Building Schools for the Future - or the same schools in shiny new buildings

The BSF programme presents schools and their communities with a one-off opportunity to consider how best to respond to the developing needs to young people in a world of ongoing social, commercial and technological change and to consider how best to maximise students' life chances and community prosperity.

At Edison, we believe that BSF has to deliver real transformation. For us, it  is emphatically not just a building programme, but a process that questions the entire structure and organisation of secondary school life.  A successful BSF project should develop practical and manageable solutions that reflect the current and anticipated demands of each school community encompassing every aspect of school life - leadership, ethos, behaviour management, teaching and learning, ICT, information management, community links and 'extended schools' processes.

Edison's research-led approach to school improvement and the development of the Edison Design provides a starting point for local authorities, schools and their communities to consider how best to meet the challenge of transformation and, from this, build a clearer and more coherent vision of what their new school should be and how to undertake the transformational journey.

In Bradford, where Edison, as part of the IntegratED Bradford team, has worked successfully with the local authority and secondary schools in the initial phase of the BSF pathfinder programme, plans are now turning into buildings that will deliver a more personalised and relevant learning experience, demonstrating the effectiveness of the consultation process.  Elsewhere, Edison are helping schools in the early stages of visioning to ensure that they are fully prepared to engage with designers and architects in the procurement process, ensuring that plans appropriately reflect need and that performance regimes reflect required educational outcomes.

If you want to ensure that BSF in your authority delivers more than just a new set of buildings, talk to us about our 'Six Levers of Transformation'.