Hertfordshire County Council
Building Schools
for the Future
Readiness to Deliver
Submission
October 2006
Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
31/07/2017
Children, Schools & Families
Director: John Harris
County Hall
Hertford, SG13 8DF
Russell Andrews
Partnerships for Schools
Fifth Floor
8-10 Great George Street
London
SW1P 3AE
Tel:
Fax:
E Mail:
Date:
01992 555743
01992 555739
[email protected]
26th October 2006
Dear Mr Andrews
We are extremely pleased to give our full support to the Hertfordshire County Council Readiness to Deliver
submission for Stevenage schools to be considered for Wave 4. Hertfordshire is a top performing
authority as measured by the Audit Commission. The work we are currently doing puts us in a strong
position to address the challenges that lie ahead. We have a range of initiatives underway to ensure we
retain and enhance our standing as a leading authority and, more importantly that we deliver high quality
services to all our residents and service users.
Increasingly Hertfordshire is working with both public and private sector partners to deliver improvements
to our services and life in the county. For example the Local Area Agreement sets out outcomes for all the
main public bodies, voluntary and community groups, which are reflected in our corporate plan.
Our main ambition is to make Hertfordshire a better place to live and work and to provide the best possible
services. Our corporate strategy identifies seven areas where we can clearly challenge the organisation to
make efforts to deliver even better services. These include “maximising opportunities for all children and
young people” particularly by improving vocational education and training and making sure that
safeguarding children is everyone’s business.
HCC is committed, in principle, to the BSF model and in particular to the procurement and funding
arrangements. We accept that BSF funding is dependent on PfS and DfES agreement to any proposed
variations to the model. We also accept that new built schools will predominantly be funded through PFI
credits and that refurbishment will be funded through conventional capital funding. However, as a ‘floor
authority’, we must register concern about any proposed use of ‘supported borrowing’ to fund the
programme.
HCC understands that the default model for the delivery of the programme is the establishment of a Local
Education Partnership. We are, in principle, willing to procure both an integrated ICT managed service
and facilities management service.
We are extremely proud of the quality of education and care we provide in Hertfordshire, but we know we
can do even better. BSF will deliver great opportunities for us to transform secondary education across
the county. Although a great deal of excellent service is delivered in Stevenage, it is an area with
particular challenges that make it an ideal area for our first BSF Wave. There is strong Member support
for Hertfordshire’s BSF bid, and this is reflected throughout the organisation.
Yours sincerely,
David Beatty
Leader of the Council
Caroline Tapster
Chief Executive
David Lloyd
Executive Member for Education
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Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
Table of Contents
READINESS TO DELIVER (WAVES 4- 6) ..................................................................................... 4
1. STRATEGY FOR CHANGE....................................................................................................... 4
DIVERSITY, CHOICE, ACCESS ......................................................................................................... 4
UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS ...................................................................................................... 5
PERSONALISED LEARNING ............................................................................................................. 6
14-19 ENTITLEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 7
INTEGRATED SERVICES ................................................................................................................. 7
INCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 8
CHANGE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................. 9
2. ESTATE STRATEGY AND PLANNING .................................................................................. 10
KEY ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN PRIORITIES ................................................................................ 10
PUPIL PLACE REQUIREMENTS AND PLANNING PROJECTIONS ........................................................... 11
HEADLINE STRATEGIC VISION FOR ICT......................................................................................... 11
EXISTING AND PLANNED CONSULTATIONS .................................................................................... 12
3. COMMITMENT TO THE BSF MODEL .................................................................................... 12
4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 12
MEMBER LEADERSHIP ................................................................................................................. 12
PROJECT BOARD ........................................................................................................................ 13
PROJECT DIRECTOR ................................................................................................................... 13
PROJECT TEAM .......................................................................................................................... 13
5. SUPPORT NETWORK ............................................................................................................ 14
6. CORPORATE CAPACITY ........................................................................................................ 15
CORPORATE PROCUREMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND CAPACITY ....................................................... 15
EXPERIENCE OF DELIVERING STRATEGIC PROJECTS AND LESSONS LEARNED .................................. 15
7. KEY STAKEHOLDER COMMITMENT AND CONSULTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............... 17
8. RISK MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................. 17
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Building Schools for the Future
Readiness to Deliver (Waves 4- 6)
Hertfordshire County Council (HCC – used throughout this submission to include the local
authority) is fully committed to and genuinely excited about the transformational change that will
result from Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment. Our bid to be included in wave 4 is
based upon the following key principles:

BSF is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform the learning experience of
Hertfordshire children and young people to improve their life outcomes
our key priority will be to keep the needs of the child at the centre – focussing on
teaching and learning and not just buildings
HCC is already a desirable place to live and work and we aim to build on this
our confidence, based on past and present performance and detailed preparatory work,
that we will deliver the programme on time and within budget.
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In this submission we have demonstrated our ability and enthusiasm to deliver our proposals in
wave four. BSF will provide a framework to allow us to take a much more comprehensive and
radical look at provision within each area of the county than has hitherto been possible to ensure
we can provide educational and community services appropriate to the 21st century. For many
reasons it is appropriate that we begin in Stevenage.
1. Strategy for Change
Diversity, choice, access
There is already considerable diversity of provision across Stevenage. Six of the seven secondary
schools are community schools with the seventh a voluntary aided school. Three special schools
cater for secondary age young people with a wide range of special needs. Each of the mainstream
secondary schools has a distinctive ethos and all have achieved specialist status – comprising
Arts, Arts/Science, Business and Enterprise, Sports, Performing Arts, Technology and
Engineering. One school has been designated as a training school. Stevenage is a very
successful pilot area for full service extended schools with a consortia of four secondary schools
already providing the full core offer. Excellent links are established in Stevenage between schools,
the FE college and private providers to offer very good and diverse vocational opportunities to
young people.
In practice, however, the delivery of this diversity of provision is impeded by a number of factors
including:
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the location of the current schools – significant shifts in housing provision mean that
schools are no longer located in the best places to meet local needs. The BSF
programme will enable us to better locate schools, which will improve access and
choice
the variable quality and range of facilities in each school – premises built to meet postwar needs are no longer suitable to provide a 21st century entitlement. BSF will enable
us to deal with this issue by providing new and enhanced facilities
parent and young people’s perceptions of the service offered by each school – resulting
in an imbalance in preferences between schools at the admission stage. For example,
in 2006 one school attracted over 800 applications whilst another attracted just over
100, which represents 425% and 62% of their published admission numbers. The BSF
programme will enable us to provide high quality facilities that are attractive and exciting
and which young people want to access
the number of young people attending sixth forms – these are lower in Stevenage than
elsewhere in Hertfordshire. Although, there are extremely good collaborative links
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between schools, poor facilities currently make attracting young people into post-16
provision considerably more difficult. Again the BSF programme will provide the
opportunity for us to address this problem, thereby increasing choice and access.
HCC already works successfully in collaboration with partners and stakeholders both in Stevenage
and across the county. We will ensure that all statutory and other stakeholders are fully engaged
with us in the Strategy for Change process. In addition to the groups listed in the Strategy for
Change guidance we will ensure that parents and young people are fully engaged in the
consultation process.
We see the educational transformation in Stevenage schools, enabled through BSF, helping to
drive similar transformation elsewhere in the county as we move into subsequent BSF waves.
In November 2005 HCC’s Cabinet approved the continuation of a countywide programme of
reviews to take account of falling rolls and surplus places. The review in Stevenage will be
undertaken between October 2006 and November 2007.
HCC has a well-established protocol for school place planning area reviews, underpinned by an
annual forecast of pupil numbers and clear criteria against which proposals are evaluated. These
criteria are to:
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reduce surplus places and provide places where they are most needed to meet demand
enhance capacity to raise educational standards, reduce risk of under-performance or
serious weakness and offer extended services
have positive implications for building design, environmental impact and cost
have acceptable transitional arrangements for affected pupils.
HCC already has a wide range of provision and the BSF proposals will continue to support and
extend the diversity of this. Of eighty-two secondary and middle schools, sixteen are foundation,
seventeen are voluntary aided and two are voluntary controlled. All secondary schools are
encouraged to have at least one specialism and to-date sixty-eight have.
The work already undertaken through the visioning workshops held during September and October
2006 indicated that when the Stevenage area review begins in November 2006, headteachers will
enthusiastically contribute to radical thinking about organisational and institutional arrangements.
Some ideas raised by them include the possible co-location of special schools on secondary
school sites, greater integration of management structures across schools and further ways of
improving cross school collaboration, particularly in relation to ICT.
HCC recognises that the diversity that exists in Stevenage is not reflected in all areas of the
county. We are therefore keen to engage in dialogue with both the DfES and PfS to proactively
consider the options for creating Academies and Trust Schools.
Underperforming Schools
HCC enjoys strong and active partnerships with schools, the protocols of which are set out in the
‘Hertfordshire Learning Partnership’. This details key principles to ensure that schools and the
Children, Schools and Families service (CSF) work together to raise standards and promote the
five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes. This is complemented by the partner document
‘Hertfordshire’s Strategy for School Improvement’. Since September 2006 School Improvement
Partners (SIPs) have been allocated to every secondary and middle school and pupil referral units
(known in Hertfordshire as education support centres).
A robust framework for maintaining challenge, support and intervention based on the Hertfordshire
Self Evaluation Framework, is set out in the Hertfordshire Learning Partnership. CSF carries out
annual visits, based on school self-evaluation and latest performance data including contextual
value added data. At these meetings all parties agree strengths and areas for development and an
overall category of school effectiveness. This category determines the level of support provided
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through officers, advisers and the secondary strategy.
Discussions with the DfES have been undertaken on a range of approaches for supporting
improvement. New governance models have been developed for children’s centres and extended
school clusters with the governance of the 14-19 strategic partnerships delivered through the
Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership.
HCC makes excellent use of performance data as well as social deprivation factors to identify
underachieving groups. These groups are supported by focused work from the advisory service
and local community teams. Tackling underachievement also features in the Hertfordshire Local
Area Agreement. However, where schools are consistently not providing high quality education for
their students HCC makes decisive interventions. An example of this is the recent closure of a
Stevenage secondary school in special measures, and its absorption by a local successful school.
Schools track gifted and talented pupils and are supported in providing the right opportunities and
challenge through a programme led by the adviser for gifted and talented children and young
people. The BSF programme will significantly enhance opportunities for more able pupils to work
together particularly through more extensive use of a virtual learning environment supported by
new ICT infrastructure.
Personalised Learning
The approach to personalised learning in HCC is strongly underpinned by three main themes:
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inclusion - young people have diverse talents and different needs that they should each
be empowered to pursue through a flexible and responsive approach
a rich, relevant and exciting curriculum, including 14-19 skills based courses in which a
range of stakeholders, including learners themselves, shape the offer available to them
ICT - developing a system that both underpins and drives a personalised approach,
enabling learners to progress at their own rate, to participate in learning from a range of
locations and at different times of the day, that enables greater collaboration between
schools and that builds relationships with parents and other stakeholders as coeducators.
At workshops held during August 2006 HCC officers and Stevenage headteachers expressed a
clear determination to explore new curriculum arrangements. The BSF programme will foster
greater choice and diversity by providing schools with mechanisms to engage young people
through a personalised approach with an exciting and relevant skills based curriculum. This will be
supported by a media rich ICT system that engages young people, enables more fluid
collaboration, rapid assessment and reporting mechanisms and that frees up teaching staff to
spend more time with students. The BSF programme will enable schools, colleges and workbased learning providers to work collaboratively to support students in taking appropriate courses
including vocational qualifications in FE or work-based learning settings.
The majority of HCC schools are already engaged in a whole school initiative to introduce
Assessment for Learning. They are supported by resources, training and in-school consultancy
from members of the National Strategy Team and Hertfordshire assessment advisers. Schools are
provided with data from the Fischer Family Trust and are given training in the use of packages
such as RAISEonline. They are also supplied with a wealth of additional information from the HCC
data analysis team, backed up by training and challenges from national strategy consultants and
School Effectiveness Advisors.
The continued development of the Hertfordshire Learning Platform and of high quality resources
available on the Hertfordshire Grid for Learning provides a secure communications network for all
learners, online learning spaces and the delivery of anytime, anywhere learning. A recent DfES
grant is being used to provide schools across the county with a virtual learning environment.
Through the use of ICT the countywide education vision could be implemented in all of the seven
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BSF areas in advance of full funding becoming available.
Plans are well established to roll out children’s centres and extended schools across Hertfordshire.
HCC now has eleven first school sports coordinated partnerships, the first of which was
established in Stevenage. The Stevenage partnership is centred on Marriotts, a school with a
nationally recognised gymnastics centre. Stevenage has one of the first school clusters that has
been running from the Marriotts and Heathcote schools for over a year.
14-19 entitlement
Stevenage is already an outstanding example of 14-19 partnership working, comprising six 11-19
community secondary schools, the local Education Support Centre (ESC), North Hertfordshire
College, the local special schools, Ridgemond Training and the University of Hertfordshire. The
partnership has been selected by the DfES and National College of School and Leadership to
develop a ‘Shared Leadership’ initiative in 2006-07, including the setting up of new governance
arrangements. BSF will allow this outstanding example to be extended to other areas of
Hertfordshire.
The partnership is working with the London Institute of Education on a programme to analyse good
practice on quality assessment. Supported by BSF funding, the findings from the project will
eventually be cascaded across the whole of Hertfordshire. The HCC 14-19 partnership’s remit is
to ensure that the strategy works within an entitlement framework for all young people. This
learner entitlement aligns with the new national entitlement and is underpinned by a protocol for
the delivery of information, advice and guidance. This will be strengthened from February 2007 by
HCC’s online 14-19 prospectus (‘hertschoices’), together with the use of an electronic individual
learning plan.
To facilitate the delivery of the strategy and the 14-19 entitlement by 2013, CSF and the LSC have
established seven Strategic Area Partnership Groups (SAPGs) organised across the county based
on travel to learn patterns. Within each SAPG there are a number of smaller groups of which
special schools are active members. Specialist schools and specialist departments in colleges, as
well as Centres of Vocational Excellence, will take leading roles in developing provision for relevant
diplomas. Shared curriculum provision is already available in the SAPGs. One example of this is
a construction site at Barnwell School, Stevenage, developed in collaboration with North
Hertfordshire College. BSF funding will enable the development of more suitable facilities from
which to deliver an enhanced vocational curriculum.
CSF and the LSC are working together to identify the needs, in terms of physical resources, of 1419 provision as well as on the breadth of the curriculum offer. This includes auditing present and
planned future provision across the sectors and the accommodation issues that arise. Although all
Hertfordshire FE colleges have planned building programmes the challenge is to align their capital
programme with the BSF fund.
One of the stretch targets for the Hertfordshire Local Area Agreement is to increase the number of
vocational qualifications achieved by young people, particularly in the sectors of construction,
hospitality and health and social care. This target has been agreed and is owned by the LSC and
HCC. The existing collaboration of all partners including schools and work-based learning
providers will be strengthened by the BSF programme.
Integrated services
In 2001, Hertfordshire was the first county to integrate its children’s social care services and the
local education authority function into a CSF service. In addition the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust
Partnership began to operate formally on 1st April 2006 and is strongly supported by each of the
ten District and Borough council areas’ local Children’s Trust Partnerships.
The first HCC Children and Young People’s Plan was produced in 2006 following extensive
consultation. By March 2007 each District Children’s Trust Partnership will have a local plan.
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Some key priorities that will be supported by BSF investment are:
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improved outcomes for 14-19 year olds, particularly disaffected young people who may
otherwise be excluded
reducing the gap in achievement for the most disadvantaged groups including Looked
After Children
early intervention and prevention reducing referrals to more specialist services
reducing under-18 conception rates and drug and alcohol misuse in collaboration with
the Primary Care Trust
providing more ‘places to go and things to do’ to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
in collaboration with the police
all 5-16 year olds accessing two hours of PE and sport in collaboration with Sport
England, HCC, Stevenage Leisure Ltd and Stevenage Borough Council
opportunities for co-location of public services such as library facilities to support local
communities
opportunities for public services to operate from school premises e.g. dentistry.
BSF investment will provide opportunities through well designed buildings and the enhanced role
of ICT to develop inclusive and innovative learning environments that respond more effectively to
the holistic needs of young people and their parents, carers and the local community.
HCC has taken a joined up approach to extended schools and children’s centres. The county has
been mapped into eighty-two local communities based on Super Output Areas and within District
boundaries, each of which will have a children’s centre by 2010. Supported by BSF funding, these
communities will enable joint commissioning by partners and a focus on local needs within a
county framework. Stevenage is a very successful pilot area for extended schools consortia with
four secondary schools already providing the full core offer.
Healthy Schools is highlighted as a key priority within the Being Healthy section of the
Hertfordshire Children and Young People’s Plan. The improved facilities provided through BSF
funding will help to increase the current 63% of secondary schools that are accredited or working
towards the Healthy Schools Programme.
Through the Physical Education School Sport Club Links (PESSCL) strategy HCC is maximising
the potential impact of funding streams such as BSF, Big Lottery, Sport England and a Local Area
Agreement pump priming grant by combining them and focusing them on priority areas. HCC has
set a stretch target, through the Local Area Agreement, to reach the 2 hours a week PE and Sport
target for 92% of 5-16 year olds by 2008.
Strategic level partnerships between Sport England, Hertfordshire Sports Partnership and HCC
have enabled the appointment of a county community sport development manager whose focus is
to maximise the community use of facilities. There is a shared vision to use BSF funding to
support the Stevenage collaborative approach to ensure that more inclusively designed and
complementary sporting and leisure facilities are established. These will support the widening of
choices available to learners and local communities as an inherent component of a personalised
approach.
Whilst HCC’s partnerships between agencies are well established, a strategic corporate approach
to communication and collaboration through ICT, enabled through BSF resources, will further
embed these relationships and facilitate the swifter realisation of outcomes for young people.
Inclusion
Inclusion is a key priority and a cross-cutting theme in our Children and Young People’s Plan and a
focus of multi-agency working through the developing Children’s Trust arrangements. In relation to
schools there are two major documents, namely the Behaviour and Achievement Strategy and the
SEN and Inclusion Strategy, which set out the main objectives for the future.
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BSF will enable HCC to build greater capacity in local schools to cater for more diverse and
complex needs. This will involve providing appropriate specialist provision where required,
increased sharing of expertise and resources through schools working in close partnership. This
will increase the provision of appropriate progression routes for vulnerable groups into further
education and employment.
HCC’s Behaviour and Achievement Strategy sets out a comprehensive approach to support
schools and young people in dealing with challenging. This includes:
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support and funding for the development of learning support units in secondary schools
the expansion of alternative provision for excluded pupils by developing KS4 learning
centres in six of the seven areas by the 14-19 Strategic Area Planning Groups
the expansion of alternative educational provision through KS4 learning centres to
enable our existing ESCs provision to be focused more fully on prevention particularly
at KS3
making the curriculum more exciting and relevant.
HCC has a history of high standards in teaching and learning for children with SEN in both
mainstream and special schools. The HCC Strategy for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion,
produced in response to the 2004 DfES Removing Barriers to Achievement strategy, sets out the
following four key themes:
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to ensure that the framework for evaluating school effectiveness reflects SEN and
inclusion as key to raising standards
to ensure all those with responsibility for the education of children and young people are
confident, committed and skilled in relation to SEN
to ensure funding for SEN is transparent, equitable and supports early intervention and
inclusion
to ensure children and young people are educated within their local community of
schools wherever possible.
There is already strong collaboration between schools in Stevenage, leading to active participation
in opportunities for learners with disabilities and those with SEN. For example, this is
demonstrated by the 160 SEN students in Stevenage who are actively participating in 14-19 skillsbased courses alongside their peers. However, the number of Hertfordshire young people placed
out-of-county is slightly higher than the national average as is the number placed in special
schools. Through the BSF programme it is intended to increase the capacity for inclusive provision
in mainstream schools to meet diverse needs, thus enabling special schools to focus on more
complex difficulties, which will reduce the need for out-of-county placements.
HCC is committed to revising the structure of service delivery to improve responsiveness and
reduce bureaucracy, particularly in relation to funding arrangements for supporting young people
with special needs. It is also seeking both to provide schools and young people with a single point
of access and to develop greater capacity in mainstream schools to reduce exclusions, truancy
and bullying. It is anticipated that success in reducing exclusions and truancy will impact positively
to reduce levels of crime and disorder.
Change management
HCC’s change management mechanism will enable the countywide educational vision to be
implemented, irrespective of the programme of BSF funding across Hertfordshire BSF phases. A
change management programme will be drawn up to encompass:
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the Every Child Matters outcomes
leading and managing in times of change
learning and teaching
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developing the workforce of the future
a curriculum designed for the 21st Century.
HCC will create a change management delivery team, a change management reference group and
sub-sets of its consultative forum of trade unions and professional associations. We will also
ensure young people’s involvement by supporting a variety of projects including consulting on
proposed plans and engagement in the design process.
CSF has provided strong support for workforce remodelling through the school workforce
development team in partnership with the schools’ human resources team. This support focuses
on developing a coherent approach in the areas of recruitment, retention, staff well-being,
workforce remodelling, continued professional development and performance management. There
is an innovative programme of training and support for higher level teaching assistants, run in
partnership with Hertfordshire University. An HCC school has been showcased at a national
conference as having cutting edge workforce development programme. Several HCC schools
have been commissioned to design and deliver teaching assistant programmes for local schools.
There is a strong and well established school improvement service in HCC that is experienced and
skilled in providing training and support for school leaders, teachers and governors. Throughout
the inevitable disruption of the BSF building programme SIP visits will maintain focus on standards
and provide good challenge and support to ensure that this remains at the top of the school
agendas. There will be discussions on planning and capacity for managing this major change both
within and between schools.
2. Estate strategy and planning
Key Asset Management Plan Priorities
HCC is a beacon authority for asset management and as such has full asset management
planning data for the portfolio, property processes and property services. There are ‘traffic light’
indicators for retention, improvement and removal from the portfolio, against the overall aim to only
use property that sustains and supports service delivery. HCC’s BSF programme is not simply to
replace or refurbish existing buildings. We envision a structural reorganisation, starting in
Stevenage, so creating a platform for step change in the performance of schools and the
attainment of individual young people. Schools will be larger, more educationally viable, and will
serve the needs of young people, parents and the wider community more effectively.
The overall intent in Stevenage is to have fewer, larger, establishments on sites that facilitate the
School Organisation Plan 2003 policy to have secondary schools of 6-8FE size and, where site
capacity is possible, to allow for future expansion to 10FE capacity. The strategy accommodates
the exceptional dwelling and population growth planned under the draft East of England Plan,
including the contributions expected from developers for the provision of additional social
infrastructure to meet the needs of the increased population.
Potential premises reorganisation for Stevenage shows the opportunity provided by BSF for
enlarged and new sites with related acquisitions and disposals. There will be the opportunity to
propose a distribution of sites and forms of development that constitute highly accessible and
sustainable development. For the proposed new strategic site in north Stevenage we have
established with the owner that the site would be available for purchase. All of the other land
needed to achieve options for change is in the control of public bodies, i.e. HCC, Stevenage
Borough Council, North Hertfordshire College and English Partnerships. HCC has an excellent
record of delivering planning and development schemes that support market development on
surplus land, with local plan allocations, planning permissions and DfES disposal consents
routinely delivered.
Promotion of school premises change on this scale requires careful co-ordination with the town
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planning regime and discussions have already commenced with the two Local Planning Authorities
– Stevenage Borough Council and North Hertfordshire District Council. They are co-operating on
the provision of a Joint Area Action Plan for land west and north of Stevenage as part of their Local
Development Framework planning processes. The necessary provision for secondary school sites
will be included in this plan.
Pupil place requirements and planning projections
HCC forecasts annually the need for mainstream pupil places using bespoke software. The
forecast is based on the known number of pupils in primary schools in the area, known new
housing developments sourced from planning authorities and district local plans, and migration
trends of movement in and out of each of its planning areas. Across the whole of the authority’s
area the forecasts are well within the range expected under Audit Commission guidelines. It
forecasts seven years ahead.
Further population modelling has been undertaken for the period beyond that point and up to 2021
taking into account, among other things, the impact of the potential 14,400 additional dwellings
contained in the East of England Plan to inform the asset planning strategy.
The need for secondary school provision is expected to be approximately 50 forms of entry by
2021, the timing of which will need to be commensurate with population increases. We
acknowledge that this overall requirement will need to be met by a combination of BSF funding and
developers’ contributions.
Staying-on rates in Stevenage are lower than the County average and the forecast anticipates an
increase to at least that level as a consequence of the step-change facilitated by BSF.
The precise number, size (with expansion potential) and location of schools within Stevenage will
be the output of the review of provision planned in conjunction with this bid. Projections for the
number of pupils requiring specialist support, either within mainstream or special schools, will be
part of that process.
Headline Strategic Vision for ICT
HCC has an agreed ICT strategy with schools that aims to provide all learners with universal
access to reliable resources and infrastructure to enable high quality learning to take place
anywhere and at any time. It is anticipated that BSF funding will allow the full implementation of
this strategy. The key priorities of the strategy include:
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promoting strategic leadership of ICT in schools
providing a comprehensive continued professional development programme to all
schools in which ICT is a key tool in raising attainment
encouraging collaborative approaches to personalised learning activities across the
curriculum
offering technical training and consultancy to schools
providing infrastructure equipment and software to all schools through best value
procurement processes and the regional broadband consortia (E2BN)
providing safe, secure and sustainable connectivity to all schools
providing media rich learning resources through the Hertfordshire Grid for Learning.
HCC has a well established experienced team that offers support, guidance and training across the
phases in all aspects of ICT, including curriculum support, virtual learning environments, web
development and management information systems. Through the guidance of this team, all
schools currently have a self-directed, active website. Over the last three years, Ofsted reports
have identified that there has been a steady rise in the number of schools achieving satisfactory or
above grades for ICT. The Hertfordshire Grid for Learning website is routinely used by schools
across the county to share ideas and access curriculum information. For those HCC phases
identified for later funding, ICT will provide the infrastructure to allow the early implementation of
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the educational vision.
HCC has been developing the next generation of its ICT services over the last year, and is
currently piloting the Hertfordshire Learning Platform. HCC promotes strategic use of management
information systems, which will be integrated into the Hertfordshire Learning Platform. The work of
the ICT teams in HCC is led by the ICT Partnership Working Group. This strategic group consists
of headteachers, governors and key county council personnel and has a remit to steer, challenge
and monitor ICT development across the county. An ICT BSF Partnership Group, created from
stakeholders in the Stevenage area, will ensure that ICT is integral to HCC’s BSF programme, and
that it is developed in a strategic, sustainable manner to the benefit of all learners.
Existing and Planned Consultations
The protocol for reviews of school provision set out in Section 1 (‘Diversity, choice and access’)
requires extensive stakeholder and public consultation. Such reviews are either underway or
planned for each of the first three BSF areas in Hertfordshire. The consultation process for
reviewing secondary provision in Stevenage, including that for children with special needs, is
scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2007.
3. Commitment to the BSF model
HCC is committed, in principle, to the BSF model and in particular to the procurement and funding
arrangements. We accept that BSF funding is dependent on PfS and DfES agreement to any
proposed variations to the model. We also accept that new built schools will predominantly be
funded through PFI credits and that refurbishment will be funded through conventional capital
funding. However, as a ‘floor authority’, we must register concern about any proposed use of
‘supported borrowing’ to fund the programme.
HCC understands that the default model for the delivery of the programme is the establishment of
a Local Education Partnership. We are, in principle, willing to procure both an integrated ICT
managed service and facilities management service.
4. Project management
The arrangements for programme management and governance are currently being developed in
preparation to deliver Wave 4 BSF funding from January 2007. Roles and responsibilities are
currently being defined and resources are being allocated, including the back filling where
appropriate. Where aspects of project management have been covered in the sections on support
network, corporate capacity and key stakeholder commitment and consultation we have not
duplicated them here.
Member leadership
Elected Members of the county council recognise that their commitment to leading the BSF
programme is vital. This support is already in place. To date over half of the 77 Members have
attended briefing sessions run by 4ps.
The Chief Executive of HCC is the Project Sponsor/Project Owner and as such one of her specific
responsibilities is to lead on communications with Members. She will be supported in this by the
Corporate Communications Officer.
The following steps have already been taken to ensure that Members are fully engaged in the BSF
programme:
•
the education spokesmen from the three main parties were invited to be part of the BSF
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Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
•
•
31/07/2017
briefings and visioning workshops, so that they might act as ambassadors for the
programme
advantage has been taken of the 4ps training programme for Members by hosting two
training events on the 3rd October with a further one planned
the Interim Project Director has engaged with Members of Stevenage Borough Council,
who are the planning authority for the first BSF programme.
Formal approval by the county council’s Cabinet will be required at key stages of the project. The
Cabinet will take specific responsibility for complex issues such as the Local Education Partnership
and the structure and impact of managed services. The communications plan in the Project
Initiation Document will detail at which forum each strategic decision will be made.
It is noted that other local authorities’ Members have valued a quarterly programme newsletter
covering progress on important issues. For HCC it is proposed that the BSF will have a section in
the existing monthly Members newsletter and other internal HCC publications.
Project Board
The Project Board is the key decision making body for the BSF programme. The membership of
the Board provides senior, corporate level commitment and leadership to the programme. The
Board is chaired by the Chief Executive who has enthusiastically embraced the responsibilities of
the Project Owner. It is important to note that the Board includes representation from the
Executive Member for Education and key external partner organisations.
Board meetings will be attended by Members and core project team members, such as the
externally appointed programme manager and legal and financial advisers. Representatives from
the 4ps, PfS and the DfES have been invited to join the Board.
The first Project Board was held on the 6th September 2006 at which terms of reference were
agreed. From January 2007, Project Board meetings are scheduled monthly and will also be linked
to key milestones such as the approval of the OBC and the initial short list of bidders.
Project Director
The Project Director will provide leadership and direction to the BSF programme. Currently there
is an interim project director who is Head of School Access and who is working part-time on BSF.
The BSF Project Director is a new full-time post commencing in January 2007. The interim project
director is already in contact with BSF directors and schools from other local authorities to glean
insight and critical advice.
Project Team
The project team comprises of officers and externally appointed advisers, together with a large
number of additional members who will join the team to provide specialist support as required. The
core project team comprises the Project Director, Deputy Project Director, Project Administrator,
Programme Manager and leaders of each of the work streams. Work stream leaders will report to
the project team on progress against programme, issues arising and risks.
The skills, capability and experience of each team member along with best practice programme
management should ensure the successful delivery of the programme. There will be ongoing
training and continuing professional development for all team members. BSF offers an opportunity
for officers and external advisors to share knowledge and aquire skills. The team will also network
with, and research the experience of, authorities who have already been through the BSF process.
ICT is a core theme of BSF and the project team has been structured to include ICT
representatives in both the education and technical work streams. Further support will be provided
to the project team by the ICT BSF Partnership Group. To ensure that there is a holistic approach
to educational and managed service ICT issues both corporate and educational staff have been
included in the project team.
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The period between October and December 2006 will be used to clarify the roles identified in the
project team and to allocate clear responsibilities. These roles will be developed along with a
recruitment strategy for each post. As many of these positions will be filled by existing officers, this
time will also be spent in making arrangements to back fill their current roles to ensure the day-today operations of the county council can continue unimpeded by the extensive resources required
to deliver the BSF programme.
The project team will further evolve to deliver the procurement and operational phases as the
different skills and experience are required. The PID will contain draft organograms for these
phases along with detailed resource schedules. In addition to the project team, working groups will
be set up across work streams to look at specific issues such as the creation of the LEP,
stakeholder involvement and property issues.
5. Support network
The experience of earlier wave authorities has shown that extensive resources are required. HCC
is determined that it will not underestimate the time and human resources the BSF programme will
require. We have therefore completed an in-depth resource planning exercise showing the
resources – both internal and external that are required to deliver the first stages of the
programme.
In terms of internal resources, HCC has experienced and capable staff involved in the children’s
centres PFI project, who have been identified to form part of the BSF programme team. The HCC
team does not require external support in the following areas; communications, human resources,
financial management, property issues, risk management, and the full range of education issues.
Areas identified where external support will be required, together with the proposals to procure
them and any appointments already made, are set out below.
Discipline
Procurement
Appointment
Programme and project Procured as managers of HCC’s major Mace Limited
management
(including capital programme.
procurement)
Educational transformation Procured as a sub-consultant to Mace
and
education
ICT
consultants
Place Group
Technical advisors
Procured as managers of HCC’s major Mace Limited
capital programme.
Legal advisors
HCC are considering using the PfS TBC
framework, the East of England
Centre of Excellence framework and
OJEU
Financial advisors
HCC are considering using the PfS TBC
framework, the East of England
Centre of Excellence framework and
OJEU
Design team
Procured as managers of HCC’s major TBC
capital programme.
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Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
Facilities management
Procured as a sub-consultant to Mace
31/07/2017
Macro
The resource schedule shows the initial allocation of funding to the BSF programme to cover the
external support required. Cabinet has also agreed that it will support the release of further and
substantial sums and officer time as the need arises.
6. Corporate capacity
Corporate Procurement Arrangements and capacity
HCC is proud of its wide range of achievements year on year. For example, the authority is judged
to be excellent through the government’s CPA process. We are a beacon authority for asset
management. HCC Business Services was awarded ISO 14001 in 2004. The CSF, Corporate and
Environment services have all achieved Investor in People awards. As a shire council HCC has an
extensive range of corporate services and strong internal support systems. The county council’s
approach to corporate procurement is service led, but supported by the Business Services trading
unit within HCC.
HCC successfully delivers an annual programme of over £80 million of capital works, with the
support of its capital programme partner, Mace Ltd. In addition to this existing team, from the
beginning of 2008 there will also be a specific procurement team as part of the BSF project team.
This will include HCC and Mace staff, all with relevant experience in this area. To ensure we are
well equipped to deal with the new OJEU Competitive Dialogue procedures we are keeping in
close contact with earlier wave authorities currently going through this process.
HCC has for many years had its own Gateway process, which was adopted from the OGC process
that serves as an effective check and balance throughout a project’s life cycle and especially as
investment decisions are made. However, in line with BSF requirements 4ps has been
commissioned to undertake a Gateway Review 0 in December 2006.
Experience of delivering strategic projects and lessons learned
HCC has significant experience of delivering strategic projects. For example, in October 1999 the
decision was taken to bring together all local authority services provided to children and young
people. Extensive consultation and planning with staff, stakeholders and service users was
undertaken to achieve this. The Children, Schools and Families (CSF) service was launched in
April 2001. HCC is proud that it was the first county council to create an integrated service in this
way.
External evaluations undertaken in 2003 recognised significant achievements including:



establishing a set of principles and a working culture on which ‘joined up’ working can
be based
establishing a structure within which collaborative working aimed at meeting the needs
of children and families can take place
positioning HCC to respond to new imperatives and to take advantage of new
opportunities as they arise.
Since 2001, as service delivery has continuously improved, a number of further organisational
changes have been made. For example, CSF responded to the Children’s Act 2004 by
restructuring the Board to deliver a major process of growth and change. Other significant projects
are set out below:
The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership was established in 2002 in response to the
county council’s recognition that it needed to work more closely in partnership over strategic issues
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Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
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relating to children’s services. Since that time there have been many local and national
developments, including the Change for Children programme and the National Service Framework
for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. The partnership takes a strategic overview of
these developments and provides the endorsement and steer for multi-agency working. One of the
major challenges that the partnership faces includes creating a joint planning and commissioning
framework, which requires pooled budgets from different agencies to bring together their planning
to ensure key priorities are identified, addressed and sufficiently resourced. All parties agree that
this is a sound principle, but when it comes to joint funding there have been some difficulties in
achieving this. The BSF programme will provide the impetus for this to be overcome working
through the Children’s Trust Partnership.
The Way We Work Programme is a major transformational programme, intended primarily to
modernise the work processes used within the county council. This was delivered by rationalising
HCC’s fifty-three office bases into three main office facilities, supported by new ways of working
particularly utilising ICT. Following Phase 1 of the programme in February 2006, the programme
team reviewed progress to date and identified the following lessons learned which will be of value
in the BSF project:


improve the ‘ownership’ of the programme in all service departments by ensuring that
senior managers lead by example through active and positive engagement in the
process
improve the co-ordination of activities to ensure the deadlines are met.
The first HCC Children’s Services PFI scheme worth £22M is to build new and replacement
children’s homes, including adolescent and disability resource centres, a new children’s’ centre
and the refurbishment of family support centres. This project, which will involve fifteen sites, is
currently at preferred bidder stage, with financial close planned for January 2007. So far the most
significant lesson learned has been the importance of early and in-depth engagement with service
providers. The alignment of these different services and therefore the accommodation they require
has proved a challenge to co-ordinate as some services did not fully engage early enough. The
other lesson learned has been the value of having good quality advisers. Both these lessons will
be of value for the BSF project
HCC has had an ongoing programme of Area School Reviews for many years as a result of falling
roles and surplus places, although the number of these has significantly increased recently. In
2004 it was decided that there was insufficient consistency in the documentation produced and in
the way in which consultation procedures were handled.
Following a significant review of the process it was decided that a clear and structured protocol
should be introduced, including:




the decision that consultation meetings should be facilitated by an external, neutral,
organisation
that there should be a stakeholder as well as a public consultation stage, with
stakeholders more involved in the formulation of options for public consultation
an agreed order in which elected members, unions and schools will be notified of
decisions
a review of the way in which information is disseminated, with the consequence that
consultation documentation is clearer, written in plainer English including diagrams and
photographs.
The new protocol was adopted by the county council in 2005 and is a valuable model for the BSF
project.
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7. Key stakeholder commitment and consultation arrangements
The management of communications is crucial to the success of the BSF programme. Thus
communications is therefore an integral theme and is covered throughout this submission. One of
the main challenges will be to keep areas in later funding waves fully engaged in the BSF
programme and committed to implementing the countywide vision.
HCC has excellent communications support systems both at corporate and service levels. We will
build upon this to ensure that all internal and external stakeholders remain fully informed and
involved in the key issues of the BSF programme and its implications. The strategy will be a twoway process between HCC partners and key stakeholders. As part of this HCC will take every
opportunity to consult widely and take all views into account to ensure commitment and support.
All parties and stakeholders consulted have been very supportive of HCC’s BSF proposal and
have sent us a number of their letters of support.
Our key objectives are to:





raise public awareness of the improvements in attainment and provision in Hertfordshire
schools
engage stakeholders to gain commitment and generate enthusiasm by articulating the
vision of the project
involve the community and build their trust and confidence by giving them the
opportunities to have their say and be part of shaping the future for children and young
people in Stevenage
sustain interest and maintain momentum throughout the programme by providing the
appropriate information at the right time and in the right way to support the delivery of
the programme objectives
manage expectations through positive messages that allow the BSF debate to take
place in a constructive way.
Our communications strategy will be to promote common key messages and branding to integrate:





the BSF aims and objectives
the benefits and risks of the project and our approach to each
the impact on the local community
progress updates and developments
existing communication protocols (as discussed earlier in relation to Area Reviews).
8. Risk management
Risk management is integral to the working culture of HCC. It is based on an understanding that
managing risk at strategic, operational and programme/project levels improves the service
effectiveness, delivery and value for money. In a 2005 audit undertaken by the risk management
consultants, AON, it was stated that HCC has a culture of innovation and taking well-managed
risks in order to secure improvements in service delivery, and has put into place a risk
management policy since November 2000.
HCC recognises that there are significant implications for children and young people when the
educational service provided is less than excellent. To ensure changes in provision do not have
negative impacts we appreciate how critical comprehensive risk assessments and risk
management are to the BSF programme. Hertfordshire has a history of innovative educational and
social development and has well established processes in place. Given the importance placed on
risk management by HCC, this will be a standing item on the Project Board agenda and be integral
to the work streams.
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The HCC ‘Key Risk Management Process’ is aimed at identifying, assessing, prioritising and
mitigating the significant risks that may impact on the delivery of the county council’s
promises/objectives. Having a robust key risk management process is one of the cornerstones in
maintaining the county council’s “excellent” rating under the Comprehensive Performance
Assessment. It also provides a focus for senior managers and Members on the important areas
that could impact on continuing to deliver quality services.
HCC has developed significant experience in providing risk management support for multi-million
pound corporate wide projects - this includes the implementation of a SAP system and an office
rationalisation and change management. Also within HCC there is significant experience of
providing risk management advice, guidance and support to major capital projects. This will be
available to the BSF programme, although it is recognised that additional risk management
resources will also be required.
HCC recognises that risk management is a central part of an investment decision making process
and successful project management as it provides a process for the assessment and influencing of
risks and uncertainties, which will be key to the successful delivery of the BSF project. Risk will be
considered during the planning process in order to avoid or minimise the adverse effects of
unforeseen events by avoiding risks or developing contingency plans to deal with them.
At a brainstorming workshop key risks were identified and categorised by importance. Additional
risks from lessons learnt on other BSF projects have also been included, thereby taking a holistic
view. In particular, the benchmarking looked at the financial risks and risks typical of school PFI
projects that would be looked for when following the Treasury Green Book guidance. Risks
identified to-date are about the project overall with individual schools and work streams to be
developed as the project progresses.
The following formula has been used to calculate the Risk Ranking and whether any contingency
planning needs to take place: Risk Ranking = Probability x Highest Severity Rating. A copy of the
top risks taken from the risk register and sorted by those risks with a high ranking is extracted
below.
Risk ID
No
Monthly Risk
Ranking
Movement
Top high ranking risks
Cost
Risk Description
Planning
PA 04
►◄
PA 16
Open
►◄ Committee.
School Organisation
PR 01
►◄
PR 19
►◄
OP 02
Current
Status
Failure to agree output
specification for services
e.g. facilities
management.
SEN Vision unachievable
for all through schooling,
given lack of funding for
primary schools
change ►◄ Legislative
school specific-
Open
Open
Definition
(Local development framework) - need plan for barriers. If we are to
produce a viable OBC that is attractive to private sector partners, we
need to ensure that we can get planning permission and do not
jeopardise the delivery of the OBC through not exploring planning
permission early on in the process.
SOC decisions are not achieved / delayed + reliability of projections.
Pressure and procurement risk with market if requirements are not
well-developed. Poorer solutions for schools. Need to have a longterm structured solution to FM to ensure this huge programme of
investment is not inadequately maintained. It is difficult to anticipate
national expectation versus local requirements on FM
Probability %
Cost
Time
Severity Severity
Time
Risk
Risk
Ranking Ranking
Combined
Ranking
40%
3
3
5
Medium
High
High
40%
3
4
5
Medium
High
High
55%
4
2
4
Medium
High
High
25%
3
5
5
High
High
High
25%
3
5
5
High
High
High
Utilise primary capital programme wherever possible
Open
Open
No further definition required
curriculum
This risk register will be expanded as the project progresses. The additional items to be reviewed
will include; PFI accounting rules, third party income, building works to difficult sites (this may
include a limited amount of refurbishment), payment mechanisms, affordability costs, value for
money, supply and demand e.g. the overheated market with such projects as the Olympics.
A risk sub group will be set up and meet on a bi-monthly basis as a minimum but more frequently if
deemed necessary. The purpose of the meetings will be to regularly review the status of risks and
amend the scoring and mitigation actions as the risks pass, get more remote or become greater. A
comprehensive audit trail of the changes will form part of the risk register highlighting date of
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Hertfordshire BSF Readiness to Deliver submission
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change, risk ID, item, change made, risk movement (increase or decrease), person/s responsible
for change, ranking and background. The risk manager will discuss on a one-to-one basis risks
with owners in advance of the monthly plenary session.
Following the development of the individual school options, risk registers will be produced to
facilitate the decision making process for the selection of the preferred school option. In addition to
the project and school risk registers each of the sub groups that will be formed, such as Operations
& Services and ICT, will develop their individual risk registers. The high ranking risks from these
registers will be reviewed by the risk sub group to determine whether they should be elevated to
the overall project risk register.
The approach outlined above has been approved by the DfES, 4ps and PfS for other BSF projects.
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