黑洞社区

It could have been a match made in heaven: a group of parents had come together in Reading, Berkshire with a bid to David Cameron鈥檚 鈥済reenest government ever鈥� for a free school that would be a beacon of sustainability. Yet this proposed marriage between education secretary Michael Gove鈥檚 flagship free school agenda and the modern Conservatives鈥� green ambitions, never got beyond first base. The school will be built - construction began last month - but the sustainable vision has been quashed and it will instead be built to the most basic standards. Amid wider concern about the Department for Education鈥檚 commitment to green schools - and growing doubts over the government鈥檚 self-professed environmental credentials - the story of All Saints free school has implications for the wider industry and the future of school building as a whole.

A model green school

All Saints junior school in Reading - one of the first wave of 24 free schools - opened in in temporary accommodation last September ahead of the construction of the 拢2.03m permanent school: a refurbished council property and a new-build extension. The free school was the culmination of a long process of negotiation between Reading council and the All Saints Action Group (ASAG), a group of parents of children at the local infant school who had long wanted a junior school for their children to move on to rather than have them dispersed to schools elsewhere. ASAG drew up the proposal with support from the education charity CfBT Education Trust, and Sensible Schools, a joint venture between Trunk Low Energy 黑洞社区 Consultancy, architect 5th Studio and energy consultant the Warm Partnership.

The original bid for the school, seen by 黑洞社区, said the school would have 鈥渆xemplary environmental credentials鈥� with 鈥渓ow running costs, high levels of comfort and a deeply embedded sustainability ethos鈥�. It said that, in partnership with Sensible Schools, best practice sustainability practices would be modelled 鈥渢hroughout the school鈥�. 鈥淎ll Saints will incorporate sustainability principles at its core, and will allow these to enhance the learning experience and have a positive impact on the local area and beyond,鈥� it said. This was reiterated in the publicity material for the school, produced by CfBT, which said it would aim to 鈥渟et the standards for sustainability鈥�.

But this ambition did not make it past the initial bid stage. Rebecca Loftus, a parent, says ASAG was told that the group鈥檚 vision for a sustainable school would cost too much. 鈥淭here was a lot of wrangling between the parent group and [delivery agency] Partnership for Schools (PfS) - cuts were being made to the amount of money we had and eyebrows were raised that, given the current austerity, we would want to have a green school. In the end we had to choose between no school and a non-green school, so we went for the non-green school.鈥�

As a consequence, CfBT and the parent group will get their school - the construction project that began in January will realise four classrooms for 120 pupils, with a hall, a library, a food preparation area, a staffroom and offices. But the original vision for an exemplar green school, based on zero-carbon and Passivhaus design principles, was gone.

When we were looking at sustainability and where it fitted in the agenda 鈥� it was in there. It was not at the top, because we wanted a school. That鈥檚 at the top

Chris Austin, CfBT

A senior figure close to PfS, familiar with the All Saints application, said the bid was 鈥渙ne of the best organised and put together鈥� of the first-wave free schools, but the 鈥渟ustainable element was never going to happen鈥�.

鈥淚t simply wasn鈥檛 a priority - green is not a priority for the Department for Education (DfE). That鈥檚 the reality. They have very little interest in sustainability and certainly not if it costs more than another route. It鈥檚 all about the cheapest possible capital outlay.鈥�

The source says this 鈥渞elentless focus鈥� on the short-term capital costs, which 鈥減ermeates all their thinking鈥�, also demonstrates 鈥渁 failure to appreciate that good design and sustainable development saves you money in the long run鈥�.

鈥淭he notion of whole-life cost has been lost - and that鈥檚 bad for the industry and the environment - and the economy, if you read the Stern report [on the economics of climate change],鈥� the source says.

The DfE does not dispute that cost is king - asked to respond, a spokeswoman said: 鈥淕iven the current financial situation we look to establish every free school with the lowest possible capital outlay, while still meeting obligations under school and building regulations鈥�.

Special dispensation

But Mike Jacob, from Trunk Low Energy, who led the Sensible Schools proposal for the free school, argues that in this case the cost of the green school proposal - far from being more expensive - was broadly similar to the scheme that is now being built. He points to costings drawn up by consultant Cyril Sweett for a series of options for the Sensible Schools proposal, with the nearest comparable scheme to that under construction costed at 拢1,807/m2 - just 5% more than the 拢1,720/m2 that the actual scheme is costing (see box, below).

But Jacob notes that the Sensible Schools scheme was designed to the 黑洞社区 Bulletins (BB 98 and 99) that set out the space standard for schools, adding various constraints that drive up costs. 鈥淲e were later told that special dispensation would be made for free schools in that they wouldn鈥檛 have to design to the 黑洞社区 Bulletins, which would have had a significant impact on driving down costs,鈥� he says.

鈥淪o it鈥檚 astounding that PfS have spent a similar amount to the Sensible Schools proposal, which was designed to BB98 and would have given them a building with negligible running costs.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to denigrate what the parents have done - that鈥檚 not what this is about. It鈥檚 about the policy direction from central government. How industry standards and ambition are being sacrificed in the name of short-term capital costs.鈥�

Chris Austin, CfBT head of property services, denies that PfS ruled out the sustainability elements of the school and downplays that aspect of the early plan, despite it forming a key part of the application and publicity. 鈥淲hen we were looking at the importance of sustainability and where it fitted in the agenda - it was in there. It was not at the top, because we wanted a school. That鈥檚 at the top. But it鈥檚 in there,鈥� he says.

Austin says the BREEAM pre-assessment for the school, conducted by the design-and-build team, rated it 鈥渧ery good鈥�. But pre-assessments are only an early indication and Austin concedes the school will not be certified with an official 鈥渧ery good鈥� rating, as is usually required by the DfE as a condition of capital funding. Austin says this is due to the cost of certification, which is 鈥渘ot the best use of our money鈥�.

He says there was no pressure to build the school to BREEAM standards and confirmed CfBT were allowed to relax the minimum space standards for schools, set out in the 黑洞社区 Bulletins, by about 10%, meaning the school will be smaller than would usually be the case for the amount of pupils.

PfS also pressured the council to exempt the school from paying 拢27,729 in Section 106 contributions - something the council steadfastly refused to countenance, with councillors saying it would 鈥渄rive a coach and horses through present policy鈥�, creating a precedent that could apply to other schools.

Austin says PfS and DfE were focused on lightening the burden of regulation as much as possible. 鈥淧fS said, 鈥楢s long as you meet 黑洞社区 Regulations, as long as you meet the health and safety requirements, as long as you meet your safeguarding requirements for the school, we鈥檙e happy - there is no set level that you must meet [in terms of standards] except for planning permission.鈥�

He adds that the most important thing was the parents would have a school to send their children to: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the school that mattered. The education that takes place in that environment - in the school - is the most important thing for us.鈥�

鈥楨rosion of best practice鈥�

This downgrading of the importance of the school environment runs directly from Gove and his advisers and has wider implications for school building and the construction industry. What the industry fears is that the relaxation of standards for free schools - such as the exemption for BREEAM 鈥渧ery good鈥� certification and the reduction in space standards, by as much as 15% from the average - will be applied to all schools, including those to be built through the 拢2bn PFI priority schools building programme.

Mark Robinson, chief executive of Scape, a local authority-backed building procurement body, says Gove鈥檚 free school agenda is paving the way for a wider diminution of standards that will 鈥渟et the industry back years鈥�. 鈥淭he whole premise behind a free school is that it can be provided in any building and set out in any way without restriction. So by scrapping BREEAM targets for schools, he鈥檚 solving the problem of free schools having to comply with certain standards.

鈥淚n our view, this is a slow, calculated erosion of best practice, which undermines the efforts of both industry and the public sector in striving to reduce school running costs while creating an improved learning environment.鈥�

Robinson is not a lone voice. A series of letters from leading figures in the construction industry have lobbied Gove over the proposed move to scrap BREEAM, while ministries, including the business department, have also expressed concerns.

But they are coming up against a department determined in its belief that cutting 鈥渢he burden of school building and premises regulations鈥� - including BREEAM and space standards - is necessary to reduce red tape. 鈥淏ut also because we believe that high quality teaching is not dependent on expensive, custom-designed school buildings,鈥� the department says.

It is a view espoused by Rachael Wolf, director of New Schools Network, the charity charged by the government with delivering the free schools programme. Speaking to 黑洞社区 last year, Wolf said there has been too much emphasis on the idea that a school building can 鈥渢ransform standards鈥�, adding that this also applied to space standards.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the school environment is the most important thing, honestly, and I know that will be unpopular,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just think that in a time of constrained resources, if you鈥檙e choosing between things, the quality of the teaching has to come first鈥�.

But Nusrat Faizullah, chief executive of the British Council for School Environments (BCSE), says there is a 鈥渨ealth of evidence鈥� to show that environment plays a key role in raising standards in schools and that high-density learning spaces have a 鈥渘egative impact鈥�. The BCSE is now working towards the creation of a Decent Schools Standard that will provide guidelines for best practice in education buildings.

Faizullah says sustainability will be a key part of that, for educational, economic and environmental reasons. 鈥淪ustainability is incredibly important. We do recognise that there are some concerns with BREEAM, but we must be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater,鈥� she says.

鈥淚f there is going to be increasing diversity of school providers in the future, then it is essential a blueprint is developed to make sure we are creating optimum educational facilities, not just new 鈥榦ld鈥� schools.鈥�

With the DfE yet to set out its intentions on the outstanding matters from the James Review of education, such as BREEAM and space standards, Simon Lucas, head of education at consultant EC Harris, says clarity is urgently needed - particularly for contractors hoping for work through the PFI priority schools programme, which was scheduled to be launched in April but now looks to be delayed until at least September. 鈥淚f you are going to keep forcing down building costs, you are going to have to be extremely clever around things like BREEAM or you going to have to change the standards. But we don鈥檛 know yet know what the specification will be,鈥� he says.

And with the DfE expecting private finance to back the schools programme, Lucas warns that a diminution of standards will not sit well with the market. 鈥淭he private sector will be investing in the buildings, so they will want to know they are sustainable over the long-term - they鈥檙e going to want to know its an asset that will last.鈥�
For the parents and kids who are just happy to be moving into All Saints junior school this autumn, little of this will matter. But there are bigger issues at stake in Gove鈥檚 free schools agenda, and little clarity as to how they will be resolved.