Leading the building of sustainable schools

Jane Wilkinson, December 23rd 2008, Public Sector

The biggest school building programme in a generation presents a unique opportunity to incorporate sustainability into the very DNA of our schools.

It also places new demands and responsibilities on school leaders. Head teachers, governors and bursars are key players in achieving this goal. What skills and knowledge do they need to work with the construction sector and numerous other stakeholders to create sustainable school buildings?

We’ve looked at this question in a new report commissioned by the agency that trains school leaders, the National College for School Leadership. Leading sustainable school building projects is produced by Forum for the Future in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Foundation and Cambridge Architectural Research.

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme aims to rebuild or renovate every one of the country’s 3,500 state secondary schools in the next ten years. Launched by the Department for Education & Skills in 2004, it will transform education for some 3.3 million students aged 11-19.  The government has committed £9.3 billion for the BSF programme over the next three years.  Around 1,000 secondary schools in over half the local authorities in England are now engaged in the programme with 42  schools revitalised and a target of 50 to be completed by  April.

The programme aims to deliver better learning environments for all students, better teaching environments for all education professionals, and better access to facilities for local residents. It has committed to reducing carbon emissions from schools, with all buildings making the most of sustainable features to help protect the environment and reduce overheads. 

But our research went beyond this and also looked at how to deliver sustainable learning. We interviewed leaders of 11 exemplar schools as well as conducting an online survey of a larger group, and we found that the rebuilding process presents a perfect opportunity for a school to rethink its approach to learning and consider how its buildings can become a resource for action centred teaching and learning.

For example, American researchers have found that students get better results when learning in rooms with plenty of natural light. It’s also important to ensure multi-functional spaces are created, designed for community as well as school use and that there is sufficient outdoor space for learning throughout the year.

There is a real opportunity for linking the school site to curriculum delivery by engaging pupils in managing environmental impacts.  For example measuring water consumption and energy use as part of their course work. A school eco-council can involve pupils in managing and maintaining buildings.

Sustainable features such as photovoltaic panels and green roofs, as well as providing learning opportunities can make the school a beacon of sustainability of interest to the wider community.

What makes a good leader when building a sustainable school? We found that these individuals consult widely, are skilled communicators who can excite others with their vision, and show determination, drive and forcefulness in seeing through their aims. The three most important leadership roles are, unsurprisingly, those of the head teacher, architect and chair of governors.

A barrier we discovered was the apparent lack of support and expertise to support implementation of the government’s Sustainable Schools strategy within Local Authorities.  We recommend that a sustainability adviser be attached to the Building Schools for the Future programme or Local Authorities.  They would provide specialist sustainable development advice to school leaders, in parallel to the kind of support they already receive through ICT advisers. 
Our report proposes a set of principles to guide building development and in particular the initial briefing process. We also spell out what steps leaders need to take during procurement, and to encourage the adoption of best practice in areas such as whole life costing (estimating the entire cost of achieving a design outcome) and post-occupancy evaluation (evaluation of the results once people are using the building).  It includes guidance for school leaders on how to create a sustainable school estate as well as case studies giving such details as the key individuals in each school that made it happen along with their main learning points.

Since the research was completed, it is encouraging to see that more much emphasis is being placed on incorporating sustainability into school build and that resources are being developed to support this.

This research forms part of Forum’s ongoing work with school leaders for the National College for School Leadership. We are currently supporting the development of leaders in 56 schools to help them actively explore and share innovative practice in leading sustainable schools in order to develop a stronger evidence base and inform policy and practice. 

Image: vahamrick

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