This snapshot, taken on
15/11/2010
, shows web content acquired for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search may not work in archived websites and contact details are likely to be out of date.
 
 
The UK Government Web Archive does not use cookies but some may be left in your browser from archived websites.

A new UK Government took office on 11 May. As a result the content on this site may not reflect current Government policy.
All statutory guidance and legislation published on this site continues to reflect the current legal position unless indicated otherwise.

Further education and skills

Becta takes the national lead in supporting the Further education and skills sector to maximise value and transform learning through the effective and creative use of technology.

Building investment programme

Becta and its partners are developing information and guidance to ensure that you get the best from technology as part of the Learning Skills Council (LSC) capital programme investment (external link to PDF document). This will include:

  • information on sustainability
  • functional specifications
  • technical specifications.

It is important that ICT is considered at the earliest opportunity in the design of a new building or refurbishment of an old one. If possible there should be discussions about the college's vision for technology and how it will be used to support learning well before any detailed discussions with architects and construction companies take place. The technology solution should support the overall educational vision and ethos of the educational institution and not be developed in isolation. It should be integrated into the the building design.

It is therefore important to start off by developing a functional specification for how ICT will be used, rather than by designing a technical solution or, for example, planning the design around an assumption that a set number of desktop PCs will be required.

When developing a functional specification you should keep in mind the following principles and develop them into a detailed output specification for your procurement competition:

  • Be learner and user centric rather than technology focused, that is focus on the functions that need to take place to support learning rather than technology intervention to support a discrete task
  • Be 'technology agnostic' and provide a basis for technical staff/consultants to talk to senior management and educators in terminology that all can understand.

Becta can help you plan the ICT aspects of your new or refurbished building. If you want to contact someone from Becta about this please contact engage@becta.org.uk.

Colleges may also require additional ICT consultancy to help with this process. Becta has an EU-compliant ICT Consultancy Services Framework for the education sector.

The framework will provide you with a simple way to access authorised suppliers who offer a range of ICT educational, technical and procurement consultancy services.

The framework, along with advice on how to use it is available on the Becta Local authorities website and a list of suppliers is also available on the Becta Local authorities website.

Further information on all aspects of the capital build programme can be found on the LSC design guidance website.

Related links

Other Becta sites...

The Consultancy Services Framework