From the Teacher Support Network, www.teachersupport.info.

BIG SCHOOL MAKEOVER AT PORTSLADE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IMPACTS WELLBEING
Programme shows that small changes can create big differences to wellbeing

Last week Teacher Support Network Chief Executive, Julian Stanley, and our Head of Communications and Business Development, Hannah Essex, visited Portslade Community College to look at their recent ‘makeover’. Portslade and four other schools across the country are receiving the makeover as part of the national education programme, the Big School Makeover. Teachers, parents and pupils are being encouraged to be involved in the refurbishment of a classroom, dining room or an outdoor space at their school.

At Portslade, the whole school community is working with design and building professionals to improve their dining room and hall.

Both Julian and Hannah were very impressed with the project. The programme’s slogan, Small Change to Big Difference, shows that school areas can be transformed even with a small budget.

Last year Teacher Support Network and the British Council for School Environments (BCSE) published the report ‘Just another brick in the wall? How schools could benefit from better building investment’, which emphasised the significance of school environments to the wellbeing of teachers and the way in which education can be delivered. Our survey in 2007 showed that just 12 per cent of respondents believed their schools provided an effective learning environment.

The report, which you can find here, emphasised the importance of greater involvement of teachers and the school community as a whole in the development of school designs, particularly in the ongoing Building Schools for the Future programme.

At Portslade, makeover project partners, Dulux Trade and construction firm Willmott Dixon, are working with the BCSE, pupils and staff on design plans and implementation in each of the selected schools.

Portslade Headteacher, Stuart McLaughlin, said: “As part of our plans to transform PCC we are committed to providing an exciting and stimulating learning environment for all our students.The Big School Makeover provides us with an excellent opportunity to transform one of the main social areas of the school to create a place where young people want to be, can socialise and learn at the same time.”

The programme’s website www.bigschoolmakeover.org.uk will include case studies, tools, top tips, downloadable resources and advice on paint, materials and an interactive colour guide. It also includes tips on how to integrate thinking about colour, design and sustainable building materials into the curriculum.

On 11 and 12 November, BCSE will be hosting the World Learning Environments Conference in Knowsley. The event will focus on the question ‘What’s next for school capital after the general election?’

There will be a panel debate from leading experts from across the political spectrum and a lineup of “outstanding UK and international speakers.”

To find out more and book your place at the conference, visit the website at www.bcseworldconference.org.uk