Education Executive March 2012

MARCH 2012 / ISSUE 78

MARCH 2012 / ISSUE 78

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE supporting business and financial excellence in schools and colleges

HEALTHY EATING n AUTONOMY n PRIMARY ACADEMIES

GOING IT ALONE

The future of school life without local authority control

FOOD FOR THOUGHT How healthy food transformed an underperforming primary school WWW.EDEXEC.CO.UK

ACADEMIC PRESSURES The story behind primary schools forced to become academies

EdExec partners

editor’s letter

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE

MARCH 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 jonathan hills jonathan.hills@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 DIGITAL MANAGER dan price dan.price@intelligentmedia.co.uk DESIGNERS sarah chivers sarah.chivers@intelligentmedia.co.uk peter hope-parry peter.hope-parry@intelligentmedia.co.uk PRODUCTION AND 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

Eating my words

A

s a self-confessed lover of food, anytime I can write about nosh, I’m happy. This issue I got lucky, with a visit to Chestnuts Primary School in Haringey, known for its diligent approach to healthy eating and improving attainment through good food (see p28). I even got to taste the fare, and, with the day I visited being ‘roast day’, had no trouble clearing my plate.

What was nice about the roast chicken, gravy, potato, carrots and purple cabbage on my plate was that it was nicely seasoned, looked good and, most importantly, tasted delicious. In short, it was good enough to eat.

Now, you’d think that was a given for school meals, but I’ve eaten at a fair few schools in my time that, in a bid to boost the health content of its meals, had reduced the salt content to nil, while forgetting that doing so needs the added efforts of herbs and spices to make it edible. I remember one visit to a school where upon bringing my tray of food to the staff room, was passed a large container of salt by a teacher, with a: “Here. You’ll be needing this.” Yes, adults have acquired an unhealthy love of the white stuff, and children’s unadulterated taste buds may not be so needy of the flavour enhancer, but they soon will, what with the takeaways and chip shops that line their walk to school, so it’s important for schools to acknowledge this and find a middle ground. Chestnuts has done this impeccably – serving fancy salmon goujons and saving money at the same time – and this is why they’re inspirational.

In the meantime, I heard an unsettling statistic quoted on BBC Radio 4’s education programme: recently: according to an academic study, what school a child goes to makes only around 10% of a difference to their future prospects – the rest is down to family and background.

This is startling and hard to believe – putting into question why we all do what we do. However, what it didn’t cover, is the wellbeing of the child while at school, and I think this can be equally important. If a child is happy in their educational experience, I’m sure there are statistics to support my theory that they do better for it.

EDITOR

Contents 08

rocure

lan

make your school’s budget go further

28 CASE STUDY

Food for thought How healthy food transformed one underperforming primary school

32 NEWS FEATURE

Going it alone The future of school life without local authority control

management

tune up your management skills

36 HR

sector

the lowdown on the business management world

06 SECTOR NEWS

Schools plan for frugal times ahead, plus grants for the outdoors

08 NEWS ANALYSIS

Solar reflections With FITs in question, we look at the benefits of solar panels

12 DIARY

Choke hold Corydon Lowde of Box Hill School on why students choke in exams

38 INTERVIEW

Zombie killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?

Living-dead aficionado and cover manager, Gary Smart brings life to his Birmingham secondary school

40 CASE STUDY

Variation is the spice of life Richard Fitzgerald of All Saints Catholic School, Dagenham talks about in-school variation

42 WORK/LIFE

schools in focus

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

Case dismissed The importance of a thorough investigation when dismissing a member of staff

Break time SBM’s secret life story of a school shop – you’ll want to hear this

14 PRIMARY NEWS

ICT matters

16 NEWS ANALYSIS

44 ICT NEWS

Shortage of places reaches crisis point and the miracles of milk

Academic pressures

The story behind primary schools pressured into becoming academies

20 SECONDARY NEWS

The reality of failing secondary schools and colleges shared services

24 NEWS ANALYSIS

Countdown to the Games A look at ways schools are getting involved in the Olympics

26 INDEPENDENT NEWS

Applications open for 2013 free schools and million-pound donations

the latest technological innovations in schools today

New guidelines for internet safety and virtual classrooms

48 CASE STUDY

Freedom to move

Beaconsfield High School gets moving with wireless technology

52 CASE STUDY

Across the curricular divide Dr Katya Toneva, ICT director at the International Community School, already integrates technology across the curriculum

56 NEWS ANALYSIS

Technology for life Getting ready for September’s change to the ICT curriculum

60 TOP TIPS

Look out for news, products and competitions from our sponsors

Data safety How to protect your school’s precious information

62 HELP DESK

Techno Geek

A look at the ethics issues surrounding BYOD

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

EVENT WATCH EDUCATION SHOW COMES TO BIRMINGHAM One of the UK’s leading education events is set to take place at Birmingham’s NEC this month.

The Education Show, 15-17 March, offers a selection of free CPD seminars, workshops and training; practical and engaging content; over 400 leading suppliers and exclusive show special offers to help school leaders pick up the latest resources for your learning environment.

Delegates can choose from over 70 CPD sessions in Learn Live and network with fellow practitioners and industry experts; will have the opportunity to purchase the latest resources for the classroom with access to 400 education providers offering exclusive show offers and discounts; and can hear from and speak to leading education bodies and associations who will be speaking in workshops and hosting information points.

Over 12,000 education professionals from early years through to secondary and FE attend the show, all looking for the resources and ideas they need to help pupils develop and to raise standards within their schools.

The Education Show is free to attend.

To book your place, visit www.education-show.com.

They said...

At the smaller end of the scale, most schools still deal in cash – for lunches, trips and so on – but, let’s be honest, this is a huge administrative resource drain and pupils aren’t always the most reliable financial couriers Ian Buss, head of education at Lloyds TSB, in his comment piece for EdExec.co.uk on why cash is no longer king

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STORY OF THE MONTH SCHOOLS REDUCE SPEND FOR FRUGAL TIMES AHEAD Data on school balances shows that schools are reducing their spending as education funding cuts start to affect budgets Schools across the country are planning for more financially stringent times ahead, according to the school balance data document released by the Department for Education earlier this year.

The figures indicate that school leaders are preparing for a reduction in their budgets by reducing spending in schools, though also revealed an overall reduction of the number of schools in financial deficit.

The document also revealed evidence of funding inequality between schools in different authorities and different places across the country, adding to calls to alter the current school funding formulae.

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Brian Lightman commented on the news: “It is good to see that the number of secondary schools in deficit has fallen. However it is a concern that there is significant variation between schools in different LAs and between schools in different phases.

He said this highlighted the need to move to a funding formula that delivers a fair level of funding to schools, no matter where they are in the country. “It also makes the point that this formula must be activity referenced and clearly modelled so that it does not create a whole new set of inequities,” he added.

“It makes the most sense to start by determining the actual cost of delivering the activities needed to provide high-quality education for all young people,” he continued. “The Government’s drive for a simple formula, rather than the best solution will simply re-distribute the inequities instead of delivering fairer funding for all.

“As the statistical release itself points out, the growing number of schools converting to academy status makes year-onyear-comparisons in school expenditure difficult, as academies are not represented in the data.”

GINO D’ACAMPO IN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH INNOVATE SERVICES Innovate Services has announced an exclusive partnership with Italian chef Gino D’Acampo. As part of the relationship, D’Acampo has created 12 authentic Italian pasta recipes that will be freshly served at all of Innovate’s 65 school, academies and college cafes.

The celebrity chef has designed the dishes as part of a new Simply Fantastico range to offer students a choice of real Italian pastas that are packed with goodness and are based on traditional recipes using wholesome, honest ingredients.

Commenting on the launch, D’Acampo said: “I am a passionate believer in good, fresh food and am excited to have been invited by Innovate to deliver a new range of real Italian pasta dishes to school and college students across the UK. The dishes are based on some of my family favourites so I hope the students enjoy the meals as much as I did when I was growing up.”

For further details, visit www.innovate-services.com.

sector NEWS

PICTURE STORY

INBRIEF SCHOOLS TOLD TO ADOPT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Schools are being encouraged to adopt more sustainable energy sources to reduce their carbon emissions and lower energy consumption, as academies are made eligible for new government funding. The Department of Energy and Climate has given £20m in funding to Salix Finance, an independent not-for-profit organisation, as part of its interest-free loans scheme (SEELS). Any organisation across the public sector can now apply for loans to fund energy efficient schemes that promise to pay for themselves within five years through lower energy bills such as introducing insulation, lighting and heating upgrades. Previously, only maintained schools were eligible to apply for interest-free loans through their local authority, but the secretary of state for education, Michael Gove, has now given consent for academies to join the scheme. Any academy can now make a formal contractual commitment on a first come first serve basis within the current financial year.

VSO volunteer Melanie Pearson running a methodology workshop for primary school teachers in Rwanda. VSO is currently recruiting education leaders to lend their skills to some of the world’s poorest countries. Visit VSO.org.uk for more information

GRANT WATCH SCHOOL GROUNDS AWARDS FOR LONDON SCHOOLS The John Laing School Grounds Awards scheme has been launched to empower London schools with the skills and inspiration to enhance their grounds through training, workshops, expert advice and funding. Workshops will provide educators with case studies of exemplar schools, tried and tested tips, advice on engaging with the community and step-by-step project guidance. In addition, all schools participating in the scheme will automatically be entitled to apply for funding, available later this year.

Maintained schools in Greater London can apply for the awards at www.ltl.org.uk.

STATS & FACTS

75%

of UK schools contain asbestos The Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health has called for more awareness in schools and requested a programme for its phased removal.

DIARY 7 March The Children’s Food Conference CBI Conference Centre, London www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk

15-17 March Education Show NEC Birmingham www.education-show.com

22 March The New School Inspection Framework: Examining the Implications and Outcomes Westminster www.westminster-briefing.com

23 March ASCL Annual Conference: Leading the System Hilton Birmingham Metropole www.ascl.org.uk

27 March Reforming the School Estate: Creating Schools Fit for the Future Central London www.insidegovernment.co.uk

www.lloydstsb.com/schoolsbanking | 0800 681 6078 www.edexec.co.uk

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sector ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Solar panels have had a great deal of press coverage in recent weeks, with changes in feed-in tariffs causing schools to question whether or not they are a viable investment. CARRIE SERVICE takes a look at the financial and non-financial benefits of installing solar panels in your school, and whether it is still worth it

Solar reflections

W

ith the coalition promising to be the “greenest government ever” schools are under pressure to become more aware of their building’s sustainability and integrate renewable energy into school life. Not only that, but they also have a responsibility to educate their pupils to do the same. With this in mind, I spoke to Balcarras School, an academy in Cheltenham, that has recently had solar panels installed. As an academy, I wondered whether the extra injection of cash had had any bearing on the school’s decision to have the installation, but in fact, it was the pupils themselves who were the inspiration behind getting the project up and running. The whole thing came about from a competition called “the headmaster’s challenge”, explains Jeff Arrif, IT manager. “In it the pupils had to ask: ‘How could the school be greener?’ There were over 100 entries and one of the most popular ideas was for solar panels, so we decided to look into it.”

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HOW DOES IT WORK? Schools benefit from having solar panels through a scheme set up by the Government known as the feed-in tariff or FITs. There are two main ways that the tariffs help you make money from generating your own energy: • The generation tariff: You earn a fixed income for every kilowatt hour of electricity you generate whether you use yourself or export it back to the grid • The export tariff: You earn an additional fixed income for every kilowatt hour of electricity you sell back to the grid.

Balcarras School will benefit from these payments for the next 25 years. However, with the Government proposing cuts of 50% to feed-in tariff payments, it is unclear how advantageous solar panels will be in future. Tom Sivil from BCL energy, who installed the panels, says schools benefit in two ways: “Firstly, they get income

10

sector ENERGY MANAGEMENT

through feed-in-tariffs for the energy they generate.

Secondly, they make good use of the free energy generated by the panels because energy is in constant use in schools throughout the day.” So the school can make substantial savings on its energy bills, because it is making its own electricity for free.

At the time of this going to print, the Government had lost an appeal to back-date 50% tariff cuts to December 2011, as it was ruled “unlawful”. This means that any installations fitted since then will still be getting the original (higher) tariff amount for 25 years from when they had their panels installed. However, the contingency proposal could see tariffs cut from 43p per kilowatt to 21p for installations fitted from 3 March instead. So the future for new installations looks a little hazy, and we can’t pretend that this won’t have an effect on the amount of schools opting to have panels fitted. The financial benefits did influence Balcarras’s decision to get involved, reveals Arrif: “One of the key areas the pupils involved in the decision were interested in was that the panels should be a sound financial investment,” he says. “We should make a return of around £6,000 to £11,000 per year, which means we should payback the panels in 10 years,” giving the school 15 years of profit from the installation.

The future for new installations looks a little hazy, and we can’t pretend that this won’t have an effect on the amount of schools opting to have panels fitted

introducing sustainability to their curriculum. The Year 7 geography students have incorporated the project into their research by assessing how it is contributing to the building’s sustainability. The school has a screen displaying how much energy the solar panels are producing in real time. This makes visitors and parents who come to the school more aware of the project, does a lot for the school’s eco status and promotes student involvement, something which Balcarrus is very keen on: “The school has an ‘eco-school’ group,” says Arrif. “These were the pupils who did some of the first investigations into getting panels.”

IS IT STILL WORTH IT?

IT’S A BREEZE

If you are considering installing solar panels in your school, but are unsure the up-front costs will be worth it, do some research and see what free options are on offer, says Arrif: “Compare the difference between buying your own panels and see what deals you can get from the providers offering to install free panels. These deals are getting ever more beneficial.”

We also mustn’t forget this isn’t just about FITs: Boosting your green credentials can have a great impact on admissions as more and more parents become aware of the importance of educating their children about sustainable energy.

Balcarrus School took advantage of this by

Solar panels aren’t the only renewable energy source on offer to schools. A wind turbine, if you are in the right area of the country, could offer similar benefits. The drastic tariff changes being imposed on solar panels are due to the huge surge in uptake in recent years as installation prices have dropped. Because there are fewer wind turbine installations in the UK, they are unlikely to take as big a hit as solar panels could. The process of having a wind turbine installed at your school is a little more complicated as planning permission is needed, but the returns can be better than solar panels in some areas due to the UK’s climate, says Kevin Parslow from Evance wind turbines: “The

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process is a little more involved than [solar] PV because you have to get planning permission. It takes about five to six months including the planning, which is probably the longest part of the whole thing… You’ve got to be in a windy area of the country of course,” he says. “But if you are, they are actually better in terms of the return they can get and the money they can get on the feed in tariff than solar.” The costs involved in wind turbines are a little steeper for the initial lay out: about £28,000 (whereas solar panels can cost anything from about £5,000 to £30,000). But, as with solar panels, there are options to have free installations that can then be paid off using the FITs scheme.

Sivil believes that in order for there to be a future for renewable energy on a domestic level, the FITs cuts are a necessary evil: “They will lead to more stability in the industry – the old rate was unsustainably high and was never going to last for long.” Parslow thinks that perhaps the Government could be doing a bit more to encourage people to invest in renewable energy: “From the small wind perspective, at the moment we are just starting at the beginning of the curve of having people adopt small wind, and to do any major cuts at this stage would affect people’s uptake of it… It’s something we should be encouraging, and we should be seeing rates not being attacked.”

Reduce energy bills by harnessing wind power New finance package for Evance R9000 wind turbine Energy is the second biggest expenditure for schools, so with costs rising by around 20%, pressure on budgets is increasing. Many are eager to install renewable energy to reduce energy bills and operate more sustainably but are sometimes put off by the initial cost outlay. In response, Evance and Moor Leasing have launched a new finance package to help schools install a R9000 wind turbine.

The Evance R9000 will generate over 13,000kWh in a windy site averaging 6 metres per second annually. This is equivalent to savings of up to ÂŁ1,700, depending on electricity consumption and assuming a rate of 13p per kWh. Evance turbines are already supporting over 50 schools across the UK.

This finance package, dependent on site location and wind speed, offers free green energy for 20 years. After an initial investment no further outlay is required as the finance company will register for the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) income and once this has covered the full investment the FiT income will be shared.

For more information: www.evancewind.com

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sector EXAM TECHNIQUES

DIARY

A choke hold CORYDON LOWDE IS THE DEPUTY HEADMASTER OF BOX HILL SCHOOL IN SURREY, AN INDEPENDENT CO-EDUCATIONAL SECONDARY BOARDING AND DAY SCHOOL OFFERING THE IB DIPLOMA. HE DISCUSSES WHY SOME STUDENTS CHOKE AT EXAMS

O

ne of my most awful life moments occurred relatively recently. Taking up the piano as an adult learner, I spent about a year practicing before my teacher felt that I was ready for a test – grade 3. Needless to say, following the principle of practice makes perfect, I spent ages at the keyboard working at my pieces. In fact, I practiced so much that the pieces transferred from the cerebral cortex (conscious thought) to the cerebellum (fast motor activation) in my brain. In other words, I could play my pieces as long as I didn’t think about them. I fear you have already guessed the outcome. As I sat down to play for the examiner, I was struck with a terrible attack of ‘choking’. My fingers took on the quality of lead, and the more I concentrated on the music, the less well I performed. It was like a train wreck in slow motion.

Since that time, I have thought about what makes us freeze. I don’t do so when speaking in public, teaching, or when I used to do the martial arts. Some people do. But I did always choke whenever anyone watched me play tennis. Taking a basketball free-throw under pressure would probably be the same.

Recent research published in the Scientific American Mind has led to some interesting findings. It seems that people who are not particularly good at something do benefit from taking things slowly and focusing on the specifics. Such would be the case if I were to try out a flip on a skateboard, for example.

However, the more one has practiced, the less helpful it is to engage in conscious thought about technique. This is because the cerebellum cannot, apparently, be accessed consciously, but it is where the brain stores functions that have passed, through repetition, into instinctive actions.

The problem of ‘choking’ arises when a pressure situation – an audience, a big point, or an exam – leads the practitioner to recall learned and practiced data in an attempt to do better. Rather like a ‘memory low’ indicator from a computer, the brain cannot function at high speed while trying to both recall instinct and process it consciously. Experiments show that pro golfers who think about ‘head, body, balance’ do worse than those who are asked to say ‘red, blue, green’ before a putt. The same is true of time-constrained academic exams: providing that the revision is done properly, panic-induced memory recall lowers student achievement by slowing down their processing skills.

The really interesting part to all this is the solution. One would expect that the focus should be on achieving a zen-like meditative balance and harmony in practice that enables one to remain calm in times of pressure. However, studies indicate that this is not the case. The best way to decrease the probability of choking is to increase the amount of stress and pressure incurred during practice. Getting people to watch you, placing a bet on the outcome of a pressure shot, or being offered a reward for revision achieved in a certain time limit are examples. These have all been shown to improve performance in stress conditions.

However, there is one extra piece of useful information. Researchers found that an element of focus is still needed. One cannot ‘daydream’ one’s way through an important piece, test, or match. Instead, a practiced individual should focus on holistic single word clues – like ‘confidence’ or ‘smooth’, to achieve the balance between conscious thought and instinct.

It is something that we can all help students do as they prepare for exams in the summer. Who knows – maybe I can use this theory next time my son is watching me take that free throw in the garden hoop?

People who are not good at something benefit from taking things slowly – such would be the case if I tried a skateboard flip march 2012

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sector XXX

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/ june 2011

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14

schools in focus

PRIMARY UPDATE

FLITWICK AYLESBURY

TOTTENHAM

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

NURSERY NEWS

Watchdog recommends more early years regulation The National Audit Office has said the Department for Education must do more to regulate the provision of free early years education for three and four-year-olds.

The report published last month stated that the DfE had made progress in delivering free entitlement to early education since 2008/9.

However, more should be done to regulate variations in the quality and take-up of the provision nationwide, as well as the impact that early years education has in later years if it is to obtain value for money from the scheme.

In 2010, the coalition announced that all three and four-year-olds would be entitled to 15 hours of childcare a week, at a cost of £1.9bn in 2011/12.

The report also found that the national take up rate for three and four-year-olds in early education had been sustained at 95% since 2008 despite an eight per cent increase in the number of eligible children in that time.

Head of the NAO, Amyas Morse commented on the report’s findings: “The Department for Education needs to do more to put itself in the position to assess whether the forecast long-term benefits of free education for three- and four-year olds are being achieved. It also needs to understand how the arrangements for funding providers of that early education drive its availability, take-up and quality.

“Both of these are necessary if it is to get the best return for children from the £1.9bn spent each year,” he added.

Shortage of primary places threatens to reach crisis point

By 2020, the number of required primary school places is projected to be 20% higher than in 2011, reaching levels last seen in the early 1970s.

Meanwhile, pupil numbers in state primary schools are expected to increase by 10% by 2015.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has received criticism for increasing funding for secondary schools (free schools in particular) despite the fact that the need for primary school places is threatening to reach crisis point.

Labour MP Stephen Twigg accused him of focusing too much on his free school agenda instead of targeting areas that are in desperate need of funding.

Twigg said: “The Government have found £1.2bn for

Children are starting school before toilet training Sixty-two per cent of primary school staff in the UK have noticed an increase in the number of children wetting or soiling themselves during the school day over the past five years, a survey has revealed.

Many of the 848 schools surveyed last year by Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence (ERIC) felt the main reason for the increase was due to parents not toilet training their children before they start school.

The ATL also believes schools may have felt obliged to accept students who are yet to be

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new places, half of which is being spent on new free schools. Although 90% of the extra places that are needed by 2015 are in primary schools, the majority of the new free schools announced late last year are secondary schools. Instead of his dogmatic and ideological preference for his pet project, would it not make more sense to allocate the whole of that £1.2bn to meet the serious shortfall in primary school places?”

London is suffering the most, according to reports, with the number of children needing a primary school place predicted to increase from 19,000 to 27,000 in the next three years, with one school even utilising space from an old Woolworth’s store in East London.

toilet-trained since the 2011 SEN disability Act and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (now the Equalities Act 2010).

Director of ERIC, Jenny Perez, commented on the findings: “Schools should be clear about their expectation that children should be using the toilet independently when they start school. They can support parents to achieve this by providing resources and information at the time the child’s school place is confirmed. Parents needing guidance on toilet training can contact us... Health visitors and school nurses also have a role to play.”

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schools in focus PRIMARY NEWS

School switches off its CO2 KINGSMOOR LOWER SCHOOL Flitwick

Downhills head steps down after inspection DOWNHILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL Tottenham

Headteacher John Meaney

A Bedfordshire lower school has gone green – installing solar panels over its roof to generate its own electricity. It is the first school in Central Bedfordshire to opt for this kind of green energy.

The high-performance panels at Kingsmoor Lower School at Flitwick promise to generate an impressive £178,000 in savings and income over 25 years.

It will save 172 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the carbon dioxide absorbed by more than 17,000 trees in one year.

Georgina Hurndall, the chair of governors, said: “This legacy will assist the school and the community long after the current governing body has moved on.”

The panels, installed by a local firm, are self-supporting and do not damage the existing roof.

The solar panels will also be used in the school curriculum. John Meaney, the headteacher, explained: “Pupils must be prepared for the future and given the knowledge to make decisions about renewable energy, presently reflected in our eco curriculum and the establishment of an eco team.”

The eco team (from left): Paul Gibbard, vice-chair and eco governor; Georgina Hurndall, chair; Caren Topley, school council coordinator; Sharon Longmuir, eco teacher and the student eco team

PICTURE STORY Pupils and teachers from schools in Buckinghamshire take part in SignHealth’s key sign2sing event at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury. More than 130,000 schoolchildren from the UK and overseas are believed to have broken the Guinness World Record for the most people performing sign language at the event last month.

Leslie Church, the headteacher of Downhills Primary School in Tottenham, which found itself in the middle of a row concerning academy conversion, has quit, following a failed Ofsted inspection. Governors of Downhills have said that changes to administration “should not be imposed” on the school by secretary of state for education, Michael Gove.

The school has previously accused Gove of trying to illegally force the school to convert to academy status. Governors said that they were disappointed with the outcome of the Ofsted inspection, but added that they wish to “engage in a dialogue over any proposed changes to the administration of the school”.

The resignation of Church was reportedly “reluctantly” accepted by the governors who issued a statement concerning the news. “Leslie is tremendously popular with parents, staff and children and retains the full support of the governing body. We wish him every success for the future,” they said. Commenting on the issue of the Downhills conversion, governors added: “It remains our position that any restructuring of the school should not be imposed from above unless and until there has been a full consultation with parents, staff and the local community.”

A spokeswoman for DfE said: “We have been clear that we consider academy status to be the best way to improve schools that are consistently underperforming. Academies have already turned around hundreds of struggling secondary schools across the country and are improving their results at twice the national average rate. We can’t just stand by and do nothing when schools are sub-standard year after year.”

STATS & FACTS

Milk improves brain function A study conducted by the University of Maine in America found those who regularly drink milk and consume dairy-based products do better in key brain function tests

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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schools in focus NEWS ANALYSIS

y r a m i r P test o r p Primary schools all over the country are going on strike after being forced to become academies. CARRIE SERVICE finds out about the government initiative that is pressuring 200 underperforming primary schools to become academies and why some primaries are so adamantly against it march 2012

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schools in focus NEWS ANALYSIS

A

cademy status bears the promise of many things: greater autonomy, control of the purse strings, the opportunity to start afresh and break away from an underperforming local authority. But how appealing are these changes to primary schools? Recent press coverage would suggest not very. Downhills Primary School in Haringey and Montgomery School in Birmingham are two examples of primary schools currently hitting the headlines over the forced academy debate in recent months. They both chose to strike over threats that they may be forced to convert in a bid to improve their performance after poor inspection results.

Becoming a sponsored academy could mean the school being run by a chain with no local knowledge, links or accountability

DAVID & GOLIATH

about. Bloggers use language such as being part of the “local authority family” and the “local community”. Many feel removing a primary school from local authority control is “forced privatisation” and some accuse Education Secretary Michael Gove of using it as a platform to impose his Etonian ideals.

The Anti Academies Alliance states in its coverage of the Montgomery school protest that “becoming a sponsored academy could mean the school being run by a chain with no local knowledge, links or accountability”, and it is this danger of becoming too independent of the community that many fear will be the downfall of a school, rather than a catalyst for improvement.

Others see the changes having little effect on a school’s progress and fail to see the relevance of who owns the building and how this might translate to better grades. Leslie Church, the now ex-headteacher of Downhills, told the Telegraph: “Nobody has been able to tell me how, by changing landlords, we are going to be able to help a child read more quickly.”

One of the favourite accusations thrown at Gove is that his “fear-mongering” of struggling schools is a means of simply speeding up his dream of all schools becoming academies. David Lammy, Downhills’s local MP, wrote in a letter to the Guardian: “Department for Education officials are instilling fear in schools and putting them under intense pressure to convert voluntarily, rather than face the stigma of being forced to become academies run by external sponsors as so-called failing schools.

This undemocratic programme is no more than political dogma and has nothing to do with localism or communities.”

However, all being said, as observed by James Forsyth in the Spectator: “The power of Gove’s argument is that it is hard to be satisfied with a school where, in its best results in years, 39% of pupils failed to reach Level 4 in English and maths.” Although becoming an academy may not be economically viable for some primaries, there is the option of building a consortium and taking advantage of larger secondary academies in the local area (see our article on page 32). Larger secondaries may be able to offer primary schools better services than the local authorities, while still maintaining the sense of community that primaries hold so dear.

In Montgomery’s case, plans to turn the school into an academy were backed by the governing body, but opposed by the teachers, parents and the local authority, whereas Downhills had governors, teachers and parents alike all protesting against forced conversion. Perhaps this is why Downhills has become somewhat of a symbol of the little guy “fighting back against the Govian Goliath,” as Neil Tweedie of the Telegraph put it. But why are primaries in particular so adamantly opposed to it? Well, it all comes down to size and power. For many larger secondary schools, having greater independence and being able to make key decisions on procurement of services is an opportunity to have full control over their school and its progress. For the majority of primary schools however, there is a sense of being left with an enormous weight of responsibility on their shoulders, for which they feel completely unprepared and unequipped.

While secondary schools have size on their side, for an institution as small as a primary, being in charge of every detail of the school’s maintenance may seem impossible.

WHO WILL BE CONVERTED? To be “eligible for intervention”, as the DfE puts it, a school will have been issued with a warning notice due to low standards of performance and a severe breakdown in management, or will have been categorised as “requires significant improvement” or “requires special measures”

by Ofsted. The DfE says the reasoning behind imposing academy status on these underachieving primary schools is that it will “give the school the impetus it needs to raise standards and help pupils meet the national standards for literacy and numeracy”. The weakest 200 primary schools in the country will be converted to academies in 2012/2013 and a further 500 struggling primary schools may also be targeted.

FORCED PRIVITISATION Reading through discussion topics on some of the education forums, one of the recurring issues behind primary schools’ reluctance to convert is the cutting of ties between schools and the rest of the local area.

Separating a school from the local authority is seen as taking away the essence of what being a state school is all

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schools in focus SECONDARY NEWS

SECONDARY UPDATE

DAGENHAM

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

KENT

More than 100 secondary schools are not up to standard

One hundred and seven schools across England are failing to meet minimum standards, according to the Department for Education, and their school leaders could be replaced and their conduct investigated as a result.

According to statistics, pupils from deprived backgrounds were shown to do less well, something that Schools Minister Nick Gibb called “a shocking waste of talent”.

“Children only have one chance at education,” commented the minister. “These tables show which schools are letting children down. We will not hesitate to tackle underperformance in any school, including academies.”

He continued: “Heads should be striving to make improvements year on year, and we will not let schools coast with mediocre performance.

“But there are great examples of schools achieving the best for their disadvantaged pupils.

If they can get it right, then so can all schools,” he added.

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The figures showed that overall, 58.2% of pupils in England’s state schools achieved five good GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) including English and maths, with only 33.9% of children from deprived backgrounds achieving the equivalent qualifications.

The league tables also revealed that in some schools there were no teenage pupils taking traditional subjects such as history, geography or modern languages.

General secretary of the NUT, Christine Blower, stated that inequalities that children have when they start school are likely to continue through their education.

Commenting on the findings, she said: “Instead of focusing on changing school structures and on the pointless naming and shaming of schools, the Government should be ensuring that all schools have the resources and support they need for all pupils to reach their full potential.”

Teaching union to ballot sixth form college staff over pay deal The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has started balloting members working in sixth form colleges in England to take discontinuous strikes over a zero percentage pay offer for 2011/12.

This follows a vote in favour of balloting by ATL’s executive committee on 28 January.

The refusal of the Sixth Form College Forum to offer teachers and lecturers any pay rise for this academic year follows a pay rise of only 0.75 per cent for 2010/11. Teachers and lecturers working in sixth form colleges are already being paid less than their counterparts in schools, the ATL points out.

It balloted teacher and lecturer members in England last month.

General secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: “Our sixth form members are annoyed and frustrated at the way they are being treated and said they want to be balloted to strike. We all recognise the funding constraints facing sixth form colleges, and know that school teachers are in a two-year pay freeze, but members working in colleges are being paid less than those teaching the same subjects in schools. It is a ridiculous and untenable situation. The refusal

by Sixth Form College Forum to offer any pay increase risks demoralising staff and will lead to problems retaining and recruiting staff. ATL members are realistic, they are not asking for the moon, but they do expect to be treated fairly.”

Any strike action would be co-ordinated with action taken by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).

STATS & FACTS

7%

The percentage of packed lunches that comply with school food standards, according to a recent Lunch Box Amnesty by Innovate Services

schools in focus SECONDARY NEWS

Wilmington Grammar School students begin Caterham Seven build WILMINGTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL Kent

Twenty students at the Wilmington Grammar School in Kent will build a Caterham Seven sports car from scratch in 24 school weeks, having taken delivery of the iconic British vehicle in component form.

The build project, part of Caterham’s ‘Sevens for Schools’ initiative, will take place as an extracurricular activity.

The students, aged 11-19-years, participated in The X-Factor-style auditions, which enabled them to express why they should be chosen to take part in the project. The after school project will be utilised across physics, maths and business studies to enhance classroom learning.

Two former students, who have a younger brother currently studying engineering at Wilmington Grammar School, recommended Caterham’s Sevens for Schools initiative following employment with the car manufacturer at its Dartford factory.

Headteacher Andy Williamson commented: “Throughout the academic year, we’re always looking to encourage our students to experience enriching and creative opportunities. As specialists in engineering, the Sevens for Schools initiative was an opportunity not to be missed. Students can put classroom learning into practice whilst gaining additional life skills along the way, and that’s extremely valuable given today’s competitive job market.”

PICTURE STORY

FE WATCH DEMAND FOR SHARED SERVICES IN COLLEGES Over half of college finance directors said that their top goal over the next 12 months would be cost-cutting and increasing efficiency to cope with budget and funding cuts.

While many believe the finances of the college would present a significant challenge in 2012, there is growing interest in how collaborative strategies and cloud-based technology can contribute to lowering costs and increasing efficiencies, according to the survey by Symmetry of over 270 financial directors at FE colleges across the UK. Thirteen per cent of FE institutions were actively looking at shared services, while 11% were investigating how cloud-based technologies could be used.

The survey revealed that there are still areas where system functionality could help with financial control. While almost two-thirds of colleges felt that they understood what courses were profitable, a fifth did not have the tools or resources internally to measure the true cost of delivery and the return on investment.

When asked if there was any way in which they would like to automate the finance function, the most popular response was to facilitate purchasing with the likes of online payments, automated invoicing, e-purchasing and invoice scanning.

A further seven per cent admitted that staffing and workload issues as a result of redundancies and smaller headcounts would also present additional challenges. In particular, Scottish colleges are faced with proposals for regionalisation which will lead to mergers or more collaborative working between colleges, meaning further staff shortages.

SEND IN YOUR STORIES Ten students from All Saints Catholic School and Technology College in Dagenham made their television debut in a three-part series for Channel 4 with fashion consultant, author and television presenter, Gok Wan. Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth aired on 7 February and tackled teen issues ranging from lack of body confidence, bullying, sexuality, to teen carers.

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

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schools in focus EVENT PREVIEW

22 JUNE 2012

IS IT IN YOUR DIARY?

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schools in focus EVENT PREVIEW

If you do nothing else this summer, make your way to London’s Business Design Centre on 22 June 2012 for EdExec Live, the only independent school business manager conference of its kind WHY GO? There are plenty of events out there for education leaders to choose from – many of them good, a lot of them really great. Having been along to a fair few of them ourselves, what we at Education Executive felt was missing from the conference circuit was an independent event specifically aimed at bursars and school business managers, with focus and drive that would leave delegates feeling like they really learned something – no fluff, no puff and no unnecessary yawn-inducing speakers.

So we took it into our own hands to launch EdExec Live. Taking place for the first time on Friday, 22 June 2012 from 9am to 5pm at London’s Business Design Centre (also the magazine’s headquarters), we hope to present a day-long event that is exactly what it says on the tin: a live version of our magazine – in other words chock full of case studies, valuable information and inspiration for school business managers, specifically.

As has always been our ethos with our print and online offering, being bang up-to-date and responsive to your audience, and what’s current to the sector has always been one of our strengths.

You can’t lead from the front if you’ve planned 12 months ahead! But we can confirm broad topics that will be covered.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? We’ve chosen to make collaboration and focused information central to our day, that’s why the learning will come from sessions split into clinics or seminars and in between there all be a small exhibition space where you can meet and chat to EdExec supplier partners.

CLINICS Clinics will be short, half-hour slots with a 20-minute presentation by a leader in each respective field on trends, potentials and pitfalls in their area, followed by 10 minutes of pragmatic Q&As.

Clinic topics to include: 1. Legal –including becoming an academy; property; TUPE; e-safety; asbestos; becoming a trading company/charity

2. HR and training – including SBM training; up-skilling staff; accountancy qualifications; staff restructuring; pensions; and what to do in a strike 3. ICT – including a guide to leasing; BYOD; moving to the cloud; mobile technology; going wireless; and free web resources 4. Accountancy and funding – including accountancy and academies; school banking; the changing funding formula; going cashless; grants; and making the most of your MIS

SEMINARS Seminars will be a little longer and much more of a collaboration and open discussion between presenters and the audience.

Topics to include: • Strength in numbers – the pros and cons of joining a federation or a group of schools • Learning from the independents • Running a 21st century school/ upgrading your classrooms • Finding cash in unexpected places • Green and sustainability • Healthy eating in schools • SEN and statementing • School business management – a changing career • Becoming an SBM consultant • Pay scales

A GOOD PRICE EdExec Live comes at an affordable price. Where many education conferences cost hundreds of pounds, we’ve kept EdExec Live at the very affordable £86.99. We do discounts for groups – so get in touch on editor@edexec.co.uk if more than one of you is going.

AND A GOOD EXCUSE

CLINIC TOPICS n LEGAL • Becoming independent – academies and free schools • Property • TUPE. n HR and training • Upskilling yourself • Upskilling your staff • Accountancy qualifications – are they worth it? n ICT • Moving to the cloud • Capital funding and leasing • Upgrades – when to do it?

• Trends and innovations. n ACCOUNTANCY AND FUNDING • How to raise money • Going for grants • The changing funding formula • School banking.

SEMINAR TOPICS n Strength in numbers – the pros and cons of joining a federation or group of schools n Changes to the funding formula – with autonomy comes accountability n Learning from the independents – what the state sector can learn from fee-paying private schools and universities (from fundraising to alumni relations) n Running a 21st century school – what every modern school should have and know.

The conference programme is subject to change. Visit edexeclive.co.uk for updates.

We’ve decided to hold EdExec Live as a day event on a Friday, so those of you coming from out of town can take advantage of a trip to London to plan a weekend of it.

WHERE DO I BOOK? Places are limited, so visit edexeclive.co.uk and sign up today!

CONTACT US TODAY TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

OUR EVENT PARTNERS

Julia Dennison, editor Education Executive magazine 020 7288 6833 editor@edexec.co.uk www.edexeclive.co.uk

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schools in focus OLYMPICS

Making the most of London 2012 Last month, London schools found out if they had won an allocation of the 125,000 free Olympic and Paralympic Games tickets. Interest in London was predictably high, with 2,149 schools in the capital applying. But schools in London are just the tip of the iceberg, GEORGE CAREY takes a look at how schools around the country have been benefitting from London 2012

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ith the Olympics only a matter of months away, excitement for the event is steadily building, and nowhere more so than in our schools. London 2012 has been keen to incentivise schools involvement in the games, as have third-party organisations, so what have schools been doing to get involved?

The official London 2012 initiative is ‘Get Set’ which encourages schools to sign up and become part of the Olympics education network. The network is designed to bring schools together to find ways of celebrating the games and entitles schools to exclusive offers and opportunities, such as meeting Olympians and entry into free prize draws. Being a member of the network also allows schools to use the Olympic 2012 education logo on any of their branding.

While there are benefits to being a part of the network, the really exciting opportunities have come through encouraging non-member schools to sign up and organising inter-school events. Particularly active schools have had the chance to apply for grants of up to £8,800.

One such school is Dyke House Sports and Technology College, in Hartlepool, which organised ‘Ready, Steady, Walk!’, a chance for students to help design a pack of resources for the Sports Development Council aimed at the area’s primary schools. Children from local cluster schools also had the chance to visit Dyke House for a sports taster day. The school is one of more than 50 that have been given grants aimed at building links between schools in local areas.

With the Olympic Games comes the inevitable horde of sponsors and there are certainly benefits to be had for schools. In January, Sainsbury’s pledged a £10m package to the new School Games Competition over a four year period, which will offer schools funding and sports kit to compete in national athletics competitions.

If it’s sporting inspiration that you are looking for, then Sky’s ‘Living for Sport’ scheme could be the right choice for your school. The broadcaster will send an Olympian to your school to take a sports lesson with classes and it runs monthly competitions, with prizes such as 3D televisions and Sky Sports subscriptions.

If your school is seeking more academic benefits, EDF’s Team Green Britain could be of interest. The energy suppliers of London 2012 are offering schools advice on energy monitoring and cost cutting while offering students lessons on the subject and interactive web games.

There are certainly plenty of ways for schools to get involved and many curricular and monetary benefits to be had. The key is to get involved.

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schools in focus INDEPENDENT NEWS

BLACKBURN

INDEPENDENT UPDATE All that’s going on in the world of independent schools

Former pupil’s £2.5m helps kick-start new King Edwards School

Planning permission has been granted for a science block extension at King Edward’s School, Birmingham, kicking off the second phase of a £25m building improvement programme.

Partly funded by a £2.5m donation from an anonymous former pupil, the new phase at the top independent boys’ school will include state-of-theart teaching facilities for science and modern languages, as well as a new sixth form centre. The generous donation will enable a new modern languages department and laboratories and reflects the school’s commitment to science and languages.

Due to start this summer, the second phase, which follows the development of the Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Performing Arts Centre, will involve the removal of the existing physics laboratory block and the creation of an L-shaped teaching space that will be wrapped around the southern side of the courtyard. This will replace single storey classrooms with facilities over two storeys to maximise the building’s footprint.

Included in the project is the creation of a new sixth form centre, which will be built over an existing building on one side of the courtyard. Plans also include improving the connection between the science department and the main school building to enhance circulation and connectivity to the rest of the school.

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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EVERTON LEEDS BIRMINGHAM LONDON

BRIGHTON

Free school applications open for September 2013 Groups wanting to open mainstream, special and alternative provision free schools in September 2013 can now submit their applications to the Department for Education.

They will follow in the footsteps of the first 24 free schools and the further 72 free schools in the pipeline to open in September and beyond (see box out for examples).

Seventeen university technical colleges and 12 studio schools are also aiming to open from this year onwards.

The studio schools have been approved with the backing of employers like Glaxo, Sony, the BBC and Fulham FC. They join six studio schools that are already open.

Studio schools offer academic and vocational qualifications, but teach them in a practical and project-based way. Study is combined with paid work placements with local and national employers that are involved in the school.

The DfE believes learning in this way encourages students to develop skills like punctuality, good communication, reliability and team working, while gaining a strong grounding in English, maths and science.

All groups wishing to set up new, state-funded schools are required to submit a high level of detail about their plans from the very outset, and to meet rigorous criteria. Applications can be found at education.gov.uk.

FREE SCHOOLS IN THE PIPELINE n The Bilingual Primary School for Brighton and Hove plans to teach in English for 50% of the time and Spanish the rest n The London Academy of Excellence, a new sixth form free school, is being set up with other independent schools by the private Brighton College. It is aimed at pupils from disadvantaged areas n Everton in the Community Free School, Liverpool is being set up by Everton Football Club to provide an education for vulnerable young people who can’t attend mainstream schools for a number of reasons n Lighthouse School, Leeds is being set up by a group of parents to provide children with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder with a well-rounded education n Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School, Blackburn. The girls’ school run by the proposers has the best track record in the country in ensuring that pupils with low prior achievement at primary school achieve five or more good grades at GCSE.

Proposed changes to independent school inspections Education watchdog Ofsted has launched a consultation for the inspection of all ‘non-association’ independent schools in England.

The proposed changes, set to begin in September, are intended to raise expectations for improvement and performance in independent schools for the benefit of pupils and their parents.

The inspections are to determine children’s attainment within the context of their age and ability and are to be based on observations of the pupils work.

Ofsted’s director of education and care, Jean Humphrys, commented: “The quality of teaching is the key driver of school improvement. One of the main findings from Ofsted inspection in this sector is that the quality of teaching in non-association independent schools tends to be competent but seldom inspiring. It is vital that our inspection is incisive and rigorous, and that judgments are fair, clear and helpful to a school’s further development.

With these new arrangements we will focus more sharply on what makes teaching truly effective.”

schools in focus LEGAL

When a school converts to academy, it is obliged to consider TUPE. Education lawyer Naseem Nabi explains why

TUPE transfers: the obligation to inform and consult

S

chools considering converting to academies must have regard for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), in particular care must be taken where changes to terms and conditions are proposed. Case law suggests that even where changes are purely administrative and have not put employees at a discernable disadvantage, they could amount to measures requiring consultation. It is key, therefore, for heads and school business managers leading their schools through the conversion process to be aware of these issues and to seek legal advice as early on in the conversion process as possible as a failure to consult could result in a tribunal awarding compensation of up to 13 weeks’ pay to each affected employee.

Schools thinking about converting to an academy will be all too familiar with the Department for Education’s reference to freedoms associated with conversion to help innovate and raise standards, namely: n freedom from local authority control n the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff n freedoms around the delivery of the curriculum n the ability to change the lengths of terms and school days.

While schools contemplating conversion may have the ability to determine their own pay and conditions and length of the school day, any change must be achieved within the confines of TUPE, which aims to safeguard workers’ rights and gives employees protection against transfer-related dismissals.

Where employees are transferred from one employer to another under TUPE, both the transferor (the current employer) and the transferee (the academy trust) have duties to inform, and potentially consult, appropriate representatives (this will more often than not be the trade unions) in relation to any of their employees who may be affected by the transfer, or by measures taken in connection with the transfer.

It is important to appreciate that the obligation to go beyond giving information and to engage in consultation only arises if the employer, whether they be the current school or the academy trust, intends to “take measures” in connection with those individuals employed pre-transfer.

In some cases, the transfer will not have any effect on existing employees of the school and, in such circumstances, the duty to inform rests only on the academy trust. While this might be the case, commonly the employing governing body of one becomes the governing body of the other; with whom the duty to inform rests therefore, becomes academic.

If the academy trust proposes to change the length of the school day or determine its own pay and conditions post transfer, this will affect the existing workforce, the obligation to inform and consult will therefore be triggered pre-transfer. In such circumstances, the existing school has a duty to inform the representatives of its transferring employees about the academy trust’s proposals.

Such a change is quite an obvious envisaged measure. Those less obvious, however, are the ones that can cause schools to fall foul of TUPE, for example contractual benefits such as childcare vouchers or cycle to work schemes. Where these cease on conversion, or for administrative purposes, a new provider is introduced, this will constitute a measure for the purposes of TUPE triggering the requirement to inform and consult representatives prior to conversion.

These less apparent measures often open the door for trade unions to commence an employment tribunal claim for failure to inform and consult. The claim could be against both the academy trust and the predecessor employer which, depending on the category of school, might be the local authority. This could lead to considerable costs being incurred, including, among others, in defending the claim and an award of compensation for each affected employee, costs that could be avoided with careful due diligence and prompt legal advice.

For further information, contact Naseem Nabi, an associate and employment lawyer at Veale Wasbrough Vizards on 0117 314 5630 or nnabi@vwv.co.uk

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Food for thought Chestnuts Primary School has a unique approach to food – it stands in staunch support of quality standards, rears its own chickens and sells the eggs to parents, alongside bags of vegetables.

JULIA DENNISON interviews headteacher CAL SHAW about why healthy eating really matters in schools

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e all know healthy food is good for you. A well-balanced diet has a proven effect on children’s brain power and is even known to make them smarter. Many people blame the kids for obstructing the way to healthier eating, with their supposed preference of sugary treats and fast food, but this can be a mythical excuse. Kids, like their older parents, can enjoy a wide range of healthy food and it is up to the adults in their life to ensure they do so.

Choices around what kids eat for lunch at school can have a significant impact on their future eating habits, as well as their life in general, as the better they eat, the better they tend to perform in schools. When it comes to choosing what to eat, the School Food Trust is adamant that school dinners are one step in the right direction. According to its study in 2010, healthier food and drink were chosen and eaten more frequently by pupils taking a hot school lunch than those eating packed lunches, which often include items restricted or prohibited by healthy eating standards, like sugary drinks, meat with high fat content and sweets. Thus, pupils who bring packed lunches typically have higher intakes of sugar, fat saturated fat and salt than those taking a school lunch.

But not all school lunches are equal, as Cal Shaw, headteacher of Chestnuts Primary School in Haringey, North London, found when she first started working at the school in September 2004. At that time, the Chestnuts straddled two sites and was underperforming, undersubscribed and underwhelming in many ways, including its lunches. She felt Haringey Council was providing meals that were substandard and expensive. The school paid Haringey, which would employ the staff, source the raw ingredients and develop the menus, much of which

featured frozen or pre-packaged food. Shaw put a request in for fresher ingredients, but made little headway, which she puts down to Haringey being tied into supplier contracts. “As willing as our cook was to try and do stuff, if the raw ingredients are not of the right quality, you’re not going to get the right ingredients going out.” The result was unpalatable food. “If I wouldn’t eat it,” Shaw asks, “why would I feed it to my kids?” Furthermore, this bad food did nothing to help the pupils’ existing behavioural problems. “Lunchtimes here were horrendous,” she remembers. “You felt like you were just surviving the hour.” She blames this on the fact that kids would wolf down less-than-healthy

Pregnant mothers have been known to contact the school, keen to put their unborn children on the waiting list

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CASE STUDY

FACT BOX SCHOOL Chestnuts Primary School TYPE 4-11 Mixed PUPILS 412

food, or not eat it at all because they didn’t like it – “I know myself, if I’m hungry, I’m cranky. Just think: You’ve got 200 cranky kids on a playground.”

She decided very quickly to do something no other school in the local authority had done: take catering into her own hands. By September 2006 Chestnuts started negotiations with Haringey and gave them one term before taking over in January 2007 transfering all the catering staff over to the school. Some doubted the school would be able to pull it off, but as testament to their success, six other schools in the area have since followed suit.

FOOD MATTERS

The front of school and a Jamie Oliver look-a-like on the cafeteria mural

Nearly all (97%) of the food Chestnuts now serves is freshly prepared everyday and 40% of it is organic. Since this changeover, the pupils spend the whole hour in the dinner hall and enjoy getting involved with choosing what goes on the menu. Control of the menu gives the school a great deal of flexibility, so if pupils don’t like something, they never have to serve it again. Also, because Shaw and her team are sourcing smaller quantities of food than the local authority, Chestnuts is also able to use nearby suppliers, such as a local fishmonger, for its food.

This ability to source local food, alongside its passion for organic and quality ingredients, helped win Chestnuts a Food for Life Partnership Gold award. To qualify, at least 75% of a school’s food must be freshly prepared, 50% of it local (challenging for an inner-city school) and 30% organic, while more than 70% of pupils must choose to eat said school meals. Meeting and surpassing these tough standards means that Chestnuts Primary School is the only school in London to have achieved gold.

Other initiatives at the school include a veg bag scheme, whereby parents buy vegetables to be delivered to the school, pick them up when they pick up their child and the school gets a small kickback. Chestnuts also rears chickens and sells their eggs to parents, as well as some

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CASE STUDY

vegetables and herbs from its allotments. Meanwhile, the kids pitch in to run a snack shop where fellow pupils can spend their pocket money on healthier nibbles, while the school invites parents in for cooking classes on a Saturday.

Cooking is also built into lessons across the curriculum.

In a bid for more budget under the pupil premium, Chestnuts has also boosted the number of children on free school meals. This is down in part to the better food, but also to taking over the administration of parents applying in-house from the council. The increase has boosted the school’s budget by tens of thousands of pounds.

Furthermore, paying parents are able to opt in and out of school meals in a week, depending on their preferences, and the school has just launched an online payment system for the meals. But with the catering in-house, getting parents to pay up has not been a problem: “If you make your meals attractive to parents, they will want to buy them,” insists Shaw.

CHALLENGES OF GOING ALONE It’s not always easy sourcing and serving your own food, and it has been a learning curve for Shaw. One of the requirements of serving your own food is knowing where your food comes from, in case of something like an E. Coli outbreak in which provenance would be scrutinised.

Chestnuts was not alone in its transformation, employing the services of an independent catering consultancy firm to help source its food. As part of its service, the caterers ensure the food is sourced sustainably and ethically, as well as help the school to meet standards around food temperatures and environmental health. This allows Shaw and her leadership team to get on with what they do best – teaching children.

and you cook it yourself, it’s actually much cheaper. School kitchens are the same principle – if you’re cooking packets of Turkey Twizzlers, sausages or wedges, it’s more expensive.” Furthermore, the school balances cheap meal days (tomato sauce on pasta, for example), with more expensive days, when salmon might be served.

The conclusion is that when it comes to food, where there is a will, there is a way. Chestnuts now provides healthy (yet cheaper) food to its pupils against all odds, and the pupils love it. As I sit with a group of children to enjoy roast chicken on a Friday, they are confidently tucking into red cabbage – an item at which they might have once turned up their nose. “With kids, it’s about getting them to try stuff,” says Shaw, who has become very skilled at doing this very thing, with 86% of pupils eating school dinners.

“Two years ago, no child at this school ate parsnip, now it is the most popular vegetable.” She feels serving lunch as the headteacher helps, as do taster portions to help introduce new food and ensuring the food looks good. For example, when pupils were picking vegetables off their pizza, the catering staff overcame this barrier by blending them into the tomato base.

The one knock-on effect of improving the school is a change in pupil demographics. The number of children from more affluent backgrounds has increased as a result of its popularity. This is unavoidable, but it highlights how much influence parents really have on their child’s welfare, no matter how much a school can try and how underprivileged kids may risk losing out to the children of parents who actively seek out a school with better food.

What is clear, is the more schools that embrace healthy eating like Chestnuts does, the more children across the country will have a chance of a healthier future.

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING When you visit Chestnuts Primary School, the first thing you see next to the main entrance is a sandwich board boasting lunchtime menu items worthy of a bistro. From salmon goujons to Turkish lamb stew, the menu reflects the diverse cultural backgrounds of the school’s pupils.

The good food has had a very positive impact on attainment and behaviour in the school, and as a result, Chestnuts is now one of the most sought-after primary schools in the area – even pregnant mothers have been known to contact the school, keen to put their unborn children on the waiting list, while local residents get speculative knocks on their doors from parents looking to move to the area. All this is very much thanks to the food.

The new approach to food has also brought the staff closer together, as Shaw meets with her catering manager every two weeks – just like any other senior member of staff at the school – and regularly pitches in to help serve lunch.

The staff are happier for it. “If you think you’re doing a good job and delivering a good service, there’s a feel-good feeling for that,” says Shaw. This means staff are prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty and will even work late to cook food for things like parent evenings.

The price of meals has gone down too. Chestnuts was paying Haringey £2.17 a meal, which Shaw saw as going towards overheads at the local authority as well as the food, whereas now, she can spend more on raw ingredients because there isn’t that added layer of management. She now claims to serve the cheapest lunch in Haringey, charging paying parents an affordable £1.90 per meal. This is thanks in part to cooking their meals from scratch. “You know yourself at home, if you went out every night and bought packaged, processed food, it’s actually incredibly expensive,” she comments, “but if you went down to the greengrocer’s and you buy veg and meat

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Chestnut’s famous chickens

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AUTONOMY

GOING IT ALONE

Schools are now being given the option of having free reign over the services they procure, giving them the opportunity to shop around and control their own budget. But how many academies are choosing to take advantage of this freedom, and is it all it’s promised to be? CARRIE SERVICE asks what the future looks like for schools and the local authority

D

uring my research, I spoke to Ray Barker from BESA, the trade association for suppliers in the education industry. He had an interesting viewpoint on how academies might react to their newfound freedom. He suggested that academies might start finding themselves in a grass-isn’t-always-greener type scenario. Barker believes that those who have been attracted to the idea of autonomy and the extra funding it brings could come to realise that they have a real a challenge on their hands: “Schools may think that they are better off for opting out of the local authority, but…if they have to buy in all those services, then actually, they may not be.” In other words, although there will be extra money floating around, there will also be a lot of extra

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responsibility to go with it. How well a school copes with this transfer of responsibility can depend on the extent to which they currently rely on the local authorities.

OUT OF SERVICE We compiled a short survey of academies to identify the sorts of services they were using the local education authority for. The majority of the academies that responded did still use the local authority (82%). The areas used the most were HR, payroll, finance, admissions, IT, insurance and (understandably) asbestos management. However, a number of our respondents said that although they wanted to use the LA’s services, this was easier said than done, as services were often poor quality or difficult to get hold of.

“The local authority are now charging for every service, which is understandable as many secondary schools have

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AUTONOMY

become academies and the LA has to find income to support the primary sector,” said one respondent.

“Unfortunately, in our experience…the LA are also cutting staff in departments and the service levels are dropping dramatically, so we need to source other solutions.” Another surveyed school said that they were actually losing services that they were already using the local authorities for: “The LA are struggling to offer services that we have already signed up for. Another 50 schools in the town are hoping to convert to academy, this will probably drain the LA and there may be no service available in the very near future.”

Over the years, some schools have chosen to take control of many of the services they use. For these, the transition to academy status has proven a little easier, as they have built bridges with the right suppliers and already have a certain degree of autonomy. However, for those who have never ventured out from under the cosy wing of the local authority, this could be a daunting and overwhelming experience. There will not be that “go-to” person when disaster strikes, Barker explains: “Schools have been used to being able to pick up the phone and say: ‘Help, the boiler has exploded’, whereas now they say: ‘What do I do now?’”

LOOKING OUT FOR THE LITTLE GUY BESA runs a focus group every year to give schools a chance to get together and share their thoughts on the events of the previous year, and their anxieties about the

future. Last summer, the focus group took place just a few days after the coalition government came into power.

Looking at the summary report, there was a lot of apprehension around converting to academy status.

However, it also shows that participants took quite a proactive approach to what this meant in terms of procuring services: “As funding for certain areas disappears, e.g. extended services, schools are becoming more aware of commercial opportunities, e.g. setting up a school company to deal with sports halls, after school clubs, etc. and selling on these services to other schools with fewer resources or expertise.”

So schools are starting to become savvy to the business benefits of becoming an academy. To what extent a school can take advantage of the business opportunities of academy status really depends on its size, and what it can offer others. Large secondary academies have started to join forces with other schools in order to share their services, something Barker believes we will see more of: “It might be that a secondary school in the area, a big academy, has its own business manager or a HR manager, and they can sell those people to the local primary schools. They are forming consortia, and I think what we’ll find over the next few years with academies and with feeder schools particularly, is that they will form more joined up thinking.” As local authorities have less and less services to offer, schools may be able to offer the same services at

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a better rate, and perhaps with more expertise than an outside supplier. After all, who knows schools better than the schools themselves?

Our survey results indicated that this was already the case in some areas: “Schools in Cornwall work closely together, and an even more collaborative approach is being adopted within the local area. This enables colleagues to share knowledge and skills to fill any gaps that appear,” said one respondent.

It seems that ultimately, the more schools that convert to academy status, the less funding there will be available to local authorities, so the quality of services is likely to gradually dwindle, giving private companies the opportunity to step in. This may vary depending (as most things tend to) on the local authority area in question, and not all are suffering, as this survey response indicates: “Not all LAs wish to carry on with their services to schools, but we have been lucky that ours do, and we feel we get value for money as I have heard horror stories from other schools regarding payroll and HR.” The most resounding message that came from the EdExec survey was that guidance fornew academies “could have been better and clearer”. Schools will have to continue working together and sharing their knowledge and expertise in order to get through these uncertain times.

The service levels are dropping dramatically, so we need to source other solutions

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HR

Fair game When a teacher added content to her pupils’ GCSE coursework to improve their grades her school held an investigation before suspending the teacher. After a disciplinary hearing the teacher was dismissed. The teacher appealed the decision, but the tribunal found it fair.

Lawyer MICHAEL BERRIMAN discusses the case to help schools safeguard against unfair dismissal claims march 2012

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HR

The LEA staff advising the school and the school’s senior management and governors are to be credited with having tackled a difficult and no doubt unwelcome and unhappy case

T

he Radclyffe School in Oldham is a community secondary school in Chadderton. Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Oldham is the LEA. The school’s new, state-of-the-art site has the distinction (among other things) of being opened

by Sir Alex Ferguson in July 2008.

Krystena Dabek was employed as a teacher at the school and had held the position of head of PHSE for about 14 years. Her employment ended with her summary dismissal on 11 November 2010.

The employment tribunal, which heard her claim of unfair dismissal in the summer of 2011, said: “As far as the tribunal is aware, she has had an exemplary teaching career. It is a tragedy of the case that such long-serving and experienced teacher’s employment should end as it did.”

So what exactly led to Dabek’s dismissal? It is appropriate to examine the events from two overlapping perspectives: First, what judgement did the school make in relation to Dabek’s misconduct; second, how did the school reach that judgment?

The job of deciding Dabek’s fate fell, of course, to the governing body. In this case it was in the form of panels drawn from the Staff and Curriculum Committee and thereafter the Staff Dismissal Appeals Committee, each with a membership of three different governors.

Importantly, the task of gathering the relevant evidence which would point towards or away from misconduct of the part of Dabek was undertaken by someone else, the deputy headteacher Mrs Wood.

Wood’s investigation began on 25 March 2010.

She began by comparing versions of GCSE food technology coursework, which Dabek was believed to have submitted for the purpose of a moderation and standardisation meeting, to versions stored on the school’s network. After interviewing a number of students, Wood considered that there was sufficient evidence for Dabek’s suspension on full pay. This occurred after discussion with the head teacher on 31 March 2010.

Although delayed by a period of illness that preceded Dabek’s suspension, Wood carried on with her investigations. She concluded them on 5 July 2010 and prepared a detailed written report with 150 pages of supporting evidence composed of interview notes (including an interview with Dabek), examples of course work, emails and other relevant material.

In Wood’s opinion Dabek had, unbeknown to students, added to the PowerPoint content of their GCSE project work in order to enhance their grade. Such malpractice carried serious consequences for the school, particularly in terms of its status as an accredited examinations centre.

Dabek received a copy of Wood’s report and supporting evidence under cover of a letter inviting

her to attend a disciplinary hearing before the Staff and Curriculum Committee panel. The letter informed her that, if proven, the allegation could lead to her dismissal for gross misconduct.

Postponements of the hearing because of Dabek’s ill health meant that the hearing was not held until 9 November 2010. Dabek was accompanied by her trade union representative, Mr Dewhirst and the case against her was presented by Wood. No witnesses were called by Wood but Dewhirst and the panel were able to question Wood about her investigation and the evidence contained in her report.

In the letter confirming the panel’s decision to dismiss Dabek with immediate effect, it was stated that the decision has not been taken lightly in the view of her length of service and commitment to the school. However, the panel had judged Dabek’s conduct to be very serious: “the wider penalties for which would have had severe long-term consequences in relation to the learning of pupils and the reputation of the school.”

Dabek’s internal appeal was unsuccessful and her complaint of unfair dismissal was dismissed.

The LEA staff advising the school and the school’s senior management and governors are to be credited with having tackled a difficult and no doubt unwelcome and unhappy case with such competence and thoroughness. The result was that the employment tribunal had little if any difficulty in finding Dabek’s dismissal to be fair: n The panel’s reasons for dismissal were well articulated both at the time and when they were enlarged upon in oral evidence before the employment tribunal n The panel demonstrated that its belief in Dabek’s guilt was based on reasonable grounds. n Likewise, its assessment of the gravity of Dabek’s misconduct was reasoned and reasonable, particularly in terms of the potential for catastrophic consequences for the school n None of this would have been possible without Wood’s report and the work which went into it.

The investigation stood up to the employment tribunal’s scrutiny under challenge from Dabek.

Critically, it enabled the tribunal to conclude that the panel reached its decision following a “reasonable investigation”.

In this case the school made conscious decisions about the time and resources it committed to the case and it deserved to have that commitment rewarded. Better examples of the equation between commitment and reward in the world of employment law and human resources are hard to find.

Michael Berriman is a partner at national law firm, Weightmans LLP

www.edexec.co.uk

/ march 2012

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INTERVIEW

We are the Campion Staff buy-in is fundamental for a school facing any kind of challenge. GARY SMART, strategic operations and cover manager at Birmingham’s St Edmund Campion Catholic Language College and Sixth Form Centre, knows this better than anybody. JULIA DENNISON visits him to find out why morale at his school is high – against all odds

A

s I wait to interview Gary Smart, my eye is drawn to a comic book-style figurine on his shelf that looks more at home at Comic-con than in the office of a strategic operations and cover manager at a Catholic school. Its presence in his office, at the heart of St Edmund Campion School on the outskirts of Birmingham, becomes clear when Smart reveals his hobby: “I’ve written a book about zombie films,” he admits, which he toured, along with a documentary he made, around comic book conventions in America. Of course, we’re not here to talk about his love of the living dead, though the fact that Smart finds the time to write a book and film a documentary on top of a busy role at a large secondary speaks volumes about his gung-ho character.

Smart first began his life at the school as a student.

Leaving in 1999, he soon returned to work there in 2001 after a brief stint studying art. He started working at St Edmund Campion as the reprographics technician and soon began a series of different roles that would keep him busy over the next few years. When the Workforce Reform Act came in force in 2003, his role, like many other school support staff, expanded to cover even more responsibility and over the last decade, he’s covered resource support across a number of departments; been the resource manager; business support officer when the then business manager decided to leave; oversaw the office management and is now strategic operations and cover manager. After the business manager left, he also was asked to join the senior leadership team and oversees contracts for the cleaning and catering, as well as recruitment responsibilities. In essence, he’s done nearly everything – bar teaching – at this busy 1,000-pupil secondary school.

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“There’s always been a bit of a joke about how many titles I have,” he says. “It’s changed so many times over the years.

For example, the title on my door now is completely different to the one I have and it will probably change again soon.”

The culture of the school is one of developing skills and qualifications for both students and staff. Last year Smart achieved the diploma in school business management and this year will be studying for the advanced diploma in school business management proving the in excellent schools staff like students are always learning and developing. And he still manages to run the smooth, effective and efficient day-to-day running of the school. He explains: “It’s more of a strategic, operations kind of role.” I ask if he ever feels pulled in too many directions: “Yeah, it’s hard, but I think you’ve got to want to work in a school to be like this.”

Before

After

THERE’S NO ‘I’ IN TEAM Smart is modest about his achievements, because the real reason he’s contacted Education Executive is not to talk about himself, but his team. The non-teaching staff at the school are passionate about what they do, and their support enables Smart to cover so many areas. For example, he sings the praises of Peter Fulwell, the site manager, who recently won an NASBM School Support Staff eco award. “There’s no us and them between teachers and non-teachers,” he says. When Smart first started working at the school, this was not the case: non-teaching staff were very much seen as second-class citizens compared to the teachers – they weren’t required to dress up, pupils called them by their first names and, as a result, respect was lacking. He puts this change down

Gary Smart (top) pitches in to paint the school’s new hall (pictured above) and a bishop with the hall’s new mural (right)

INTERVIEW

FACT BOX SCHOOL St Edmund Campion Catholic Language College and Sixth Form Centre TYPE Mixed 11-18 Catholic school PUPILS 1,040 STAFF 120 TIME IN ROLE 11 years

Support staff should be seen as supporting the whole school community.

Everybody always calls teaching a vocation, but I always say that if you work in a school, it’s a vocation as well

BACKGROUND Having been a pupil at the school, Gary Smart returned to work at the school after a brief stint studying art while considering becoming a teacher. He has held a number of roles at the school since and is currently a governor at the school too

to a new headteacher, Phil Steele, who, when she started in 2006, installed a mentor scheme whereby each nonteaching staff member gives pastoral support to a Year 11 student. This has had a very positive impact on behavioural issues at the school.

Smart also described the excellent in-house refurbishment programme that is being managed by Fulwell. During the summer holidays Fulwell and his team completely redecorated the school hall with Smart securing over £7,000 sponsorship from Now Education to give the hall a new lease of life. The school hall was then named after Father Michael Knight a school governor of over 36 years who passed away in December 2011. “The work of the BSS team has transformed the fabric of the school and this has had a positive effect on the student’s behaviour with them respecting their school environment more,” says Smart.

Smart favours the phrase ‘associate colleagues’ or ‘support staff’ to ‘non-teaching staff’ as he feels these nomenclatures are better descriptors of the role. “Yeah, they are supporting, but they are associates, they’re as equal as anyone,” he says. Part of his mission to champion support staff in schools is another side project, a non-profit Education Support Staff website, which he’s funded himself (www.educationsupportstaff.co.uk), that provides support staff with support.

His recommendation to support staff looking to get better involved at their school is to work with the children in any way they can. For example, support staff at St Edmund Campion have become involved in Student Voice, the student council body, to act as the ears of school staff, as Smart has found that pupils sometimes feel more comfortable talking to support staff than teaching staff.

“Support staff [should be seen] as supporting the whole school community,” he says. “Everybody always calls teaching a vocation, but I always say that if you work in a school, it’s a vocation as well.” He is adamant that every role at the school makes an impact on the pupils – whether a contractor or dinner lady.

IMPROVING SCHOOL The benefit the change in culture has had on the school is remarkable. Before Steele started as headteacher in 2003, the pass rate for GCSEs was only around 18%, the school was running a deficit and Ofsted served the school with a notice to improve. Last year, the school celebrated its best ever examination results, with around 70% of students achieving five A to C grades, with over 50% achieving five A to C grades in English and maths. This resulted in an improved Ofsted rating of ‘good with outstanding features’. The budget is in much better condition, and the school is working very hard to reduce the deficit by 2013. “Phil has been brilliant, but her encouragement of other staff to be a part of that journey and support her has helped her,” says Smart. “It’s very much a team effort.” In a bid to recruit more pupils and attract more attention to the school, Smart is working on a marketing campaign for Campion, promoting its achievements.

In terms of his own career, Smart did consider going for a school business manager role at another school nearby (which he believes he “could do blindfolded”), but has opted to stay at St Edmund Campion out of loyalty and also a desire to see the improvements through. The second stage of the school’s restructuring is due in a year’s time, so his role could change yet again, but he looks forward to what this change may bring. “I’m comfortable and happy to be here,” he says. “Besides, if all else fails, there are always the zombies.”

www.edexec.co.uk

/ march 2012

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CPD

Exploring a proven method of peer-led CPD has been at the heart of forward-thinking schools’ agendas. All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham is one of these schools.

Deputy headteacher RICHARD FITZGERALD discusses the school’s experience of in-school variation and outlines how the scheme proved successful in raising achievement and improving practice in many pilot schools across the country march 2012

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CPD

R

esearch carried out by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has shown that 80% of variation in pupil attainment in England exists within schools rather than between schools. In-school variation (ISV) projects help to address this issue by enabling schools to address disparities, share best practice and raise levels of attainment in the less successful areas of the school.

Having run two very successful projects, All Saints Catholic School and Technology College in Dagenham was one of only a few schools across the country at the forefront of the scheme and, despite budget cuts spelling the end of funding for ISV, the school continues to work with new projects within its local community.

Before the economic crisis intervened, the Training and Development Agency (TDA) and the National College had together created a project to look at ways of reducing the gaps in performance often found between different subjects in the same school, which could often be greater than the gaps in performance found between two similar schools.

The ISV project aimed to find a simple framework to help schools identify their own internal variation and devise strategies to reduce it. In 2009 we were asked to join the pilot scheme, to try out and to develop the techniques and materials which would be used in the future by other schools. We quickly found that by using the expertise of one of our departments to progress standards in another led to tangible improvements. Our experience with ISV was so positive that we became one of only four schools invited to help write the training manual and support website that was to be used to spread the project into other schools nationwide.

motivating. The feedback from student surveys on attitudes and experiences of a subject before and after ISV also show a significant improvement in their experience of that subject and their attitude towards it.

Our main objective for running the ISV project was clear from the off; we wanted to raise the performance of weaker subject areas to meet those of the strongest to improve student outcomes. Also important was to improve the overall experience of education for our students, spread best practice and use gathered data to guide progress; the ISV trial proved successful in meeting each of these objectives. In fact, a similar approach we ran in science saw A-level physics and chemistry results brought up to the higher level seen in biology.

GOVERNMENT PULLS THE PLUG

GETTING STARTED We looked at a variety of ways of tackling ISV which included using data, standardising procedures across departments, looking at teaching techniques and learning and addressing leadership and management.

After some investigation we noted that our results in technology were weak when compared to other subjects, whereas results in art were exceptionally high. Technology and art both involve teaching students a similar skill set in terms of designing and planning a construction process. In addition, technology had a lot to offer in terms of organisation and systems which has been identified as a weakness in art, so we decided that the initial project should couple technology with art.

We invited teachers from both departments to discuss their practices, both within and outside the classroom, with each other. They also observed each other’s teaching styles and techniques to jointly identify areas in which they – as a subject – could improve through planning, trialling and testing steps. Students were also asked to critique lessons and give constructive feedback as to how their learning experience could be enhanced.

TRIED AND TESTED; EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK The ‘student voice’ undoubtedly produced the most useful, high-quality feedback. Most students are evaluating lessons anyway; this gives them a platform to constructively feedback and offers them some control and say in their education. The feedback we have gotten has been very positive; those students who have taken an active part, either as observers or focus group members, have found being involved in improving things for others very

FACT BOX SCHOOL All Saints Catholic School & Technology College LOCAL AUTHORITY London Borough of Barking and Dagenham TYPE A mixed 11-18 Catholic school PUPILS 1,200 students TEACHERS 79 SUPPORT STAFF 31 HEADTEACHER Kevin Wilson TIME IN ROLE Since September 2006

According to the OECD, the UK education system has one of the highest levels of variation in pupil outcomes of the world’s industrialised economies. Research has shown that it is the differences in performance within schools that are instrumental in raising education standards. However, in 2010 the government decided to cease funding for ISV projects which aimed to reduce these levels of variation within schools. Without this crucial support and encouragement from the government, projects run by even the best intentioned teachers will lose momentum and fall by the way-side. It is an unfortunate scenario as schools are missing out on a very useful and proven method of overall improvement.

In February the TDA released ‘Reducing in-school variation: Making effective practice standard practice’, which revealed that schools involved in the ISV trial agreed that the practical guide has helped them to effectively address the issue of ISV. It further stated that the guide had improved the achievement/attainment of students and helped to ‘reduce variation between departments and groups, develop collaborative working in schools, prompt student voice initiatives, focus energies on teaching and learning and identify areas for professional development.’ The TDA also confirmed that approximately 100 schools viewed the resources produced online each month. However, while the findings are indeed positive, to realise its full potential ISV needs more than a reference website.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS The vast benefits of ISV are clearly evident and although progress has been stopped by uncertainty surrounding funding, here at All Saints we have resolved to continue using and expanding the ISV project within the school and local authority.

In fact, input from and discussion with RE has led the history department to change the way they share good practice within the department and assess their students.

The history department is now beginning to track student performance more closely and share ideas on intervention work with those students identified as underachieving.

And we now use ‘student voice’ to enhance our homework and exam preparation systems.

We have also had the opportunity to work alongside three additional, local schools who wanted to get involved and they are currently running projects. We are determined to continue to spread the techniques trialled through the research to as many schools as possible; improving the quality of individual teachers and /or subjects has a trickledown effect which leads to improvements in students’ overall performance and future outcomes which is the most important objective for most schools.

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/ march 2012

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WORK / LIFE

Break Time ?

Secret life of a business manager

NUMBER CRUNCHING Everyone deserves five minutes break, and

We have a school shop for the children and

business managers are no

adults of the school to use. A few years ago I

exception. So pour

offered a few items of stationery for children to

yourself a coffee, get a

buy with their reward vouchers. This has

biscuit from the tin and

increased to a point at which we opened a small

have a go at this little

shop in our school foyer that is manned daily at

puzzle. It is sure to keep

break times by me and our chair of governors.

your little grey cells ticking

Children can earn reward vouchers for good

over and help while away

work, behaviour and attendance. These

your break time.

3 1

spent in the school shop, although they can also spend pocket money in the shop. This is an extremely popular facility, which was introduced initially to try to improve attendance with

2 5

9

vouchers have varying values and can only be

8 5

7

4

1

5

7 3 2

incentives. Children can now buy stationery, cards, games, books, a range of small gifts and

1 4

9

fair-trade items purchased through Traidcraft.

The profits are used to support the vouchers, which can be worth as much as £4 each for achieving 100% attendance. I believe that the

AROUND THE CLASSES

facility also offers children the opportunity to shop independently in a safe environment and to learn the value of money.

ANNETTE DALBY SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGER STUDFALL JUNIOR SCHOOL

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?

march 2012

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

PE How many holes are there in a ten pin bowling ball?

GEOGRAPHY Which island group includes Ibiza, Menorca and Majorca?

ENGLISH What was the name of Captain Nemo’s submarine?

HISTORY In mythology what was Minerva the goddess of?

MUSIC Which famous surname did the words ‘rich man’ end up replacing in the song ‘If I Were A Richman’ from Fiddler on the Roof?

SCIENCE Dry ice is a frozen form of which gas?

ANSWERS PE – three; Geography – The Balearic Islands; English – Nautilus; History – wisdom; Music – Rothschild; Science – carbon dioxide

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