BSF ?

[Ruthierhyme]

Can someone please explain BSF ?

 

This isn't posted in FFS lol but I'm personally interested in the good & bad.

 

Thanks

[K.C.Leblanc]

Have you looked here yet?

 

EDIT: Ignore, the post has been moved.

Edited February 10, 2008 by K.C.Leblanc

[Ruthierhyme]

Thank you !

 

That's me set for the day !! off the top of my head though .. is it possible to opt out of the BSF ICT Contract ?

[beeswax]

Thank you !

 

That's me set for the day !! off the top of my head though .. is it possible to opt out of the BSF ICT Contract ?

 

If you're a fee paying school.

[Ruthierhyme]

I am stunned.

 

How on earth could decisions be made with such short sightedness.

[broc]

For the 'official' view look at

 

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/

 

Then look at the Edugeek forum, and than ask any questions you might have.

 

Some snippets of information for you to get you started .....

 

Right now, there are not many schools that have completed the BSF transformation so there is not much practical experience of what it means to ICT staff in particular.

 

Schools wishing to benefit from BSF ICT Capital funding are obliged to sign up to a managed ICT service. Schools can elect to opt out of the managed service but in doing so lose approx £1450 per student capital investment in ICT. I don't think many schools have indicated they will opt out so far. Schools who elect to take the BSF ICT investment must pay an amount per year per student for the duration of the service contract (typically 5-10 years). This amount is likely to be in the range of £80-£150 per student per year.

 

School ICT staff will be transferred to the managed service provider and will cease to be school employees. In some cases, they will remain as local authority employees but for many they will become employees of private profit making companies.

[Grommit]

I am stunned.

 

How on earth could decisions be made with such short sightedness.

 

we don't know mate... it seems the govenment decided to listen to shorsighted ICT Consultant Bean Counters and BECTA and decided to destroy the ICT Support Community in English Secondary Schools .. in belief that paying double for less support is a good thing..

Edited February 11, 2008 by Grommit

[Ruthierhyme]

Broc thankyou.

 

I have mulled around on this all day .. firstly, amazed that xx years of (almost) 24/7 browsing hasn't thrown an inkling of it to light !!

 

and constant surprise at those working to benefit their area can consider & implement tying schools up in this way, financial incentives are one thing .. economic innovation, individuality, community productivty & much more is a very small part of another !

 

What's being done to help give Heads/Govenors/interested parties a viable choice in all of this ?

[broc]

Head Teachers & Governors have limited choices open to them, I used to be a Chair of Governors at a secondary school facing BSF until I resigned.

 

Local Authorities wishing to participate in BSF must work under the direction of an organisation called Partnership for Schools, an organisation funded partly by HM Treasury and partly by major UK Financial institutions.

P4S will oversee the LA as they prepare documentation laying out the requirements; schools have some say in this process but the specification is drawn up by the LA. Managed services is a mandatory part of the BSF process to fully benefit from whatever funding is promised.

The LA then has to seek potential bidders (Typically a consortium of construction companies, finance companies, educationalist consultancies and ICT suppliers) and go through a lengthy process of selection of drawing up a long list, short list & preferred bidder during which time the proposals are presented to the LA and schools.

 

It is perfectly possible for the winning bidder to have the most innovative building proposal but least attractive ICT solution, the LA cannot pick & choose.

 

Schools are asked to come up with their vision for their new school; this is then gradually shaped (eroded) by the financial constraints imposed by the avaiable budget & BB98, a formula driven methodology which determines the size of a new school based largely upon no. students who will be attending the school when it opens after rebuilding.

 

Schools are asked to sign up to the principle of managed services by the LA, often this commitment is made before the school has a clear idea of what they will be getting & what it will cost.

[Oops_my_bad]

What about foundation secondary schools? Does BSF affect those in the same way too?

[beeswax]

What about foundation secondary schools? Does BSF affect those in the same way too?

 

If you're referring to what used to be known as "Grant Maintained", then yes, BSF applies to those schools too.

[Grommit]

What about foundation secondary schools? Does BSF affect those in the same way too?

 

Yes it does......

 

.

 

What's being done to help give Heads/Govenors/interested parties a viable choice in all of this ?

 

They have no choice apart from opting out... and no school Head will face the backlash of losing over a million pounds in ICT

 

There was a time in the beginning where they were able to opt out but the P4S and BSF closed the loophole..

 

Remember also that only the first year of the Managed Service is paid for by the BSF.. the rest of the 5 year contract is paid for by the school out of school funds and this will be over a £100,000 per year for a medium sized school..

 

Plus all further ICT Equipment must be bought through the Managed Service Company for the duration of the contract.... so if they overcharge you for the new laptops you want you can't go else where..

 

Plus there will be no Network Manager to protect the School as the Managed Service Companys function first and foremost is to make a profit for it's shareholders (that's why it is in business)..

 

where as a Network Managers function is to protect the school...

 

Just think of the BSF ICT as The Borg..

Edited February 11, 2008 by Grommit

[Ruthierhyme]

P4S and BSF closed the loophole..

 

How is that legally possible?

[Gatt]

 

Just think of the BSF ICT as The Borg..

 

And that sums the whole thing up in a nutshell..

[broc]

P4S hold all the cards, they set the rules. P4S can withhold BSF funding to any LA which does not meet their criteria.

 

In the early days of BSF, P4S were making the rules up as they went along, and tried to retro-fit many. It could be argued that one of the reasons why BSF has been subject to so many delays and why so few schools have completed their rebuilds to date is partly due to the 'heavy-handed' approach taken by P4S.

 

Of course, P4S would counter-argue that the delays are due to LAs not been geared up to handle projects as big as BSF and lack the necessary skills.....

 

Judge for yourself! Take a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7228964.stm

Edited February 11, 2008 by broc
added url

[Ruthierhyme]

It's not possible that they hold all the cards.

 

The knock on effect impacts on everyone right throughout the system to Parents.

[GrumbleDook]

Thinking about the number of complaints about LA led PFI builds it is small wonder that PfS have ammunition against LAs?

 

The feedback from the last review meeting shows that it is still very business orientated rather than educationally orientated, and part of the blame for that goes to PfS, part to the LAs, part to the companies involved and part to the 'innovative' schools jumping on the Academy bandwagon and trying to avoid restrictions put onto them by BSF, rather than setting the scene for how BSF should be.

 

All of the above issues are known by PfS and they are trying to be dealt with by better educating those that are involved at LA level and trying to get those important schools involved (who also have the political clout to force things to go in directions that LAs, Companies and PfS might not want but will have most benefit to the schools)!

 

Certain LAs still view awkward schools (I prefer the phrase 'independently minded') as blockers rather than trying to understand why things won't work. A certain London project is a perfect example of that.

[broc]

Thinking about the number of complaints about LA led PFI builds it is small wonder that PfS have ammunition against LAs?

 

I think PFI has come in for some stick in most areas it has been used, not just in Education. Time will tell if P4S have got it right, when so many other Govt departments seem to have struggled.

 

For the record, just so everyone knows who is calling the shots under BSF

 

PfS was established in April 2005, (after BSF was announced) as a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and is operated and funded under a joint venture between the DfES and Partnerships UK (PUK).

 

PUK, formed in 2000 offers a blend of public and private sector commercial expertise combined with hands-on experience in the development and delivery of numerous Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and other Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects

 

PUK’s Shareholders

 

HM Treasury 44.6%

Bank of Scotland Corporate

(Uberior Infrastructure Investments Limited) 8.8%

The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd 8.8%

Abbey National Treasury Services plc 6.7%

Sun Life Assurance Society plc

(HSBC Global Nominees (UK) Limited) 6.7%

Barclays Industrial Investments Ltd 6.1%

The Royal Bank of Scotland plc 6.1%

The Scottish Ministers 4.4%

Serco Ltd 3.3%

Global Solutions Limited 2.2%

The British Land Company plc

(Boldswitch Ltd) 2.2%

[Grommit]

I beleive that SOCITM had some input into way things are

[Ruthierhyme]

There are a great many organisations involved.

 

But no matter which way I look at it .. it still all boils down to a distinct feeling/inclination that there is an infringement of equality & rights.

 

If that feeling is widespread it would be little wonder LAs have such a large task in organising participation.

[Grommit]

There are a great many organisations involved.

 

But no matter which way I look at it .. it still all boils down to a distinct feeling/inclination that there is an infringement of equality & rights.

 

If that feeling is widespread it would be little wonder LAs have such a large task in organising participation.

 

 

We are trying to stop the BSF steamroller but it is flattening In-House ICT support all over the country...

 

The school has no rights... if you want the money.... lose your ICT Manager and Department.... .

 

If you want your ICT Manager and Department..... you lose the money...

 

Thats your right..

[Gatt]

think my signature reflects what will happen...

[Ruthierhyme]

Grommit, those are two of the harsh realities faced by LA’s when presenting the documents and also by schools when looking into the proposals.

 

Your *job title* rights will be governed by the employment laws & all.

Your rights as a person are another matter.

*Insert Personal Disclaimer !! I don’t know the ins & outs of any rights acts but do know if we acknowledge the Rights of Children, comparably we can do the same for adults.

PDF deep/hotlinked with permission

 

LA’s will want the right to provide their community with services & facilities that enhance the area and encourage growth.

 

Schools will want the right to provide a safe environment that meets the legal requirements, supports parental choice and builds infrastructures that can help guide & develop independently minded and openly aware students through their school years.

 

Parents will want the right for schools to provide educational opportunities, promoting their children’s personal development and learning skills for the future.

 

The lack of an Opt out from the whole of the BSF programme doesn’t seem to uphold any of these core intentions.

[broc]

The lack of an Opt out from the whole of the BSF programme doesn’t seem to uphold any of these core intentions.

 

Schools can opt out of BSF; they can also opt out of the ICT managed service. They just don't get any money.

 

What we all have to realise is that for many years school buildings have been neglected and very few new schools have been built in the last 30 years. The result is much of the secondary school building stock is in urgent need of renewal.

 

Unfortunately Governments of both major political persuasions have squandered North Sea oil revenues for years and HM Treasury simply does not have the capital funds to finance a program like BSF, so it has to go 'cap in hand' to seek private financing. That is why private finance organisations have a strong representation in PUK, who in turn help 'run' PfS. The payback for the private companies is profit for shareholders, paid for by taxpayers for years to come. Allowing schools to pick & choose and opt out of managed services could limit their profits. 'Best value' will be swept under the carpet.

[torledo]

Schools can opt out of BSF; they can also opt out of the ICT managed service. They just don't get any money.

 

What we all have to realise is that for many years school buildings have been neglected and very few new schools have been built in the last 30 years. The result is much of the secondary school building stock is in urgent need of renewal.

 

Unfortunately Governments of both major political persuasions have squandered North Sea oil revenues for years and HM Treasury simply does not have the capital funds to finance a program like BSF, so it has to go 'cap in hand' to seek private financing. That is why private finance organisations have a strong representation in PUK, who in turn help 'run' PfS. The payback for the private companies is profit for shareholders, paid for by taxpayers for years to come. Allowing schools to pick & choose and opt out of managed services could limit their profits. 'Best value' will be swept under the carpet.

 

i can't pretend to understand the ins and outs of private finance....but i believe pfi is not restricted to education projects such as bsf but also projects in the nhs and am i right in thinking the prison service aswell ?

 

On a side note, did anyone watch the channel 4 dispatches program last in regards to school sizes. They brunel academy was featured, but what was most interesting was the experiences of the new york inner city schools in reducing the number of pupils per school.

 

I know there isn't a dictat for the number of pupils in bsf and academy schools, but are the bsf bidders more or less likely to consider including small schools in inner city areas as part of their plans for rebuild.