01 BUILDING EXCELLENCE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Welcome to the Building Excellence publication! Bringing together a range of perspectives on learning environments, approaches to space, and the practical design implications of curriculum requirements, there should be something here for you whatever your field.
In Scotland we are building many new schools, and refurbishing still more. Many existing school buildings already provide good learning and teaching environments. We are also in the early stages of implementing an exciting new approach to the curriculum - Curriculum for Excellence. It is therefore essential that we take a holistic approach at this stage - that we build schools that meet the needs of students and teachers working within Curriculum for Excellence, and find opportunities within the curriculum for learning from the surrounding spaces.
It is in this context that Building Excellence was launched in early 2007, bringing together educationalists and architects for meaningful discussion and learning opportunities. The programme began on 29 March 2007 with an aspirational seminar, sharing ideas about the central implications of Curriculum for Excellence on both the design of new builds and the impact on existing schools. This led into collaborative workshops on 22 May 2007, in which delegates were led through a more detailed examination of the uses to which space is put over the course of a 'real' school day, the problems that school users face and what they really feel they need from a school building. A national conference on 5 December 2007 (at which this publication was first made available) offered presentations on work taking place across the country, and shared exciting ideas for taking the programme forward into 2008.
Within the pages of this publication you will find articles explaining the different ideas and approaches that encapsulate Building Excellence, separated into two broad themes. In Theory, Maggi Allan, the Chair of the Curriculum Review Programme Board, describes the demands Curriculum for Excellence is making on school space, and suggests how these might be addressed, while Alastair Seamanof Grounds for Learning links in important issues relating to external space. Kenn Fisher of Rubida Research explores the links between pedagogy, space and learning environments, while John Worthington, co-founder of the design firm DEGW, takes us through the ways in which buildings can develop over time, and explores the relationship between schools and the community.
Moving on to look at Practice, Anne Cunningham of The Lighthouse, Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, provides an account of Senses of Place: Building Excellence, a collaborative design project currently taking place in five local authorities across Scotland as part of the Building Excellence programme. Fiona Duggan and Susan Stuebing, design consultants who ran innovative workshops on 22 May 2007, give accounts of the processes and principles they used, and the ways in which these could be taken further. Fiona looks at models for balancing different requirements within a design process, while Susan assists groups of architects and teachers in understanding the needs of a typical student during a 'normal' school day. The aim is to provide a framework within which the major issues can be discussed, rather than detailed solutions.
Scattered throughout the publication you will also find short 'snapshot' articles showcasing completed and future projects within schools across Scotland. These range from an account of the transformational effect that altering one room can have on a school, to plans for developing a local authority's entire estate. Aspirational, practical, collaborative and forward-thinking, this publication is in essence the handbook of Building Excellence. We hope you will find it useful, whatever your role - teacher, architect, official - within the process of transforming both school buildings and the learning methods within them.
Curriculum for Excellence: An Overview
The Curriculum for Excellence 1 was published in November 2004 following a 'National Debate on Education' in Scotland. 2 The document set out, for the first time, values, purposes and principles for a 3-18 curriculum for all children and young people. It provides explicit statements of the aims of education in Scotland, concepts which have long been implicit. At its heart lies the aspiration that all children and young people should develop their capacities as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
Curriculum for Excellence recognises that the 'curriculum' is far more than the traditional curriculum areas and subjects; it is the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education. At all stages from the early years to the end of secondary schooling the curriculum will therefore include, in addition to the traditional curriculum areas and subjects, 'learning through the ethos and life of the school as a community; through interdisciplinary projects and studies; and through opportunities for personal achievement'. 3 Importantly, this means that the Curriculum for Excellence recognises the importance of learning that takes place outside the classroom, including the educational benefits of effective interaction between the school and its wider community.
The programme is being developed via a four-way partnership of the Scottish Government, Learning and Teaching Scotland, HMIE and SQA, with local authorities responsible for delivery through schools and other educational establishments.
Curriculum for Excellence involves much more than the content of the curriculum and work is underway on the implications for assessment, qualifications, continuing professional development needs for teachers and a variety of other areas of education. The plans will be firmed up in the 2008-09 school year, and from 2009-10 all schools across Scotland will be working on the delivery of the new curriculum.
Fig. 1 PURPOSES OF THE CURRICULUM 3-18
In summary, Curriculum for Excellence is about achieving transformational change within the Scottish education system, putting in place changes in learning, teaching and leadership that will improve:
- skills for learning, vocational skills and skills for life;
- attainment and broader achievement; and
- attendance and staying on rates.
The aim is to raise educational outcomes for all young people and in particular to provide more choices and chances for those who are disaffected and attain below their potential. A key objective is to provide enhanced value from education both to individuals and the wider Scottish economy. It does not relate entirely or exclusively to the Scottish curriculum, but instead in its aspirations and execution touches upon and influences every aspect of the Scottish education system.
DALLAS PRIMARY SCHOOL - A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
Arlene Wilson, Headteacher, Moray Council
A small change can make a lot of difference. In Dallas Primary School, a poorly used cupboard in the school hall was altered and fitted with worktops of a good height, as well as all the usual equipment associated with the sterling work our classroom assistants and parent volunteers undertake. They now have a much healthier environment in which to work. Above all, they appreciate having their own space, and all their equipment to hand. This addition has made a significant difference to work processes around the school.