In Renfrewshire’s biggest investment in educational provision since Victorian times, the authority is to create six new-build schools and modernise 16 others under the Scottish Executive’s public private partnership strategy.

It is drawing up its shortlist of bidders, with the final contract, worth more than pound;100 million, to be closed by December next year.

The pound;7.54 million per annum the local authority will receive from Government over the next 25 years will benefit all its schools says the head of Renfrewshire’s PPP unit, George Smart.

“Using PPP we can deal with the most costly schools without taking away from the remaining schools. We’ve reserved the new Executive School Improvement Fund for non-PPP schools to improve the quality of all the stock. This gives non-PPP schools more of a chance, because they’re not competing with the most costly ones. We are addressing all their needs and they will be improved more quickly too,” he says.

Renfrewshire’s buildings are likened by Mr Smart to those in Glasgow, prior to its PPP rebuilding programme. The region initially bid for PPP funding for all its school stock, from nursery through to secondary.

“As in Glasgow, there’s a big legacy of educational buildings in poor condition, a backlog of maintenance, plus there were surplus places,” he says.

m, so from a local authority perspective PPP allows you to address the backlog, re-organise and modernise schools for ICT and so forth, so they are fit to deliver a 21st-century curriculum,” says Mr Smart.

“It is the only way forward under the present system. We can achieve big changes in two or three years to the benefit of pupils, rather than taking 20 years, by which time a whole generation of pupils would have missed out.

“This is not about savings, but any savings made from rationalisation will be ringfenced and reinvested in education.

“PPP is also helping to take forward social inclusion, because we are putting in new provision for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and pupils at risk, as well as disabled access. It will help roll out new community schools and, on the sporting side, we’ll get five new floodlit synthetic pitches as well as converting others from astroturf to grass, as desired by the Scottish Football Association.

“These pitches will be well located for public use too, all of which helps address the council’s health agenda. Sportscotland, for example, is very pleased at this significant improvement in quality and access of pitches,” he says.

While refusing to be drawn on the political aspects of PPP, Mr Smart points out that a bond in the contract ensures that the schools will be delivered back to the local authority in 25 years in a specified good condition, guaranteeing no major maintenance work for the following five years.

Unions will be involved in negotiations with shortlisted bidders, who will have to provide evidence of experience in accepting responsibility for employees transferring from the public sector.

“The company or consortium which wins the contract will build and maintain these schools and, yes, they will make a profit,” says Mr Smart. “But does anyone for a moment think that the company which built the new extension for Paisley Grammar under traditional contracting methods did not make a profit?

“Our priority is education,” he adds. “PPP not only allows us to modernise our provision quickly and with the least disruption to the pupils’

education, but it helps us pursue social inclusion. Improved school buildings form part of the council’s overall regeneration strategy.”