Partnerships for Schools (PfS) was established in 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), wholly owned and funded by the Department for Education (DfE), to deliver the UK's
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...
(BSF) programme. In March 2006, PfS also took on responsibility for delivering the
Academies
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
programme, integrating delivery into BSF where possible.
PfS was a partnership between the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
(DfE), (formerly
DCSF
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...
and previous to that
DfES
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England.
Th ...
),
Partnerships UK Partnerships UK plc (PUK) was an centralized unit responsible for furthering public-private partnerships in the United Kingdom. It was a public limited company formed in 2000, owned jointly by HM Treasury and the private sector. It ceased activity ...
and
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
companies.
Every state secondary school in England – around 3,500 in total – was to be rebuilt or refurbished by PfS over the duration of the programme, affecting around 3.3 million young people and thousands of teachers.
As of September 2008, 22 local authorities had selected their private sector partner for BSF and in so doing signed contracts worth £2.5bn that would see nearly 150 schools rebuilt or refurbished.
On 16 June 2009 the new Schools Minister,
Vernon Coaker
Vernon Rodney Coaker, Baron Coaker (born 17 June 1953) is a British politician and life peer serving as Shadow Spokesperson for Home Affairs and Defence since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Gedling fro ...
, announced that from 1 October 2009 PfS would also take on the responsibility for the distribution of capital for the Primary Capital Programme, Devolved Formula Capital and the Targeted Capital programme on behalf of the DCSF. Prior to this PfS had been charged with administering the cross government Co-location Fund.
PfS was reported as being criticised by the
National Audit Office for being over optimistic in its targets, for using consultants uneconomically, and for having high staff costs (the Chief Executive and top four directors received about £750,000 pa in total); the Shadow Schools Secretary warned that it should 'slim down' its bureaucracy. It was also reported to have unsuccessfully attempted to censor unfavourable comments from a critical report by the
Policy Exchange
Policy Exchange is a British conservatism in the United Kingdom, conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washing ...
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
.
It was announced in June 2011 that PfS would be axed on 31 March 2012 to be replaced with a new
executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...
called the
Education Funding Agency
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education.
The ESFA was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency a ...
.
External links
Partnerships for Schools* Tim Byles, Partnerships for Schools Chief Executive, interview at Building Schools Exhibition 0
(video)
Sources
{{Reflist
Education in England
Department for Education
Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom