Wales’ longest running public sector procurement framework, the £1bn South East and Mid Wales Collaborative Construction Framework (SEWSCAP), has announced the appointment of leading social impact organisation, ANTZ, to drive and evaluate social value on its latest school redevelopment project in West Cardiff.
As part of the Band B 21st Century Schools Programme, Cantonian High School in West Cardiff will be completely redeveloped. New build accommodation will be created on the existing site, expanding the school from six forms of entry to eight, with sixth form provision of up to 250 pupils.
In Addition, Woodlands High School and Riverbank Special School will both be relocated to the Cantonian site and capacity will increase from 140 to 240 places and 70 to 112 places respectively in new build accommodation. Finally, the current Specialist Resource Base at Cantonian for learners with an Autism Spectrum Condition, will expand from 20 to 30 places in purpose-built accommodation within the new Cantonian School building.
In line with its commitment to meeting the goals and objectives of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, the award-winning framework has appointed ANTZ to work with its chosen construction partner to deliver long term, sustainable, impactful community change which is accurately monitored and evaluated.
ANTZ was established in 2008 and works with brands such as Bentley, Atos, and Unilever, helping to grow understanding of what social value is, how it is best delivered, and importantly, how it is measured. ANTZ, has previously been recognised for its ability to support business bring about positive change in the communities in which they operate, via a national award win with its partner Atos – the Institute of Collaborative Working’s Award for Social Impact Working with the Third Sector.
Commenting on its appointment to the Cantonian High School redevelopment project, Jen Pemberton, ANTZ CEO, says: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with SEWSCAP and its chosen construction partner on this redevelopment project and the possibilities to bring about meaningful community change are huge.
“Key to executing a successful community programme that delivers true social value is ensuring a person-centred approach is taken with all community partners having a ‘seat around the table’ and an ‘equal voice’ when discussing how a programme of engagement should work, how best to reach out, what success looks like and how to deliver it. This reduces self-assessment and box ticking that has evolved in social value reporting.
“Every programme of engagement is different and only by listening to the community itself and taking a person-centred approach can you begin to understand how to bring about the right level of sustainable change. We are really looking forward to meeting the community and helping to deliver a hugely successful development that delivers true societal impact.”
Chris McLellan, SEWSCAP Framework Manager adds: “We are delighted to appoint ANTZ to this project to help deliver on the huge potential it has to create lasting societal change in the area. As a framework we place a huge amount of importance on social value, in line with government legislation, and ensuring our projects deliver the best results not only in the quality of their build, but in the impact they have on communities. ANTZ has a proven track record in working with organisations to create positive societal change and will help us deliver and evaluate social value on this scheme in partnership with our chosen contractor. We can’t wait to see the results as they begin to take shape.”
SEWSCAP was the first local authority construction framework in Wales and draws together the expertise of pre-qualified, experienced, small, medium and large contractors to provide various school / public buildings construction works, as well as modular and demountable solutions, between the values of over £250k to £100m.
Its aim is to achieve best value arrangements for South East & Mid Wales through competitive procurement, whilst driving regeneration, continuous improvement and best practice. This is achieved through continuous improvement with the involvement of key stakeholders and industry benchmarking.
