The Department for Education has published new baseline designs for schools. The Department’s website says:
“These demonstrate good practice that can be achieved within the set cost and area allowances. The details of the baseline designs are set out, together with associated drawings and technical analyses.
The designs comply with the output specifications written for the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) PFI projects, which are not currently requirements for schools procured by other means.”
There is further information in the press notice, including the following:
“Compared to BSF these designs represent a reduction in wasted space – 15 per cent for secondary and five per cent for primary schools – whilst maintaining the same size teaching space, classrooms, staffrooms, sport, and art and design facilities. These new schools will still be bigger than secondary schools built in 2004 and primaries built in 2006.”
The press has reported on the new designs: see the Guardian shortcuts blog (commenting that the joy of curves is lost on Mr Gove) and the Daily Mail (noting that canteens, corridors and assembly halls are to be 15 per cent smaller).
Rachel Kamm