannanshire Council) to February 2009SOLACE: Alan Blackie (East Lothian Council) from March 2009ADES: Moira Niven (West Lothian Council)ADES: Murdo MacIver (North Lanarkshire Council)Directors of Finance: David Robertson (City of Edinburgh Council)SFT: Mikko Ramstedt (From November 2008)

Secretariat:

Scottish Government: Bill Scott-Watson (Secretary)Scottish Government: Mandy McKay (Assistant Secretary)

The joint Scottish Government – COSLA announcement in September 2008 accepting all ofthe recommendations in the Audit Scotland Report Improving the school estate also signalledthe establishment of a joint Working Group to develop a new School Estate Strategy. It includedrepresentatives from the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and from theAssociation of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES), and latterly from the ScottishFutures Trust (SFT).

The Working Group met approximately monthly between September 2008 and April 2009and, last autumn, took evidence directly from a wide range of interests and stakeholders asto what the new Strategy should contain and focus on. There was also a well attended‘stakeholder event’ held in November 2008, to which authorities and many others wereinvited. That was followed by a ‘pupil event’ in February 2009. Both were opportunities forthe Group to share and discuss much of the emerging thinking and findings, and to listen,gauge reactions and take note of views.

ANNEX A

NATIONALOUTCOMES

We live in a Scotland that is the most attractive place for doing business in Europe

We realise our full economic potential with more and better employment opportunities for our people

We are better educated, more skilled and more successful, renowned for our research and innovation

Our young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens

Our children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed

We live longer, healthier lives

We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society

We have improved the life chances for children, young people and families at risk

We live our lives safe from crime, disorder and danger

We live in well-designed, sustainable places where we are able to access the amenities and services we need

We have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actionsand how they affect others

We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations

We take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity

We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production

Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people’s needs

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Annexes

HIGH-LEVEL TARGETS RELATING TO THE PURPOSE

GROWTH PRODUCTIVITY PARTICIPATION POPULATION SOLIDARITY COHESION SUSTAINABILITY

THE GOVERNMENT’S PURPOSETO FOCUS GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES ON CREATING A MORESUCCESSFUL COUNTRY, WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF SCOTLAND

TO FLOURISH, THROUGH INCREASING SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH

NATIONAL PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK

WEALTHIER& FAIRER

SMARTER HEALTHIER SAFER &STRONGER

GREENER

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

(For further information, go to www.scotlandperforms.com)

ANNEX B


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ANNEX C

STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESTRATEGY

3D Reid Architects*AMEY – Facilities Management*Architecture and Design Scotland*Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland*Balfour Beattie – Transform Schools (North Lanarkshire) Ltd (TSL)*Care Commission*David Alexander (Education Consultant)Energy Savings TrustEducational Institute for ScotlandFife Council (School Estate and Community Planning Partnership Teams)*Grounds for Learning*HMIE (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education)*Keir Bloomer (Education Consultant)Learning and Teaching Scotland*Local Authority Network Group*PlayScotlandSchool Leaders Scotland*Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People*Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Parent Council Association*Scottish Parents Teachers Council*Scottish Secondary Teachers Association*SMC Parr Architects*sportscotland*The Carbon Trust*The Lighthouse*VOCAL (The Voice of Chief Officers of Cultural and Leisure Services)*

A stakeholder event was also held on 25 November 2008. All of the abovestakeholders were invited to the event (and most attended) along withrepresentatives from each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland.

* Stakeholders who attended one of the School Estate Strategy Working Group meetings to contribute their viewsto the Strategy. The other stakeholders either submitted written contributions to the Working Group and/orattended the Stakeholder Event.

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Points, Suggestions and Themes which were made or highlightedduring the course of stakeholder input to the deliberations of theWorking Group

f Raise awareness of sustainability and environmental issues, need to develop low-carbon,environment-friendly buildings. Ensure this is integral rather than add-on.

f Focus on the physical learning environment – good daylight; good ventilation; avoid summertimeoverheating; uniform temperatures. A healthy internal environment promotes learning.

f Focus too on the health and environmental implications of travel to school plans and patterns.

f It can be more sustainable and cost-effective to spend less on new build and more onupgrading the condition and environment of existing schools.

f New schools should set examples – design, detail, innovation etc. – of how all public andprivate buildings could be built in the future.

f Consider highlighting ‘exemplar projects’ not only on completion but thereafter, highlightingtransformational change to education, community use etc.

f Better partnership between government and authorities, and sharing of good practice allround, learning the lessons from both good and bad experiences and with a real focus onsupporting Curriculum for Excellence and the areas identified in the Audit Scotland Report.

f Schools need to be environments which stimulate creativity.

f Recognise changing roles and expectations of schools – their potential for greatercontributions to community capacity building and to supporting learners’ enterprise andemployability skills ie their role in helping increase sustainable economic growth.

f Importance of future proofing – maximum flexibility to ‘cope and respond to’ inevitabledemographic changes, developments in the nature of learning and teaching, thecurriculum and social education and social interaction, in technology and ICT and also inthe fundamental role of schools.

f Critical need to raise the profile of the ‘poor relation’ of investment planning ie generalongoing maintenance to counter deterioration etc.

f Increased focus on design (capacity, quality, expertise and input at all the right stages) isessential, with better project briefs and specifications.

f Raise consciousness of and expertise in specifying and designing spaces that will inspire,encourage, be flexible and impact well on school users both now and in the future.

f Focus on increasing importance of and expertise in whole-life-cycle costings to inform andimprove option appraisal and design. Need new and more cost guidance.

f Importance of ICT infrastructure, to be integral to the overall design, and particularly key to‘including’ children with additional special needs.

f Where schools rightly provide other than education services and facilities, that needs to bean integral part of consideration and design rather than an afterthought.

ANNEX C

Annexes


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f Reinforce need for and benefits of Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) – needs to be integralpart of the design, delivery, handover and downstream processes.

f A school estate that can be responsive to changes in demand for school places needs tohave the capacity for appropriate expansion and contraction.

f Value of meaningful consultation with users, especially children, young people, teachers andthe community – involving them early enough to make a difference – was stressed repeatedly.

f Need for better much better co-ordination between school and community play/recreation/sports facilities – vital role here for national health and fitness agenda.

f Schools should be ‘community hubs’ offering education, culture, sport etc. facilities andBuildings need to be thoroughly and well integrated into their community setting, theirgrounds and the surrounding landscape.

f Too often the focus is on the buildings and not enough on the grounds and their potential,including as outdoor learning spaces, for play, recreation etc.

f Buildings need to be thoroughly and well integrated into their community setting, theirgrounds and the surrounding landscape.

f Need for a rebalancing of the weight attached to the strategic consideration of the threekey ‘measures’ of change – condition, suitability and sufficiency (expansion andcontraction of the estate). An efficient estate that is fit for purpose will not be delivered byfocusing disproportionately on condition.

f There is a constant need for good quality information about all aspects of the school estatein order to inform strategic, investment and management decisions.

‘Brief’ developed out of the Stakeholder event, 25 November 2008,Glasgow

“...a school is not just a school”

Drivers and Outcomes

We need whole school planning that addresses the big picture. This means joined up policieswhich integrate wider needs and objectives: working in partnership across agencies withmultiple clients, blurring boundaries and breaking down sectoral silos. The traditional schoolneeds to move towards an inclusive community hub campus model. One with shared servicesand shared working across professional silos to provide a bespoke response that matchesthe broader needs of communities – and of society.

Sustainability, also, is not just about energy and carbon footprints, but about communityregeneration, and needs to be embedded in our broader use of community resources.We need sustainable buildings and campuses which self teach sustainability by example.

We therefore need better and more flexible planning of the whole estate in order to takeadvantage of our economies of scale, and to make the best use of our shared resources,

ANNEX C

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365 days a year, for a wider positive impact – one which goes beyond the school and thelocal authority. So, we need a strong school estate management plan, objectively prioritised.

Has Curriculum for Excellence yet influenced the design of schools, and learning environmentsfor those of 3-18 and beyond, in terms of flexibility and future proofing? Changes in educationwill need small steps towards a cultural step change – more child centred, and reflecting themany and different ways ‘customers’ learn, including technology and e-learning. Innovationwill need to be underpinned by less fear, and more tolerance and integration in order todeliver improvements. It is ‘a big ask’.

And we need clarity on the non-negotiables of a shared vision. This means clear priorities andobjectives for achievable policies. Our hope is for brave decisions free of ‘bandwagonism’,ones which create a positive spiral of cultural change.

So is there a real vision for how education should be provided in a 21st-century school, andhow should we now judge the success of the school?

Tensions and Delivery

But we need realism and clarity about capital and whole life affordability in a post growtheconomy with other pressures at the national and local levels. Can our aspirations still bedelivered if we identify the right long term flexible funding solutions to deliver clearly definedfunding objectives?

There is a lack of expectation management with an imbalance between money, strategy, andpolicy changes, with short-term political decisions overriding long-term planning. We needpolitical backing, support from the legislative process, and ways of resolving the tensionsbetween centralised vision and local decision making. We need to avoid regulatoryinconsistency, or potential contradictions between current and emerging policies.

Is the long-term view relevant to what is happening now, and does it reconcile the short-termpolitical cycle with the life of a school? We are facing demographic change coupled withquestions about the whole configuration of the school year/week/day. We need a crystal ballas well as adaptable, durable, and flexible schools. Will they be dramatically different?

We are still doing catch up, and, with insufficient expertise and skilled resources to monitorschool estate performance, this leads to poor future planning. It remains difficult to assessoptions within the local authority budget process, and to plan over the long-termdemographically – particularly given the presumption against school closures.

We need clearer guidance on elective and prescriptive standards and expectations for theestate – learning lessons from how others achieve. Perhaps national guidelines would behelpful to ensure sufficient space to meet statutory obligations – addressing class sizes,templates, and building blocks – rather then defaulting too often to English examples.

ANNEX C

Annexes


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We need to consult at the right stage in the planning process, with the right structures andleadership that respects others, rather than just telling them spreadsheet based decisionsmade in meetings by professionals. This means strong and early links into the design process.

We want schools to be inspirational for all, with creative and aspirational spaces. This means highquality learning and social environments, both old and new, both inside and outside, with richand diverse spaces and experiences which empower and engage users, teachers, and parents.

“...somewhere you want to be”

‘Brief’ developed out of the pupil event on 27 February 2009,Armadale Academy, West Lothian

“We are embarrassed by our school.”

Our old school is horrible and scabby and the building is in poor condition – with radiatorsthat don’t work, and colours and paint that always look dirty. We are embarrassed by ourschool – the classrooms, the corridors, the toilets, the changing rooms. We don’t likeclassrooms with the blinds always down and the lights always on. As well as teachers andsubjects we don’t like, we don’t like the rules – the dress code and the healthy eating. Andsome of the teachers could do a lot better with the smart boards.

What do we like in our old school? Well, we like the food and the music in the ‘snacky’, andthe plasma TV screens, the fitness suite, and the computer rooms – and the wee garden atthe ‘social’.

“...we loved our primary schools”

Our primary schools had nicer buildings, and they were really clean, and colourful. Theclassrooms were all bigger and the teachers were nice. We liked our golden times and ourcircle times and free milk. We liked drama and talent shows – and getting out for playtime,and trips, and gala days. However, we didn’t like Church and hymns.

“...schools should look more fun”

The views of our new school are better. It looks artistic, stylish, and attractive. It looks like ithas better lighting and fresh air in the summer. You can see out to nice views and to the sky.A view cheers you up. We like trees, and going outside – though it’s usually too much hasslefor teachers to take pupils out.

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But the new school entrance for us is out the back. And the community use will take the schoolaway from us. We won’t be allowed to use the lift, and we’re worried there will be signalblockers to stop us using our mobile phones. We’d like a clean and tidy school and we’d limitthe amount of pin boards and have less stuff pinned up. We want better food. We’d likeplaces for folk to sit at break and lunch, and shelter from the rain. Size is important, and thenew school has loads of space, but the classrooms are too small. We don’t like rows of desks.

“We want our school to be colourful, like a decent school – to make us proud.”

Selection of quotes from pupils in new or refurbished schoolsvisited during development of Scottish Government school estatecase studies.

“I love the new school as it has a lovely big hall to do PE in and because it is warm, bright,fresh and new! There is plenty of room to work and we are going to have a big, new garden.”

“The new school is nice and clean, the windows look bigger – there is more space to runabout in.”

“My favourite part of the playground is the astroturf, my last school was all concrete and no grass.”

“The school is brilliant because from the dinner hall you get a good view from the giant window.Also we have patio doors in the classrooms so we can go straight outside. We have skylightsin the classrooms and a very big hall.”

“I like the shape of the building there are lots of resources and nice colours in different parts ofthe school.”

“The school is more eco friendly than other schools with the solar panels on the roof.”

“The school has grass roofs, solar panels and a wormery!”

“I really like the new school the best part is the dinning hall, ’coz it has a disco ball in it for parties!”

“This school is a big improvement because we have more friends, more facilities and disabledaccess.”

“We like the interactive whiteboards, the new classrooms and the computer suite.”

“I like the toilets because they smell better and have a mirror.”

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ANNEX D

THE AUDIT SCOTLAND REPORT IMPROVING THE SCHOOLESTATE RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION CURRENT POSITION FUTURE PLANS

PART 2 (of the Report): WHAT DOES THE SCHOOL ESTATE STRATEGY AIMTO ACHIEVE?

“The Scottish Government(SG) and councils shouldreview the School EstateStrategy and set specific,measurable and meaningfultargets to ensure that theaims of the strategy areclearly expressed andprogress can be properlyassessed.”

“The strategy should containan implementation plan,which sets out what has tobe done, when and bywhom.”

“The Scottish Governmentand councils should reportprogress using informationcollected at an agreed timeand to an agreed standard.”

f The ScottishGovernment (SG) andCOSLA have reviewedand prepared a Strategywhich includes an initialtarget in relation toschool condition.

f Under the terms of theConcordat between SGand COSLA, localauthorities areresponsible for managingtheir own prioritiesaccording to localcircumstances, andaddress the jointcommitments set outwithin the Concordat.

f The SG already collectsCore Facts from councilson an agreed basis, andpublishes the informationannually as the SchoolEstate Statistics.

f SG also receives SchoolEstate ManagementPlans (SEMPs) orupdates from councils onan annual basis.

f Further targets will bedeveloped as the dataand information baseimproves.

f Refer to guiding principle 4.

f Following publication ofthe Strategy, SG, COSLAand authorities willcontinue to work inpartnership to develop aFinancial Strategy (seePart 4 below) and anImplementation Plan.

f SG and authorities willcontinue to work togetherto further improve therobustness and fitness forpurpose of the Core Facts.

f SEMPs will be reviewedin light of the SchoolEstate Strategy.

f Refer to guidingprinciples 4, 5, 7.


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PART 3: WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED?

“The Scottish Governmentand councils shouldimplement standardisedapproaches for collectingreliable information aboutcondition and suitability onschool buildings.”

“The Scottish Governmentand Councils should agreeto report progress in termsof new, clearly definedtargets reflecting keystandards for condition,suitability and sufficiency.”

f The SG and councilshave already completedwork on a standardisedapproach for collectingreliable information about‘condition’.

f Work has beenundertaken on a measureof ‘suitability’ and guidanceissued in October 2008.Authorities are currentlypiloting the new measure.The first national collectionof suitability data willlikely take place in 2010.

f The School Estate CoreFacts are collected everyyear and published as theSchool Estate Statistics.They demonstrateprogress in relation to thecondition of the schoolestate.

f Use of both the conditionand suitability guidancewill be kept under reviewand developed further asnecessary.

f Refer to guidingprinciples 4, 5.

f The School EstateStatistics will bedeveloped further toreport progress inrespect of the new targetrelating to condition.


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PART 4: HOW MUCH IS IT COSTING?

“The Scottish Governmentshould identify a financialstrategy for achieving theaims of the School EstateStrategy. The amount offinancial investment requiredshould be estimated nowand kept under review asinformation improves andprogress towards targetscontinues. The financialstrategy should allow for thelong lead-in time requiredfor major school-buildingprojects.”

“Councils should developplans for the duration oftheir PFI contracts thatidentify how they will paythe increasing charges fortheir PFI contracts.”

f The SG and COSLAhave accepted all therecommendations of theReport, and will use astheir starting point theAudit Scotland workingassumption that this willtake at least another£5 billion of investment.

f As a part of theapprovals process for PFIcontracts, localauthorities are required todemonstrate that theyhave consideredaffordability throughoutthe life of the contract,including any impactwhich indexation mayhave on the year on yearunitary charge. Theappropriate level ofindexation is acommercial matter forlocal negotiation.

f A Financial Strategy willbe jointly developed bySG and COSLA followingpublication of this Strategy.

f The Financial Strategywill reflect the vision,aspirations and principlesset out in this Strategy.

f This recommendation isa matter for councils, inthe context of theiroverall financial planning.The expectation is thatCouncils will actprudently to makeprovision for suchcommitments.

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“The Scottish Governmentand councils should ensurethat adequate resources areallocated to buildingmaintenance for schoolswithout PFI maintenancecontracts.”

f Under the terms of theConcordat, it is for localauthorities to deploy theirresources according tolocal need and priorities.

f Working in partnershipwe will continue todevelop qualitymanagement informationwhich will inform betterdecision-making,including on issuesrelating to maintenance.

f Further guidance onwhole life costings is tobe developed.

f As part of optionappraisal and soundinvestment planning,authorities should beincluding maintenance asan integral part of costbenefit analysis.


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PART 5: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS?

“To maximise their positiveimpact, refurbishmentsneed to be designed takingan overall view of the wholeschool.”

“Environmentalsustainability should be akey element of schooldesign, not an added extra.”

f Authorities already workon the basis of thisprinciple, aiming toensure a holisticapproach to design tomaximise the benefits ofschool refurbishments.This is done withinavailable resources andworking within any site orstructural constraints.

f This is a priority for allauthorities, who are allsignatories to Scotland’sClimate ChangeDeclaration.

f Environmentalsustainability is alreadyfundamental to the designof many new schoolbuildings – eg Windygouland Sanderson’s WyndPrimaries in East Lothian;Newark Primary andInverclyde Academy inInverclyde; GalstonPrimary in East Ayrshireand Acharacle Primary inHighland.

f SG is funding a 3-year“schools programme”with Architecture+DesignScotland to work withlocal authorities on theirschool programmes.This will include providingadvice on refurbishmentprojects, as appropriate.

f Work will also continue withother partners to promotegood practice in planningmajor refurbishments.


f SG is working withauthorities and otherrelevant bodies such as theCarbon Trust and SUST toorganise workshops andstudy visits and create abetter knowledge base topromote and share goodpractice in sustainableschool design. This willincreasingly feature in thewhole life costs of options.

f New Building Regulationsare likely to demandprogressively greaterimprovements to theenergy performance ofnew buildings, includingschools.

f The Change ScotlandAct 2009 will also drivechanges in school estateplanning and investment.


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f Some Councils alreadyprovide user guides, andsome have beenextremely innovative inthis area. This will featurein new Post OccupancyEvaluations

f For example, SouthLanarkshire has movedto providing DVD userguides for janitorial staffin primary schools, andhas noted significantimprovement in the useand management of theirbuildings.

f Many authorities arealready using theguidance, makingenvironmental conditionsa top priority. Forinstance, in Inverclyde,sun pipes, naturallyoperating ventilationsystems, carefulconsideration of north vsouth faces, large openareas with natural light,are all common featuresin designs for newschools.

“Councils should considerpreparing user guides for allnew and refurbishedschools to ensure that staffknow how to make the bestuse of the facilities in theirbuilding.”

“Councils should use theScottish Executive’sguidance Optimising theinternal environment tomake sure that futureschool designs strike agood balance for thecomfort of everyone whouses the building.”

f SG already promotes thesharing of good practiceon a wide range ofissues eg through theLocal Authority SchoolEstate Network Group.

f This issue will be raisedwith the Group andconsideration will be givento the need to embedlearning and familiarisationof the use of newbuildings for staff andinductions for new staff.


f SG will continue toencourage the spreading ofbest practice about gooddesign in terms of theinternal environment – andrun appropriate workshops– in collaboration withbodies such asArchitecture+DesignScotland and the CarbonTrust.



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“The Scottish Governmentand councils need tocontinue working to identifyand share good (and bad)practice to ensure that thequality of design keepsimproving.”

f SG and councils alreadywork together in a varietyof ways to identify andshare learned. Inaddition to annualbilateral meetings, andcontinual directengagement throughoutthe year, SG promotesthe sharing of informationbetween authorities bymeans of the casestudies website and longterm programmes suchas Building Excellence.

f SG also producesguidance andpublications on designand a wide range ofother subjects.

f Councils use the LocalAuthority School EstateNetwork Group tocompare and share –lessons to be learnedand other things to avoid– from each other’sexperiences.

f SG and councils, workingwith bodies such asArchitecture+DesignScotland and the CarbonTrust, will continue toshare information in avariety of ways, includingthe SG’s own casestudies website, seminars,workshops, conferencesand other events.



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“Councils should make surethey consult and involveschool users at the designstages, even if this meansthe process takes longer.”

“Councils should completepost-occupancy evaluationsas a matter of priority. Theyshould make the resultsavailable to other councilsand take up the opportunitiesoffered through the LocalAuthority School EstateNetwork to compare notesand learn from each other.”

f Consultation, primarilywith head teachers butincreasingly also withteachers and pupils, isnow well-establishedpractice in councilsacross Scotland, andincreasingly so.

f SG sponsored theSenses of Place: BuildingExcellence project, takenforward by TheLighthouse, in whichpupils, teachers andarchitects workedtogether to produceinspiring new designsolutions.

f The benefits of PostOccupancy Evaluation(POE) have beenconsistently promotedby SG.

f The use of POE isbecoming standardpractice within councilsacross Scotland whereschool buildings havebeen recently completed.

f SG and councils willcontinue to promoteactive consultation withschool users at thedesign stage of projects.

f SG will also sponsor TheLighthouse to run afollow up project, Sensesof Place 2: BuildingExcellence – focusing onhelping authorities todevelop further practicaland meaningfulapproaches toconsultation.


f We will continue to workin partnership to embedand develop POE and forother than just new build.



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PART 6: HOW WELL ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS BEING MANAGED?

“Councils should estimatepupil rolls for at least 10 yearsahead and should reviewthese assessments at leastannually.”

“Councils need to buildflexibility into their schoolestate plans toaccommodate both longer-term demographic changesand unforeseen localchanges. This might includeschool buildings that can bereadily expanded or easilyconverted to other uses.”

f SG produces pupil rollprojections for 5 yearsahead, based oninformation from thepupil census and theGeneral Register Officefor Scotland. Councilsalso provide estimates offuture pupil rolls on anannual basis, some usingtheir own methodologyand others usingGovernment figures.

f It is for councils todetermine the mostappropriate and reliablelength of projection fortheir needs. Longdistance projections areby their nature difficultand likely to be subjectto change.

f Councils work with allavailable intelligence andresources to meet localneeds and adapt tochanges in the bestpossible way. In thiscontext, many councilsare already building newschools with potentialflexibility/expansion inmind, where localcircumstances warrant it.

f Work already undertakenby the Association ofDirectors of Education inScotland (ADES) will befurther developed. Theintention is to share theresults across allauthorities.


f SG will continue to workwith authorities toimprove further thisaspect of school estatemanagement planning.


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“The Scottish Governmentand councils should domore to share experiencesand develop jointapproaches to improvingthe school estate. There arepotential efficiency savingsto be made from moresharing of staff andtechnical expertise.”

“Councils should transferlearning from experienceson school estatemanagement to improvegeneral asset managementacross their organisationsas appropriate. COSLAshould take a lead role inco-ordinating this, inconsultation with theScottish Government andthe Improvement Service ifappropriate.”

f SG and councils alreadywork together in a varietyof ways to shareexpertise and developjoint approaches toimproving the schoolestate.

f In addition to annualbilateral meetings, anddirect engagementthroughout the year, SGpromotes the sharing ofinformation and goodpractice betweenauthorities by means ofthe case studies websiteand long termprogrammes such asBuilding Excellence.

f Councils use the LocalAuthority School EstateNetwork Group to shareexperiences and developsynergies and jointapproaches.

f In many councils theSchool EstateManagement Plan hasbeen the forerunner forwider Council AssetManagement Plans.

f SG and councils willcontinue to shareexperiences andexpertise, and developcollaborative solutions.


f This Strategy emphasisesthe need for schools to beseen as community assetswithin wider CouncilAsset ManagementPlans and CommunityPlanning plans.



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ANNEX E

SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION

Strategy/Policy Links

f Scottish Government School Estate WebsiteContains strategy, design guidance, and case studies of school building projects fromacross Scotland: www.scotland.gov.uk/schoolestate

f Curriculum for ExcellenceInformation about Scotland’s new curriculum:www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk

f Learning & Teaching ScotlandThe lead organisation for curriculum development in Scotland, providing advice and guidanceto teachers, early years practitioners, schools and local authorities to help improveachievement for all: www.ltscotland.org.uk

f Scottish Government ConcordatThe concordat agreement between the Scottish Government and local government followingthe Scottish Budget Spending Review 2007: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/11/13092240/concordat

f Scotland PerformsThe latest information on how well Scotland is progressing towards the Government'sPurpose, targets and National Outcomes is reported on a continual basis through thewebsite www.scotlandperforms.com This reports progress against the NationalPerformance Framework which supports the outcomes-focused approach to government,describing the 10 year vision of the kind of Scotland the Government wants to create.

f Scottish Futures TrustThe Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) was set up to improve the efficiency and effectiveness ofinfrastructure investment in Scotland and will co-ordinate, facilitate and manage delivery ofthe new £1.25 billion school building programme: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/

f Schools (Consultation) BillLatest information on the progress of the Schools (Consultation) Bill introduced to Parliamentin March 2009. The aim of the Bill is to improve the process and the consultation proceduresthat Local Authorities apply to school closures and other major changes to schools:www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/Buildings/schoolclosures

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ANNEX E

f Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009Information about Scotland’s action on climate change, including the Climate Change(Scotland) Act 2009, unanimously passed by Parliament on 24 June 2009. The Act is a keycommitment for the Scottish Government and places Scotland at the forefront of globalefforts to tackle climate change: www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange

f sportscotlandScotland’s national agency for sport in Scotland: www.sportscotland.org.uk

Design Links

f Architecture & Design ScotlandScotland's national champion for good architecture, design and planning in the builtenvironment: www.ads.org.uk

f Architecture & Design Scotland Schools Design ProgrammeIts purpose is to help to create well-designed learning environments which support the policiesof local authorities and the Scottish Government. ‘Smarter Places’ is an initiative set up bythe Schools Design Programme to provide a platform for those who use, commission, anddesign schools - to explore and share the language of design. It provides images and exhibitswhich can be used for participation and briefing, and is a resource to inform good practice:www.smarterplaces.org

f The LighthouseScotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City: www.thelighthouse.co.uk

f Building ExcellenceThe Building Excellence programme seeks to explore the implications of Curriculum forExcellence for the design of new or refurbished schools and for the design and use of spacein existing schools: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/Buildings/Excellence

f Senses of Place: Building ExcellenceCommissioned by the Scottish Government as part of the Building Excellence programme,The Lighthouse ran series of workshops in which leading Scottish architects and designersworked with school users from five local authorities: www.thelighthouse.co.uk/sensesofplace/index.php

Douglas Academy – East Dunbartonshire Council


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f Changing ClassroomsThe Scottish Government funded The Lighthouse to produce this publication which aimsto illustrate the important relationship between space and learning:www.thelighthouse.co.uk/content/publications/70,250/ChangingClassrooms.html

f Carbon TrustAn agency set up by the UK Government to accelerate the move to a low carboneconomy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and developcommercial low carbon technologies: www.carbontrust.co.uk

f Grounds for LearningPart of the UK charity Learning through Landscapes, Grounds for Learning helps Scottishschools and early years settings make the most of their outdoor spaces for play andlearning: www.gflscotland.org.uk/

f Teachernet – School Buildings Information centreWeb content of the Schools Capital Assets Design Team of the Department for Children,Schools and Families, which aims to promote best practice in design, use and managementof school facilities in England: www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/schoolbuildings

f OECD CELEThe online journal of the OECD's Centre for Effective Learning Environments, it addressesissues related to providing a quality educational infrastructure in a cost-effective way:www.oecd.org/edu/facilities/journal

f BCSEBritish Council for School Environments, incorporating School Works, is a membershiporganisation made up of local authorities, schools, construction companies, architects andothers involved in the design and build process in the education sector: www.bcse.uk.net

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w w w . s c o t l a n d . g o v . u k

© Crown copyright 2009

This document is also available on the Scottish Government website:www.scotland.gov.uk

RR Donnelley B58823 09/09

Further copies are available fromSchool Estates TeamSchools DirectorateVictoria QuayEdinburghEH6 6QQ

Telephone orders and enquiries0131 244 0877

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Building Better Schools - Scottish Government€¦ · Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland’s Future The Strategy both builds on and supersedes the one published in 2003

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