Public service – private delivery

An interesting piece in Friday’s FT about future delivery models for public services. There’s no mention of education but it’s easy enough to see a read across. With the Conservative party talking about giving state schools independence, it’s interesting to speculate how radical they might be.

TimesOnline visits RM Group company Isis Concepts

SchoolGate, a TimesOnline blog, is asking the question, “Do our children need better furniture to help their school experience?” They visited recently-acquired RM Group company, Isis Concepts, to find out.

The blog post is here, and it makes interesting reading. The conclusion is that furniture does make a difference, but SchoolGate worries that it won’t be given the priority it deserves. Looking at budget recommendations for the BSF programme might make you more optimistic. With something like £1m allocated for furniture, fixtures and equipment in a typical 1000-pupil school, it could be that pupils will get the environments they need.

An interesting aside, SchoolGate says, “it was seeing the items which made all the difference to my understanding”, which is exactly why RM has opened the REAL Centre. It’s well worth a visit if you want to understand how a well-designed educational environment can contribute to teaching and learning.

(Even) bigger role for Partnerships for Schools

Partnerships for Schools (PfS), the agency responsible for delivering BSF, is to take responsibility for all of the English Government’s schools capital programmes. This means that PfS will take over the management of the Primary Capital Programme (£1.6bn), Devolved Formula Capital (£1.6bn) and Targeted Capital Programmes (£1.8bn). The transfer of responsibility from the Department for Children Schools and Families takes place on 1 October 2009.

Effectively PfS now has oversight of all strategic investment in the fabric of England’s schools, which makes PfS Chief Executive, Tim Byles, one of the most influential men in education. It’s a very strong endorsement of PfS, clearly indicating the DCSF’s approval of the way Byles’ team has been rolling out the BSF programme. Byles’ quote in the press release announcing the change sets out his rationale for why PfS are the right people for the job:

For each of the last three years now, BSF has met or exceeded its delivery targets for school openings and we have worked hard to improve the processes that support the delivery of the programme – most recently introducing changes that look set to deliver savings of up to £250m.

California streaming

Listeners to this morning’s Radio 4 Today Programme may have heard Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, talking about replacing text books with Internet-delivered curriculum materials. There’s a summary piece on the BBC news Web site.

Some commentators have immediately jumped to the view that Arnie’s initiative is a combination of cost saving and eye-catching diversionary politics. And it is easy to be cynical, especially given the current state of the Californian economy. However, there’s a real trend to be spotted as well – it’s a clear indication that, in the Obama era, American policy makers are embracing technology as a modernising force in education.

Good news for Computrac, who will provide some of the classroom technology required.

(Credit, by the way, to John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who was the Today Programme’s talking head on the story. As always, John’s balanced response made a lot of sense, suggesting that there’s place for all kinds of resources.)

Richard Holway – ReEducation

A couple of weeks ago, RM launched the Real Centre – a showcase for its educational solutions – and announced the acquisition of Isis Concepts. There was some comment – including in Richard Holway and Anthony Miller’s TechMarketView – that this was perhaps a diversification too far for a SITS specialist.

Richard came to see RM recently and came away more enthusiastic – hopefully he won’t mind this blog linking to his comments about his visit. He left RM with a good challenge though:

RM needs to ensure that it doesn’t replace one low-margin commodity business (hardware) with another (furniture and other resources). Their challenge now is to get the new business mix reflected in improved financial performance and therefore shareprice. It will not be an easy ride – transformations like this never are; particularly during a period when public sector spend will be under close scrutiny.

New Non-Executive Director for RM Asia-Pacific

Educator, educational software developer and entrepreneur, Bruce Dixon, has joined the Board of RM Asia Pacific as  a Non-Executive Director. Bruce’s detailed biography is included below – suffice to say, he’s made a significant contribution to developing the use of learning technologies, not just in Australia, but in the US, Canada and the UK as well. 

Over the last twelve months, the Asia-Pacific team has strengthened significantly, most notable with the appoint of Nathan Turner as MD. The appointment of Bruce adds real national expertise.

Bruce’s biography:

From a background as an educator, educational software developer, business and social entrepreneur, and strategic consultant, Bruce Dixon has developed a unique niche in building effective strategies for educational leaders and policy makers around the effective use of emerging technologies.

His work in Australia throughout the late 80’s and 90’s led the development of the first 1-to-1 student:computer  initiatives in the world. In 1996, he took the concept to North America, Canada and the UK, before co-founding the not-for-profit Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, which provides thought leadership and resources to policy makers and educational leaders in the effective implementation of 1-to-1 initiatives world-wide.

In 1997 Bruce received a award from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC for his work world-wide  pioneering ubiquitous access to technology, and in 2006 was named as one of  “20 People to Watch”” by the National School Boards Association of America.

Bruce continues to work on a diverse range of innovative projects that aim to making learning a more compelling experience for kids through their immersion in a technology-rich learning environment, and continues to challenge traditional notions of what school should be. He has recently taken up the position as Director of ideaslab in Victoria to better explore the dimensions of what learning technology might make possible.

International accolade for Glow

Glow, Scotland’s pioneering intranet for schools, has gained international recognition at the Learning Impact Awards 2009, receiving a top Platinum Award. Glow was named UK & Ireland regional Award winner in September 2008, then went on to receive top honours internationally. Approximately 50 learning projects made it to the final stage, and Glow received one of only three Platinum Awards.

The Award is a major endorsement of the Scottish Government’s bold and innovative move to build a national learning platform, serving every learner in the country.

RM provides the technology for Glow, which is managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the body responsible for the development and support of the curriculum in Scotland including exploring, promoting and developing new technology in education.

Learning and Teaching Scotland has issued a press release giving more details. The full list of projects, along with more details about the Learning Impact Awards and the IMS Global Consortium, which gives them, are here.

Isis Concepts joins the RM Group

Isis Concepts, which creates inspiring learning spaces for schools, has joined the RM Group. Isis is a well-established supplier of specialist education interiors, with significant intellectual property – both in its unique furniture designs and its understanding of how the physical environment can help education.

The details of the transaction are all in this Stock Exchange announcement, so nothing more to say here. It is worth adding some colour to what “innovative education interiors and furniture” really means though. Click over to the Isis Concepts’ Web site and you can see a video clip from the BBC’s Working Lunch show. In it, Nick Topliss, Isis Concepts MD, explains how his concerns about his daughter’s handwriting led to an ingenious new chair design.

Some background to the market opportunity mentioned in the clip: Partnerships for Schools’ guidance for BSF new-build programmes suggests spening £1,000 per pupil (about £1m in total for a typical school) on furniture, fittings and equipment.

REAL Centre

RM has opened the REAL (Rethinking Education and Learning) Centre, a permanent space at the Group’s headquarters dedicated to showing how innovative technology and excellent design make for a great learning environment. The REAL Centre is full of of the latest technology, education resources and furniture and is intended to provoke discussion and debate about the potential for 21st century learning spaces.

The opening was marked by an event bringing together educators, policy-makers and children from Oxfordshire schools, who tried out the kit and worked together on educational projects. There’s good coverage over at Merlin John Online , written by education commentator George Cole who was at the opening.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

There were lots of questions at yesterday’s RM interim results presentation about education budgets in the US. The stimulus package – officially the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) –  introduced by Obama in his first 100 days US budgets was of particular interest.

Apple has published an extremely helpful white paper, available here, which explains the education elements of the ARRA with a high level of detail. The summary says this

In the short term, the stimulus package is designed to shore up battered state budgets, save or create jobs, aid districts in meeting federal requirements, modernize school buildings, and increase students’ access to educational opportunities — from Head Start programs for preschoolers to broadband access for underserved students, K–12 classroom technology resources, and increased Pell grants and research funding for higher education.

In the long term, if states and districts make wise use of the new funding opportunities, the stimulus package could better position a generation of young people to meet the challenges they face in a changing world. In an era of global competition and rapid technological change, preparing students to meet the new and different expectations for life and work is an urgent public priority. Creating a highly skilled workforce fit for the 21st century is an essential investment in America’s future.

The White Paper includes an Appendix setting out the various lines of the budget. Areas significant to RM include:

• £39.5bn starting immediately and available through 2009, 2010 and 2011 to restore budgets to 2008 levels – Reversing cutbacks school districts have imposed in recent years, so likely to free up spening, particularly on discretionary items and projects.
• £650m available from March 2009 for educational technology grants – Specifically targeted at hardware, software and professional development.
• £12.2bn available across 2009 and 2010 for special education grants.
• £250m to help States develop systems to analyse student data.

There’s also substantial support for broadband and school construction projects.