The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is the largest strategic capital investment programme for schools in over 50 years. Launched by the Department for Education and Skills (now the Department for Children, Schools and Families) in 2003, the programme aims to ensure that all new facilities are built, remodelled or refurbished to facilitate the transformation of teaching and learning. There is also a requirement to ensure provision for significant community access based on identified local need and, where appropriate, the development of centres of excellence.
Working in partnership
The Youth Sport Trust, together with Partnerships for Schools (PfS, the company set up to deliver BSF) and Sport England, recognises the value that PE and Sport can add to the BSF programme. As a result, the Youth Sport Trust has joined up with PfS and Sport England to part-fund three specialist advisors, whose remit is to work strategically with PfS Project Directors in BSF Local Authorities and across the sector.
What will this involve?
The focus of the YST part-funded post holders is to carry out the advocacy role for PE and Sport with BSF at a national level; to ensure that the potential for PE and Sport within BSF is maximised through a coherent and co-ordinated approach. The development of Sports Colleges, School Sports Partnerships and Local Delivery Agencies, together with County Sports Partnerships and Community Sport Networks, means that we have the infrastructure in place to input and influence upon the Local Authorities’ strategy and vision. This will be done through the development of focused BSF PE and Sport stakeholder groups in each Local Authority area; with four key representatives to provide the direct liaison and contact between the Local Authority BSF project board and the sporting networks already identified. Find out more at http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/PE_Sport.jsp.
The recently developed Head Teacher Top Tips Films are now available to download from the PfS website find out more at http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/PE_dvd1.jsp
Ensuring the Profile of PE and Sport within BSF
Please note: The below links will require you to login to the Sports Colleges area of the School Sport Xchange.
PE and Sport is high on the national agenda and it is important to ensure the value of PE and Sport retains a high profile within the BSF education/school visioning process. This means challenging stakeholders to consider what teaching and learning, as well as community participation, could or might look like in the future and then inspiring the transformation of the learning environments to achieve this. Click here to see Ahead of the Game Issue 3: Transforming Learning Environments. This needs to be considered alongside the current curriculum review, where the design and specification may need to reflect a changing emphasis that acknowledged the flexibility within the PE curriculum to support personalised learning. Click here to find out more about High Quality Teaching and Learning.
Education transformation through technology
Please note: The below link will require you to login to the Sports Colleges area of the School Sport Xchange.
To ensure education transformation takes place through the use of technology, the ICT element of BSF funding is ring fenced to enable modern teaching and learning tools to be used. It is important that the work already achieved through Sports Colleges and Academies with a sport-related specialism in ICT in the teaching and learning of PE is integrated into the vision and project planning at an early stage. Click here to see the Core Subjects section of the Sports Colleges area.
Strategic planning and coordination
The BSF programme will also present further challenges to address the strategic planning for community sports facilities. Design specification should influence the internal and external areas to meet needs within and beyond the school day, and incorporate consideration for ongoing management and operational development. BSF also provides an opportunity to coordinate capital and resources around PE and Sport to ensure that the strategic needs of Local Authorities are met, and therefore provide the whole community with access to physical activity. Find out more at www.sportengland.org/bsfinfo
Our overall vision is to raise the profile of PE, school and community sport within the education and visioning process and to promote the strategic development of sports facilities across the area. Future work will include further embedding of PE and sport within the BSF process and its delivery programme and documentation.
For further information on this project, please visit the partner websites:
http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/PE_Sport.jsp