school buildings - Doubled Up

As I said in an earlier blog, I am currently visiting family in Germany. At the weekend, we went to the local Gymnasium (grammar school) to see my nephew perform in his choir. It was a large school that takes more than 1,500 pupils and it is seen as the 'best' school in the area. Being a grammar it is selective, but it is selective on the basis of the primary school teachers’ judgement. The children do not take a test, but those that are seen as ‘Gymnasium material’ are allowed to apply. What is taken into account is the effort and achievement of children over the years rather than their performance in a one-off test. How sensible!

Whilst there, I couldn’t help but make comparisons between this German school and those that I know back home. Obviously, it being the weekend I wasn’t able to see any teaching or learning.

The building itself was beautiful – red brick and an imposing four floors high. It had wide, bright corridors with huge windows and was built on three sides of a square around a courtyard.

Yet it was stark. No work of the children was displayed - not in the main hall, nor in any of the classrooms that I managed to peek into. Nor did I spot any displays showing the children what they were learning, how to learn it, or what the rules were. There were no cups, shields, newspaper cutouts, no boards announcing sporting fixtures or results. There was no attempt to impress people on arrival in the school - not even a reception desk, so I don't know how parents and/or visitors are greeted - maybe they are simply not encouraged.

There was graffiti in the toilets - a lot of it, and no attempt had been made to remove it.

Outside, the courtyard was a grey, concrete area with a couple of benches and not much shade. The only colour came from the bright red snack bar in the shape of a can with “Coca-Cola” written in huge letters.

It seemed to me that there is plenty of good practice that the teachers from this German school could learn from a visit to an English school.

Yet, there was one area where I thought that we should take a lesson from them – once past the rather ugly courtyard, there was a small, fenced in field. In this field were three or four sheep and a lamb, which (according to the sign) were being looked after by Class 7F. Next to the field were a vegetable garden, a botanic garden and a greenhouse in which all sorts of plants were being grown – these were, presumably, watered with water pumped by hand from the nearby well. In a hidden corner there was an area designed to attract moths, solitary bees and other insects, presumably designed and crafted in a D&T lesson.

I understand that, in this German school, these are not extra curricular activities, but are part of the every day teaching and learning. I wonder how many secondary schools in England are able to take time from the curriculum to offer children similar opportunities? I sincerely doubt that many grammar schools would be able to stop worrying about gaining 90% (plus) 5 A-C grades for long enough to allow children to raise sheep at the back of the school grounds. And now schools are under threat of closure if 30% of children don’t achieve that magic number, perhaps even those that do offer such valuable life skills will no longer be able to do so.

Below are a few questions and answers that I prepared for a governors' meeting tonight, in which we discussed the Primary Capital Programme.
How much money is available?
150 million pounds in 2008-09. Rising to 500 million for the following two years.
How long will schools get funding?
It is planned to be a 14 year programme. However, the government documents are quick to point out that this is subject to future funding decisions.
What are the aims?
To put primary schools at the heart of the community.
To ensure that buildings are fully equipped for 21st century learning.
What will the money be spent on?
Updating schools, rebuilding the worst schools, ensuring that services such as childcare and extended services are available to all.
Who will benefit most?
Schools in deprived areas. Schools with a backlog of building works. Possibly rural schools (with regard to extended services).
What about the schools who won't get extra funding?
They will continue to receive their Capital Funding as usual.
What do LAs have to do?
Our local authority is currently having a consultation period of about 10 days (Hmmm). LAs will, presumably, all put in a bid for a share of the money. The bid has to show what they will do to meet the DCSF requirements I listed in my last blog.
What do schools/governing bodies have to do?
I guess that this depends on your school/LA. I would suggest looking at your LAs bid (I found ours on the LA website) and responding if you have strong feelings for or against their plans. But you will probably have to do this quickly as, if our LA is anything to go by, the consultation period is very short. My advice would be, if you are a school in a deprived area or with excess places (particularly if these are more than 10%), or if you have temporary classrooms then look into it as a matter of urgency - you could benefit greatly.
Who can respond?
Our LA wants responses from parents, teachers, governors, service providers, primary care trusts, to name a few.

On Friday, our Head of Governors received and passed on our LA's Primary Strategy for Change. This is a twenty or so page document which lays out what the LA aims to do in response to the ECM; Primary Capital Programme. This, as I understand it is a bid for about 12 million pounds to spend on updating buildings, raising standards and providing extended services.

Good girl that I am, I spent Sunday night reading through this and making notes for other governors who may have less time than me. I had previously heard of the Primary Capital Programme, but I did not know what it was all about. In case there are other governors out there in the same position, I will try to summarise what I have learnt in the next few blogs.

The Programme's aim is to put primary schools at the heart of the community, with children's services available to every family. The funds are to rebuild, refurbish and remodel schools in line with various government strategies (ECM, raising standards, diversity etc). The Programme is planned to last 14 years and will see at least 5% of school buildings rebuilt and a further 45% remodelled.

In order to get their hands ont he cash, the key points that the government wants LAs to address are below:

Tackle poor condition of buildings.

Tackle deprivation.

Tackle poor educational standards.

Reduce excess school places.

Develop a diverse market of provisions.

Respond to ECM.

Provide inclusive services for those with SEN and physical disabilities.

Achieve value for money and sustainability.