Sharon Wright says that, ‘Unfortunately, it might, and this would be a shame not just for the Building Schools for the Future programme but also for students, teachers and the whole education community’. Why are Sharon’s comments important and why have we given her our Executive Soapbox this month?
The answer is simple; Sharon runs a consultancy called Creative Wit which consults for several BSF consortia. She is also the former head of School Works, and joint-editor of the new magazine Century 21 Schools. She has been involved at every level and with every issue relating to the design, construction and management of educational institutions, and so what she has to say is important.
When we asked her to write, we asked whether she thought the recent education White Paper would help BSF. Her reply was, ‘when you wrote (in November) that the White Paper might damage BSF, you highlighted an important issue that many involved in BSF seem to have overlooked. BSF could and should be one of the most important programmes ever in UK education and the companies I work with are all very committed to it. I just hope the government and their advisors keep sight of that and that it won’t end up being just an elaborate procurement exercise’.
