BSF ?

[elsiegee40]

As I'm in the independent sector BSF won't affect my job directly, but as I've just violunteered as a governor at my son's secondary school, I'd better get up to speed on this

[Ruthierhyme]

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

 

 

Thank you.

 

Lack of funding is nothing new & it isn't that Schools won't get any money - they will meerly continue on the same footing as before ... albeit with staff & parents having gained a much greater insight.

 

No one would argue the necessity for new build but at what expense does.

[broc]

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.

 

You are absolutely right, PFI is not purely an education finance vehicle, it has been used extensively elsewhere to fund Govt projects with mixed results.

 

re your last point; It is up to the LA when they bid for BSF funding to choose the schools they wish to incorporate into a BSF bid. The bidders cannot pick & choose which schools they wish to be involved in, although of course they could decide not to bid for the LA business as a whole. The size of the school is determined based upon the number of students anticipated to be on 'roll' at the point when the new/refurbished building is due to open. In areas of falling rolls this means new builds are often significantly smaller than the schools they replace, increasing pressure on how the space is used and leading to innovative ideas like 'no ict rooms' and 'outside' corridors

 

 

As a general rule, whole school rebuilds are PFI-funded, partial refurbishments are capital funding. I was told this was because the 'risks' of using PFI on refurbishment are too great for the PFI companies because of the many unknowns about the quality (or otherwise) of the existing buildings they would effectively take over for the duration of the PFI contract.

[broc]

Thank you.

 

Lack of funding is nothing new & it isn't that Schools won't get any money - they will meerly continue on the same footing as before ... albeit with staff & parents having gained a much greater insight.

 

No one would argue the necessity for new build but at what expense does.

 

The problem is; how would the parents of children at a school react when being told "The Headteacher and Governors have decided to decline the offer of £20m for a new building and £1.25m for ICT because we don't like the way the Government have decided to do things?"

 

Schools have no choice.

[Ruthierhyme]

lol .. I'd like to think schools would be acting on behalf of everyone involved.