Department for Education (DfE)
Key facts
5 years on framework
80% of projects on time
100% projects on budget
9/10 client satisfaction
60% Local spend
40% SME spend
95% Waste diverted from landfill
Our work with the DfE
The DfE Construction Framework is the main delivery vehicle for the School Rebuilding and Free Schools programmes, amongst others and Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed to the Medium value band covering projects worth between £6 million and £12 million across England.
Our appointment to the framework in December 2021 reinforces our businesses long-standing relationship with the DfE, having been a construction partner on the previous iteration of the framework for the past four years. During this time we deployed our innovative MySchool design platform to support the design and delivery of over £240 million of school projects.
The Framework is central to the governments ambitious 10-year school rebuilding plan with governing projects worth around £7 billion. It will play a pivotal role in not only in creating better schools, but in providing a social and economic legacy to communities across the country.
Project highlight
A beacon of inclusive education in Stockport
Pear Tree High School in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, is a newly opened SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) school that provides a much‑needed, purpose-built learning environment for 133 students aged 11–19. Developed through close collaboration between educators, architects, and the Morgan Sindall Construction team, the school is designed to support a wide range of needs through innovative indoor and outdoor spaces.
Its facilities include outdoor classrooms with self-regulation areas, a trim trail and outdoor gym, a petting and horticulture zone, immersive sensory rooms, a forest school, and future plans for a student-designed café and grounding pathways. Together, these features reflect the school’s holistic approach, integrating academic learning with life skills, emotional development, and therapeutic support.
Project highlight
A heritage building reimagined for modern STEM education
Leeds Mathematics School (LMaS) is a specialist sixth‑form college that has been thoughtfully created through the adaptive reuse of a historic former bank building in central Leeds. The project involved comprehensively stripping out and redesigning the interior of the Victorian structure to transform it into a modern, university‑style environment for maths students aged 16–19. This sensitive refurbishment preserved the building’s heritage while introducing purpose‑built facilities such as a double‑height lecture theatre, laboratories, study and social spaces, and a café - ensuring the space met the Department for Education requirements and supported an enriched STEM‑focused curriculum.
Project highlight
How MySchool, our platform-based design tool was used to deliver much needed school places
Due to a high demand for student places in the Small Heath area, Birmingham City Council commissioned us to design and build the new Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, which has now created 600 additional places for Muslim-faith female students. The flexibility of MySchool allowed the design team to respond to the Academies educational objectives including a learning resources centre and a reflection hall for prayer.
Our MySchool system has been the result of years of development, investment and expertise in delivering automated design and repeatable standardised solutions. It is a design solution which offers the speed and cost-effectiveness of a pre-designed model, but with scope to add bespoke, flexible elements.
Project highlight
Team gets the show on the road at CAPA performing arts college
Our team completed the flagship new home of Wakefield’s CAPA College, which is already one of the leading arts institutions in the North East. A school delivers a specialist provision for students aged 16-19 from across the North of England, CAPA College provides full-time training and education in all aspects of creative and performing arts from dance and drama to musical theatre, production arts, film and media.
The building includes a 150-seat theatre, 10 recording studios, dance studios, drama workshops, a multimedia tech suite and an outdoor amphitheatre. The facility will also incorporate a public café with outdoor terrace, along with social learning and break out areas, lecture theatres and classrooms.
Useful links
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