The future of education

LIVERPOOL City Council has launched a city-wide review of secondary school provision to drive forward a planned £400m investment in education.

The council is looking at the future of 23 secondary schools in the city in a bid to boost standards and opportunities for young people across the board by 2013.

It’s part of the £400 million Building Schools for the Future programme - the biggest schools rebuilding scheme ever seen in Liverpool, which will transform secondary schools throughout the city.

In order to secure the funding from the government, the council has to submit a detailed business case by May 2008, including a full review of existing secondary school provision in the city.

The business case will be looked at by PFS (Partnership for Schools) and OSC (Office of the Schools Commissioner). Before they will agree to invest in rebuilding schemes, the council must prove schools are viable and sustainable.

The Secondary Schools review looks at the key issues facing education in Liverpool in the coming years and sets out proposals for every secondary school in the city. Headteachers, schools staff, residents, governors, parents, pupils, trade unions and the Liverpool Archdiocese and Diocese will all be consulted on the review from 29 October to 10 December 2007.

Executive Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Paul Clein, said:- “The Building Schools for the Future programme is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Liverpool. It will provide us with £400m of investment to build modern, state-of-the-art, 21st century education facilities which will benefit tens of thousands of Liverpool children.

The secondary schools review is an important part of the process we have to go through to secure funding from the government. They must be convinced that the huge investment will not go into schools which in years to come will no longer be viable.

Building Schools for the Future is about more than simply investing in bricks and mortar - it’s about us investing in the future of thousands of young people in every part of the city. It’s vital that we get it right and this review will help us do that.”

Seven Liverpool schools fall under what is known as “Wave 2” of the government scheme, with work due to be completed by 2011, while the rest fall under “Wave 6”, and are expected be completed by 2013.

Proposals for schools in the ‘City & North and Alt Valley’ area of the city include the refurbishment of Alsop School with 21st century learning facilities under Wave 2 of the programme and the relocation of Notre Dame Girls College to a new-build adjacent to Everton Park Sports Centre under Wave 6.

In the ‘Liverpool East’ area, proposals include combined £38m investment in Broughton Hall and Cardinal Heenan Catholic Schools under Wave 2, and a new, £27m complex to replace the ageing split-site West Derby Comprehensive, co-locating with Ernest Cookson Special School, under Wave 2. Designs for the new West Derby School are already underway, with building due to start in 2010.

Proposals for the ‘South Central’ area include the relocation of St Hilda’s Girl’s School to a new site under Wave 6 as well as allowing boys to attend to address gender imbalance in Church of England schools. Calderstones and Shorefields Comprehensives will also undergo refurbishment and reduced intake under Wave 6.

‘South Liverpool’ proposals include a brand new, 21st century learning facility for Gateacre Comprehensive - co-locating with Hope (Special) School Centre of Excellence - under Wave 2. Design work on this project is currently underway. St Margaret’s Church of England School will also be refurbished under Wave 6.

Councillor Clein added:- “One of the key challenges facing schools, not just in Liverpool, but across the country, is declining birthrates and the inevitable drop in pupil numbers. Over the next five years, Liverpool will face significant surplus places in secondary schools.

This review takes these challenges into account and sets out achieveable plans for high quality, sustainable schools in every part of the city. At the heart of everything laid out in the review is the commitment to improving opportunities and outcomes for every young person in Liverpool.”

Secondary schools in the Croxteth area - Croxteth Comprehensive, De La Salle Catholic High and St John Bosco Arts College - are temporarily exempt from the review. The decision has been made to take account of the work which is currently going on to improve life for local residents and promote community cohesion. It is likely that a review of these schools will take place in the near future taking account of the wider needs of the area.

MCDONALD’S ADDS FREE WIFI TO THE MENU IN SOUTHPORT

RESIDENTS of Southport can now benefit from free Wi-Fi access at the McDonald’s restaurant on Eastbank Street, with the service being added to the menu.

McDonald’s, will be rolling out free, high speed, wireless internet access across its 1,200 restaurants, making it the biggest provider of free Wi-Fi in UK.

Wi-Fi services available from other retailers are often on pay-as-you-go or contract services. The McDonald’s service will benefit a broad range of customers, from business people making a pit stop to check emails in between meetings to those looking for a leisurely break at the weekend to download music. In fact, a regular hotspot user who pays to log on for just an hour a week in a coffee shop could stand to save as much as £260 per year1 by using McDonald’s free service.

Ivan Brooks, Vice President of Information Services at McDonalds, said:- “We are delighted to be able to offer free Wi-Fi access to our customers. We have such a broad spectrum of people coming to our restaurants from families and students to business people, and whether they want to check their emails or download music, it’s available to everyone and there’s no time limit. We’re committed to enhancing our customers’ dining experience and free Wi-Fi, will help to do just that.”

Bryan Glick, Editor of Computing magazine, commented:- "More and more people are keen to be able to surf the web or communicate with the office on the move, and as a result mobile technology is one of the fastest-growing areas in IT. But many paid-for Wi-Fi services are struggling to attract customers, and experiences in other countries have shown that free wireless connections make a big difference to helping laptop and handheld computer users make the best use of their time. The future of technology is in secure, wireless, mobile, go-anywhere computers and anything that helps people achieve that is a step in the right direction."

The service, delivered by network provider, The Cloud, will roll-out to 1,200 restaurants by 1 December 2007 with nearly 400 restaurants going Wi-Fi-live immediately.

Bus Artwork on Display

THE Culture Bus – a 39 seater coach equipped with seatbelts -gives free transport to school and youth groups in Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas of Liverpool. It gives children and young people access to the top cultural venues and events in the city.

A competition was held in which pupils were asked to imagine something amazing happening in one of Liverpool’s top cultural venues and then to draw what they imagined.

The overall competition winner was Che Wilson, aged eight. who drew a picture of the Liver Birds’ friends flying in for a party; their tweets are so loud they are driving Liverpool crazy!

Che’s design along with a selection of others was incorporated into the final design for the Culture Bus livery by French artist Laurence Payot.

The colourful design was then applied to the coach as a vinyl wraparound. All of the children’s artwork will be displayed in 08 Place, Whitechapel, from Monday 8 October – Friday 26 October 2007.

Cllr Mike Storey, Executive Member for Regeneration, said:- “The children let their imaginations run riot with their designs– it shows what a great depth of creativity we have among our young people and I would urge people to visit this exhibition.”