Education Executive July 2012

JULY 2012 / ISSUE 82

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE JULY 2012 / ISSUE 82

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE

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supporting business and financial excellence in schools and colleges

PSBP n PROFITS n PUPIL PREMIUM

BUILDING A A PRIORITY

What schools are doing with the £2bn released in PSBP funding

CASHING IN

Profit-making in schools – the way of the future or a bad idea?

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PUPILS AT A PREMIUM

How to be recognised for pupil premium best practice – and get paid for it

EdExec partners

editor’s letter

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE

JULY 2012

www.edexec.co.uk

Education Executive is the first business management magazine written exclusively for school business managers and bursars, bringing you the latest issues affecting your role, from finance to premises, procurement to HR. EdExec delivers the lowdown on all the hottest topics in education management right here, every month.

EDITOR julia dennison julia.dennison@intelligentmedia.co.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR carrie service carrie.service@intelligentmedia.co.uk REPORTER george carey george.carey@intelligentmedia.co.uk PUBLISHER vicki baloch vicki.baloch@intelligentmedia.co.uk SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE neil pauksztello neil.pauksztello@intelligentmedia.co.uk SALES EXECUTIVE jonathan love jonathan.love@intelligentmedia.co.uk DESIGNER sarah chivers sarah.chivers@intelligentmedia.co.uk PRODUCTION AND DESIGN peter hope-parry peter.hope-parry@intelligentmedia.co.uk CIRCULATIONS natalia johnston natalia.johnston@intelligentmedia.co.uk

Education Executive is published by intelligent media solutions suite 223, business design centre 52 upper street, london, N1 0QH tel 020 7288 6833 fax 020 7288 6834 email info@intelligentmedia.co.uk web www.intelligentmedia.co.uk Follow Education Executive on Twitter at Twitter.com/edexec Printed in the UK by Buxton Press www.buxtonpress.co.uk

You’ve got to fight for your right to CPD

I

am relieved to say that our first-ever event, EdExec Live, took place without much of a hitch last month. In fact, I’m happy to report, we’ve had a lot of great feedback. It was clearly a much-needed chance for like-minded school business managers to meet up and talk shop – not to mention to vent their frustrations with the system.

The one theme that made itself clear to me throughout the day was how frustrated some school business managers are with their treatment by leadership colleagues and the education sector in general. SBMs are working hard and making essential leadership decisions, alongside headteachers, yet, some, according to the NAHT (who conveniently released a report on the subject on the day of our conference), are only paid £17,000 for their efforts, while others are getting paid upwards of £70K. This discrepancy cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, there are headteachers who, as one delegate put it, rarely see their school business manager as anything more than ‘Kathy who works in the office’. This was backed up by the fact that many of the readers who couldn’t make it on the Friday put their inability to attend down to headteachers who don’t see why their SBM needs to develop professionally and see an event like ours as a waste of time.

This is a shame – and by all means, not every headteacher is like this – but the fact that some are is worrying.

In all, this has made me feel newly invigorated to fight the good fight for school business managers, and continue to make raising the profession’s profile a priority for this magazine. So perhaps the best thing to do is to ‘accidentally’ leave a copy of Education Executive on your head’s desk in the hopes they’ll have flick through and realise just what it is you do.

So if you were victim to a grumpy HT and didn’t make it along, not to worry, a selection of presentations are available on EdExec.co.uk (under ‘Resources’) and there is a 16-page event review in the centre of this issue to help you learn while on the job. You might have to hide it behind an important-looking ring-binder, but at least you can rest easy in the knowledge that this is all worthwhile.

EDITOR

Contents 10

rocure

lan

make your school’s budget go further

28 ANALYSIS

sector

the lowdown on the business management world

06 SECTOR NEWS

The latest school business management news

08 GUIDE

How to be Ofsted ready Some handy tips for business managers to help your school pass an Ofsted inspection with flying colours

10 DIARY

Poetry in motion One woman’s mission to be poet laureate and a deputy headteacher at once

12 ANALYSIS

what’s happening at a primary or secondary school near you

14 PRIMARY UPDATE

Primary school news and views

16 CASE STUDY

Perdiswell Primary is recognised for ‘Switch Off’ campaign

20 SECONDARY UPDATE

Secondary school news and views

22 FOCUS ON

management

tune up your management skills

33 ADVICE

Caught in the net?

How to tackle the thorny issue of social media use among staff

34 LEGAL

Building on success Education lawyers from VWV unravel the issues around PFI

38 WORK/LIFE

Break time Put your feet up and take your break right here

Cashing in Profit-making in schools – the way of the future or a bad idea?

schools in focus

Pupils at a premium What schools can do to make the most of their pupil premium

Building as a priority What schools are doing with £2bn in PSBP funding

ICT matters

the latest technological innovations in schools today

38 ICT NEWS

The latest updates and developments in school technology

40 CASE STUDY

The magic number

Q3 Academy makes the most of technology funding

44 ADVICE

Board games How to have interactivity on a budget

48 HELP DESK

Techno Geek

What kind of tablet is right for your school

24 INDEPENDENT UPDATE

Independent news and views

26 ANALYSIS

Lessons learned from the Priory A leading accountant in education runs through the Priory academy report

Look out for news, products and competitions from our sponsors

06

sector Sector news is brought to you by

Free banking for schools supported by local specialist relationship managers Lloyds TSB Commercial - well educated banking

BUDGET WATCH NI RELEASES £173M FOR NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS Eighteen new school buildings will be constructed in Northern Ireland using £173m of government funding.

Thirteen of the new buildings will be for primary schools, with two secondary and three special schools also to be rebuilt. It will also go towards refurbishments.

This is the first funding made available in Northern Ireland for major projects since capital spending was frozen in August 2010.

Many schools have been waiting years for new buildings or urgent refurbishments.

The Northern Irish education minister, John O’Dowd has called for “considerable” investment, but said the “need for investment far exceeds the funding available”: “While I would like to be in a position to fund everything that needs doing now, I must work within budget available.”

They said...

STORY OF THE MONTH SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGERS ARE SHORT-CHANGED BY THE SYSTEM A survey by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has revealed growing concerns among bursars and school business managers about the lack of recognition for their roles, despite their increasing importance in modern school life.

The survey, which polled more than 750 bursars and school business managers across the UK, showed that while most (83.3% ) were included as part of their school’s leadership team, the majority (62.5%) felt their pay scales did not reflect this level of responsibility.

The overwhelming majority (96.9%) did not receive additional overtime payments or time off in lieu despite working significantly longer than their contracted hours. The majority, for example, reported that they were contracted to work for 37 hours per week although in practice, most work in excess of 50 hours.

Pay scales for SBMs also vary widely, according to the survey, with salaries ranging from £17,000 to £79,000 being reported. And despite these inconsistencies, 58% have no pay protection and 24.5% do not have all-year round contracts. Some 62.7% say they believe pay for SBMs should be set nationally.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “With cuts in services that used to be provided by local authorities, schools are increasingly looking to the skills of their business managers and bursars to provide expert advice on the essential services they need to keep the school running smoothly.

“SBMs are finding themselves with more and more responsibility for the school’s practical operations and for making pivotal decisions at the most senior levels. Yet too often, they are not remunerated in a way that reflects their significance. Nor do they always have the sort of job security that usually accompanies a role which may require a long-term commitment.

“Modern school life is increasingly dependent on the contribution that effective business managers can make - not least of which is freeing pedagogical leaders to focus on learning - and the efficient management of a school is therefore closely linked to its educational standards.

“It is time to shore up this role by establishing clear guidelines in pay and conditions that reflect the value of these increasingly key players in today’s education system.”

The NAHT held a seminar at EdExec Live last month discussing the disparity in pay scales for SBMs, and the importance of being part of a union to help tackle the problem. They have seen an increase in the number of SBMs becoming members.

In these difficult financial times every penny counts for a school. The figures we have uncovered should concern not only headteachers, but parents and pupils who could gain from better negotiated deals and seeing the impact where it matters – in the classroom Claire Delaney of the Schools’ Buying Club after research revealed that up to £1bn is lost in schools from poor procurement methods

july 2012

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DIARY 12 September Changes to school funding and admissions: impact and implementation Central London WestminsterForumProjects.co.uk 26 September Capita’s National School Inspections Conference Central London CapitaConferences.co.uk 27 September EduKent Expo & Conference Kent Event Centre, Kent Showground, Detling EduKentExpo.co.uk

sector NEWS

PICTURE STORY

INBRIEF SCHOOLS ‘ARE LETTING DOWN DYSLEXIC PUPILS’

A video, ‘Teach Dyslexic Britain’ – created by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) – is making the rounds online, highlighting problems caused by poor teacher awareness and lack of training. According to recent research by the BDA, dyslexia affects approximately 10% of all school pupils and a significantly higher proportion of excluded pupils. Among offenders, studies indicate levels of dyslexia of around 25-40%.

The social, employment, health and offending costs of not supporting dyslexia in schools are estimated at 2.5bn annually.

The BDA’s campaign is designed to encourage supporters to sign an e-petition asking the government to make it mandatory for dyslexia training to be part of initial teacher training. For more information, or to watch the video, visit BDAdyslexia.org.uk.

EX-BURSAR ACCUSED OF £2.5M IN FRAUD Pop star Shayne Ward met the winners of a national school music, song and dance competition run by CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. Ward, who is starring in West End show Rock of Ages, shared with the group of budding singers how music can have a positive impact on your wellbeing. He discussed how practising songs at school made him “feel happier and focused”, and this, in turn, helped him to study.

What we learned this month

Wales faces no-notice inspections.

Wales is considering introducing no-notice school inspections despite Ofsted backing down on similar plans for England, the TES reports.

Members of the Welsh Assembly have recommended that Wales’s schools inspectorate, Estyn, consult on introducing on-the-spot inspections where “appropriate”.

STATS & FACTS

An ex-assistant bursar accused of being involved in £2.5m of fraud at a school in Ruislip has now been released on bail, reports the Uxbridge Gazette. Michelle McKenzie was blamed for producing false accounts at Copland Community School between April 2003 and June 2009. She appeared in front of Westminster Magistrates Court on 12 June with Sir Alan Davies, former headteacher at the school.

Four other members of staff appeared in court alongside McKenzie and Davies. The six have been accused of receiving bonuses for extra work that was in fact carried out by another member of staff, and additional payments for working weekends.

The “excessive and inappropriate payments” amounted to over £135,000 to McKenzie; more than £900,000 to Davies and in excess of £600,000 to deputy headteacher Richard Evans. Davies also faces charges of money laundering after having transferred £270,490 from a NatWest bank account to an account in Spain in March 2008. They will appear before Southwark Crown Court on 14 August.

80,000

What nine-year-old Martha Payne raised for charity Mary’s Meals after coming to fame thanks to her blog Neverseconds. www.lloydstsb.com/schoolsbanking | 0800 681 6078 www.edexec.co.uk

/ july 2012

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sector OFSTED

What to expect when they’re inspecting

With changes to the Ofsted framework making inspections as tough as ever for schools it’s imperative that you are well prepped, so that when that dreaded phone call happens you’ll sail through. CARRIE SERVICE gives us the lowdown on how to be Ofsted ready july 2012

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sector OFSTED

If the head knows they can rest assured that you will be able to take care of things in their absence, they will be less anxious and able to concentrate on the job in hand

T

he Ofsted inspection has become a topic of much contention over the past few months, with headteachers and unions outraged over the very suggestion of nonotice inspections. It was announced this month after a twelve-week consultation period that schools will be notified of an inspection the afternoon before the inspector is due to visit, so that they can make the “necessary logistical arrangements”. So, with virtually no time to prepare, what can you do as a school business manager to boost your school’s chances of a stressfree inspection?

A HELPING HAND For the most part, an Ofsted inspection is centred around assessing teaching and learning. However, the school business manager can play an integral part in how well a school performs during an inspection and your role should not be sidelined, i.e. you’re not off the hook. As a member of the school leadership team (SLT) you may be expected to take on some of the duties that the head will be unable to complete during the inspection process. Ensuring that you know about these duties prior to an inspection could really make or break it on the day – if the head knows they can rest assured that you will be able to take care of things in their absence, they will be less anxious and able to concentrate on the job in hand.

Ask your head to outline some of the key duties he or she will need cover for during an inspection and ensure that either yourself or another member of (non-teaching) staff is able to complete the task.

Having a contingency plan like this in place will boost confidence and also assure that work doesn’t pile up during the inspection period.

It goes without saying that being as organised as possible will save precious time when it comes to the crunch – if all documentation is in perfect order, it will be far easier to locate any evidence or documentation requested by the inspector. Nina Siddle, school business manager at Withernsea Junior School in East Yorkshire recommends going the extra mile to ensure that all records are as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible. In an article for TeachingExpertise.com, she wrote: “Making a regular monthly analysis of your school’s absence percentage is essential, and it should go into more detail than the statutory returns we make to our LAs. My analysis is broken down into percentages for each reason for absence and identifies those families who contribute to this over a predetermined amount of sessions.” She follows the same tack when it comes to health and safety records and details about school trips, ensuring that electronic and hard copies of everything are kept at all times: “Ofsted will want evidence that rigorous systems are in place for general health and safety, risk management, accident reporting and first aid. I would recommend an electronic method of risk review. Hard copies are still essential in my view, for quick central reference available to all staff.” I caught up with Siddle, who coincidentally had

recently been inspected by Ofsted. During the inspection she found that the SBM is integral to demonstrating the development of the SLT. She advises SBMs to be conscious of the distribution of leadership roles and responsibilities and having a thorough knowledge and understanding of systems and procedures across the whole school, not just in the SBM function.

IN THE FRAME Another tip for business managers is to look through the inspection framework periodically, identifying any areas for assessment that you have direct or indirect responsibility for and ensuring all bases are being covered. Below is a selection of the key features of the framework that school business managers may have some influence on: n “Improve the school and develop its capacity for sustaining improvement by developing leadership capacity and high professional standards among all staff” – you should ensure that support and admin staff or anyone under your supervision has received adequate training and opportunities for CPD. n “Ensure that all pupils are safe” – your contribution to this will be to keep up-to-date on all health and safety issues under your control, ie. facilities management or any other areas that could compromise pupils safety such as internet security and data protection. n “Evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses and use their findings to promote improvement” – this evaluation will require easy access to attendance and attainment data which might be under your remit. n “The quality of leadership in and management of the school” – this speaks for itself. n “A school will be asked to provide Ofsted with a summary of its self-evaluation. This assists the lead inspector in identifying the initial inspection issues, which are discussed with the headteacher and recorded in a concise pre-inspection briefing” – again, your expertise in data management is likely to be called upon in order to source any evidence the inspectors require.

Although the SBM may not be called upon directly during an Ofsted inspection, they should most definitely be involved in the preparation says Gareth Jones, school services director at SchoolsDirect.com. “An appropriate room for the inspection team must be prepared and all VIP cleaning and maintenance routines should be implemented… Plans should be tested using either LA or school staff acting as inspectors.” The devil is in the detail so be sure to get all hands on deck, he adds: “The SBM must ensure that all support staff are available to assist the inspection process with the minor routines (directions, litter picking, gate patrols, first aid etc) and encourage an enthusiastic and positive attitude amongst colleagues. Lead by example and demonstrate that you understand the importance of fundamental values and principles required.”

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/ july 2012

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sector LEADERSHIP

DIARY

Poetry in motion SAMANTHA COX, DEPUTY HEADTEACHER OF EASTBROOK COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL, REFLECTS ON HER ROLE AS POET LAUREATE FOR PORTSMOUTH, BEING A SCHOOL LEADER IN A CHALLENGING SECONDARY SCHOOL IN DAGENHAM AND HOW BOTH ROLES COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER

H

ow do you manage your time? This is usually the first question that most people ask me when they find out that I am a part-time deputy headteacher working in a 10-form entry secondary school in Dagenham, whilst also having been awarded the role as poet laureate for the City of Portsmouth, where I live. Usually, I don’t really spend long thinking about my answer – we make time for the things that we love doing: the things that make us feel like we are making the greatest difference to others and inspiring them to make a difference too.

For me, these two roles are wonderfully linked. Writing poetry to reflect upon the world around me and my experiences, helps me to understand what drives me, how I communicate my ideas and also enables me to have the greatest sense of empathy with others. Poetry also offers a fantastic focus to promote literacy in schools and for pupils to develop their use of extended vocabulary. Equally, being a senior leader offers timeless opportunities to think creatively and to understand how my words, choices and decisions can enable a school community to make positive change happen.

When I began my journey on the Future Leaders programme, accelerated leadership development training to become a leader of a challenging school, I spent most of my time thinking about how I would help others to change their lives for the better through the power of education and learning. I didn’t spend much time thinking about how my life would change too. Watching each Year 11 cohort as they leave, watching every Year 7 pupil as they walk through the school gates each September for the first time – this never ceases to offer me inspiration. Schools are constantly moving and shaping – my role as a leader, teacher, coach and professional mentor is to not only adapt to these changes, but to drive change and inspire change too. As a leader of learning, I support others to believe that change is not something that just happens to us, it is something that can enlighten us and challenge us to achieve our best and importantly it is also something that we can positively drive forward.

So when somebody asks me how I manage to juggle my time between two leadership responsibilities, one as a city poet laureate and the other as a deputy headteacher, perhaps I should say a little more in my answer. I don’t take one hat off and put the other on – I think it is precisely through aligning my creative roles and energies that helps me to grow as a leader. Maybe here I’m thinking more of a work/ life synthesis rather than a work/life balance. Hmmm, I think there might be a poem in that somewhere…

Change is not something that just happens, it is something that can enlighten us and challenge us to achieve our best

july 2012

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12

sector BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE

Cashing in july 2012

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Profit-making in schools – the way of the future or bad idea? CARRIE SERVICE looks at the arguments for and against getting schools to turn a profit

sector BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE

T

he schooling system over the past few years has changed almost beyond recognition. There are now more secondary academies than there are non-academies and there are 79 free schools set to open in September.

These changes have caused a shift in financial responsibility and have made many schools see themselves in a different light: they are now more conscious of the similarities between running a business or enterprise and running a school. But how far will this comparison be taken and are profitmaking schools the schools of the future?

Earlier this year, an independent think tank known as Policy Exchange published a report making the suggestion that schools take on a model not unlike that of department store John Lewis, by which teachers own shares in the school and receive dividends. The report cited schools from Sweden that use a purely for-profit model, which has proven successful, and puts this success down to incentives: “Why should an enterprising teacher set up on their own, and make a career out of innovating in education, when that could mean financial ruin? The solution to these problems is profit. Not a vast profit; some schools make no profit at all. But they behave like a business, treating parents as customers – and that’s what counts.”

IN IT FOR THE MONEY The report was criticised for suggesting that teachers need rewarding financially in order to reach their full potential. But could schools be missing out on an opportunity to drive up standards and employ the best talent if they disregard the idea? Before you write it off altogether, it’s worth considering the benefits such a system could have for underprivileged children living in deprived areas.

Investment from private companies could allow providers to expand into new areas where the pupil demand for new good schools is greater, narrowing the attainment gap.

Profit-making in state education has been greeted with its fair share of controversy. Public service trade union Unison was “outraged” when it got wind of a chain of academy schools and colleges’ plans to run one of its further education colleges for profit. In a statement they said: “The Government has said the deregulation of colleges will set then them free, but this is not about freedom it’s about opening up colleges as prey to private equity funds and asset strippers. It’s about the privatisation of our further education system. On its own it’s an outrage, but when you see that the Barnfield Federation also want to use this model for their schools, the wholesale privatisation of our education system comes another big step closer.” This negativity surrounding academy chains was not lessened by the scandal that hit the headlines earlier this year when the Priory Federation of schools was found to be ‘misusing’ school funds. CEO of the federation Richard Gilliland had been using a school credit card to purchase personal “inappropriate” items, including DVDs and horse riding lessons for his son. His daughter was allegedly paid more than £800 in expenses for a holiday in Bali and he spent up to £45,000 of school funds refurbishing a flat. It is these sorts of stories, however uncommon, that

play on the minds of the public causing anxiety and lack of trust, begging the question: Why should we trust private companies with money that is intended for our children? This is something that ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman expressed concern over at a panel event for the Policy Exchange report, stressing that we should “analyse what we mean by profit”. He said: “The revenue money that comes into schools is about providing education for those children who are in the school now…so I’ve absolutely got to refute the idea that a surplus should somehow be treated as a dividend… that is taxpayers’ money that is there to educate the children.” It is this same commercialisation and privatisation that many people oppose in academy chains. The Anti Academies Alliance, in an article dissecting the fastest growing chain of academies, the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET), said: “All its income comes from school budgets, paid for by the taxpayer. Yet there is some evidence that a layer of AET executives are profiting handsomely out of this.” It claimed that in 2010, 25 employees at the trust were earning over £60,000 and accused them of being like “company executives, not headteachers”.

The private sector is set to infiltrate education in one way or another, whether we like it, or not

A MIDDLE GROUND The Policy Exchange report proposed a compromise – the Social Enterprise Schools model – that they hoped would allow schools to make the most of the benefits of a profit driven system and eliminate some of the anxieties that many people have. James Groves, author of the report, explained: “Social enterprise schools may be a halfway house. Such schools would be allowed to distribute 50% of any school surplus as a dividend to shareholders on an annual basis.” The remaining 50% would then have to be reinvested in the school’s frontline services in order to be classed as a social enterprise. Groves says that these schools could be monitored to ensure best practice and proper use of funds, and that they could be established in areas that need them the most: “They might only be permitted to operate within areas of greater deprivation and ensure that enrolment initially includes at least 20% of students eligible for free school meals and hence the pupil premium. And crucially they could be regulated to ensure that they received no share of any surplus unless a certain proportion of their pupils made the expected level of progress.”

Having the input of privately owned profitmaking organisations is not completely alien to schools as many now outsource their services through private companies, which is something that seems to be overlooked or forgotten, says Groves: “In principle, opposition to private provision of state schooling has a deep root in British society. Yet, it conveniently ignores the fact that there is already substantial private provision within the state education system.” Even for those schools that will not become academies, there is certainly much that can be learned from a profitbased model, and the private sector is set to infiltrate education in one way or another, whether we like it or not.

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schools in focus

PRIMARY UPDATE

CHESTER WEST MIDLANDS

What’s going on in the world of primary school and nursery management

NURSERY WATCH

Consultation launched on free nursery milk Plans to find a more cost-effective way to offer free milk to all nursery children have been set out by Public Health Minister Anne Milton in a consultation.

The nursery milk scheme has been running since the 1940s and the Government has said it is committed to continuing to provide free milk for all nursery children, but analysis shows that modernising the scheme’s operation could save up to £20m each year.

Figures show that the Government is spending up to 92p for a pint of milk, while most consumers can pick one up for 45p.

In its current form, the legislation covering the scheme provides for full reimbursement of the cost of the milk. While childcare providers are encouraged to seek value for money, there are cases where this is not happening.

Around 1.5 million UK children under five in 55,000 childcare settings receive free milk. The consultation explores four different options to reform the scheme: leave the scheme as it currently exists; cap the price that can be claimed for milk by childcare providers; issue e-voucher cards that childcare providers can use to purchase milk; or or introduce a government contract with an external provider to directly supply and deliver milk to all childcare providers.

STATS & FACTS

300

The number of primary schools to become academies under a government initiative to turn those rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted over to third-party sponsors. This will bring the total of failing primary schools-turnedacademies to 520.

july 2012

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LONDON

Report suggests early years staff should be better qualified

Equipping staff with the right skills is key to ensuring better quality early years education, finds Professor Cathy Nutbrown in her independent ‘Review of Early Education and Childcare Qualifications’ where she sets out 19 recommendations to improve the skills and knowledge of those working with young children, including: improving qualifications to make them more rigorous and demanding, with a stronger focus on child development a focus on improving the delivery of qualifications so that tutors have the support to improve their skills and maintain the current experience of the sector asking the early years sector to lead on mentoring new staff, to support them as they enter work and make sure students learn from good practice build on progress to encourage graduate leadership in the sector, through Early Years Professional Status, as part of the move towards more teachers in the early years and that the Government should not

impose a licensing system for the sector at this stage.

She commented: “I have seen many inspirational examples of dedicated staff providing the best environment for playing and learning. I want more young children to benefit from this.

“I want the workforce to really understand child development, the importance of play, and have good English and maths skills.

“There is no doubt that high quality education is important. We need to make sure the early years workforce has the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to provide the very best for our young children.”

The report shows that high quality early years’ provision narrows the gap between disadvantaged children and others, and that staff qualifications improve quality of care.

The Government is considering Professor Nutbrown’s recommendations before publishing a response later this year.

schools in focus PRIMARY NEWS

Chester primary raises £10k by crowd-sourcing

PICTURE STORY

UPTON HEATH SCHOOL, CHESTER

Upton Health School in Chester raised £10,000 for an eco-classroom by using crowd-sourcing site PeopleFund.It and a matching grant from Energyshare.com.

Parents and friends donated £5,000 for the solar-powered classroom project, called ‘The Hive’, by donating via PeopleFund.It, and Energyshare matched the grant.

“The parents and partners at the school were delighted when we hit target – they were hugging each other in the corridors,” said headteacher Paula Moreton.

“The Hive will deliver our core purpose of providing the best learning education experience possible, and the funding will accelerate us towards that goal. We are thrilled with the way it has brought the community together and delivered a fantastic result.”

PeopleFund.It, from KEO Digital, the makers of River Cottage, Fish Fight and

Energyshare, allows people to make pledges of cash in return for rewards.

Once a project hits its funding target the cash is released and the project gets its funding and cash does not leave donor’s accounts until the target is reached.

Energyshare, the UK’s leading platform for community renewable energy projects, launched a national competition to have renewable energy projects match-funded on PeopleFund.It (visit Energyshare.com for details). The Hive is one of the first successfully match-funded projects.

“We are delighted that The Hive has had such success,” said KEO Digital MD Nick Underhill. “It’s a fantastic project which has brought the community together to back a great idea and allowed the parents to make a real difference.”

Strictly Come Dancing professional and former British Champion of Latin American Dance, Karen Hardy’s masterclass for a group of schoolchildren from the West Midlands

WHAT WE LEARNED PRIMARY SCHOOL OVERTAKE SECONDARIES ON SPENDING

Primary free school moves into recycled modular building

Despite perceived government funding cuts in schools, recent research from the British Educational Suppliers Association forecasts a return of market confidence as procurement across UK primary and secondary schools increased by 8.6 per cent in quarter one of 2012 when compared to the same period in 2011.

Primary schools took the purchasing lead over secondaries with an average increase in primary sales of 15.4% for the first quarter of 2012, while secondary school sales increased by just two per cent.

CUCKOO HALL, LONDON BOROUGH OF ENFIELD

One of the UK’s first primary academies has expanded its classroom facilities to include a recycled modular building.

The ‘outstanding’ Ofsted-rated Cuckoo Hall in the London Borough of Enfield is managed by Cuckoo Hall Academies Trust, which in response to the high demand for places, has opened a new sister primary school, Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy, under the Government’s free schools programme.

In order to accommodate the new school’s reception and nursery classes until its own building is completed on an adjacent site, Foremans has provided additional teaching facilities at Cuckoo Hall in the shape of an eco-friendly modular building.

“Cuckoo Hall is in such high demand that we had 270 applications last year for 120 places – and with the predicted growth in birth rates in surrounding areas, this demand looks set to continue,” said business director Simon Ward.

“The new buildings have given us a highly cost-effective interim solution which certainly doesn’t look like a temporary facility. The finished classrooms have surpassed all our expectations, delivered excellent value for money and are just what we were looking to achieve.”

SEND IN YOUR STORIES We are always looking for local school news. If you have a story to share, email editor@edexec.co.uk

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/ july 2012

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schools in focus CASE STUDY

Since its inception in 2008, Worcester-based Perdiswell Primary School’s ‘Switch It Off’ campaign has achieved an impressive reduction in electricity use. JULIA DENNISON speaks to assistant head and eco coordinator PETER JONES to find out how pester power helped

Power to

the pupils july 2012

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schools in focus CASE STUDY

Y

ou may have heard of pedal power – but what about pester power? It is this type of ‘power’ that could just be the answer to many school’s energy-saving needs. Perdiswell Primary School in Worcester is using it to its benefit as part of a school-wide ‘Switch It Off’ campaign, and as a result, has made a very healthy 18% reduction in energy output. The good news is, it doesn’t cost a penny and you won’t even break (much) of a sweat. It doesn’t require solar panels, a wind turbine or a bio mass boiler, and used right, your school, like Perdiswell, could be shortlisted for a national eco award scheme. For pester power to work for you, all you need are a few persistent pupils.

EYES ON THE PRIZE When I speak to Peter Jones, the assistant head and eco coordinator at Perdiswell Primary School, it is the day before the

annual Ashden Awards, the world’s leading green energy awards, and the primary school is one of only eight finalists to be nominated for their work to promote sustainable energy. Jones is excited to be nominated, but he won’t be going to the ceremony. Not one to take his eyes off the real prize (a better environment locally and globally), he is instead off to an eco conference at Worcester County Hall.

But it doesn’t break his stride.

Having worked at the school for 20 years, Jones has been eco coordinator alongside his role as assistant headteacher since the school first took an interest in helping the environment back in 2002. This green approach started with a compost initiative driven by the local authority, which the school got involved with when the county gave them free composting bins. “It started from there really,” remembers Jones. “We decided then to get involved in Eco-Schools and their award scheme and it all blossomed from there.”

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schools in focus CASE STUDY

As part of being an Eco-School, Perdiswell does its own gardening; keeps bird and mini-beast boxes; has created its own pond; runs a litter-picking initiative; actively works to save energy and water; and recycles everything from paper to batteries, eyeglasses to stamps, the money from which goes to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Save the Children. “There’s a lot going on,” Jones admits.

SWITCHING OFF It comes as little surprise that when Worcester County Council approached Perdiswell to get involved in a local ‘Switch It Off’ campaign (see box out), the school was quick on the uptake.

During the first week of the initiative, Jones helped nominate children to be eco ‘spies’, who went around the school and took note of lights being left on and kept a record of the meter reading.

They presented their findings to children and staff in a school assembly, encouraging them to reduce their energy use and switch off lights in the next week. This wasn’t, Jones insists, a case of naming and shaming: “You just say that what we want everyone to do is to try and save energy in the second week, so if you could, make sure you turn off lights and your whiteboard. It’s just encouragement, really.”

This encouragement turns into ‘pester power’ when the 12 eco spies become ‘energy wardens’, tasked with going around the school at lunch and break times during the following Switch It Off week and checking that people are actually switching off what they said they would. “In the first week they just record where lights and computers are left on,” explains Jones. “In the second week, they encourage people to switch off and then we look at what the energy reduction is. It encourages good energy behaviour.”

As part of the Switch It Off campaign, the energy wardens continue to read the meters on a weekly basis, “so we can show everybody at the end of the month how much energy we’ve used,” says Jones. As part of this, he keeps a comparison chart going between last year and this year. The results are remarkable.

TANGIBLE RESULTS Thanks to the school’s energy saving initiatives, since 2008, the school has cut its electricity use by 18%. This has a two-fold benefit: “It’s about saving money, but it’s also about improving the

environment and making it a better place,” says Jones. In these times of financial constraint, anything that can help soften the blow on suffering school budgets can only be good.

However, it’s not just the school budget and environment that are benefiting – but the pupils too. An energy scheme like Switch It Off can also be used towards the curriculum. “We’ve got various activities going on,” says Jones. “For instance, the meter reading data is analysed by our Year 5 children who create graphs from it to compare different days of the week and months of the year.” Every classroom displays the school’s eco code, which comprises six points that the school seeks to carry out at all times and forms part of the teaching plan. “They’re all involved,” says Jones. “There are notices up reminding them to switch things off, which they’ve created on the computers themselves and put them up around the school. We try and involve everybody in the work.”

This includes parents. “With Switch It Off week, we involved parents,” says Jones. “We sent out a letter encouraging them to take part, explaining what was involved and asking them to send us their results, which we did a little analysis on and sent them a little report back.” As such, Jones and his team of eco warriors believe it’s important not just to get the school motivated to save the environment, but the larger community as well, and with this in mind, have written articles with energy saving tips for the local parish magazine.

FUTURE FORWARD Plans for saving energy at the school go much further than just a Switch It Off week. Jones and his colleagues plan to continue these initiatives well into the future. “We’ll just be carrying on and trying to improve further as each new generation comes through the school, each new year group, just encouraging them to adopt good energy behaviour,” he says, encouraged by the growing trend towards green thinking that he has observed since starting at the school two decades ago. “I think children have always been interested in the environment.

They love going outside and doing the pond and mini-beast work, and so on, and also [with]things like energy, they’re very keen to do a good job and make sure we’re using as little energy as we can. They’re always very positive, the children.” With initiatives like Switch It Off, it seems the next generation will remain positive about climate change well into the future.

FACT BOX SCHOOL Perdiswell Primary School LOCAL AUTHORITY Worcestershire TYPE Mixed 4-11 community school PUPILS 420

JARGON BUSTER SWITCH IT OFF The Switch It Off campaign, which took place across Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire, aims to encourage public bodies, businesses, communities, schools and residents to switch off non-essential appliances that are left on when they’re not needed.

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schools in focus SECONDARY NEWS

SUNDERLAND

SECONDARY UPDATE What’s going on in the world of secondary schools and further education

New university technical college in Liverpool gets go ahead THE LIVERPOOL LOW CARBON AND SUPERPORT UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Liverpool will be home to at least one of the 15 new university technical colleges to receive approval from the Government last month.

The bid for the Liverpool Low Carbon and SuperPort University Technical College was led by Liverpool Community College and Liverpool John Moores University, together with the city council, the Eldonians Group, Peel Land and Property (Ports), Arup, Balfour Beatty, EON, Mersey Travel, and a number of other high profile employers.

When it opens as planned in 2013, the UTC will deliver a mix of academic and technical education around engineering and logistics and the skills necessary to drive forward the low carbon economy and growth around the city’s new ‘SuperPort’.

With the regeneration of North Liverpool and South Sefton expected to bring thousands of jobs to the region, the UTC will provide skills and training for young people in the city region to take advantage of those jobs, including hands-on, practical work experience and technical sessions as well as traditional GCSEs and A-levels.

STATS & FACTS

15 july 2012

The number of new university technical colleges (UTCs) approved to open in 2013 and 2014

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DARLINGTON LIVERPOOL

NEWPORT

Sunderland College comes to agreement over £2.2m in cuts An agreement has been reached between Sunderland College, Unison and University and College Union (UCU) on a package of savings to address £2.2m in cuts imposed by the Government.

The college and the unions worked hard to reach a solution acceptable to all parties despite the inherent difficulties in saving such a large amount of money.

Principal Angela O’Donoghue commented: “The one thing we agreed on from the start was that we continue to focus on the quality of the educational offer and the quality of our student experience. Sunderland College has a deserved reputation for quality – we achieve outstanding results across the wide variety of provision we provide.”

By working together with the unions, the college has been able to come up with what O’Donoghue believes is a sustainable solution that secures Sunderland’s future.

“At the same time we acknowledge the fact that our teaching and support staff have been able to respond positively at what is without doubt an incredibly difficult time for education funding,” she said.

“However with this level of support from our staff we know that we will be able to continue to offer an excellent educational experience for our students.”

The offer that has been agreed sees the number of compulsory redundancies reduced from 36 to 13-and-a-half posts, two-and-a-half of which are teaching staff.

Less than 100 of the college’s 700 staff will be affected by a pay reduction, the maximum of which will be £3,702. All salaries will be protected for two years with the pay change coming into effect in August 2014.

Speaking about the agreement, Barry Campbell, branch chair of the UCU, said:

“After a great deal of hard work from all parties we have achieved an outcome that will secure the future of Sunderland College and the excellent educational service provided to our students.”

Dave Geddis, branch secretary of Unison, also commented: “Unison is gratified that long and difficult negotiations have resulted in all colleagues coming to an agreement that satisfies the criteria placed upon the college by the present financial climate in public sector funding.”

schools in focus SECONDARY NEWS

Newport mayor kicks off school demolition HARTRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL Newport

Once a governor, the mayor of Newport, south Wales, helped tear down an old building housing local Hartridge High School last month to make way for a new school.

Councillor John Guy sat in the cab of an excavator, operating the machine to pull down a section of Hartridge. The now governor of the new Llanwern High was watched by fellow governors and Councillor Bob Poole, the council’s cabinet member for education, and school pupils.

Hartridge High School has been replaced by the new £29m Llanwern High School.

Built by contractor Leadbitter Group on behalf of Newport City Council, Llanwern is a state-of-the-art facility featuring two teaching wings wrapped around a central atrium, which has been designed and constructed to meet the BREEAM Excellent standard.

The 1,450 pupils moved into the new school after Easter, enabling Hartridge’s three existing buildings, which were in a state of disrepair and lacked disabled access, to be demolished to make way for new sports fields, facilities and landscaping.

Councillor Poole said: “Six years ago, I

was part of the administration that embarked on an ambitious programme of rebuilding our secondary schools and I am delighted to be here to see the demolition of old Hartridge School which has made way for the new Llanwern High.

“We now have a school which is truly fit for the 21st century and which is providing the best possible surroundings for our young people as well as fabulous community facilities.”

Llanwern High School is the second education facility built as part of Newport City Council’s major secondary school redevelopment programme.

Picture by: Keith Blundy/Aegies Associates

PICTURE STORY

When Sam Hollis (pictured left) was selected to carry the Olympic Torch on its tour of the North East, he recorded a remarkable treble for St Aidan’s Church of England Academy in Darlington. The progression coach will become the third person connected to the academy to have carried the torch at an international event. Governor the Venerable Granville Gibson (right) carried the torch at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and PE teacher Jenny MacMurray (middle) did the same for the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1990.

FE WATCH

FE STUDENTS ‘SHOULD GET FREE MEALS TOO’ School leaders, students and MPs from across the country are calling on the Government to extend free meals to all 16 to 18-year-olds from a disadvantaged background surrounding a debate that took place in the House of Commons last month.

A funding anomaly means poorer teenagers are offered free school meals in UTCs and sixth forms, but not at FE colleges.

Former Education Secretary David Blunkett, who called the debate, says the disparity means young people are punished because they choose to attend college rather than school.

“There are three times as many students eligible for free lunches who are studying in college rather than school sixth forms. This means the majority of eligible teenagers are missing out.” said the MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

“For these hardworking students to be denied access to free meals because they have chosen further education that will benefit both them and the country is inherently unfair. It is not only a bar to social mobility but also an inequality and unfairness that could mean teenagers going hungry.

“This is a massive hidden attack on young people who have already suffered the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance and, if successful in applying to university, the trebling of fees. I hope the debate will draw much needed attention to this issue and result in a commitment from the Government to address this unfair anomaly.”

SEND IN YOUR STORIES We are always looking for local school news. If you have a story to share, email editor@edexec.co.uk

www.edexec.co.uk

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schools in focus FUNDING

Building as a priority A poll has revealed that schools are falling into disrepair, despite the fact that ÂŁ2bn has been ring-fenced for renovation projects. CARRIE SERVICE finds out why and what can be done

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july 2012 www.edexec.co.uk

schools in focus FUNDING

A

t the time of this going to print, the Government had just confirmed 261 of the 587 schools that applied for the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) would be receiving funding for their renovation projects – after a six-month delay.

That leaves 326 schools in a desperate state of disrepair with no hope of receiving money to complete their muchneeded building work.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said that of the unsuccessful schools, some would have their needs addressed through “other funding” available for maintenance work. He added: “Where that is not the case, I will use the information from the national programme of surveys we are currently conducting to ensure that, subject to funds available in the next spending review period, those schools which need renovation will have their needs addressed as quickly as possible.” The Government has commissioned a survey of all schools, the results of which should detail the condition of every individual school in England when they are released next autumn. Of the 261 schools selected for PSBP, 42 schools that are considered to be in the worst condition, as well as all of the special needs schools in the programme, will be fast-tracked for urgent building work.

The scheme was launched as the replacement for Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme, which Gove described as being “incredibly inefficient” and claimed that they were forced to drop the it because of the enormous financial “black hole” left by the previous government.

Stephen Twigg, Labour’s shadow education secretary, has criticised Gove for not securing enough capital for schools at the Comprehensive Spending Review. He said: “The capital budget for schools received a cut of 60% – twice the average of all government departments.” Gove was further criticised for his lack of success in addressing the shortage of primary school places, which by 2015 is predicted to reach 450,000. “So far, the Government has prioritised its pet projects in education over meeting the need for places and in raising standards for all children in all schools,” said Twigg.

WHAT NOW? Wandsworth council applied for funding for a number of its schools via the PSBP, but only one, Chestnut Grove, was successful. Cllr Sheila Boswell, spokesperson for education in Wandsworth, which is under a Labour constituency, said: “Whilst funding for Chestnut Grove is to be welcomed, many other schools in Wandsworth are also in grave need of investment in their buildings… Elliott School is in very poor repair, as are Graveney School and Battersea Park School. Both were due to be helped under Labour’s Building Schools for the Future Programme – now all are losing out.”

Peter Hill, associate director and solicitor at TPP Law, says that further anxiety is created by the fact that the PFI scheme is up for review: “PSBP was to be a privately financed programme, but the shape of new improved PFI has yet to be made clear by the Treasury.

With government borrowing costs in the financial markets at an all-time low, many are now sceptical that private finance can be good value. If so, will the Chancellor of the Exchequer be persuaded to let these projects on to the government balance sheet? We shall have to wait and see.”

The Government has said that the private finance initiative model is due a complete overhaul, and the Department for Education is working with the treasury to reform the model and provide “costeffective and more transparent” delivery of services in a radical rethink.

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “For too long, public sector authorities have treated 30-year PFI contracts as the only game in town. This has to end.” Critics of the model say that it is too rigid, and ties schools down for far too long, preventing them from making changes as the needs of the school change. But with 39% of headteachers claiming that their schools are “unfit for purpose” in a poll by the Observer, the cash is going to have to come from somewhere – and fast. One school in Camden that applied for funding via the PSBP has taken matters into its own hands and embarked on a major sale of its disused buildings in order to raise funds. Parliament Hill School in Highgate has defunct buildings “riddled with asbestos” that cannot be used without major investment.

John Blake, a former teacher at the top-rated girls’ school, told a Labour Party conference back in 2010 that the school desperately needed investment as the school was “a 40 year-old building rotting from the inside out”. Camden’s schools need an investment of approximately £250m over the next few years in order to bring them up to standard. The Government has made a pledge to supply a third of this amount, and the council are hoping that sales from unused buildings will help to raise the rest.

With a shortage of school places in some parts of the country, for many, selling property just isn’t an option. Academies that are part of a consortium of schools could possibly come to an arrangement with other schools in the group to share facilities. And, depending on the amount of funding needed, it might be viable for schools to hold fundraisers in order to raise money to carry out some of the work. In a recent issue of Education Executive, we looked at how Brighton and Hove council are looking at implementing ‘virtual classrooms’ that could see children working remotely, either from home or from other publicly-owned buildings via the internet, which is something we may start to see more of. But these are temporary measures, not solutions, and at some point, if this is not addressed, schools will have to start turning pupils away.

If this is not addressed, schools will have to start turning pupils away

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schools in focus INDEPENDENT NEWS

INDEPENDENT UPDATE RAMSGATE

What’s going on in the world of independent schools

A fifth of academies miss accounts deadline Thirty-four of the 194 convertor academies missed the 31 May deadline to file their accounts at Companies House and are now incurring fines as a result.

As of 1 March 2011, there were 194 new academies. All of which had an obligation to file accounts with the Education Funding Agency(EFA - formerly the YPLA) by 31 December 2011. They also had to file accounts with Companies House by 31 May of this year.

While the EFA has not yet released details on whether schools hit the December deadline, it is possible to monitor Companies House.

Accountancy firm Price Bailey carried out a survey of the first 110 sets of accounts that were filed and on public display by 2 March 2012 and since that time a further 50 schools have filed their accounts. This means nearly a fifth have missed the deadline.

“As if academy school business managers and bursars do not have enough on their plate they must not forget that they have obligations under the Companies Act as well,” commented Gary Miller, head of the education and academies team at Price Bailey.

“Unfortunately [the results of this study] means that 34 converter academies have missed their filing deadline and are now incurring penalties.”

SEND IN YOUR STORIES We are always looking for local school news. If you have a story to share, email editor@edexec.co.uk

july 2012

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Despite recession, private schools raising more than £1m A record number of schools have exceeded the £1m mark in their fundraising efforts, a recent study has found.

The sudden boom in money raised has been attributed to the fact that private schools are under pressure to keep fees down and increase bursaries for less privileged children.

Because of this, schools have been forced to look into other methods of raising money.

The study, carried out by accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehall, revealed that the 522 schools who participated raised £92.9m through donations last year – an increase of nearly £16m from 2009. The top fundraisers were Eton College, which raised £5.2m, and Harrow, which raised £7m.

Tim Baines, who led the study, told the TES that it is due to schools having a different attitude towards fundraising: “It is down to the increasing professionalism in their approach and the employment of dedicated staff. Gone are the days when you would just get a teacher to go and raise the old boys’ network.”

Hilary Moriarty, national director of the Boarding Schools Association, says that schools are adopting a more American approach to fundraising: “This kind of reliance on fundraising would be unlikely in the UK, but the trend of expecting a return for a school from those it has helped to well-salaried occupations is definitely growing.”

PICTURE STORY

Lower school children at St Lawrence College in Ramsgate, Kent, celebrated the Queen’s jubilee with a colourful pageant watched by the upper school. The Herald (Callum Conlon), announced the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II (Emily Burne), while accompanied by ‘I’m a Little Teapot’, ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’, ’Dusty Bluebells’ and ‘Oranges and Lemons’ on the hand bells.

It was followed by a picnic lunch

P 3 1 CL ET J u OS I T l y E IO 20 S N 12

C O

M

WIN a c olourful c l a ssroom

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To enter, take a look at our three colour themed questions below: 1. What was the original colour of the Statue of Liberty?

2. In which sketch comedy show did Jim Carrey get his start?

3. What Prince album was on the charts for 24 weeks from August 1984?

Email your answers to editor@edexec.co.uk, stating your name, phone number, address and telling us how many printers you currently own and which brand they are.

Competition closes 31 July 2012. Winners will be draw at random from correct entries and notified shortly afterwards.

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schools in focus ACADEMIES

Five lessons to be

learned from The Priory What lessons can governors and business managers glean from The Priory academy report? GARY MILLER, head of the education and academies team at a leading accountancy firm, looks at the ATL criticism of the Academies Show and why the Priory is being used as the cause of all evil by academy detractors

T

he Department for Education has recently issued its internal audit investigation team report on the activities of the Priory Federation of Academies Trust.

The findings did not make pretty reading and they were immediately used by Margaret Hodge, chair of The Committee of Public Accounts, as an example of systematic failures in the current framework of accountability for academy schools.

july 2012

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ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted also jumped on the bandwagon by citing The Priory in an attack on the recent Academies Show.

The Priory is not a failing school and its own Financial Management and Governance Evaluation (FMGE) return rated it as outstanding. This rating was confirmed following a visit from the External Assurance Team, which agreed with this assessment.

So what went wrong? More importantly, what lessons can be learned and actions taken by academies as a result of this report?

schools in focus ACADEMIES

1. READ THE REPORT

Firstly, every business manager, bursar and chair of governors should read the report. Over the last few weeks I have been surprised by the number of people who have not heard of it. The report is available on the DfE website, together with the formal response of The Priory.

It clearly documents a number of specific problem areas, such as where school funds have been used for personal items, however many of the criticisms and failings are from their own procedures not being followed.

2. TRUST NO ONE

Where funds appear to have been misappropriated, the finger of blame has been pointed at the chief executive and the financial director, neither of whom are still employed by the academy. Financial procedures must cover everyone no matter how senior.

3. SELF-CHECK COMPLIANCE WITH YOUR OWN PROCEDURES

The third lesson to be learned, therefore, is to make sure your internal procedures are robust; that you actually follow your own procedures and that you have the control systems in place to check and demonstrate this compliance.

Both the DfE and The Priory’s governors showed their ignorance of external audit controls and procedures in their subsequent statements. A spokesperson from the DfE said: “Academies have more rigorous financial systems in place than maintained schools, and have a statutory requirement to produce independently audited annual accounts.” While the reports points out that “assumptions were made…that the annual external audit would have looked at financial and accounting in detail…as no issues were raised, there were no problems”.

As an audit partner, it is particularly disappointing that the public perception of what an audit covers is so incorrect even at high levels of government. As part of each academies’ audit planning meeting the auditors should be ensuring that the scope of audit work and the concept of materiality is fully understood.

The financial statements to August 2011 show income of £28m and assets of £70m. It is unlikely that, in the normal course of events, the auditors would have paid attention to petty cash and employee expenses. There are no audit procedures to test individuals have properly declared conflicts of interest and no requirement to test ‘value for money’ procedures.

Academies need to implement procedures to ensure that they are complying with their own rules and regulations. For a large federation a formal internal audit function may be appropriate but single schools should make better use of their responsible officer.

The role of the responsible officer has not changed recently and the example work programmes no longer cope with the changing needs of academies. Extending work into such

things as procurement practices including possible conflicts of interest with suppliers used; petty cash; staff and trustee expenses and the use of credit or charge cards would significantly improve controls.

4. ENSURE YOU KNOW ABOUT POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN ADVANCE

Another point of contention, which is relatively easy to control, is related parties and declarations of business interests.

This is an area where schools are not alone and every commercial organisation is facing increased disclosure. The historic statements of potential conflicts of interest before governor meetings are no longer sufficient. We are aware that many long standing governors are unhappy about having to complete new declaration of interest forms for both themselves and their immediate family. Most of the criticisms in the report are more to do with the fact that conflicts were not identified in advance and were not properly disclosed rather than there was something more sinister afoot.

5. BRIEF YOUR SPOKESPERSON AND ROBUSTLY DEFEND YOUR BELIEFS AND DECISIONS

The final learning point is for the need for a strong chair of governors who needs to be kept fully briefed and who will be able to stand up for the school and its actions.

Many of The Priory’s actions may not actually have been in conflict with their overall objectives but they looked questionable when exposed to public scrutiny. Purchasing a property in France; a trip to Bali to establish an itinerary for a dive holiday for boarders, which never then happened, and the employment of two of the chief executive’s family members. The chair of governors did not cover himself in glory when trying to explain these.

From small everyday decisions such as “should we serve wine at a staff Christmas party?” to major capital expenditure projects, schools must now take account of what decisions could look like exposed to unfavourable public scrutiny. If they cannot be robustly defended then they should not be approved in the first place.

Hopefully The Priory is an isolated example, however it would be naive to believe that similar things were not happening in other schools.

Despite jumping on a bandwagon, Margaret Hodge is correct in stating that controls over such things as value-for-money need to be strengthened just as the DfE is incorrect in its assertion that external audit will ensure everything is OK. Controls in schools do need to be tightened and if schools do not undertake this themselves and further examples of poor practices come to light then the controls imposed from above are likely to be both cumbersome and expensive.

Gary Miller is head of the education and academies team at Price Bailey. He is a school governor and has been appointed as senior statutory auditor to over 50 academies.

As an audit partner, it is particularly disappointing that the public perception of what an audit covers is so incorrect even at high levels of government www.edexec.co.uk

/ july 2012

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PUPIL PREMIUM

Pupils at a

With NICK CLEGG’S new incentive to reward schools up to £10,000 for making the most of their pupil premium, CARRIE SERVICE surveys readers to find out what they think of the cash incentive and how effective they think the pupil premium is

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rocure

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PUPIL PREMIUM

T

he pupil premium was launched in 2010 as a way of targeting disadvantaged children in order to decrease the attainment gap between rich and poor, the principal idea being that funding will reach the pupils who need it most. The premium is allocated to children from families who are on a low income and are known to be eligible for free school meals, and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. The amount of government funding allocated to the premium is set to increase from £625m in 2011-12 to £1.25bn in 2012-13. The funding for each individual pupil will increase from £488 to £600 for the next academic year.

CASH PRIZE Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that the 50 schools that find the most effective ways of using their pupil premium next year will be rewarded with £10,000 cash. The thinking behind the initiative is that the money will be used to give schools an extra boost, and also act as an incentive for them to get their thinking caps on about how they can put the pupil premium to good use.

Critics of the scheme have claimed that the pupil premium is instantly absorbed by gaps in school budgets and can never truly achieve its purpose. Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said when Clegg’s announcement of the £10,000 prize incentive was made in May: “Unfortunately the premium has to be used to plug the gap left by real-terms cuts in schools’ main funding. This funding already distributes about £3bn a year on the basis of disadvantage.” Johnson added that the only way to decrease the achievement gap is to create new economic and industrial policies, not education policies based on “dodgy stats and cheap gimmicks”.

HEALTHY COMPETITION? Schools that are lucky enough to receive Clegg’s £10,000 prize are “entirely free to use that money as they see fit”, so long as it goes toward helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds. But what do our readers make of this cash prize incentive? Is it the push your school needs to really get thinking about how to best use your pupil premium?

Or does it feel unnecessarily patronising? One headteacher from Northamptonshire described the scheme as: “ridiculous” and said that schools shouldn’t have to compete for funding: “If there is money available it should be allocated fairly by need, not through a timewasting contest.” Another wondered where the money would come from and one head admitted they knew nothing about the scheme – which begs the question whether it really is the incentive it claims to be. Many of you felt that funding received through the pupil premium tended to be quickly absorbed by staffing costs, so it was difficult for you to do everything you would like to do with it. Changes in how school budgets are controlled was also an issue for some of you. One headteacher said: “Whilst we are grateful for any funding we get, the benefit of the PP has been eroded by the cuts elsewhere in our budgets and the continual increase in things which schools are now having to pay for themselves, which were previously centrally funded”.

MONEY WELL SPENT So what are you all using your pupil premium for at the moment? A school that featured in the June edition of EdExec concentrated on improving literacy. They collaborated with an educational publisher to create custom-made books for older children who were struggling with their reading but didn’t like the embarrassment of carrying around younger children’s books. They created a story that fitted in with the pupils’ current interests and allowed them to improve their reading without feeling patronised.

Another school leader who responded to our survey has taken a more holistic approach by using the funding to improve the general wellbeing and confidence of pupils: “We have been able to provide self-esteem sessions for some of our youngsters, who for all sorts of reasons aren’t mixing as well as others. We have been able to send them on white-water rafting and summer specials for the transition to

www.edexec.co.uk

/ july 2012

29

30

rocure

lan

PUPIL PREMIUM

If there is money available, it should be allocated fairly by need, not through a contest secondary school. The Sutton report has highlighted that self-esteem can make a big difference to pupil attainment.” Another school used the funding last year to pay for vocational placements at a special school for their statemented children. This year they will use the funds to employ a community-based worker who will be available to support families and pupils allowing them to access community based support during the weekends and holidays. Many of you use the premium to subsidise school trips and outings and also extracurricular activities such as music lessons. But it seems that the majority of you have to use the money for extra staffing such as employing a parent link worker.

SHIFTING FOCUS Many of you thought that even with the increase in funding due this September, the money would have very little effect on provisions: “This money just changes focus, it will not offer any significant increase in budgets,” said one head. “However,” they added, “there is nothing wrong with re-focus, it mixes things up and hinders complacency.”

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), agrees: “The pupil premium is not extra funding – it merely substitutes for cuts elsewhere. It is a redistribution of funds within the system not additional funding.” With new measures being included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of pupils covered by the pupil premium, the pressure to demonstrate that you are putting it to good use is well and truly on. From September 2012, schools will also be required to publish information online about how they have used the premium. So if you’re not entirely sure how and where it is spent, now is the time to shift your focus and ensure you are making the most of it or at least be ready with a response. A pupil premium toolkit published by the Sutton Trust suggests that the link between money and attainment is not as clear-cut as it would seem, highlighting the difficult decisions to be made when choosing what to spend your pupil premium on: “It may seem obvious that more money offers the possibilities for a better or higher quality educational experience, but the evidence suggests that it is not simply a question of spending more to get better results.” The report goes on to say that reducing class sizes, setting homework for primary school children and introducing school uniforms are some of the least effective ways of increasing attainment. It suggests that what does have a positive impact is feedback on pupils’ performance, encouraging students to take control of learning strategies, and getting them to learn from each other. There are other helpful tips in the guide – which can be found at SuttonTrust.com – on where the pupil premium can be best spent and a breakdown of costs for things such as assessment for learning, afterschool programmes and arts participation activities.

july 2012

\ www.edexec.co.uk

MISSED THE BIG EVENT? NEED A RECAP? TAKE A LOOK INSIDE...

SHOW REVIEW EDEXEC LIVE 03

Success!

We did it! The first ever EdExec Live has been and gone and we’ve pulled off what proved to be a great opportunity for school business managers and like-minded education professionals to mingle and share experience, while taking in best practice advice from experts in areas like ICT, law and funding.

I want to thank those of you who joined us last month. It was intended as the first of what we hope will be a regular reader event for Education Executive magazine and I’m very pleased to be able to say it went ahead without much of a hitch. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and some very pertinent topics around the SBM profession were put up for discussion.

So if you’re reading this thinking you wish you’d been there, not to worry. This is your chance to catch up. In this 20-page supplement, we bring you an overview of the day, feedback from delegates and an overview of our speakers and exhibitors.

Please visit the ‘Resources’ section of EdExec.co.uk for a selection of presentations from the day, including the keynote speech from the Department for Education’s funding policy expert, Lizzie Sharples.

Because it went so well, it looks like we’ll be running it again. So, watch this space for upcoming EE Live events and have your diaries ready.

Editor Education Executive magazine

CONTENTS 04

Overview

10

Stats & facts

12

Testimonials

14

Speaker profiles

16

Exhibitor list

04 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

SHOW REVIEW EDEXEC LIVE 05

EDEXEC LIVE: THE HIGHLIGHTS Missed the big event? Need a recap? Look no further.

Over the next few pages, we give you an overview of the highlights from EdExec Live last month

T

FURTHER INFORMATION A selection of presentations from the day are available online in the ‘Resources’ section of EdExec.co.uk.

PICTURED Top: Lizzie Sharples of the DfE Bottom: Editor Julia Dennison

he inaugural EdExec Live event took place this month and proved to be a great success (if we do say so ourselves).

Readers from around the country convened in London’s Business Design Centre on 22 June to engage with their peers and swap stories, while benefitting from a wide range of expert advice in areas like ICT, law, and funding. The unique mix of seminars and clinics was intended to address the many issues – conceptual and practical – that face our readers in their working lives; from the feedback we received that was largely achieved.

The Department for Education’s Lizzie Sharples, leader of the Funding Policy Unit on school efficiency, kicked off the day with an overview of education funding as it stands.

She encouraged schools to use the tools provided by the Department for Education for better procurement and pointed delegates in the direction of national benchmarking tools available on the DfE website (for example Education.gov.uk/sfb). During the Q&A session, one delegate took issue with Sharples’s use of the term ‘back office’ to refer to a school’s administrative functions, confiding to us later that she felt this belittled the hard work support staff did behind the office door. However, overall, the leading presentation was welcomed as much-needed practical advice on an area so central to the school business manager’s role.

BIG ISSUES Among the issues affecting school business managers and bursars, was the hot topic of federating. Some see it as an essential process for smaller schools wishing to maintain high standards and achieve the most with decreasing budgets. One such proponent is Paul Jones, who spoke to delegates about the ‘Devon 11’, a group of primary schools that he heads up under a centralised leadership/hub-and-spoke model.

He criticised the existing “silo mentality” in schools and felt there is currently no system in place to encourage collaboration. The talk provided plenty of evidence of the many advantages the federation has achieved and it is Jones’ philosophy that has made it possible. He believes in ‘collaborative autonomy’ and said that “each organisation needs to be driven to create new knowledge and methods and as soon as that happens, it needs to be disseminated and become best practice”. Ossett Academy’s Tracy Jackson, who presented in the Finance & Funding clinic area with Ian Buss from Lloyds TSB, also spoke of how her group of schools has gained significant success in improved services and reduced costs by collaborating.

Experience of academy conversion came from Stephen Morales, business director at Watford Grammar School for Girls. He spoke about the importance of seeking the right help, especially in financial matters: “It’s absolutely essential

06 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

to procure a good auditor. An accountancy qualification is not necessary day-to-day, but you need access to an accountant.”

He also sought to reassure those worried by the potential problems of conversion, saying that “early converters have suffered the pain so that later ones don’t have to”.

Offering more day-to-day practical advice was Abbott Katz’s ‘Understanding pivot tables’. Katz described this feature in Microsoft Excel as an underused tool, which “adds value to the analysis of institutional financial activity”. Many delegates were aware of pivot tables but had no idea how to get the most out of them and found this introduction very useful.

Finance, funding and law were covered in the clinics, where Trevor Summerson of the National College also gave a good overview of school business manager qualifications available. Veale Wasbrough Vizards gave useful updates on employment law, cyber bullying, maximising school income and academy conversion.

Meanwhile, Ian Buss from Lloyds TSB brought in real-life examples of how schools are converting to cashless banking systems and never looking back, as well as hosting a welcomed discussion with Steve Acklam, chief executive of the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop on skills a governing body should have. Recenseo’s Ben Cooper advised on getting the most of your MIS, while Stuart Hughes held a relevant seminar and clinic on the benefits and pitfalls of leasing. Another highlight was the talk from Howard Jackson on the six steps to better financial management – or how to instil better strategic planning and financial management in schools.

Healthy eating was addressed in a seminar co-hosted by Jon Rayment from the School Food Trust and Yinka Ewuola from Eagle Solutions Services, reminding schools that it is still possible to serve delicious, healthy food affordably, and that everything Jamie Oliver fought for should not be left by the wayside with new-found autonomy (this means you, academies).

Ewuola gave a very clear and succinct ‘master class’ on in-house catering, demonstrating that cooking school meals is easier (and cheaper) than you might think.

UP FOR GRABS Finding more money, or making the most of the funds you have at your disposal is no doubt at the forefront of most SBMs minds, so unsurprisingly grants expert Eric Willis’ seminar on finding cash in unexpected places generated plenty of interest. His suggestion that schools register themselves as charities so they can benefit from Gift Aid got a mixed response from delegates, most notably when he suggested that school governors’ expenses, such as petrol, could be eligible. He also recommended claiming Gift Aid on ticket sales for school plays by carefully wording information on the tickets: ‘suggested donation: £5’ instead of ‘ticket price: £5’. Getting staff to have a clear-out and selling old scrap from the school, or parents’ unwanted household appliances, such as washing machines and the like, was another suggestion that was met with a few raised eyebrows. Whether or not you agreed with his sometimes controversial ideas, there was no denying that Willis’s seminar provided food for thought. After all, if a school does in fact host a lot of fund raising events or productions that generate revenue, why shouldn’t they make use of Gift Aid? And doesn’t recycling scrap metal make sense both environmentally and financially?

08 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

Willis also highlighted the changes in teacher training for September 2013 and how these might bear some fruit for schools looking for extra funding. He proposed that schools could actually register themselves as a university if they are becoming involved in school-based teacher training which would make them eligible for funding through bursaries, and with most teachers’ training departments in universities being closed, he stressed that now is the time to take advantage of this. The key message delegates took from the seminar was that there is money out there ready for the taking if schools can be a little bit more businessminded about the way they operate.

A UNITED FRONT One topic of heated conversation at the event was the subject of fair pay and equal treatment for school business managers.

Delegates in Val Andrew from ASCL’s seminar on ‘The changing face of the school business manager’ complained of not receiving the recognition they deserve as a senior leader at their school and felt undermined by their headteacher.

Along similar lines, the National Association for Head Teachers brought along the results of their latest school business manager member survey and gauged opinion on the relationship between pay and responsibility in the role. Forty-four per cent of their SBM members responded to the survey, which demonstrates just how strongly they feel about the issue. Although 83.3% of respondents said they were included as part of their school’s leadership team alongside the head and other senior staff members, 62.5% felt that their pay scales did not reflect this level of responsibility. Rob Kelsall who held the seminar, said that the union has seen a huge uptake in membership over the four years that it has been open to SBMs, and highlighted disparity in pay as the driving factor in this. Pay scales for SBMs vary widely according to the survey, with salaries ranging from £17,000 to £79,000 for the same role. This was confirmed in Andrew’s seminar when she got disgruntled grumbles as a response to quoting £40,000 as the average SBM salary for ASCL members (since many people in the room earned considerably less).

Feedback from delegates within the NAHT seminar revealed that many were working way over their contracted working hours and felt that they had little or no security in terms of pay. There was also anxiety over the single pay status as this could see some SBMs salaries being cut by up to £10,000 to their annual salary.

Interestingly, one headteacher attending the seminar was not entirely supportive of the idea of a national pay framework for SBMs and questioned whether or not school business management should be compared to headship, which holds a more traditional requirement for professional training. Regardless of this, the NAHT’s presence at the event and the fact they carried out a survey specifically looking into how SBMs feel about pay and conditions demonstrates that we are headed in the right direction.

The main outcome of these seminars on the SBM profession was that more

people to champion the cause. At this magazine, we make supporting school business managers our core purpose, however EdExec Live has inspired us to work that much harder for business managers in our conversations outside the pages of the magazines. Membership organisations like the NAHT and ASCL, which represent headteachers as well as business managers, make ideal vehicles for communicating the importance of having a business manager and supporting the profession to other leadership colleagues.

Indeed, organisations like these are lobbying hard for the SBM, so it’s worth getting in touch with your local representative if you have any questions or concerns. At the end of the day, no one can fight your corner better than you can. Until issues like single status pay get ironed out, it’s up to individual school business managers to fight for their own rights whenever they can – even if it’s not always the easiest fight to win. ¢

SHOW REVIEW EDEXEC LIVE 09

10 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

GOT YOUR VOTE To find out what you thought of our inaugural live event that took place on Friday 22 June at the Business Design Centre in London, we conducted a survey asking for your feedback on content, location and relevance to your day to day role. Here are some of the key stats and facts…

An amazing

100%

98%

of delegates who responded to our post-event

of respondents said that if they could, they would attend another EdExec live event

day out of the office well spent survey said it was a

Feedback comments suggest you thought our launch event was

well organised

and featured interesting,

helpful content

that was useful to your role

The five most popular highlights of the day were: • Abbott Katz’s ‘understanding pivot tables’ clinic • Eric Willis’s ‘finding cash in unexpected places’ seminar • the Veale Wasrough Vizards’ ‘education legal overview’ clinic • networking opportunities with other like-minded SBMs • last but not least, lunch.

28%

Of the who would prefer a different location for next year,

Birmingham and Manchester were the most popular suggestions

72%

were happy with the venue and its location in London

School business managers from all over the country travelled to the Business Design Centre in Islington for the event, with delegates from the North East, South West, the midlands and greater London attending

12 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

Importantly, the lunch was superb!

W H AT YOU SAID

JATIN SHAMJI SEBRIGHT PRIMARY SCHOOL “Brilliantly organised with great hospitality. Welcoming staff always smiling. I have been to many SBM events in the past but this one topped them all with highly relevant current issues/information. It was nice to be

EdExec Live was a big hit with delegates, but don’t take it from us. Here’s what you had to say about the big event

around people in the same role to share ideas. The event truly did feel like a ‘live’ version of the magazine. Thank you and congratulations to Julia and all staff at EdExec for organising the event successfully and I much look forward to attending the next one!”

MAGARET RICHARDS GREAT WALTHAM SCHOOL “Just a quick message to thank you for the event on Friday, which was excellent.

The important thing for me was that the

DONNA ELLIS OXLEY EARLY YEARS CENTRE

quality of the speakers was high and the

“Great event – must do this again. At

lunch was superb!”

subject matter relevant. Importantly, the

last – a chance to share knowledge/ experience with other SBMs nationally.”

DIANE ROBINOWITZ BEIS YAAKOV PRIMARY SCHOOL “I really enjoyed the day: it was busy and varied, pretty much like my day at work.

It was good to meet with other SBMs from around the country and meet up with old friends from NCSL courses.

Very well organised, everything ran like clockwork and there were some excellent presentations. Thank you very much, looking forward to EdExec Live 2013!”

Everything ran like clockwork and there were some excellent presentations

SHOW REVIEW EDEXEC LIVE 13

MATT RUSHWORTH SLOUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL

MIKE HARTLEY BEACONSFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

“I found it very interesting. There was

“It was very useful. I liked the short

such a range of information, such as

snappy sessions; they were all relevant.

bring your own device or brand new

I’ve come on a few things like this before

schools with new buildings and new

and normally half of them are relevant

ways to teach with an entire year group

and half of them are pretty poor, but

within one room. I found that very

these were all well balanced.”

interesting conceptually, it was quite out of the box compared to the standard set up of a school. On a more practical

JACQUI HAMMOND WHITNASH NURSERY SCHOOL

note, the pivot table clinic was excellent.

“It’s been really helpful, there’s a lot of

I use Excel on a daily basis and I didn’t

information all in one event that normally

know how to use them and now I do, so

you might need to go to six or seven

that’s great.”

different days out of school to get but it’s all condensed into one day, so it’s a

TREVOR BRIGHTON IRCHESTER COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

really good use of my time.”

workshops were quite quirky, e.g.

HAZEL BUSINESS MANAGER PRIMARY SCHOOL SURREY

pivot tables, which I really enjoyed.

“Thank you for a great day on Friday

The session from HCSS on business

– I found it very useful! I learned a lot,

development plan was also good.”

not least how much the world of ICT is

“I thought some of the presentations/

GILLIAN MCEVOY REBECCA CHEETHAM NURSERY EDUCATION CENTRE

I thoroughly enjoyed the EE live event and came away with lots of information

changing and the need to keep abreast of technology. Please pass on my thanks to everyone who was involved.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the EE Live event and came away with lots of information that I can implement in my workplace.

Thank you.”

The venue was great with easy access by rail

CHARLOTTE HURLEY HENRY CHICHELE PRIMARY SCHOOL

PENNY BASRI WINCHMORE SCHOOL

“I thought this event was good value for

“So enjoyed the day and the organisation

money and very relevant. The venue and

that went into it. Would definitely attend

location met all the needs and was easy

another year. Venue was ideally located.”

to get to. All staff and presenters were very helpful and accommodating. I would definitely attend another event like this in the future.”

HELEN SIMMONDS DOVER GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOR BOYS “Well done for a first attempt at an event and for getting such a range of seminars

JILL MCKINNELL BOREHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL

and clinics. I thoroughly enjoyed it – the

“Very useful day at an excellent venue.”

Looking forward to the next one!”

venue was great with easy access by rail.

14 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

SPEAKER PROFILES (in alphabetical order by surname)

CHLOE BRUNTON

ALAN ENFIELD

Senior associate, Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Federation vice principal, Future Schools Trust Academy, Kent

In the education department, Chloe Brunton advises schools on all aspects of school reorganisation, governance, corporate and charity matters and the duties and responsibilities of governors. She has six years’ experience advising on over 70 academy conversions.

STEVE ACKLAM

MARTHA BURNIGE

Chief executive, SGOSS

Senior associate, Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Steve Acklam has a degree from Cambridge and is a companion of the Chartered Management Institute and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Following a successful career to director level in the corporate world, he set up and has been chief executive of the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop since 1999.

Alan Enfield’s main focus over the last three years has been overseeing the building of two new academies, along with technology developments and data. He has taught in Kent for 33 years, including the last 25 at the academies and their preceding schools.

HOWARD JACKSON MD, HCSS

Martha is a senior associate in the education and charities team. She advises a wide range of charities and schools and federations, specialising in governance, structural and commercial issues. She has advised on over 60 academy conversions nationwide.

Entrepreneur, trainer, motivator, strategic thinker and leader, Howard Jackson is highstanding in the education sector. Over the last 30 years, he’s trained school governors and headteachers about finance and lead a major government training initiative.

He is also founder of the Northern Bursars Group.

VAL ANDREW

IAN BUSS

TRACY JACKSON

Business management specialist, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)

Head of education, Lloyds TSB

Assistant principal – business development, Ossett Academy and Sixth Form College, part of the Education Ossett Community Trust

Prior to her appointment to ASCL in 2010, Val Andrew was a practicing school business manager at Carre’s Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Her background before that was in corporate and commercial finance.

Ian Buss has worked in banking for around 25 years, spending the last 10 focused on the education and nonprofit sectors. He is a school governor and on the board of school governor recruitment service charity, SGOSS. His team at Lloyds specialises in schools and works with more than half of all academies.

MILES BERRY

CAROL CHAPMAN

PAUL JONES OBE

Senior lecturer in ICT education, University of Roehampton and Naace vice chair

Federation business manager, First Federation

Executive principal, First Federation

Prior to joining Roehampton, Miles Berry spent 18 years in schools as an ICT coordinator and headteacher.

His research focus is on the role of online communities in professional formation and development.

Carol Chapman has worked for the LA for 26 years and in education for 15, initially a school administrator and clerk to governors, she was seconded to the LA as a support officer. She has been the federation business manager to the First Federation since it started.

Paul Jones has been awarded an OBE for his services to education and is a strong believer in the benefit of school federations.

He established the First Federation in September 2006. Prior to that, he was a headteacher in the primary sector for over 10 years.

EMMA-JANE BURNELL

BEN COOPER

YINKA EWUOLA

Senior associate, Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Software director, Recenseo

Director, Eagle Solutions Services

On the education and charities team, Emma-Jane Burnell advises institutions on matters including charity law; constitutional review and structural change; strategy review; mergers and acquisitions; and capital projects. She also advises academies on trading issues.

Ben Cooper was instrumental in founding Recenseo in 2008 to help organisations evaluate, select and implement new software solutions. He has worked in the ERP and business management software industry for over 15 years in sales, marketing and project management roles.

After graduating with an economics degree and following a year volunteering at an educational charity, Yinka spent almost six years at a city investment bank. She then joined Eagle Solutions to help them run as an effective business and be of significant benefit to schools.

She is also a school governor.

Tracy provides support functions, including grounds maintenance, payroll, HR and ICT, to schools within the trust.

She believes in collaborative education models.

SHOW REVIEW EDEXEC LIVE 15

STUART HUGHES

JON RAYMENT

TREVOR SUMMERSON

Head of education, Investec Education Leasing

Children’s food advisor, Children’s Food Trust and School Food Trust

Head of school business management programmes and efficiency, National College for School Leadership

Stuart Hughes is head of education at Investec Specialist Bank, which has been involved in public sector and school leasing for over 20 years. He has considerable experience within both the finance and education finance industries.

Jon specialises in the design and delivery of practical tools, training programmes and resources to help schools develop skills required to make a positive impact on school meal registration and profitability.

Trevor started at the Department of Employment in 1973. He then worked at the DCSF on policy, FE and youth training developments. He went to the National College in 2002 to develop the bursar programme.

ROB KELSALL

LIZZIE SHARPLES

VALERIE THOMPSON

Senior regional officer, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)

Leader of the Funding Policy Unit on school efficiency, the Department for Education

Chief executive, e-Learning Foundation

Lizzie Sharples is team leader for school efficiency and accountability at the Department for Education. Her current responsibilities include transparency of school finance data, and policy on financial accountability arrangements for schools.

Valerie started her career working in senior marketing roles. In 2001 she was invited to get the e-Learning Foundation operational. Now in its tenth year, it is chaired

by Lord Willis, and focused on ensuring every child has good access to learning technologies.

GREG MARTIN

ALEX SHAPLAND-HOWES

ERIC WILLIS

Head of Durand Academy

MD, Future First

Enterprise in Education

Greg Martin took over as headteacher of Durand Primary School, in inner-city London, over 20 years ago.

When he arrived, the school taught around 120 children and was failing. Through his leadership, Greg transformed Durand Primary School to become an outstanding academy.

Alex joined Future First, an organisation that engages alumni communities in state schools, after teaching maths, first through Teach First and then becoming Head of Year at the London Academy Edgware. Recently, Alex became one of the youngest heads of Maths at the Petchey Academy in Hackney.

Eric Willis has run Enterprise in Education since 1989 and has helped over 5,000 schools access some £30m’s worth of grants and funds.

Prior to that he was European grant co-ordinator and short course director at the Welsh Regional Management Centre. He also ran a large IT training company.

STEPHEN MORALES

YVONNE SPENCER

CHRIS YAPP

Business director, Watford Grammar School for Girls

Partner, Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Education technology consultant

Stephen has been involved in operational and facilities management in the public and private sectors for over 20 years. He moved into education in 2003 when he became finance director of a school in Spain. He took on the role at Watford Grammar in 2007.

Yvonne Spencer is an education law specialist with over 12 years’ experience advising the education sector. She has cowritten three books on education law and is a prolific writer of articles for education, legal and academic journals. She advises on all aspects of serious child protection incidents.

Chris has 30 years’ background in the IT Industry.

He specialises in network technologies and the impact on organisations and public policy. He has worked in local and central government, education, health, creative industries and digital inclusion.

He is also a patron of Naace.

ABBOTT KATZ

NASEEM NABI

Education consultant

Senior associate, Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Rob Kelsall has over 15 years’ experience as a union campaigner and negotiator.

He has a track record of achieving improved pay, conditions and career structures for staff within the education sector.

Abbott Katz is a New Yorkborn educational consultant living in London. He has written two books on Excel, has trained the application at numerous corporate and classroom venues, and has a doctorate in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

On the employment team, Naseem advises education clients on a range of employment law issues and has a particular expertise in academy conversions and related TUPE issues.

She is also experienced in redundancy and restructuring exercises.

EdExec Live Sponsored by

16 EDEXEC LIVE SHOW REVIEW

HEADLINE SPONSOR Lloyds TSB – Well-educated banking T: 0800 681 6078 | E: Ian.Buss@LloydsTSB.co.uk | W: www.lloydstsb.com/schoolbanking

KEY PARTNERS

PARTNERS

ASCL – join the leaders

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T: 020 7241 7160 E: enquiries@eaglessl.co.uk | W: www.eaglessl.co.uk

Department for Education T: Lizzie Sharples on 020 7340 8037 E: lizzie.sharples@education.gsi.gov.uk | W: www.education.gov.uk

National College SBM training opportunities – enables SBMs to operate effectively T: 0115 9456638 E: sbm.team@nationalcollege.gsi.gov.uk | W: www.nationalcollege.org.uk

Five year budget planning software for schools and academies T: 01625 578162 E: michelle.livingstone@hcsseducation.co.uk | W: www.hcsseducation.co.uk

Do the simple things right: all-in-one premises and contracts management system T: 08456 80 70 32 W: www.tesfoundation.com

Equipment leasing that’s top of its class T: 01244 525 406 E: stuart.hughes@investec.co.uk | W: www.investec.co.uk/education

Recognising Safety Excellence in Schools T: 0845 873 2390 E: info@inhousesafety.co.uk | W: www.safety-mark.co.uk

The association for all school leaders T: 01444 472414 E: joinus@naht.org.uk | W: www.naht.org.uk

The market leading online payment solution for schools T: 0845 2575 540 E: sales@parentpay.com | W: www.parentpay.com

Inspiring, engaging solutions that help teachers to teach and learners to learn

Lex Autolease is the UK’s leading vehicle management and fleet funding specialist.

T: 08450 700300 E: events@rm.com | W: www.rm.com

T: 0844 824 0705 E: publicsectorsales@lexautolease.co.uk | W: www.lexautolease.co.uk

VWV is a national leader in education, acting for over 900 schools and academies T: Yvonne Spencer on 0117 314 5202 E: yspencer@vwv.co.uk | W: www.vwv.co.uk

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s d r a w e r d – risks an Is your school at risk from social media usage? CHRIS HUTCHINGS, a leading media litigation lawyer, looks at the thorny issue of using sites like Twitter and Facebook to reach out to parents and any risks it may have on reputation

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chools, like many organisations, are increasingly using the potential of social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to their benefit. As information shifts to the web, use of new media in the professional context can be an effective and powerful tool because it gives schools a great opportunity to convey information, promote initiatives, or fundraise in a more convenient manner than traditional marketing. But with effective social media campaigns come legal risks. Successful use of the new medium requires consideration of key underlying legal and regulatory principles. Taking these into account will prevent or limit the risk of problems.

PROMOTION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA The ability to promote through social media is recognised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The regulator’s powers were extended in 2011 to cover online advertising, including use of social media, and the ASA has already upheld a number of complaints

concerning misuse of social media in the contexts of advertising. When planning such campaigns using social media, ensure they are “legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

MISUSE AT WORK Use by individual employees of social media during the working day gives rise to another aspect to be considered and legislated for by business. The nature of Twitter – quick-fire, abbreviated and pithy personal remarks – makes it prone to misuse or complaint: An increasing number of libel claims result from defamatory remarks published on Twitter. For example, just this past March saw a High Court libel trial stemming from allegations made on Twitter.

Personal comments posted on social media may be taken as being representative of the school. Social media policies, which can be incorporated into terms of employment, need to lay down clear boundaries. Implementation of your policy can be more productive if explained in an effective manner to staff. The policy will then help to protect the organisations where an employee has been accused of posting a remark giving rise to complaint. At the same time, if your organisation itself is faced with adverse and indefensible criticism on social media, stopping further publication and spread can be achieved by legal complaint.

VALUE OF ‘FOLLOWER’ LISTS A separate risk to your school’s business arises where an employee, who has built up a substantial list of followers on Twitter, departs the business and seeks to take the followers to a new account. This issue is currently the subject of hard-fought litigation in New York where an employee of a mobile phone company, who had gathered 17,000 followers on the work account, sought to take the list when he departed from the phone company. The court is likely to find that the list of followers has intellectual property rights in it, which belong to the company. However, to avoid any dispute as to ownership, this should similarly be incorporated into your social media policy. Social media is increasingly forming part of successful school campaigns.

The consequential risks should be identified and, if acted upon, can be minimised allowing organisations to safely exploit the new medium’s potential.

Chris Hutchings is media litigation partner at Hamlins LLP

www.edexec.co.uk

/ july 2012

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LEGAL

Building on success Education lawyers DAVID HANSOM and CHLOE BRUNTON of Veale Wasbrough Vizards unravel the issues of PFI academy conversions

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ince the late 1990s, many schools across the UK have been built or refurbished under the private finance initiative, or PFI. Latterly, the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative delivered a large number of new-build PFI schools.

A PFI scheme involves a local authority entering into a contract with a PFI contractor typically to design, build, finance and maintain a school or group of schools. The nature of the agreement means that a PFI is a long-term commitment with contracts generally lasting typically 25 years. The PFI contractor funds the initial cost mainly from third party lenders which is repaid via, generally, monthly payment made by the local authority known as the “unitary charge” which can also cover the service provision at the school. BSF schemes generally included provision of ICT services alongside a Local Education Partnership.

The perceived complexities around PFI have deterred many schools from exploring conversion to academy status. Equally, some local authorities have discouraged PFI schools from conversion.

PFI schools should be heartened to note that the first academy conversion of a PFI school took place in 2007 and since then over 25 conversions of PFI schools have been completed. With an experienced advisory team on board, schools within PFI arrangements are now finding that the process is working well and efficiently.

In autumn of 2011, concerns were raised by some PFI funders that local authorities may not be obliged to pay the unitary charge in respect of PFI schools that have converted. The concerns were based on the Academies Act 2010, which required a local authority to “cease to maintain” a converting school. The DfE never accepted the view that this made it unlawful for the local authority to continue to pay the unitary charge, but nevertheless has

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amended the act to specifically allow local authorities to continue to make payments in respect of academy maintenance. This has given comfort to the private sector banks and investors in the PFI structure.

With that in mind, PFI schools that have put discussions around conversion on hold may wish to reconsider. PFI schools wishing to convert should expect the process to take longer than it would do for other types of schools and to plan accordingly. As well as the setting up of the academy trust, the transfer of staff, assets and land, additional documentation will need to be put in place in relation to the existing PFI contract.

On the 24 May this year, the secretary of state announced the 261 schools that will be rebuilt or refurbished under the Priority School Building Programme. In light of this the DfE have promised to look again at the PFI model in conjunction with the Treasury to ensure that it is cost effective and gives schools greater flexibility in relation to the on-going management of the new buildings. It is likely therefore that as well as existing PFI schools that wish to convert, there will also be a number of schools who seek to convert before or during a new PFI project.

Forward planning will help schools to smooth the way on this journey.

PFI schools that have put discussions around conversion on hold may wish to reconsider

For further information on any of the above and/or to discuss your PFI school conversion, please contact leading education law firm, VWV. Contacts are David Hansom, partner on 020 7665 0808 or at dhansom@vwv.co.uk and Chloe Brunton, senior associate on 0117 314 5301 or at cbrunton@vwv.co.uk

WORK/LIFE

Break Time ?

Secret life of a business manager

A well-loved school business manager in Seaford is stepping down after 24 years in the role, the Eastborne Herald reports.

Cathy Finch started at Chyngton School in 1988 as an ancillary in the classroom. She moved into the school office two years later where she has remained as school business manager until her retirement last month.

“I have always loved being with children and when I was asked if I would like to support a child with a need I was keen to accept,” she told the Herald.

As part of her final farewell, Finch took part in last month’s royal celebrations in the role of the school’s own Jubilee Queen.

“I am looking forward to waking up when I want to and not when my alarm tells me to,” she said of her retirement. “I will miss the children and the good friends that I have made.”

Assistant headteacher Tracey Guest said that as a much-loved member of the Chyngton community, Finch will be missed.

“I have no idea how she manages to do everything that she does; answering the phone, preparing budgets, talking to parents, typing letters, dealing with children – and all with a lovely smile and good humour,” Guest commented. “We wish her well for her much-earned retirement.”

NUMBER CRUNCHING Everyone deserves five minutes break, and business managers are no exception. So pour yourself a coffee, get a biscuit from the tin and have a go at this little puzzle. It is sure to keep your little grey cells ticking over and help while away your break time.

Do you have an interesting hobby or activity? Are you involved with any clubs at your school? We would love to hear from you. Write to editor@edexec.co.uk with the subject line “secret life” and 200 words on your hobby, why you enjoy it and why you would recommend it to other business managers. If you have a photo of yourself, that would be even better. Every entry written by an SBM and featured wins a 10 M&S voucher, so why not share your secret life with us?

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AROUND THE CLASSES With all those classes going on around you every day, we think you should be well placed to answer these little teasers

HISTORY In 1785, Blanchard and Jeffries became the first to cross the English channel using which method of transport?

SCIENCE What colour are most thistle heads?

PE How much water should people drink every day?

GEOGRAPHY Which river separates Cornwall from Devon?

MUSIC Which rapper topped the UK charts in 2010 with ‘Pass Out’?

ENGLISH In which play does Lady Bracknell memorably say: “A handbag?”

ANSWERS History – Balloon; Science – purple; PE – two litres; Geography – The Tamar; Music – Tinie Tempah; English – The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde

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