Sandwell Futures Limited, working with Cambridge Education, awarded “Local Education Partnership of the Year”

Sandwell Futures Limited has won the Local Education Partnership of the Year at the Education Investor Awards for 2011 held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Cambridge Education, the specialist education consultancy arm of Mott MacDonald, has been a central part of this partnership throughout.

As one of eight finalists in a fiercely contested category, Sandwell Futures Ltd was assessed by a panel of eleven judges, including the former Education Secretary Charles Clarke, Tim Byles, former CEO of PFS as well as other eminent leaders.

Mott MacDonald is a shareholding partner in the joint venture ‘Environments for Learning’ (E4L) with Interserve, Barclays Private Equity and Agilisys. Originally established to deliver the Leeds Building Schools for the Future Programme in 2009, E4L were successful in becoming the private sector partner with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council to form Sandwell Futures Limited.

This Local Education Partnership is responsible for the delivery of £100m of capital investment in school buildings and ICT solutions. This includes the delivery of five schools, two special schools and two pupil referral units, alongside the largest deployment of personal IT technology to secondary students in the country.

Significant commitment to education and training strategies across the whole Sandwell programme makes this partnership unique in its clear focus on education.  Cambridge Education has delivered a significant pedagogical change programme alongside support for education, design and educational ICT advice. The aim of the change management programme is to encourage the creation and implementation of innovative projects that improve outcomes for learners.  These include the use of new learning spaces, co-located learning provision, shared learning between staff in different institutions and use of new technologies.

The Rowley Learning Campus is a leading example of co-located learning provision, providing within a single building St Michael’s CofE Secondary School, Westminster Special School (for students with moderate learning difficulties) and Whiteheath Pupil Referral Unit (for children with school phobia).

Another example is The Smethwick Campus, which includes the Holly Lodge Science College and the Ruskin House Pupil Referral Unit, which provides for pupils who have been permanently excluded or are at the risk of permanent exclusion due to behavioural difficulties. Both the Smethwick and the Rowley campus opened on time in 2011.

The award of “Local Education Partnership of the Year “ was made because Sandwell Futures had truly demonstrated that they were delivering Sandwell's education vision, not just in terms of bricks, mortar and facilities management, but also about ICT, change management, apprenticeships, local works packages and help with raising the aspirations of local children.  The judges noted that this Local Education Partnership retained a clear focus on transformation.