|
Ambitious plans to transform education in Kent got the
green light today (27 October) following financial and contractual
agreement on the first phase of the county's
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
The signing of the contract between Kent County Council (KCC),
Building Schools for the Future Investments (BSFI) and Land
Securities Trillium (LST)/Northgate Education (NE), means that
construction can now begin to completely rebuild or substantially
refurbish the first 10 secondary schools.
KCC will now form a Local Education Partnership (LEP) with LST,
NE and BSFI, to manage the delivery of current programme and lead
on the development of proposals for a further 25 secondary schools,
special schools and pupil referral units in the Gravesham, Thanet
and Swale districts. The contract has an estimated capital spend of
almost £600million.
The agreement will provide a boost to the Kent construction
industry and offer employment opportunities. As part of the deal,
400 apprenticeships will be offered to young people - a key wish of
KCC Leader
Paul
Carter, who is keen to open up work-based training for
school-leavers.
The contract and creation of the LEP represents a major
milestone for Kent's far-reaching plans to combine significant
capital investment in state-of-the-art buildings and ICT facilities
with a bold educational vision to transform teaching and learning
and put schools at the heart of their community.
Kent's overall Building Schools for the Future Programme, the
largest school building scheme in Europe, is worth an estimated
£1.8billion.
The first 10 schools to be transformed are:
- Charles Dickens School, Broadstairs
- Community College Whitstable, Whitstable
- Dane Court Grammar School, Broadstairs
- Herne Bay High School, Herne Bay
- King Ethelbert School, Birchington
- Northfleet School for Girls, Gravesend
- Northfleet Technology College, Gravesend
- St George's CE Foundation School, Broadstairs
- St John's Catholic Comprehensive School, Gravesend
- Thamesview School, Gravesend
Ifield School, Gravesend has already been rebuilt as part of
KCC's Special School Review Programme but will benefit from ICT
services provided by the LEP.
Cabinet Member for Education Operations, Resources and Skills
Mark
Dance said: "The signing of this contract marks an historic day
for education in Kent. The Building Schools for the Future
programme will see radical transformation of school buildings in
the county.
"State-of-the-art technology, fantastic learning and teaching
environments and unrivalled community facilities will have a huge
impact on generations to come. This an enormously exciting
time."
KCC Managing Director for Children, Families and
Education Graham Badman said: "The timing of this contract
marks the start, not the end of the process. This process will give
Kent and other authorities a once in a lifetime opportunity not
just to transform the schools through rebuilding but to create the
circumstances that will determine a 21st Century curriculum, where
the needs and ability of the learner are central to the school
curriculum.
"True personalisation is now a reality."
Chief Executive at Land Securities Trillium Ian Ellis added:
"The Kent BSF project is a transformational partnership which will
benefit generations of students by creating fully inclusive
flexible learning spaces with groundbreaking information and
communications technology infrastructure.
"As well as providing facilities for students, the wider local
community will also benefit from increased employment
opportunities, apprenticeships and work placements within the new
schools."
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of
Partnerships for Schools, the government agency
responsible for delivery of the BSF programme across England, said:
"As the largest BSF scheme to reach financial close to date, today
marks an important milestone not just for Kent, but for the
national BSF programme. At its heart, BSF is about transforming
education and improving the life chances for all young people, and
I look forward to charting the progress of this first phase of
Kent's ambitious scheme." |