New School Buildings

Why is it so important to have new school buildings?

Is it important that our children are provided with brand new schools with 21st century learning technology available?

In Knowsley, our new Centres for Learning have created a service which better meets the needs of children, young people, their families, and contributes to the wider delivery of children’s and neighbourhood services. This has been achieved by providing 21st century Centre learning environments and facilities equipped with the latest technology, leisure and cultural facilities. Such environments are safe, secure and welcoming and the whole buildings are learning resources with flexible and adaptable learning spaces allowing individual, small group and collaborative learning.
Our children are our future and therefore they deserve the very best learning environments which fully prepare them to become lifelong learners who are well prepared to face future economic and social challenges.

Elaine Ayre, Service Director, School and Early Years Services

New school buildings are absolutely vital if we are to deliver an education system which fully meets the needs of young people. We need high quality, flexible spaces, not only to accommodate new ways of learning – from kinesthetic to audio and visual – but to make sure education is inclusive, and that no child is left behind. And as education is evolving, so our school buildings need to evolve to mirror this. This will equip our young people with the skills they need to help us build a strong and economically sustainable City fit for the 21st century. New, energy efficient school buildings also keep the costs of fuel bills and maintenance low – which means more money can go into teaching and learning.

Cllr Jane Corbett, Cabinet Member, Education and Children’s Services, Liverpool City Council

School design has changed little since education was made compulsory in the 19th century and yet what we require of our schools and what we are preparing our children for has changed dramatically. As we enter our second decade of the 21s century there is no agreement as to what a ‘school’ should look like, or indeed what it should be called. What is essential is that we have the very best teachers working with pupils in buildings fit for purpose, flexible enough to adapt to various needs, equipped with 21st century technology for 21st century learning.

David Cumberland, Vice Dean of Education, Liverpool Hope University

I often tell anyone who will listen that my job is to make sure that my staff have everything they need to do their jobs. Clearly the physical environment is central to this. Research into teaching methods and children’s development together with changes in government policy, advances in technology and the exposure children have to multi media, demand that the teaching be adaptable and sustainable.

Vin Osbaldeston, Headteacher Freshfield Primary School, Sefton