First in its class

Last month the first two of four Pathfinder schemes for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, Bradford and Bristol, put notices in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), asking for a partner.

The government has said that BSF will be worth up to £45bn over the next 15 years. For 2005-6, it will channel £2.2bn of capital spending on secondary schools through BSF. The money will go to the pathfinders and 10 further ‘first wave’ education authorities.

BSF was officially launched in March 2003 and has had a faltering start. At first Partnerships for Schools, the body set up to monitor and advise on BSF, was going to be a public private partnership itself. Then the government decided to make it part of the Department for Education.

In November, the then head of Partnerships for Schools told CM that pathfinder projects would be putting notices in OJEU in March or April. But wrangles over how much LEAs were going to contribute have held things up. The other two pathfinders, Greenwich and Sheffield, won’t be advertising until next year.

So what will the LEAs be looking for in a partner? Stephen Jones, project sponsor at Bradford, told us what they want.

What’s up for grabs in Bradford?

A 10-to-15-year contract through which we will deliver investment in the 28 secondary schools in Bradford, worth £400m to £500m over that period. The first phase involves three new-build PFI schools.

What sort of partnership is it?

It’s called a Local Education Partnership (LEP) and it is similar to the NHS LIFT partnerships set up to deliver community health schemes. A LEP will be formed between a private sector company, the local authority and Partnerships for Schools. The shareholdings are likely to be 80-10-10 respectively.

How are subsequent phases procured?

The LEP will prepare costed business case options for new and rebuild schools. A Strategic Partnering Board made up of LEP representatives and officer representatives will decided which option to go for.

What sort of firm are you looking for?

It could be a large parent company, a consortium or a new entrant. We think property development companies, financial institutions, FM companies and educational providers will all be interested.

Will the LEP advise on strategy?

Yes. We want it to support educational transformation.

What sort of transformation?

Our educational vision is to achieve better results, community cohesion by using the schools after hours and inclusion for our diverse communities and for children with special needs.

What should bidders know about you?

Bradford is two-thirds rural and one-third urban. Some parts of it are very prosperous, we have rural and urban deprivation, 19% ethnic minority.

How will bidders find out what you want? We will issue our educational vision, estate strategy and strategic business case to bidders.

How will the tender process work?

After short-listing we will have three preferred bidders. They will be sent an invitation to negotiate which will include the PFI agreement, the strategic partnering agreements and the shareholders agreement.

How will you get to the shortlist?

We will use a range of criteria that we are still working on. Design and partnering are going to be key. It’s not a dissimilar process to the NHS LIFT programme, which we are planning to modify to our requirements.

What will you look for in a partner?

A good track record, probably in education; financial stability; the financial capacity to deal with a programme of this nature.

Who will assess the tenders?

A mixture of council officers, people from the education service, schools and representatives from Partnerships for Schools.

How will you shortlist?

Using a range of methods including desk top, site visits, references, presentations and interviews.

How long do you expect the procurement process to take?

15 months.

When will the first school open?

Our target is September 2007. It’s ambitious.