In April 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) announced it would collaborate with 16 colleges to address their estate issues. These particular sites demanded a higher-than-average level of investment. This decision means that around 40% of the Department's £1.5 billion Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF) would be focused on just 16 sites.
In the past, FE colleges have delivered their own capital projects. Still, the DfE decided to use its internal project management team to develop solutions with those contractors on its approved list (a 'Contractors Framework' primarily developed to work with schools).
Although college-managed projects have commenced and even, in some cases, completed, relatively little has been heard of the larger, more complex 16 DfE projects. There has been some speculation that the DfE's teams were taking time to come to terms with the complex needs of Further Education (when they were already busy with their regular School projects).
However, Blackburn College has recently announced a significant milestone in its Victoria Building project. The college held a ceremony at its Scholars restaurant where principal and chief executive Dr Fazal Dad officially handed over the keys to contractors BAM to begin work on the restoration (see post on LinkedIn). BAM is working with ADP Architecture and, in a separate announcement, indicated that the DfE has contributed £25 million to the project.
The Victoria building, a significant Blackburn landmark, will be renovated inside and out. Once complete, it will be part of the Blackburn Learning Quarter for adult learning. Delivering courses such as 'Skills for Work' and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), it will also serve as a centre for community activities in the heart of Blackburn.
BAM has also announced that the University of South Wales has appointed them to deliver a new academic building at the Treforest Campus in Pontypridd. The proposed new academic building will provide teaching, research, and support space for Computing, Maths, Engineering, and Technology. Stride Treglown Architects and Arup engineers worked with the University to develop plans, which have been submitted for planning consent.
Meanwhile, back at school (again)
In previous MabelPosts, we talked about the problem of poor school building conditions in England. We suggested that a more extensive management infrastructure and increased funding are urgently needed to improve the school environment and provide a better learning experience for children. In a separate post, we also explored the reasons behind the current difficulties with failing (RAAC) concrete.
This week, BBC's Panorama investigated the issue of 'Britain's Crumbling Schools'. Although the programme did not reveal any big surprises, it did suggest that the situation in the devolved administrations (outside England) may not be any better. At the time of writing, the documentary is available for 11 months: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001vnjc/panorama-britains-crumbling-schools