Teachers remain cautious over PFI

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, this morning defended his private finance initiative (PFI) for education, saying that, since Labour came to power, 550 school projects had been commissioned.

Mr Brown added that he would "not tolerate" any delay to PFI, a warning to the unions tabling a motion at this week's Labour party conference calling for an independent review of the scheme.

The number of PFI school project contracts - which often involve more than one school - signed to date is 48, with a total capital value of more than ?1.3bn. Twenty of the contracts are already operational and a total of 30 new, rebuilt, or extensively refurbished schools are now open. In most cases, the company involved maintains a 25 to 30-year contract with the school to maintain its premises.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers signed this week's motion, but the reaction to PFI across the education sector is mixed.

Eamonn O'Kane, general secretary of the NASUWT, said he believed PFI is not in the best interest of education in this country.

"We share the view [of the other unions] that PFI is poor value for money. It's like paying off your mortgage with a Barclaycard.

"Heads are not given any real consultation over the building of these schools," he added.

Schools have complained about badly conceived buildings resulting from partnerships with private companies. In one case, Mr O'Kane said, a gangway was built to take pupils to a dining area. It had to be closed because pupils were throwing things and spitting down onto the diners. "Anyone who works in a school could have told them that was going to happen," he said.

The National Union of Teachers echoed these fears. A spokeswoman said: "If there is no existing school you have a problem, you don't have any staff there. The head may have come from anywhere in the country, and may not know the pupils' needs."

Long-term security is another concern. "Even when teachers are delighted with the results, what happens when the company goes bust, and who makes the choice over what priorities the school has?" she added.

However, Graham Lane, chairman of the local government association's education committee, fully supports the initiative. "Before, companies were always late and carried out shoddy work," he said. "We think we are better off as a result."

But the benefits go beyond that, said Mr Lane. Because the companies involved in PFI are bigger, they are more reliable, and less likely to break contracts. But the bottom line, said Mr Lane, is "we are getting new schools that we wouldn't otherwise get".

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, is also in favour of PFI, providing the deal does not disadvantage the school. "The fine print of a PFI contract is crucial," he said.

In an effort to ensure teachers are involved in the planning of projects, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have set up the commission for architecture and the built environment (CABE). Part of its remit is to make sure school buildings under PFI are planned properly to meet the needs of the school. The commission recently produced a guide to help teachers, local education authorities and private companies get their contracts right.

Caroline Fraser, an enabling advisor for education at CABE, said it was important schools were involved in the planning process, right from when an LEA bids for money.

"The actual built result is largely determined by the effort that goes into the initial brief," she said. "Schools need to get involved in that process and be specific about what they need. The whole process has got to be led by the curriculum. Even brand new schools will already have a fairly active board of governors to drive that case."

She added: "We're saying PFI is relatively new, it's here to stay, let's look at ways to better it."