Mike Allen - RM

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Mike Allen, BSF Director, RM

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the single biggest government investment in education for over 50 years. By rebuilding or renewing every secondary school in England, BSF aims to transform the education landscape and with it the life chances of millions of learners. The programme gives the schools the opportunity to combine the latest in building design and technology with Information Communications Technology (ICT) in a way that has never been seen before. The programme was launched in 2004. It is now in its third year, and RM has been involved from the start.

It is widely acknowledged that, used well, ICT can motivate learners, transform teaching and make a real difference to the life chances of learners. Educational ICT is different to traditional business ICT, and one of the biggest challenges within the BSF programme is ensuring that ICT, and the educational transformation that it can deliver, is at the heart of any authority’s BSF programme.

The challenge is how to bring together education, technology and buildings in a seamless way to deliver the flexibility of education now and education for the future.

The Local Education Partnership (LEP) is at the heart of every authority’s BSF programme. RM believes that ICT must be a fundamental consideration of the LEP and its strategy in order to be able to deliver the educational transformation that BSF aspires to achieve. Too often ICT is thought of as a separate entity that has to fit in, with or around pre-designed building, fixtures and fittings.

When education and technology are incorporated as genuine inputs to building design and facilities management the possibilities for real educational innovation are opened up, for instance flexible learning spaces that can be adapted from whole-class teaching areas with projection and interactive technologies to small-group working areas overnight, with minimal changes in furniture and partitioning.

This allows a school to let the requirements of learning dictate classroom sizes and structures, rather than the traditional room size and technology-dictating location and timing of teaching and learning. Compare this with a project-based curriculum vs the traditional subject-based curriculum.

In addition, the advent of ‘intelligent buildings’ presents significant opportunity for schools. Certainly it means a more secure and efficient use of the facility, but it also allows schools to make the design and operation of the building a learning opportunity for pupils. This is a highly effective way of demonstrating to young people the impact of their behaviours on their immediate environment.

These issues are important factors to assess during the bidding process. However, there is the possibility that this is overlooked in a consortium-led approach. That is why it is important that an authority has the opportunity to select their ICT partner of choice.

One of the challenges that each authority faces is being focused on what they are looking for in a BSF partner. If they genuinely seek educational transformation then it is essential that this is reflected in the evaluation of the bids they receive. Ultimately, they will get what they procure.

The process of change in teaching and learning takes time, and I believe that authorities do not need to wait for their new buildings to start the transformation and innovation that BSF offers. Some authorities are already taking the opportunity to work with their chosen technology partner and their existing technology to start the change-management process in advance of the new buildings. Providing these interim services to schools before they are rebuilt has an advantage for both staff and pupils adjusting to the change and starts to deliver educational gains early.

Most authorities are keen to choose a long-term ICT partner that will help deliver genuinely improved educational outcomes through the BSF programme. These days, a first-class educational managed service is flexible, adaptable and highly responsive. It should also be excellent value for money. Authorities should, therefore, be very demanding of their ICT supplier to ensure it meets the individual needs of their different schools and will respond to a rapidly changing set of challenges — changes that will continue to emerge in the coming years. In this environment one size definitely does not fit all! Flexibility is what will allow local authorities, schools and their chosen BSF partners to truly deliver the educational transformation that they are seeking.

Company profile

RM is the leading supplier of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to schools, colleges and universities in the UK. RM has been involved in educational ICT since its inception and been involved in the Building Schools for the Future Programme since its beginning too. RM fundamentally believes in the transformational impact that technology can have on learning and has a mission to improve the life chances of learners.

Biography of Mike Allen, BSF Director, RM

Mike joined RM in September 2003 and has been involved in RM’s Building Schools for the Future business since its inception in 2004. He has led a number of successful PFI and BSF bids and now has programme-wide responsibility for the development team.

Previously, he was Client Services Director for Mapeley Ltd, the group that provides outsourced property and facilities management services to, amongst others, the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise.

Before this, Mike was part of the management team that created Camelot Group, the National Lottery operator. Having been on the original bid team, he set up the sales and retail services divisions. As Corporate Development Director, he went on to win and deliver lottery contracts to government clients internationally including South Africa and South East Asia.

Mike’s background includes 10 years with Cadbury Schweppes in a variety of commercial and operational roles. He has a degree in chemical engineering and an MBA from Warwick (1994).