Minimum Design Standard
The Minimum Design Standard for BSF, jointly developed by the Department for Education (DfE), Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), will mean that designs which do not meet the rigorous standard will not be able to proceed through procurement.
High-quality learning environments which are safe, welcoming and inspiring places for young people are central to the success of BSF. There are already examples of good and transformational design in BSF - but we want to see even more of them as the national programme to rebuild and refurbish secondary schools gathers momentum.
The Minimum Design Standard (MDS) will ensure that only the best designs make it into construction - and bidders will be under no illusion that designs not meeting the standard will be sent back to the drawing board. It will create the circumstances where architects can achieve their best work - and information and support will be available to help them to do this.
The MDS will apply to all BSF projects which start procurement from now on. The workings of the MDS will be finalised once the first five BSF projects to use the new standard have reached Financial Close.
Minimum Design Standard FAQs
What is the Minimum Design Standard?
What are the main/new points of the MDS?
How does it differ from what currently happens?
What will the review panel be looking for in each of the new MDS grades?
What is the role of PfS in the MDS?
What is the role of CABE in the MDS?
How will educationalists, teachers and students be involved?
What is the Minimum Design Standard?
The Minimum Design Standard (MDS) is a new tool for the review of sample school schools with a significant proportion of new build. The aim is to encourage architects and contractors to strive for the very best in transformational school design as part of the national Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
Jointly developed by the Government (DfE), the delivery agency for BSF, Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the Government's advisor on architecture and design (CABE), the MDS will apply to all BSF projects yet to start procurement. From now on the MDS will be a requirement of every OJEU notice. The workings of the MDS will be finalised once the first five projects to use the new standard have reached Financial Close.
High-quality school environments which provide safe, inspiring and welcoming places for students to learn and teachers to teach are absolutely central to making the Building Schools for the Future programme a success.
The MDS guidance and process - jointly developed by DfE, PfS and CABE - will now be a requirement for all BSF projects yet to start procurement, with the workings of the MDS finalised once the first five projects to use the new standard have reached Financial Close.
Proposed designs for sample schools (i.e a representative selection of the types of schools to be rebuilt or refurbished as part of local authority's BSF project) will be submitted for CABE review by contractors bidding to win the local authority's BSF contract.
The CABE Design Review Panel will normally undertake three separate assessments of designs for sample school by BSF bidders:
- At initial bid stage - while three bidders are still under consideration;
- At final bid stage - when there are still two bidders in the process, before a Selected Bidder is announced; and
- At planning application stage - when the Selected Bidder is in place, but before the planning application is determined.
The competing bidders' proposals for (usually
two) sample schools will be judged against the 10
criteria listed below. The panel will discuss and
mark each sample school design against the 10
criteria before an overall grade is given by the
panel. This will rate each design as being either
Very Good/Pass/Unsatisfactory/Poor.
If a design is rated as Poor at the initial bid
stage, it will need to be re-designed and submitted
for further review as soon as possible. The MDS will
require designs to be rated as Very Good or Pass at
the third review stage in order for them to proceed.
The 10 criteria are as follows:
- Identity and context: making a school the students and community can be proud of.
- Site plan: making best use of the site.
- School grounds: making assets of the outdoor spaces.
- Organisation: creating a clear diagram for the buildings.
- Buildings: making form, massing and appearance work together.
- Interiors: creating excellent spaces for learning and teaching.
- Resources: deploying convincing environmental strategies.
- Feeling safe: creating a secure and welcoming place.
- Long life, loose fit: creating a school that can adapt and evolve in the future.
- Successful synthesis: making a design that works in the round. This will include considering the outcome of the DQI assessments.
What are the main/new points of the MDS?
In brief, the new aspects of the pilot Minimum Design Standard are:
- A revised four-point grading system;
- Educationalists to sit alongside built environment experts on the review panel;
- Every peer review panel to include sustainability experts and landscape architects;
- 10 grading criteria refined: while the headlines remain the same, the supporting explanation has been clarified;
- Stakeholder views (from the Design Quality Indicator process) will feed into the peer review discussions;
- Project architects will make the presentation to the panel at the first review of a design (currently schemes are presented by CABE). Subsequent revisions to that design are presented by CABE staff and reviewed internally;
- PfS will not approve the Final Business Case for sample schools if they are graded Poor or Unsatisfactory at the third review;
- For bidders who have needed to make changes after the third review, the first phase of the LEP's non-sample schools will also be reviewed by CABE and be subject to the MDS;
- Additional random checks will be carried out on a selection of non-sample schools which will be reviewed and the MDS applied to them. This will help to ensure that design standards remain consistently high across a local authority BSF programme;
- More in-depth feedback reports will be issued after reviews;
- CABE's new online school design resource includes example drawings showing how designs can be presented for review by the schools design panel; and
- Training events for Client Design Advisers to help them become better informed about what is required for designs to pass the MDS test.
How does it differ from what currently happens?
The current process - which has been in operation since July 2007 when the CABE Design Review Panel held its first review - assesses sample school designs against the 10-point criteria. However, a five-point grading system - Excellent, Good, Not Yet Good Enough, Mediocre or Poor - is used rather than the revised four-point grading system to be used from Wave 5 onwards and for the MDS.
The current CABE panel is made up of built environment professionals - many of whom will have a track record of delivering well-designed schools. However, the new MDS panel will be extended beyond the architectural community to include educationalists and it will also include sustainability specialists and landscape architects.
This will strengthen the assessment of whether proposed designs met educational objectives. Views of stakeholders (including teachers and pupils) from the DQI process will also be fed into the review process.
What will the review panel be looking for in each of the new MDS grades?
- Very Good. A scheme rated 'very good' overall is one that demonstrates not only that a sound design solution has been achieved, but also that an uplifting and inspirational educational environment is being created. In placemaking terms, the school is an asset to its locality. Schemes achieving 'very good' exceed the BSF Minimum Design Standard.
- Pass. A scheme with an overall 'pass' rating is one where the fundamental design principles are sound. The school is set to provide a positive environment for learning and teaching and relates appropriately to its locality. The scheme could be further improved and teams are encouraged to resolve any weaknesses identified in the assessment report. Proposals achieving a 'pass' indicate a sound investment of public funds and therefore meet the BSF Minimum Design Standard.
- Unsatisfactory. In a scheme rated 'unsatisfactory' overall, some aspects of the design are positive but it does not provide a successful school environment overall. Either the quality of the learning and teaching environment is compromised, or the school relates poorly to its locality, or both. If adapted and improved to resolve all major weaknesses, the design could reach the required standard. 'Unsatisfactory' schemes do not meet the BSF Minimum Design Standard.
- Poor. A scheme with an overall rating of 'poor' is one in which the underlying design principles appear flawed. The resulting school environment is problematic for learning and teaching and relates poorly to its locality. For these schemes, a fresh start is required if a proposal of an acceptable standard is to be achieved. 'Poor' schemes do not meet the Minimum Design Standard.
What is the role of PfS in
the MDS?
Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery organisation for the national BSF programme. The role of PfS is to ensure that this unprecedented investment in secondary schools is based on robust educational strategies and that BSF schools and academies are well designed, are built on time at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer, and are properly maintained over their lifetime.
PfS is a 100-strong organisation, with specialist expertise including educationalists, designers, ICT specialists, commercial managers and project management. The PfS design team, led by Mairi Johnson, ensure that the education vision and design brief for BSF projects dovetail in order to achieve educational transformation.
The team work to set design standards across the national BSF programme, and issue guidance and co-ordinate support to ensure these are met.
PfS has been instrumental in the drafting of the MDS, and going forward will have a role to play in helping disseminate good practice. If sample school designs fail to meet the required standard after the third review, PfS will not approve the Final Business Case (FBC) - effectively meaning that the school cannot proceed through procurement until an acceptable design is produced.
What is the role of CABE in the MDS?
CABE schools design panel will continue to review designs and will grade designs according to the new grades for the minimum designs standard. It is therefore responsible for implementing the standard.
How will educationalists, teachers and students be involved?
Firstly, educationalists will have a role to play in the assessment process, sitting alongside built environment professionals to review proposed designs.
Secondly, as the designs develop, users will be asked for their opinion on how these shape up in relation to their views and ideas captured through the Design Quality Indicator process.
While grading decisions will be made by the panel of educationalists/architects, the DQI from users will be fed into their discussions - particularly point 10 'Successful synthesis: making a design that works in the round'. This will include considering the outcome of the DQI assessments.
How many people will be on the panel (how many built environment professionals/how many educationalists)?
The panel will include: a chair, a sustainability specialist, a landscape architect, an educationalist, and two others (usually architects).
Events will be held shortly for the companies currently bidding in the BSF market. These will ensure that MDS methodology is well understood, to answer questions and give companies private feedback on how their design performance compares to the sector as a whole. PfS will also ensure that local authorities are fully informed of the workings of the standard.
For more information about the Minimum Design Standard see: www.cabe.org.uk/design-review/schools