Ixia

In 2009, the think tank, Policy Exchange, published a report on BSF which concluded that the programme needed to be ‘fundamentally overhauled’. Its Executive Summary lists five key recommendations. These include: ‘The ring-fenced budget for IT within BSF (10% of the total) should disappear and should be replaced by a “Creativity” budget which headteachers could spend in any way that boosts creativity in their school.’ It also recommends that: ‘Given that Britain is spending more than any other country on ICT in schools, and school libraries are fast being replaced by IT suites, an expert review panel should draw up recommendations on the role of technology in secondary schools. This review would look at technology’s part in a far wider “creativity” agenda. The role of music, books, drama and art should be considered at the same time.’ The report discovered that whilst Labour ministers stated repeatedly that ‘smart new buildings will raise achievement’ and research does suggest that ‘poorly designed and maintained buildings do have an effect on pupils and teachers’, it concluded that: ‘the evidence for good design raising achievement is at most tenuous and at worst non-existent.’

Click here to download a PDF of Building Blocks? An Investigation Into Building Schools for the Future (Katharine Quarmby and Anna Fazackerley, Policy Exchange, 13th July 2009).