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South Ayrshire Council - Department of Education, Culture and Lifelong Learning

A Learning Centre for the 21st Century

To improve the fabric of our buildings through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to meet the needs of lifelong learning, and provide a modern environment conducive to 21st Century teaching and learning is one of Education, Culture and Lifelong Learning’s key improvement objectives for 2003.

Designing and building a school in the early years of the 21st Century demands a clear vision and a set of principles which will stand the test of time. The building will require to meet the current needs of education in South Ayrshire while at the same time being fit for the same purpose in 30 years time. To achieve this it is essential to have a set of guiding principles which will be pertinent to both the current and future needs of learners and the community.

The Council views the PPP not just as a funding source but as a change agent based on this vision paper which will allow all partners to regenerate our approaches to learning and teaching. The content and concepts developed within this paper will link to our policy on learning and teaching and to the draft strategy for ICT.
This paper outlines a set of principles which could underpin our education system of the present and future. These principles will be part of the consultation process with the educational community, including the PPP projects. The principles answer the question, What is education for?

In developing these principles as a basis for consultation Education, Culture and Lifelong Learning (ECLL) decided that it was more appropriate to use the term ‘learning centre’ rather than ‘school’.

Section 1 sets out the five principles and purposes of a learning centre. Section 2 looks at each principle separately and teases out the underlying ideas which would influence the processes, systems and people likely to operate in this 21st Century Learning Centre. Section 3 lists those aspects of the learning centre which are non-negotiable. These must be present in any design brief for the new building.

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A Learning Centre for the 21st Century (171 KB)

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