BSF
Culture and BSF
UILDING SCHOOLS for the Future
B
(BSF) is an ambitious and far-reaching
A year ago, Elizabeth Crump became
long-term change programme. It
offers local authorities in England a cultural advisor at Partnerships for Schools,
once-in-a-generation opportunity to
transform educational provision and
the delivery organisation for the Building
improve the educational outcomes
and life chances of young people and families.
BSF is also about providing inspiring environments
Schools for the Future programme. She
in which teachers and children feel valued, which are
appropriately resourced for a 21st century curriculum,
discusses the work she has been doing
and which are sufficiently flexible to enable variety in
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learning and teaching styles, and a broad innovative learning to young people and communities with a range on culture in order to progress through the programme. D
curriculum. of outcomes. For example, culture can help to engage These include the setting up of a Cultural Stakeholder
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It is also an opportunity to position the local previously disengaged young people. A group of girls Group – similar to that established for PE and sport
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school as a hub of its community, providing a very in one school thought school offered little for them, but – and the nomination of a cultural workstream lead.
W
valuable resource and focus of expertise to energise and through dance, they achieved Level 2 qualifications However, it has also been designed to support projects
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revitalise local areas. through the arts award, mentored younger students, and in previous waves of BSF, and includes relevant advice
The BSF programme is delivered and managed by a went on to perform on a national stage. and guidance for partners at any stage in the process.
P
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non-departmental public body, Partnerships for Schools This autumn, PfS is publishing a range of documents This is the first publication of a range of resources to BSF vision: How Stockwell
(PfS), which works in partnership with the Department – including a suite of case studies and a new website support partners in engaging with this agenda. From the Park High in London will look
for Children Schools and Families (DCSF). – to highlight the importance of culture and cultural autumn, the PfS website will have a dedicated culture after its BSF transformation
In October 2008, the Specialist Schools and learning in the BSF programme. section and will profile a suite of case studies.
Academies Trust (SSAT), Arts Council England and Building on existing practice in schools and local The 15 examples from projects across the country the Arts Headteacher Steering Group and the SSAT
the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council jointly authorities, the new guidance will help local authorities show how schools and local authorities, working with Music Conference.
supported a cultural advisor post at Partnerships for to understand and harness the powerful role that culture cultural organisations, have changed everything from I will also be working with he Future Schools team
Schools, working two-and-a-half-days-a-week. can play in transforming education. how and where young people learn, to creating new at SSAT, which is supporting schools in preparing
The creation of this post was a response to the With the second half of the BSF programme now opportunities for interaction and developing new skills themselves for the future through areas such as the
commitment, made in the Children’s Plan, to a youth underway, local authorities and schools will be asked and interests. effective use of learning spaces and raising achievement
cultural offer, currently being piloted in ten local to research and plan how the arts and culture will PfS is currently working with specialist organisations through innovative learning technologies. SecEd
authorities under the banner of Find Your Talent. impact on their projects, from the delivery of their core to develop guidance for design. I will be working with
As cultural advisor, I have been working with PfS curriculum, social wellbeing, and Every Child Matters a range of different agencies, including the SSAT, to • Elizabeth Crump is cultural advisor at Partnerships
colleagues to embed culture and cultural learning outcomes, to family support, community delivery, and create bespoke guidance for different cultural forms. for Schools.
across the programme, to benefit and impact on the change management. These tools will cover how to shape the very best
lives of young people and the learning workforce that The publication, Requirements and Guidance on environments for cultural activities and cultural learning
Further information
surrounds them. Culture for Local Authorities Entering the Second Half to take place, and will build on the existing SSAT and Culture guidance: www.partnershipsforschools.org.
Art and cultural spaces – recording studios, studios of the Building Schools for the Future Programme, sets Arts Council publication: Arts Spaces in Schools. uk/documents/BSF_Guidance_Documents/Culture_
for dance and drama, music rehearsal rooms, light out the new requirements as well as suggestions on Over the next couple of months, I will be meeting Guidance.doc
and airy rooms for sculpture, painting, pottery, design, how these milestones might be achieved, and signposts with schools all over the country to learn more about Arts Spaces in Schools: www.bsf-culture.co.uk/
performance spaces with facilities fit for professionals partners to useful organisations and resources. existing good practice and to discuss what further assets/Arts_brochure.pdf
– feature in many BSF schools across the country. Local authorities entering BSF from this point support might be needed, and I also will be speaking at For more on the Future Schools team, email
They have proved valuable in delivering innovative onwards will need to meet a number of new requirements a number of SSAT networks and conferences including futureschools@ssatrust.org.uk
EVENTS
Book listings
October 6 and 7
School and Public Health Nursing
Help your Boys Succeed: The Essential Guide for Parents
This event is being hosted by SecEd’s sister magazine, the British Journal of School Nursing, and aims to Gary Wilson
provide school and public health nurses and partner agencies with an update on some of the challenges and
Network Continuum: www.networkcontinuum.co.uk
opportunities facing the specialty. It will showcase personal examples and case studies to help improve and
ISBN: 9781855394490
enhance performance and practice. It will look at commissioning services for school-aged services, as well as
£9.99
health and wellbeing in schools and changing behaviour in young people.
Help your Boys Succeed aims to highlight what can be done to improve
Venue: The Centennial Centre, Birmingham
boys’ performances in school. The book is primarily directed at parents,
Contact: 020 7501 6762 and laura.denne@markallengroup.com
and advises on parenting techniques. For example, it recommends praising
your son regularly and limiting the amount of time he spends watching
Wednesday, November 4 television.
One-to-One support: Developing the Agenda for Mentoring and Befriending The author has conducted interviews with many boys and identified
National charity the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation is hosting its annual conference for all education
some of the root causes of their dissatisfaction with school, which in turn
professionals wanting to explore the impact of one-to-one support for young people with a specific focus
can result in poor academic performances.
on early intervention strategies. The conference will bring together over 250 policy-makers, funders and
The book is split into several diverse chapters, which discuss issues
commissioners with mentoring and befriending leaders and practitioners. Held in partnership with CoSA,
such as “laddish culture”, “peer pressure”, and the lack of positive male
role models. It also features responses from numerous boys on a variety of
SecEd and The Third Sector.
issues, such as homework and revision. This allows the reader to get different perspectives on a problem.
Venue: Inmarsat Conference Centre, London
The book is advisory, and suggests pointers for parents in order for them to assist their boys’ improvements.
Contact: 0161 787 8600 and nationalconference@mandbf.org.uk
It recommends parents are aware of coursework deadlines – it argues that parents should regularly check
progress with the coursework and celebrate all successes, no matter how small. There are also tips for parents,
November 17 and 19 with regards to revision.
Fifth National Autism Today Conference
Hosted by SecEd and its sister magazines 5to7 Educator and Early Years Educator, this event is aimed at
The Young Mind
all those working with individuals on the autism spectrum. The second day of this event will focus on the
Co edited by: Professor Sue Bailey and Dr Mike Shooter
Bantam Press: www.rbooks.co.uk
sharing of strategies and successful practice in education.
ISBN: 9780593061381
Venue: Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
£14.99
Contact: 020 7501 6762 and laura.denne@markallengroup.com
The Young Mind is an insight into the mental health of young people. It contains contributions from well known
November 25 to 27 professionals in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, offering guides on dealing with mental health.
21st Century Schooling: The Globalised Challenge
It also features a foreword by Professor Tanya Byron, a child therapist and media personality, best known
To prepare our young people for the future they will face, we need to provide them with an understanding
for her appearances on the television shows, Tiny Angels and The House of Tiny Tearaways.
of the opportunities they have in a global employment market. Schools will play a crucial role in equipping
The book provides information on a range of issues, which affect the
students with the talent and skills to survive in the 21st century. The 2009 annual national conference of the
mental health of young people. This includes domestic violence, drug and
alcohol abuse, sex, anxiety, eating disorders, and delinquency.
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust will discuss and debate the challenges laid down for education and
The book offers easy-to-read case studies of young people suffering from
explore the next steps for school-led transformation.
emotional and mental difficulties. Below these case studies, the authors offer
Venue: ICC, Birmingham
their advice and recommendations on how to deal with the problem.
Contact: http://nationalconference.ssatrust.org.uk/ Despite many of the authors’ academic backgrounds, their advice does not
read like a doctoral thesis, so it should not feel like an intimidating read. The
Wednesday, December 2
book is divided into issue areas so with dyslexia, for example, the authors
National Conference: Gender and Education – Exploding the Myths
offer an explanation of what the condition is, as well as how to diagnose it.
A conference for education professionals that will debate complex issues relating to single-sex teaching and
Finally, they suggest ways for parents and teachers to help the child deal
with it.
learning in co-educational and single-sex environments. Delegates will learn from current research presented
For additional help in dealing with the mental/emotional issues afflicting
by eminent academics including Mike Younger, head of Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education,
a child, the authors provide the contact details of relevant support
Professor Diana Leonard, Faculty of Policy and Society, Institute of Education, and Professor Patricia Murphy,
organisations and websites. They also list books, which could be helpful
Professor of Education, Faculty of Education and Language Studies at the Open University.
for further reading on the issue.
Venue: Perse Girls School, Cambridge
Contact: www.persegirls.com/conference Listings by Charles Gubert
18 SecEd • October 1 2009
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