Resources
This topic has a broad content including class sizes, pupil teacher ratios (which are not the same as class sizes) buildings, sports and IT facilities. There is an overlap with the topic on Finance where more information can be found.
Parliamentary Answers are a good source of information on spending on resources such as books. A recent answer provided details of spending on buildings.
Building Schools for the Future Programme
Buildings
The DCSF School Buildings Design Centre produces a great deal of guidance on school building design, including building regulations and bulletins. A list of publications can be found from the following links:
Teachernet: School Buildings Design, Management and Development
Teachernet: School Buildings Design, Resources and Finance
Building Schools for the Future
A major programme, Building Schools for the Future (BSF), was launched in 2004. Its aim was to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school by 2020 and half of primary schools by 2023. Spending of £45 billion is expected.
It is managed by Partnership for Schools (PfS), which is the non-departmental public body set up to deliver Building Schools for the Future.
Also involved is Local Partnerships, which is local government's project delivery specialist. As 4ps it works in partnership with all local authorities to secure funding and accelerate the development, procurement and implementation of PFI schemes, public private partnerships, complex projects and programmes.
Information about Building Schools for the Future can be found from links at the following page:
Teachernet: Building Schools for the Future
The Select Committee on Children Schools and Families has investigated school building and sustainability. Its website has the report published in August 2007 (Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?) The committee pointed out the delay in the BSF programme.
Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?
The Government’s response published in October 2007 can be found at:
Recognising that a rethink of BSF was needed, the Government consulted on its priorities in April 2008; the outcome has yet to be announced.
Allocations to July 2008 under BSF were revealed in a written answer in July 2008, which showed the local authorities which have an outline business case and allocations divided between PFI and non PFI allocations.
In February 2009 The National Audit Office published a report ‘The Building Schools for the Future Programme: Renewing the secondary school estate’. The report highlighted some of the challenges faced by the BSF programme. It stated that the programme now includes the majority of local authorities, but scaling BSF to deliver all 3,500 new or refurbished schools will be challenging. The report also said that the Partnerships for Schools has helped to achieve effective programme management.
The Government requires all new school buildings to reduce carbon emissions from new school buildings by 60 per cent. through a combination of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems, and provides additional funding to all new secondary schools within BSF (Building Schools for the Future), academies and One School Pathfinder programmes for this purpose.
An answer showed spending so far:
The Government would like every school to be a sustainable school by 2020. A sustainable school prepares young people for a lifetime of sustainable living, through its teaching, its fabric and its day-to-day practices.
Teachernet: Sustainable Schools
Class size and pupil teacher ratio
The Statistical First Release published in May 2010 gives the latest figures on class size based on data from the 2010 school census.
- The average size of classes taught by one teacher in maintained primary schools was 26.4 in January 2010, up from 26.2 in January 2009.
- In January 2010, 9.5 per cent of classes in maintained primary schools contained more than 30 pupils, down from 9.8 per cent in January 2009.
- The average size of classes taught by one teacher in state-funded secondary schools was 20.5 in January 2010, down slightly from 20.6 in January 2009.
- In January 2010, 6.5 per cent of classes in state-funded secondary schools contained more than 30 pupils, down slightly from 6.6 per cent in January 2009.
Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2010
A statistical first release published in May 2010 on the school workforce has pupil teacher ratios (PTR) and pupil adult ratios (PAR).
School Workforce in England, January 2010
The overall PTR for the LA maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector was 16.7 in January 2010, down from 16.9 in 2009.
In LA maintained primary schools:
- in January 2010 the within-school PTR was 21.3 compared to 21.4 in 2009.
- in January 2010 the within-school PAR was 11.4 compared to 11.6 in 2009.
In LA maintained secondary schools:
- in January 2010 the within-school PTR was 15.7 compared to 15.9 in 2009.
- in January 2010 the within-school PAR was 10.4 compared to 10.7 in 2009.
Trends in class size and PTR can be found on the DCSF website at:
A time series of primary class size data from 1998 to 2007 can be found on the DCSF website at:
For secondary showing the number of classes and pupils by size of class and average class sizes in maintained secondary schools in England: 1978 to 2007 at:
The OECD comparison Education at a Glance shows that the UK has class sizes larger than the OECD average, particularly in primary:
Education at a Glance: 2009 OECD Indicators
ICT
Up until 2004 there were statistical first releases on ICT provision:
A useful analysis of trends of use of ICT can be found at:
It shows, for example, a steady decrease in the number of pupils per computer year by year.
May 2010