Schools for Scotland

The current raft of public private partnership (PPP) schools and educational infrastructure development in Scotland has proved a fertile hunting ground for those with the necessary expertise to improve the lives of students and communities from Gretna to John O’Groats.

Recently, SBEP has undertak en the task of bringing new schools to the Border region under the PPP model. Just as modern approaches to education and the design of educational facilities emphasise inclusivity and the much-touted ‘joinedup approach’, so SBEP’s approach to the practical side of creating the space for learning is based on collaboration, with a number of partners bringing their own unique expertise, abilities and requirements to the table in order to create the best results on a project-by-project basis.

The Borders partners – global public sector investment and development specialists Bilfinger Berger, Graham Project Investments and its design and construction partner Graham Construction together with architects 3D Reid - believe they have delivered markedly improved results through the PPP method than would be expected under a traditional public sector works contract. Quite simply, thanks to the partnership approach there are so many people looking at the project, right from the earliest design stage it’s much easier to spot real and potential problems at a much earlier stage, and put them right before they detract from the programme.

Contractors, architects and designers and the special purpose company set up to oversee the project are all involved from the very earliest stages, and each has vested interest in getting it right first time round to remove problems further down the line, particularly as these are schools with at least a 30-year life. In addition to the construction team, the facilities management company (Amey) who will look after the completed building have been involved right at the earliest design stage and throughout the ongoing work, and of course it’s in their interests too for there to be no problems down the line when they have the buildings and equipment to maintain. Finally, the PPP model itself demands an independent inspection on the completed schools to be sure that all the required standards are met and the finished product is fit for purpose. Indeed, it’s not just the professionals involved in the design, construction, maintenance and running of the finished school that are involved throughout the process, as Alex Donaldson of project architects 3D Reid explains: “What’s crucial in these sort of programmes, and what I think was a crucial factor in us winning the contract, is to recognise that these are far more than buildings. They affect whole communities and lives”.

Alex Donaldson, also maintains that this culture of collaboration was crucial to the project’s success: “We already had a very strong culture of collaboration from our work on a number of public projects both north and south of the border, and we felt that was something we could bring to the table in bidding for this contract. It’s important to realise that the community and the education authority are a crucial part of the project, not just think of them as some passive recipient of a new school.

We have a very strong track record in this sort of working, in common with Bilfinger Berger and Graham, and that’s something that all the partners in the project had to bring to the table.

“From the outset we developed a very good relationship with the teachers and head teachers involved, because we didn’t march in as some sort of experts who were going to tell them what they needed, but listened to their needs and the needs of the community. The key to the success of these projects was Bilfinger Berger’s ability to ‘get’ what the authority and community wanted, and our ability as designers to act on that and the ability of Graham to deliver it on the ground. These are very demanding communities that know what they want and need, and we’ve brought them in as key players throughout, not relegated them to the status of people who are ‘getting a new school’.”

“We have heard a lot about what educational transformation is, it’s all the industry buzz at the moment. We feel that we have helped Borders Council take the first bold steps on the road to the future for education in the Borders. This transformation will not only affect the schools but significantly help the communities to which they belong. This we feel is real transformation.”

Thus, in the Borders project, local needs have been paramount. Here, the environment has played a particularly major part in the authority’s thinking, with locals concerned that the new schools and their construction do not adversely affect the environment of this predominantly rural area of stunning scenery and rare wildlife.

The designs of the schools themselves have been sympathetic to the surrounding area, while the schools have also included green additions such as biomass boilers and wind turbines, helping all three schools to achieve the aspiration of an “Excellent” BREEAM rating.

Neil McFarlane, Project Director for Graham Construction, adds: “We’ve been involved as design and build contractor on the project from 2005, and right from the earliest stages of design and feasibility studies we’ve made sure we’ve considered both the environment and the community through a process of close consultation with the council, the local community and end users like sports clubs to ensure we’re meeting everyone’s needs.

“Working closely with our design team we’ve paid particular attention to how the buildings are presented and how they interact with their environment, and each school has been designed to fit in with its locality. All of this has meant that we’ve been able to deliver the schools that communities and end users want on time and on budget, and we feel this has been a very successful project for everyone involved.”

Already the benefits of the new schools are being felt in the communities they serve. Indeed, these benefits often extend far beyond the obvious advantages of improved educational performance. For example, in some of the areas where the partners have worked on new school programmes, crime rates have fallen following the opening of the new facilities. While it may be churlish to attribute this directly to the new school, it does not appear unreasonable to suggest it may play a part. A member of the SBEP project team points out: “The fact is, if children are expected to learn in a cold, drafty, uncomfortable, unpleasant environment, quite simply they’re less likely to turn up in the morning. Increased truancy rates tend to coincide with increased social problems, so by creating a school the children want to attend, we can go some way to addressing that.