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BUILDING OUR FUTURE: Scotland's School Estate
4. MAKING IT HAPPEN
FRAMEWORK
1. This section sets out a framework for making the strategy happen. It describes who makes it happen - the stakeholders; how implementation happens - the development and implementation of local authorities' school estate management plans; what makes it happen - the resources needed to support implementation; when it happens - the timeframe
for implementation; and how we will measure success.
WHO MAKES IT HAPPEN?: STAKEHOLDERS
2. A wide range of stakeholders will be involved in making
the strategy happen and their on-going involvement, through dialogue and discussion, will be important to successful implementation. There needs to be a shared vision among stakeholders, a clear understanding of respective roles and responsibilities, and a commitment to work together.
STAKEHOLDERS |
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LOCAL AUTHORITIES...COMMUNITY PLANNING PARTNERS...COMMUNITIES... SUPPORT STAFF AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS... SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE...ARCHITECTS, CONSTRUCTION AND FINANCE PROFESSIONALS ...PARENTS...TEACHERS...CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE...HM INSPECTORATE OF EDUCATION |
HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?: SCHOOL ESTATE MANAGEMENT PLANS
3. The central plank of implementation will be the preparation of a school estate management plan by each local authority. This plan will be a valuable management tool for the authority, as a holder of significant assets. It will be a living document which will draw together information to allow the authority to plan, monitor and evaluate progress. It should be integrated with the authority's wider asset management plans, its corporate plan and, increasingly, with its community plan.
4. The process for school estate management planning is illustrated below.
5. There is a six step process for school estate management planning.
Step 1: definition of local objectives
The local authority defines its local objectives, reflecting the strategy and local circumstance. These should be strategic, taking account of the wider picture, the long term, and sustainability.
Step 2: assessment of current position
This is followed by an audit of the existing school estate - taking account of condition, sufficiency, suitability, life cycle management and design - and the extent to which it currently meets the objectives.
Step 3: consideration of options
The next step is to identify and assess the range of options to meet theobjectives. Each option needs to be appraised using economic evaluationtechniques: this should consider costs and benefits of each option over the short and long term, take account of resources, and identify the option that offers the best solution.
Step 4: development of the plan
The plan needs to be detailed and long term, although the level of detail will inevitably be far greater for earlier years.
Step 5: implementation
Implementation should be phased and will need to balance maintenance, refurbishment and replacement requirements.
Step 6: monitoring, review and evaluation
Progress against the plan's objectives should be regularly monitored and evaluated. The plan should be reviewed, maintained and regularly updated so that it continues to provide good quality management information.
WHAT MAKES IT HAPPEN?: RESOURCES
6. Implementing this strategy requires a partnership approach, reflecting a shared commitment to the school estate. Its delivery is a major change management programme and requires resources - funding, skills and knowledge. There are limits to these resources and successful implementation must intelligently balance priorities and resources.
Funding
7. The way forward for implementing the strategy is:
> local authorities develop school estate management plans which set out realistic and prioritised options for improvement. These will provide a basis for future decisions at local level, and information and insights across the school estate at a national level.
> the Scottish Executive takes national decisions, taking account of wider priorities and available resources, and informed by the picture of the school estate identified in local authorities' plans.
> both local authorities and the Scottish Executive give due weight to committing resources and to stability and sustainability of funding to implement the strategy.
8. Estate management plans should provide a focus to identify and draw together the range of needs and funding streams. Estate management plans will enable local authorities to consider the range of school estate issues collectively and to take a long term view. Where a local authority is extending the range of services provided in schools, it needs to take account of wider resource issues, including working at a strategic level across the council, and with community planning partners on delivering common priorities effectively.
Skills and Knowledge
9. We need to maximise shared learning to deliver a step change in the school estate. The Scottish Executive, local authorities, and others as appropriate, will explore opportunities for doing this. In addition, there should be further development of
links between local authorities to share learning and good practice, and in the joint development of improvements in school provision. There is also a role for further advice to complement the strategy: guidance on school design, school estate management planning, and 'core facts', which will provide consistent key data across all local authorities, and advice on other issues will be developed to support the strategy.
WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN?: TIME
10. Local authorities should prepare initial school estate management plans during 2003 and submit a summary of these to the Scottish Executive by December 2003. These will inform national thinking and decisions about the school estate across Scotland.
It is likely that local authorities will want to update their plans annually, with a more fundamental review every 3-5 years. Implementation of the strategy is likely to be phased over a period of at least 10-15 years, leading to a well designed, well built
and well managed school estate that supports the delivery of better public services.
HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S HAPPENING?: MEASURING SUCCESS
11. We are embarking on an ambitious strategy and will want to measure success in delivering our objectives both locally and nationally. To do this will require on-going monitoring and evaluation. There are four strands to doing this:
> Local authorities will need to demonstrate progress against their estate management plans, the impact of investment, and value for money. The local planning process should generate the data to enable monitoring and evaluation at this level.
> Local authorities will wish to deliver continuous improvement which will be assisted by benchmarking among authorities.
> The Scottish Executive will measure national progress against the strategy. A small number of core facts, common to all local authorities' school estate management plans, will provide an evolving national picture.
> A qualitative evaluation of progress on the strategy will add context and detail to these other measures to demonstrate the impact of the strategy over the longer term.
12. This cycle of monitoring and review will contribute to a dynamic strategy that delivers our vision for 21st century schools.
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