10 Oct 2014

Surrey County Council extends education partnership with Babcock

Babcock International Group has secured a further four-year extension to its contract with Surrey County Council to deliver school improvement and support services across the county’s c. 400 schools.

This latest extension for the Education Joint Venture, Babcock 4S, will see it build upon its successful track record of delivery over the last ten years, with a third term running from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019.

Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning Linda Kemeny said: “We want to ensure we meet and exceed the excellent standards currently being set in our high-quality schools. This new contract underlines our commitment to achieving that despite growing demand for places putting a huge strain on our budgets together with the rising number of older people needing social care. It will help ensure we continue to have some of the best state schools in the country and Surrey’s children get the best possible start in life.’

Amanda Fisher, Director of Education Services at Babcock said “Our ground-breaking partnership has delivered a sustainable approach to education and improved life chances for children and young people. By 2013, Surrey had risen to 15th in the national results for 5 A*-C GCSEs (including English and maths), with 68% of students gaining this level of attainment.” The joint venture has also delivered significant savings for the council to date of £12.7m, achieved through innovative service delivery.”

Extending the contract for another four years means that Babcock 4S will continue to deliver the ‘Every school a Good school project’ by 2017, the aim being that every school in Surrey is rated by Ofsted as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The partnership aims to continue to make remarkable progress over the duration of the extension, a key objective being for Surrey schools to be ranked in the Top Ten nationally at Key Stage 4 (GCSE) by 2019.

As well as significantly improving education outcomes for children and young people, the partnership is also making a positive difference in the wider community. Through the joint venture the Surrey Educational Trust was established, designed to provide funding opportunities for innovative educational projects and schemes that are benefiting children, young people and learners in Surrey. £1m has been invested into the fund since 2004, with 26 projects awarded grants of up to £25,000, including a radio education initiative, safeguarding theatre production for secondary schools and in conjunction with the charity SATRO, a range of events and programmes that inspires and enthuses young people about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Surrey schools and colleges.

Notes to Editors:

Babcock International Group’s Education business is the largest integrated education improvement and support services provider in the UK, delivering a comprehensive range of expert consultancy, training and management services to over 1,000 education establishments, working with early years’ settings, schools, academies, multi-academy trusts, local authorities and government departments to improve the life chances of children and young people. Its core business develops strategic partnerships which transform local authority education services to a sustainable basis.

Babcock has two joint venture partnerships with Surrey County Council and Devon County Council to deliver school improvement and support services.

Pictured L to R: Linda Kemeny, Cabinet Member for Children and Learning, Surrey County Council; Nick Wilson, Strategic Director Children, Schools and Families, Surrey County Council with Amanda Fisher, Babcock’s Director of Education Services.