Schools clients priority schools building programme

SCHOOLS CLIENTS

Rise to the challenge

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In addition to the 256,000 additional school places required by 2014/15, a further 400,000 places could be needed between 2014/15 and 2018/19. [source: [Capital funding for new school places. (2013) National Audit Office]

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The coalition government has committed to spending £2 billion on the second wave of the Priority Schools Building Programme between 2015 to 2021. [source: [Making the construction and maintenance of school buildings more cost-effective’ policy. (2014) Department for Education]

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Recent research provides strong empirical evidence that small changes to built environmental factors in schools can make a big difference to learning outcomes. [source: [A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning. (2012) Peter Barrett , Yufan Zhang, Joanne Moffat, Khairy Kobbacy]

In the wake of the ill-fated BSF programme and the coalition government’s austerity drive, the school building sector has lost confidence in the impact of architecture on learning outcomes.

New rules under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) administered by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) mean that projects are more likely to be driven by engineers and M&E consultants than by architects.

However, there are many opportunities for architects in a sector that still inspires high ideals and where getting it right has important beneficial consequences for the social and economic wellbeing of the nation.

Listen, communicate and solve problems Challenge The perceived poor cost-benefit of the Building Schools for Future programme casts a long shadow, influencing not only how schools are procured but how schools clients regard architects today. In particular, clients have an important fiduciary duty to cut their coat according to their cloth, and look to their architects to help them.

Opportunity Architects need to acknowledge the realities of the contemporary schools funding regime. Listening harder, communicating openly, challenging the brief commensurately, and offering creative solutions will allay fears and build strong, successful contractual relationships.

Focus on cost-benefit in design and reduce waste Challenge The policy priority is to make the construction and maintenance of schools more cost-effective, with a stringent requirement to squeeze as much value as possible from every tax penny spent. In this cost-constrained context, architectural flair and creativity are tarred with the brush of unwelcome waste.

Opportunity Accept cost constraints, and do not focus only on architecture. Architects who rigorously assess whole-life benefits, trim unnecessary capital costs, take advantage of operational efficiencies, and do everything in their power to remove waste from the procurement process are highly valued.

Work collaboratively Challenge Clients are increasingly looking to engineers rather than architects to deliver the Priority Schools Building Programme’s baseline design requirements and the operational efficiency prized by the EFA. This is a challenge to architects’ historic role as leaders, affecting design team dynamics and how projects are managed.

Opportunity Regardless of how projects are led, clients acknowledge that the role of architects is critically important, especially because they inject the creativity needed to forge a link between built environments and educational outcomes.

And for architects who can treat cost and technical constraints as the grit in the oyster, the door to the design manager role is still open.

Learn from past experience Challenge Schools clients believe that well-designed schools can inspire and set the scene for pupils’ and teachers’ success, leading ultimately to better educational outcomes. However, as long as there is no robust body of evidence to back up the belief, architects will struggle to make the case for the value of architecture in the context of the Priority School Building Programme PSBP.

Opportunity Sharing learning from past experience, post-occupancy evaluations, and the effect of design on educational outcomes builds into an evidence-based body of knowledge that can help to fine-tune existing projects and improve new ones.

Architects who possess and apply this knowledge reliably will generate trust and confidence in their clients.

Embrace innovative practice Challenge Schools clients are increasingly embracing lean thinking, BIM, and linking capital building costs to downstream FM costs. These innovations are an increasingly important part of the procurement process, and clients need project team members to be able to contribute proactively to their successful implementation.

Opportunity Embrace innovation to help in the smooth running of projects and to meet client objectives. Competence acquired now is likely to pay back handsomely over time.

5 TOP TIPS FROM SCHOOLS CLIENTS

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Listen to clients’ needs, solve problems and communicate solutions openly.

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Remove waste to protect design quality.

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Work collaboratively in the design team.

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Learn from past experience and share knowledge for the benefit of clients and the future of educational outcomes.

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Apply innovative practices such as standardisation, lean principles and BIM for improved outcomes.