Parents, teachers, politicians and community leaders all acknowledge the importance of the learning environment to our children's education. Nearly 65,000 pupils of all ages already rely on us for their educational facilities and it is a responsibility that we take very seriously.

We invest in three of the UK's largest educational PPP schemes to date (Barnsley BSF, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire) and we already have more than 80 schools either operational or in development. In each case we listened carefully to the Council and teachers from the outset, tailoring the designs to their specific needs and ensuring that all their key requirements were properly integrated.

Our principal asset is our experience. Whatever the type of school required - nursery, primary, secondary, special needs or further education college - we've done it before. We understand how local education authorities work, their objectives and their aspirations.

By drawing on our experience and combining it with our imagination we have even provided new schools where all that the client had hoped for was refurbishment. In North Swindon, where we have delivered seven schools, our PPP solution has enabled the Council to continue to fund its wider development throughout the County.

Once the new schools have been built and bought into use, we are committed to keeping these facilities in first class condition. Under our long-term facilities management agreement they remain our responsibility. That means teaching staff are left to concentrate on their core activity - the delivery of high quality education in first class facilities.

We carry out refurbishments and redecoration, facility extensions and removals. We provide caretaking, cleaning and catering, as well as security and administration, maintenance of sports pitches and facilities, landscaping and, through supplier partners, provide ICT. We manage third party lettings of school facilities, bringing in valuable income to supplement existing funds whilst enabling the local community to take advantage of educational facilities outside of school hours.

Our helpdesk and service monitoring sofware, EQ 24/7, has been implemented for Swindon Schools and is being rolled out across other projects, so that customers are assured of best practice right across John Laing's multiple contracts and business sectors.

Customers find us straightforward and non-confrontational while welcoming our long-term approach, and genuine desire to stay involved and deliver a long-term service.

Our success with traditional PPP schools has encouraged us to broaden our horizons in the radical and imaginative provision of educational facilities. We are participating in the UK Government's ‘Building Schools for the Future' initiative, where innovative, flexible and inclusive learning environments are the requirement.

To discuss investment options in education projects, please contact Saul Schneider on tel: + 44 (0) 20 7901 3200, or email: saul.schneider@laing.com.

To discuss facilities and performance management options, please contact John Laing Integrated Services on Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7901 3200.