Education Executive May 2011

MAY 2011 / ISSUE 69

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE MAY 2011 / ISSUE 69

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE supporting business and financial excellence in schools and colleges

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ALTERNATIVE FUNDING

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 21ST CENTURY SBM SKILLS  EDINBURGH-GATE

BURIED TREASURE Finding cash in unusual places

THE 21ST CENTURY BURSAR WWW.EDEXEC.CO.UK

How to make yourself future-proof

EDINBURGH-GATE

What happened to make Edinburgh cut back on school management?

EdExec partners

editor’s letter

EDUCATION EXECUTIVE

MAY 2011

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 on a monthly basis, 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 DEPUTY EDITOR matthew jane matthew.jane@intelligentmedia.co.uk PUBLISHER vicki baloch vicki.baloch@intelligentmedia.co.uk ACCOUNT MANAGER george petrou george.petrou@intelligentmedia.co.uk ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE francis maitland francis.maitland@intelligentmedia.co.uk DIGITAL MANAGER dan price dan.price@intelligentmedia.co.uk DESIGNER elma aquino elma.aquino@intelligentmedia.co.uk PRODUCTION ASSISTANT sinead coffey sinead.coffey@intelligentmedia.co.uk CIRCULATIONS MANAGER 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

Signing up to the curriculum

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chool leadership meetings are changing.

School business managers are taking the lead when it comes to curricular decisions like never before.

Previously when it came to the curriculum, teaching staff said jump and business managers said “how high?” But in a time of restricted budgets, this has got to change (something to which Tracy Jackson of Ossett Academy can attest in her interview on page 26).

When schools have smaller budgets to work with than normal, it is important the pupil experience suffers as little as possible. But where should school leaders turn for budgetary savings? When staff costs take up 75-80% of most schools’ budgets, it’s hard not to start there first.

The audit commission has come out to say that schools need to make better use of staff budgets to achieve value for money. According to a poll by the Sutton Trust, nearly three out of four school leaders believe they do not have enough freedom to sack underperforming teachers – so it’s clear that is where many school business managers are looking first.

Class size is a point of contention when it comes to the cost of teacher periods. The school business management seminar at ASCL’s recent conference pointed to larger classes with fewer, yet better ‘super teachers’ as a potential way forward. However, when the Sutton Trust asked school leaders to state their top spending priority for the new pupil premium, nearly half (44%) opted for smaller classes.

At the very least, school business managers should ensure all senior staff involved in curriculum planning are trained to understand the link between a school timetable and cost. For in these tight times, that could be a matter of make or break for your average statemaintained school.

EDITOR

Contents

08

30

24 rocure

sector

lan

the lowdown on the business management world

make your school’s budget go further

06 Sector news

26 Interview

The latest school business management news

08 News analysis

Edinburgh-gate What happened to make Edinburgh city council cut SBMs?

12 Diary

Barry Worth, St John’s in Marlborough The fundraising guru talks building schools without central funding

14 Interview

18 PRIMARY update

Primary school news and views

The supplies you need to support literacy at primary level Secondary school news and views

24 Further education woes

How post-16 schools can bear the budget cut brunt

Feeling secure Trends and innovations in school security products

34 FINANCE

A guide to school banking A banking expert gives his fiscal advice Finding cash in unusual places Think you’ve exhausted your fundraising resources? Think again.

management

tune up your management skills

38 CAREER ADVICE

20 By the book

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

22 SECONDARY update

30 PREMISES

36 FUNDRAISING

Road to the Abbey Abbey Court is an SEN school with a difference

schools in focus

Share and share alike Education Ossett Community Trust (EOCT) shares services

Be a 21st century bursar How to skill-up for the future

40 CAREER ADVICE

How to be a better boss Your team will thank you

42 HR

Absent minded How to prevent unnecessary absence amoung school staff

44 WORK/LIFE

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

For the latest news and views check out

www.edexec.co.uk

Turn to the end for May’s edition of ICT Matters

sector Sector news is brought to you by Free banking for schools supported by local specialist relationship managers Lloyds TSB Commercial - well educated banking

FUNDING WATCH ANGER AMONG SCHOOLS AT STANDARDS FUND CUT

Photo: Department for Education

06

Schools face a £155m budget cut this year, after the government reduced the standards fund by five per cent in a move that has caused anger and concern among school leaders. The cuts were announced in a letter sent just days before the end of the financial year and will affect money already allocated by councils. Durham county council has identified a £1.8m reduction to its standards fund budget as a result, while in Lancashire the cut amounts to £3.4m and the LA said it will have to reissue budgets for all 625 of its schools. An email sent to schools in Devon said: “The [council] has a £1.6m shortfall and is going to have to reclaim this money back from funds already distributed. For many this will turn a balanced budget into a deficit budget, particularly primary schools.” The chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), Baroness Margaret Eaton wrote that schools will be “very angry” to lose the funding at this late stage in a letter to Education Secretary Michael Gove (pictured).

“The actual impact will be a reduction in funding for schools and pupils,” she wrote.

“You cannot cut [budgets] with no warning in March and expect anyone to be able to cope with the consequences.” The LGA accused the government of acting without consulting schools or councils. Baroness Eaton added: “Ultimately, council taxpayers will be left to foot the bill to the tune of £155m unless the department reverses its decision and pays the standards fund due for 2010/11 in full in addition to the dedicated schools grant for this financial year.”

STORY OF THE MONTH 1,000+ SCHOOLS ENJOY FIRST SBM MANAGER Around 1,200 primary schools in England are set to access the skills of a business manager for the first time thanks to a National College grant that has established 189 school business management partnerships across England.

As pressure on budgets increases, the college has been encouraging schools, particularly in the primary sector, to invest to save by tapping into the skills of business managers.

Under the initiative, supported by the Department for Education, grants were made available for school clusters predominantly made up of primaries to help them establish partnerships to share the services of a professional SBM. Since September 2010, £3.5m in grant funding has been awarded, resulting in 1,186 primary schools soon having access to a skilled SBM for the first time.

The scheme is based on substantial and compelling evidence gathered by the National College over the last three years demonstrating how appropriately skilled and effectively deployed SBMs can save about a third of a headteacher’s time and five per cent of the school’s resources.

In the past, while 90% of secondary schools had a school business manager, far fewer primary schools had had access to one.

Toby Salt, deputy chief executive of the National College, said: “This is a big step forward with most areas of the country now having at least one cluster of schools that will be able to access a professional SBM for the first time. By freeing up heads to focus more on leading the teaching and helping the school business side to run more efficiently, these professionals will have a positive impact on the achievement of pupils up and down the country.”

They said...

The system of capital allocation and spending, which has developed over...the last decade, has resulted in poor use of resources, a bureaucratic system...and a mixed – and at times poor – outcome for both parents and children Sebastian James in his review of school building

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

DIARY 27 June-1 July 2011 Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week Nationwide Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week is the UK’s biggest school sporting event and will run this year from 27 June to 1 July in England and Wales. The aim of the week is to use the power and inspiration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire young people to understand the value of sport and encourage them to take part in more physical activity. The week is delivered in partnership with charity Youth Sport Trust (YST).

Schools can find out more or register by visiting www.schoolsportweek.org.

sector NEWS

PICTURE STORY

INBRIEF PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Six private schools in England are applying to waive their fees and become free schools this September. Critics worry this will put a drain on pupil numbers and budgets of nearby state-maintained schools. With funding for places following pupils, NUT general secretary Kevin Courtney told the Guardian it is “incredible” the Department for Education can find money to subsidise the children of parents who can afford fees when state schools have had budgets reduced. “There’s been no debate about whether people want a national state school system or all these independent schools coming in,” he said. “It’s an untried experiment and could devastate state schools.”

TEACHERS

Children at St John’s College in Southsea raised £350 for Comic Relief by fundraising activities including a ‘come to school in red’ day, raffles, a joke telling competition and a whole school dance to the Red Nose Day 2011 theme song

What we learned this month

Nearly three out of four school leaders don’t think they have enough freedom to dismiss underperforming teachers, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and Sutton Trust of 2,170 teachers in England last year.

Meanwhile, 52% of classroom teachers felt the same way. Half of teachers (51%) did support the suggestion that schools offer pay incentives of the order of £10,000 above normal salaries to recruit and retain effective teachers, while only 31% opposed this.

Children who eat Jamie Oliver’s lunches are healthier and do better at school. A Journal of Health Economics study reveals that schoolchildren who ate the celebrity chef’s meals did better on national curriculum tests and suffered from 14% less absenteeism due to sickness.

People who eat healthier as kids also tend to earn up to £5,476 more over their lifetime.

WORK-RELATED INJURIES

STATS & FACTS

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schools have converted into academies since September 2010

There has been a noticeable rise in the number of work-related injuries in the education workplace, despite legislation to protect employees, according to a review by physiotherapist Lorna Taylor and education union Voice. The survey revealed that work-related injuries in education were majorly underreported, with only eight per cent of staff officially recording their problems. Most said they didn’t know how to raise their concerns, while over a third of respondents did not report their pain because they feared jeopardising their career. Some of the injuries reported resulted instaff unable to sit on the floor, having to work part-time, or being forced to take ill-health retirement.

www.lloydstsb.com/schoolsbanking | 0800 681 6078 www.edexec.co.uk may 2011

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sector analysis

The Scottish play Following the recent announcement of possible business manager cuts in Edinburgh, Matthew Jane looks at the state of play for education finances in Scotland and finds that it is not just staff who are voicing concerns

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here was a flood of traffic to EdExec.co.uk last month following the shocking news that Edinburgh council was setting aside a pot of money to fund voluntary redundancies from the city’s secondary schools, including removing bursar managers. The council has set a target of saving £2.4m over the next two years through reducing management costs, with their figures suggesting they will be able to save £736,000 by removing the role of bursar managers.

The news had union leaders up in arms, with the leading groups in Scotland, such as the EIS, signalling their intention to ballot for possible strike action.

John Stevenson, president of the Edinburgh branch of Unison, said: “If these were essential jobs in schools in the first place then they still are. The work will still have to be done by somebody, and it could put more pressure on teachers.”

He explained that people will not get enhanced payments and that payouts had been greatly reduced. “The best way to avoid these costs is to keep them in their jobs. Schools do not run themselves and somebody is still going to need to do this work.”

President of the Edinburgh EIS association Raymond Simpson, head of the computing department at Queensferry High School, told the Edinburgh Evening News that there was increasing concern over the council’s decisions.

“There have been concerns about the educational policies of this administration since they first came into office with a plan to shut something like 30 schools,” he said, pointing out that two exemplar nurseries have already been closed on financial grounds.

“It appears they just want to cut and cut, and teachers are wondering whether they will have a job tomorrow and whether they will be able to get a promotion in future. It’s no lie to say I had to hold members back from taking illegal action after the budget was passed.”

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

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sector analysis

If these were essential jobs in schools in the first place then they still are. The work will still have to be done by somebody, and it could put more pressure on teachers As well as removing bursar positions, another proposal is to reduce the number of deputy heads and principal teachers, creating a faculty system that would see several departments run by one senior teacher. While some teaching professionals have recently discussed the merits of merging lessons together to allow one ‘super teacher’ to teach larger numbers of pupils, there are clearly concerns over the management implications of merging departments.

POWER TO THE PUPIL The concerns about the impact these cuts will have on secondary education have not ended with school staff – pupils are expressing similar apprehension, with a suggestion that a group of students would take time out of school to demonstrate outside Scottish parliament.

Carlus Hudson from James Gillespie’s school was one of the pupils considering joining the demonstrations. He told the New Scotsman that his peers were the ones that would suffer as a result of these cuts. “Pupils need to have their say on local, national and international issues because they can be affected just as much as their parents by government actions on any issue,” he said.

“On the issue of cuts to education, the faculty system being introduced to my own school by the council will abolish principal teachers for many departments.

Scottish parliament | Demonstrations over school cuts took place outside

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

This will allow situations where the faculty head for social sciences may be qualified to teach history, and therefore run the department, which includes duties like writing and marking prelim papers.”

POWER OF MANAGEMENT

While Edinburgh council is looking at ways to cut bursar and business management positions, south of the border, the National College has been encouraging the opposite practice and suggesting schools would benefit in the long term by investing in these roles. Its suggestion is that more schools, particularly small primaries, access the skills of a business manager, by clustering together to improve access to a skilled business manager.

There are still misconceptions in some areas about what a business manager can bring to a school and the efficiency savings that can be made.

National College research has proved that an SBM can save a third of a headteacher’s time and around five per cent of school resources.

If positions are to be cut in Scotland, then perhaps cluster working would be a beneficial way to go (see news story on page 19). There is no escaping the economic difficulties facing education providers, so working within a cluster to provide bursarial and business management skills to schools could be an effective and cost effective way forward. Removing the role altogether may bring about very short term savings, but would be a long-term mistake, removing the vital financial and business skills that will be needed if schools are to ride out the financial storm. It seems that now is the time to start demonstrating your worth to your school – if there is a cluster of schools in need of shared business management, it will be important to be at the front of the queue for that position.

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sector fundraising

DIARY

Dreaming the impossible dream Business director Barry Worth of St John’s School in Marlborough uses fundraising to make the seemingly impossible, possible

T

o the uninformed, fundraising can be an absolute minefield and, being quite frank, a pretty scary topic to address.

Specifically, most of us are not too good at asking for money! The following is a very brief summary of what I have discovered works and, as importantly, what I have found does not work within a school context. Other readers will of course have their own tales to relate and healthy debate is possible following this article.

I have found that delivering a realisable story, including an excellent description of a project/end result, as well as evidence of partial success is the key that unlocks many donations, thereby allowing a project to be completed. People are naturally drawn to success and want their part of it but there must be tangible signs of achievement before the masses jump on board.

A recent article published in Education Executive (Issue 65, Jan 11) detailed a new school building project that I was closely involved with. The project has proven to be an outstanding success that has resulted in many hundreds of sponsors donating from £5 per month to, quite literally, many thousands of pounds as one-off donations.

The fundraising has been extremely successful but was only possible following the project gaining the necessary planning approvals and thereby demonstrating that success was imminent. Before that point, quite literally nobody wanted to be associated with something that might have failed.

The right ‘story’ requires careful thought and development. Building a new school within the maintained sector is quite a challenge and prospective sponsors need to know why they are being asked for help.

A negative response, such as blaming failure on x, y or z is simply not an option. An upbeat story is essential, such as stating: “of the £26.5m required, we only need to raise an additional £1.5m that will enable all of the classrooms to be equipped with new furniture and ICT equipment etc.” The story must also include a straightforward description of why the sponsors are required and what is in it for them. I have found amazing generosity among our parent body, friends of the school as well as both local and national businesses.

We have successfully offered the opportunity for sponsors to donate towards areas such as a sedum roof,

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

I would recommend that those looking for sponsorship keep an open mind to all opportunities and awareness that success, quite literally, breeds success trees, classrooms and seats in the theatre. All of the sponsored classrooms have plaques attached to the doors and other acts of generosity have been recognised by way of a ‘thank you board’ displayed for everyone to see.

I would recommend that those looking for sponsorship keep an open mind to all opportunities and awareness that success, quite literally, breeds success. At St John’s we decided to hold an evening of celebration where we invited all of the sponsors to come to the new school and be formally thanked for their efforts.

Substantial further events flowed from that evening that attracted further funds and, of course, opportunities continue to arise.

fundraising tips In summary, the following is a very simple note as to what is required to achieve a successful outcome to your fundraising campaign:

uAn attractive, exciting and tangible project and deep-seated belief that what you uPassion are doing is right and good for the students a starting point or the first part uIdeally of the cash required, in that ‘success breeds success’ method of recognising and thanking the uAsponsors, such as an official opening or ‘thank you board’.

Schools interested in speaking to Barry Worth for advice on raising funds can contact him on 01672 517 831

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sector INTERVIEW

Courting attention Abbey Court School is proud to shout about its outstanding achievements in the field of special needs education.

Matthew Jane met business manager Linda Taylor to discover the length of the good work taking place

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pecial needs education has been generating many headlines of late, with the government announcing proposals in its recent green paper to give parents more choice and implement a new funding system where the money follows the pupil. At Abbey Court School, an all-ages special needs school spread across a split site Meadway in Kent, exceptional leadership under headteacher Karen Joy and a willingness to embrace new ideas has led to an exemplar model for SEN education, recognised recently with an outstanding Ofsted report.

Business manager Linda Taylor says there have been numerous changes at Abbey Court recently with new methods of funding being announced all the time. “It’s not the best year financially, but it all just keeps us on our toes,” she says. “Everything is up in the air at the moment – we are watching it all very closely. It seems that everyday something is taken away or changed. For example, there is talk that certain money will come back through different routes, as mentioned in the green paper.”

One such change to funding for Abbey Court is through the school’s specialist status. “We worked long and hard to achieve the specialist school status,” says Taylor. “It equated to £60,000 a year, so was a considerable sum of money. We aim to continue with the programme of specialist schools work but with a greatly reduced budget this year, and possibly no allocated budget in future years.”

While she admits that this is a huge frustration, it is just another challenge for the school to rise to. “I am a firm believer in working with what you have got,” Taylor says. “We have to work harder to secure money externally and, yes, it is difficult in this climate, but surely that is just another challenge for us.”

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE Taylor and the office team are no strangers to overcoming challenges, whether they are funding issues or assisting the leadership team in ensuring the smooth running of a school that is split across two sites, 12 miles apart. “Being a business manager in a split site school is obviously

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

sector

INTERVIEW

not without its problems,” she says. “There are offices set up on both sites and one admin team that I manage across both sites. They swap sites continually, which I think is really important. When I joined, there were some staff who were very happy to work at one site or the other, but we have worked hard to ensure everyone is comfortable working at either site.

Every member of staff is committed to delivering a high quality service, driven by what’s best for the pupils.”

This continuity is even more important given the high ratio of staff to pupils, with around 100 staff overseeing 150 pupils. “We need to make sure everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet and working to the Abbey Court ethos,” explains Taylor. “We are one school and we need to make sure that our policy and procedure is consistent.”

While the school has existed for many years, the local authority opened a second site to keep up with rising demand for special needs provision. The nursery is a particular bonus, Taylor explains, as it allows the school to tackle a lot of the challenges at an early stage, giving the children the best possible start.

RECRUITING THE BEST

fact box SCHOOL Abbey Court School TYPE 3-19, split site school for learners with profound special educational needs PUPILS 150 Annual Budget £3.3m Support staff 79 Teaching staff 22 Name Linda Taylor POSITION Business manager BACKGROUND AND TRAINING Worked in the city for 19 years for investment banks. Joined the school six years ago as office manager, before taking on the newly-formed business manager position three years ago.

One of the challenges for special schools is in recruiting the best staff with the right skills for the roles. Taylor explains that they have been ‘growing’ their own teachers through a variety of training programmes. “The leadership team was having real difficulty recruiting special needs teachers,” she says. “Teachers are being trained for mainstream provision, so it makes it hard to find those with the right skills.

Fortunately we have a really willing workforce; everybody wants to put their hand up and say: ‘I want to progress my career, I want to do that here.’”

The majority of the training is offered in-house, and Taylor says that the senior management team design a plan for the ideal training sessions for each member of staff.

Teaching staff, for example, might need training in manual handling, Strategy for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP) or similar skills. “We have got various members of staff who are experts in their fields, so they can train the other staff. Obviously some things will require external training and we recognise the importance of apportioning budget to meet the training needs.”

The school’s emphasis on providing teachers with the necessary skills to work with severe and profound learning difficulties doesn’t stop with their own staff. In a response to the demand for specialist knowledge, the school has set up a telephone helpline for other schools to get advice on a range of issues. “We have an answerphone in the deputy head’s office and we encourage people to phone up with questions and leave a message,” says Taylor. “We purposefully don’t pick up the phone but we listen to the messages, digest them and consider who will be the best person to deal with each request. It won’t always be the deputy head; for example if it is a

www.edexec.co.uk may 2011

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sector INTERVIEW

We have to work harder to secure money externally and, yes, it is difficult in this climate, but surely that is just another challenge for us request about an autistic child, the best person will be the early years coordinator because she is autism trained.”

A COMMUNITY RESOURCE Abbey Court School is keen to promote itself and its outstanding achievements to the local community. Taylor suggests that too often there are preconceived ideas about special schools and what they do. The school produces three different newsletters, one of which goes to parents, the local authority and people associated with the school, another goes to other mainstream schools and the third is delivered to local residents.

“The community newsletter is designed to encourage the local people to not just drive past, but to get a feel for what we do inside,” she explains. “Quite often people will see special schools as care institutions, not education providers. We are an education provider; we provide the national curriculum, albeit slightly differentiated to meet the [pupils’] special needs.”

The newsletter for the mainstream schools is delivered to headteachers and SENCOs and gives them an overview of SEN issues. “We talk about the various ways in which mainstream schools can link up with us and how we can link to them. It is a sharing of our knowledge. It is very much an

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

invitation for them to approach us – we are very knowledgeable, we have trained staff and we are very lucky to have these staff,” says Taylor.

Even the standard newsletter that is produced for parents is designed to celebrate all levels of achievements, even something as simple as a pupil taking a few steps towards using a fork when eating. “We have a lot of children who have complex medical needs and as a result of that a higher than average bereavement rate, and this is something that we have to factor in,” says Taylor. “Therefore we are keen to celebrate achievement on any level, which includes celebrating our staff too. Our motto here is ‘We grow people’, with ‘people’ being the prevalent word there.”

AN OPEN DOOR As part of its community ethos, the school holds open days once a term. Taylor says the sessions are attended by a diverse range of people, from members of the local authority to sixth form students. There is also a large work experience programme in place, with the school being one of the largest providers of these volunteering opportunities in the Medway area – both for students and the wider public. “Lots of people from Kent police undertake placements here, even the

senior officers. A lot of the people that come in don’t know how to react to pupils with special needs. Some of the feedback we get is fantastic.”

All the volunteers take on the role of teaching assistant, and there is obviously a need to ensure everybody is CRB checked.

“We don’t have too many people in at once; it would put a large strain on the teachers and could be a struggle for the pupils as well.

It’s a busy programme but it is always well received,” says Taylor.

The headteacher is exploring even more opportunities to involve the community with the school, such as opening up the impressive hydro-pool, which comes complete with programmable lights, a special access lift and heavyweight protective cover, to the public. However, there are still some teething problems with the building that need to be ironed out first. “It could be a potential gold mine in terms of income, but we wouldn’t want to offer it out if we couldn’t guarantee the continuity,” she says. “Not renting it out is a large financial loss, but there is an important professional side to that as well in that if we do rent it out it has to be done properly.”

While SEN teaching looks set to undergo another set of changes as the government revamps educational provision, the good work taking place at Abbey Court will undoubtedly continue. With the positive work taking place and the engagement of the local community and mainstream schools, it will not just be pupils at the school that will benefit.

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schools in focus

THIRSK

primary update

UTTOXETER

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

Nursery news

£4m to fund free nursery places

BRISTOL

North Yorkshire community primary school goes green Thirsk Community Primary School North Yorkshire

New funding formula sees nursery money follow children rather than places, and Early Years Foundation Stage called “too bureaucratic” in government review Fifteen local authorities are benefiting from £4m of government funding from a pilot to provide free early learning to disadvantaged two-year-olds.The scheme is due to be rolled out nationally to all disadvantaged two year olds in 2013.

Also, a new funding system for nurseries and other early years providers was implemented last month in all local authorities. The Early Years Single Funding Formula requires local authorities to fund providers by the number of children rather than places. This will mean that the funding follows the child and won’t risk being wasted on empty places.

The local formula must also include an amount of money to specifically target the most needy children.

Meanwhile, in a government-commissioned review of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

by Dame Clare Tickell, it was revealed that nursery staff are spending too much time filling in forms and not enough helping children develop under a curriculum that is “too bureaucratic” with too many targets, which she said should be reduced.

The system sets 69 early learning goals for children under five, but Dame Clare of Action for Children says these should be cut to just 17.

sTATs & FACTS

£2.2bn

Spending on teaching assistants has more than doubled in less than 10 years to £2.2bn a year, and now they make up a quarter of the primary school workforce

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

A North Yorkshire school is cutting costs and leading the way in energy efficiency, thanks to a package of improvements put in place by a partnership of green experts.

Thirsk Community Primary School has embraced green technology and now looks set to save more than £2,900 a year after Bob Chicken, energy team project adviser for North Yorkshire County Council put together a special team of providers and installers with the school to carry out a wide range of energy efficient upgrades.

The first part of the scheme saw cavity wall and loft insulation installed to cut the school’s carbon emissions by a tonne each year and reduce its energy bills by an estimated £1,000 over the next five years.

The second part of the scheme was to supply and fit high-performing windows and doors to classroom, office and corridor areas. The glass has thermal properties that retain heat, as well as special coatings that reduce excessive solar heat buildup, doing away with the need for air conditioning.

Once this was in place the school had solar photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on the roof, which

are expected to deliver up to £2,900 in savings in the first year, with estimated overall total benefits of up to £99,532 over the lifetime of the system.

The system will also provide income through the government’s Feed-in Tariff, which rewards organisations for producing renewable energy.

Under the terms of the Feed-in Tariff, payments are made for every unit of electricity generated by the PV system in addition to a fee for every surplus unit that is exported to the National Grid. The system installed at Thirsk Community Primary School could bring in more than £2,000 a year.

Head Richard Wild said the measures are already making a difference at the school: “By having loft and cavity wall insulation fitted we have seen a notable change in the temperature within the school and have been able to turn down the thermostat by four degrees, thus making more cost savings.

“The savings from the panels on the roof and the income generated as a consequence of the Feed-in Tariff, which are anticipated to be over £2,500 each year for 25 years, will allow the school to support its own significant sustainable initiatives for years.”

schools in focus primary news

New primary buildings open on playing field Ashley Down Primary School Bristol

Ashley Down Primary School celebrated the opening of its brand new buildings on the site of a playing field in Bishopston, Bristol in March.

Children and families joined leader of Bristol City Council, councillor Barbara Janke, as a ribbon was cut to mark the buildings’ official opening.

Over the last three years, there has been a 15% rise in the number of children starting at reception classes in Bristol and this trend is expected to continue.

Planning permission for the new buildings on the site of Brunel Field was given in December 2009 to meet the urgent need for new primary school places in this part of the city.

Built through the Local Education Partnership (LEP), the construction project for the new school took just nine months and two weeks, from start to finish.

The first class started at the school last September. For the first two terms, classes were held in a specially adapted education room at the neighbouring Gloucestershire County Cricket Ground. School staff and children moved into their new classroom in January.

Janke commented: “There was an urgent need to create new primary school places for local families in this part of Bristol. Pressing ahead with new school buildings on the Brunel Field site gave us an excellent opportunity to meet this need.”

Headteacher Laurence Pitt said: “From talking to parents, I know how important it is for them to be able to send their child to a local school. The first class to start school on the Brunel Field site is doing really well – we feel privileged to be able to teach the children in modern, purpose built facilities.”

The school is already planning to expand to two forms of entry for September, creating 420 extra school places in the area.

Smallwood Manor Preparatory School and Nursery has strengthened its leadership team with two new senior appointments.

Sally Mosely has been promoted to deputy head of the Uttoxeter school, while Wendy Eaton has joined as head of nursery.

Mosely, who has more than 10 years’ teaching experience, joined Smallwood Manor in 2007 as a teacher before taking on the additional roles of head of English and academic director. She is also currently studying for an MA in Educational Leadership and Management.

As deputy head, Mosely will continue to undertake her existing roles, as well as being responsible for supporting headteacher Mike Harrison in the management and leadership of the school. This will involve helping to devise the academic curriculum, managing staff, organising training and development, introducing new teaching methods and organising special events.

Eaton has joined Smallwood Manor from Tissington kindergarten where she was nursery teacher. In her new role as head of nursery, she is responsible for managing the nursery, which caters

Win cricket prizes for your school Kwik Cricket is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s largest grassroots competition, involving over 130,000 Year 6 boys and girls from 12,000 schools, with numbers growing every year. The event allows schools to compete against other schools from all around the UK and be in with a chance to win a number of cricketthemed prizes, including Kwik Cricket sets, a chance for your school to play in front of a large audience during the test matches and England players visiting your school to conduct exclusive coaching sessions.

Senior appointments at Smallwood Manor Smallwood Manor Preparatory School and Nursery Staffordshire

GRANT WATCH

for children between two- and four-years-old. Eaton will supervise the staff, ensuring that the nursery provides a stimulating and caring environment.

Harrison commented: “We are delighted that Sally and Wendy have joined the leadership team.

They both bring excellent qualities to their roles not only as talented teachers, but in their strong leadership ability, enthusiasm and commitment – all of which will stand Smallwood Manor and its pupils in good stead, both now and in the future.”

Smallwood Manor Preparatory School is part of the Woodard Group of independent Church of Young book worms England schools in England and Wales. shine through Skye Logan, 11, and Eve Colwell, eight, from Newcastle Church High School were stars for the day after winning a place on the judging panel of the Blue Peter Book Awards, which gives young folks the chance to review the UK’s best children’s literature.

Sally Mosely and Wendy Eaton join the senior leadership team at Smallwood Manor

To enter, set up your online team at www.asda.com/kwikcricket.

news INBRIEF Scottish schools told to work in clusters

The Scottish government has recommended changes to school funding, including cluster-level management of budgets and a national formula for the distribution of money to schools, in a report published in March.

Education expert and former council director of education David Cameron’s report makes clear that changes to allow groups of schools – such as primary and secondary schools that share a catchment area – to manage their budgets together can help schools make the most of the opportunities Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence offers.

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 primary literacy

Learn after reading As the DfE turns its focus to encouraging literacy in schools, many children are still struggling to read.

Julia Dennison explores the resources primary schools need to supplement a child’s journey into reading

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eaching children to read has been earmarked as a priority at the Department for Education, with schools minister Nick Gibb announcing a matched funding scheme last month to help primary schools teach systematic synthetic phonics and drive up reading standards (see box out for an explanation of the phonics concept). Primary schools will be able to claim up to £3,000, if they match that funding, to spend on materials that meet the DfE’s criteria for an effective phonics programme.

A list of approved resources – including phonics products for teachers and pupils and training for teachers – will be published by the government department

by September although some products and training will be available by the end of June. It will then be up to schools to decide which of the resources work for them, with the ability to buy products and training with the match-funding any time up to March 2013.

In other news, the government is introducing a new phonics-based screening check for six-year-olds so teachers can identify children not at the expected reading level and in need of extra support.

The check will be piloted in a representative sample of about 300 schools next month. Evidence from the pilot and other policy advice will be considered before the assessment arrangements are finalised.

This is none too soon as England has slipped down the international table for reading in primary schools. In last year’s primary school tests, 15% of pupils did not reach the standard expected at Key Stage 1 and 16% were below the standard expected at Key Stage 2. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 10-year-olds saw England fall from third out of 35 countries in 2001 to 15th out of 40 countries in 2006.

More than just phonics There is more to learning to read than just phonics, and critics believe phonics does not do enough to teach children to interpret the full meaning of what they’re reading.

“Phonics will work for some children, though not all,” says Nigel Ward, MD of Collins Education. “We support all methods of learning and believe in the rigour of teaching and learning, whereby different complementary approaches are used alongside each other as appropriate to each learner.”

“There is more to reading than phonics,” agrees Gibb. “But high-quality academic evidence from across the world – from Scotland and Australia to the

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

schools in focus Primary literacy

Improving reading facilities at your school is about being creative. If you ask people for books they will often oblige National Reading Panel in the US – shows that the systematic teaching of synthetic phonics is the best way to teach literacy to all children, and especially those aged five to seven.”

Digital resources are increasingly popular in helping young pupils with reading, writing and spelling. However, Mary Blake, ex-teacher and educational consultant at ePace, warns these can become out-dated over time, so schools must ensure they purchase solutions that can be easily updated.

“As primary schools increasingly seek literacy resources that can be personalised to pupils’ individual needs, a ‘one size fits all’ approach is diminishing,” she adds. “There are digital packages available that can help schools identify a child’s learning style.”

Sarah Maddox, brand manager for NES Arnold agrees it is important that resources are flexible and have as many uses as possible in order for teachers to return to them time after time to deliver different lessons. “They need to appeal to a range of learning styles – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic so they are relevant for the whole class, and makes lessons exciting and stimulating,” she adds.

Having adequate library space at primary level is essential. A skilled librarian is ideal, as is a collection of books that appeal to the children and meet their appropriate level of reading. Improving on an existing library when budgets are tight can seem daunting, but there are options for schools with limited funds.

Libraries, according to Dirk Foch, MD of Renaissance Learning UK, should promote reading in any way they can, which doesn’t have to be costly. He explains: “Don’t cram a library full of expensive computers – kids often have computers at home – instead, why not invest in a number of comfortable sofas or bean bags?” Furthermore, cash-strapped schools shouldn’t be afraid to ask the community for help, for example, by asking for book donations, visiting the local public library or inviting parents in for a reading day. “[Improving reading facilities at your school] is about being creative,” Foch adds. “It’s not like just asking for cash, if you ask people for books they will often oblige.”

Learning to read is a cardinal aspect of a child’s education and fundamental to their prospects in secondary school, further education, and the working world.

This is particularly important for primary schools to consider. A study by Renaissance Learning has revealed that in the first four school years, the difficulty of books read was above what is age-appropriate, but from Year 5 onwards, the difficulty generally declined steadily, putting children at a disadvantage before they went on to continue their education. If pupils can’t read, they can’t learn.

Primary schools have a responsibility to ensure their pupils get reading right or risk putting children at an unfair disadvantage for the rest of their learning career and lives thereafter.

How phonics works The Department for Education explains phonics as a focus on sounds rather than having children try to recognise whole words.

In analytic phonics, words are broken down into their beginning and end parts, such as ‘str-’ and ‘eet’, with an emphasis on ‘seeing’ the words and analogy with other words.

In synthetic phonics, children start by sequencing the individual sounds in words – for example ‘s-t-r-ee-t’, with an emphasis on blending them together. Once they have learned all these, they progress to reading books.

The ‘synthetic’ part comes from the word ‘synthesise’, meaning to assemble or blend together.

Children who learn using synthetic phonics are able to have a go at new words working from sound alone, whereas those using analytic phonics are more dependent on having prior knowledge of families of words.

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schools in focus secondary news

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

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Bursary scheme replaces EMA New £180m scheme that will replace the Education Maintenance Allowance, with funds to be distributed to those most in need The government has announced a new £180m bursary scheme to replace the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Around 12,000 16-19 year-olds in care or leaving care, or those on income support, will be given guaranteed bursaries of £1,200 a year, more than they would have received through the EMA. The government says schools and colleges can then distribute the rest of the money to support students who face genuine financial barriers to participation, such as costs of transport, food or equipment. Schools will have the freedom to decide the scale and frequency of the bursaries. The current discretionary fund is £26m but will rise to £180m. There will also be additional transitional arrangements to help those who are part-way through their studies and receiving the EMA.

The EMA scheme cost £560m per year and was paid to 45% of young people. Evaluation evidence from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) showed that around 90% of those who received the EMA would have carried on their education without it.

Meanwhile, some of the £6bn spent on education for 16- to 18-year-olds could be going to waste, says the National Audit Office (NAO), because of a lack of sufficient accountability, performance monitoring and intervention where poor performance exists.

It said that despite many schools and colleges improving their management of back-office costs through good practice in procurement, some were not sufficiently managing their staff budget, which accounts for over 60% of their costs.

The NAO warned that incorporating more sixth form classes into schools could put the quality of teaching in danger. It said students achieve, on average, better academic progress and results in institutions that specialise in educating large numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds, such as colleges.

Floodgates open for sustainable water in schools Campion School Leamington Spa

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

A school in the West Midlands has become the first academic institution in Britain to have a rainwater harvesting system ‘retro-fitted’ onto an existing building.

This move towards water harvesting is expected to reduce water mains usage at Campion School, a mixed comprehensive in Leamington Spa, by as much as 85%, or around 250,000 litres per year – the equivalent of 416 baths.

The system will collect water from the roof of the Sydenham Sports Centre located in the school grounds and use it for flushing toilets.

The rainwater is stored in a 5,000 litre tank outside the sports hall and if there is insufficient rainfall to meet demand, the system will automatically default to using mains water, ensuring total continuity of supply.

Until now, only new buildings could be fitted with rainwater harvesting because of the complexities of integrating harvested rainwater with the internal plumbing of a building. This has meant the majority of existing British schools are entirely dependent on mains water; something that has both a high environmental and financial cost.

Campion school has been championing sustainability issues through its ABC (A Better Campion) Group (pictured). led by teaching assistant Chris Philpott.

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

schools in focus secondary news

They said...

While the new fund is only a third of the money available under the EMA, it will still go a fair way toward helping the most disadvantaged students ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman

School shortens day to cut costs Tewkesbury School

A comprehensive school in Gloucestershire will end its day at 2.30pm instead of 3.25pm on Fridays as a way of reducing teacher numbers, the Telegraph reports.

The head of Tewkesbury School, John Reilly, decided with the school governors to shorten the day from September as a way to cope with government spending cuts that will see the school £200,000 short this year.

“By reducing an hour of the timetable, we’ve cut the number of staff we need to deliver the curriculum,” he told the newspaper. The changes will save the equivalent of around four full-time teaching posts, according to the school’s estimates.

Tewkesbury School will do it by not replacing some teachers when they leave and there may be some compulsory redundancies. “We’ve been going

through the redundancy process. It’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly,” Reilly continued.

The school was facing a deficit if it took no action, and Reilly says the only alternative would be to run fewer subjects, which he did not want to do. “[We have made] a conscious decision to protect our curriculum delivery in terms of subjects,” he said.

To accommodate the early finish time, the school will remove a personal development period on Mondays, which will instead be delivered through assemblies.

Reilly said the school would still provide pupils with 26.5 hours of classes each week, more than the 25 hours recommended by the government.

Tim Browne, Gloucestershire County Council’s head of commissioning for learning, told the Telegraph: “It is up to individual schools to decide how they manage their budgets and when sessions should begin.”

news INBRIEF Alumni career advice

Every school in the UK would benefit from an alumni careers service, a national survey has suggested. According to a report by Future First, the vast majority (91%) of young people at state schools would like their careers advice to be delivered via an alumni model.

Furthermore, more than 10 million British adults say they would be willing to go back to their former school to speak about their career to young people.

UTCs double in number

The number of university technical colleges (UTCs) will double from 12 to at least 24, according to Chancellor George Osborne’s budget. UTCs are partnerships between universities, colleges and businesses that provide technical vocational training for 11- to 19-year-olds. The budget has suggested sponsors of UTCs set up a curriculum to complement the local economy, provide work placements and allow colleges to use their specialist facilities. However, the University and College Union voiced concerns that the increase in UTCs could divert funding away from further education colleges and reintroduce selection at 14. However, the Baker Dearing Educational Trust (BDET), an organisation that backs the move to these vocational colleges, welcomed the news from the budget, saying it would help the economy to grow.

Pupils at North Liverpool Academy greet Schools Minister Nick Gibb at his visit to the school in March. The MP enjoyed a performance from the academy’s choir and a tour of its £40m building and grounds, while staff and members of the student parliament discussed the future of education in the area.

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schools in focus FE FUNDING

Not so sweet 16 Following the news that school sixth form funding will be reduced, many schools will need to consider how and if they can continue to offer these services.

Matthew Jane looks at some of the options

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

schools in focus FE FUNDING

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hen Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that he would bring school and college post-16 funding into line, it is fair to assume that both sectors hoped this would involve an increase in college funding to raise it to the level afforded to school sixth forms. However, it instead involved cutting school post-16 provision by around £280 per pupil, raising concerns about the long-term viability of certain subjects and indeed school sixth forms as a whole.

At the time of the plans, which were outlined in the government white paper, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) general secretary Brian Lightman outlined the dangers of the cuts, saying: “Making cuts of this size will have disastrous implications for schools at a time when post-16 education is under enormous pressure. Any reduction of funding of this magnitude will lead to reductions in staffing. It will absolutely be the case that it will lead to job losses.”

The cuts will equate to around 10% over the sector, but some institutions will lose considerably more than this, which could have a major impact on the way sixth form education is provided in schools. It may be that schools will have to consider whether post-16 provision is still a viable option. For example, St Cuthbert’s RC Business and Enterprise College in Rochdale has had to take the difficult decision to close its sixth form centre, following falling student numbers after a new sixth form college opened nearby, which made it financially unviable to continue. This is far from an isolated incident, as other schools wait apprehensively to discover what the financial implications of reduced budgets will be.

However, the funding cuts do not necessarily sound a death knell for sixth form education in schools.

After all, as David Igoe, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Forum, told the BBC at the time of the white paper, this is a situation with which colleges have coped well under similar pressures. “Clearly school sixth forms will find the new funding arrangement challenging,” he said. “Colleges went through this process in the late 1990s and everyone felt that an increase in class sizes would have a negative effect on results. But that didn’t happen, and this could be an opportunity for schools.”

There are several options open to schools to help make sixth forms more cost effective and allow courses to run more efficiently. Malcolm Trobe, policy director at ASCL suggests one of the methods schools could adopt to address the funding reduction is to reduce the amount of contact time allocated per subject. He points out that, while several schools operate a policy of five hours for each AS or A level subject per week, many colleges have already successfully reduced teaching time to nine hours per fortnight. He predicts that the funding shortages will force schools to bring down the amount of direct teaching time to around four hours a week.

Trobe adds that, as part of this exercise, schools will be examining the use of this contact time in order to ensure it makes the best use of the teacher’s time.

“They could examine the ways in which the subject is taught, looking at exactly what goes on in lessons and the balance between direct contact time and individual study, some of which could be done through IT resources,” he suggests.

There are concerns that a number of the ‘broadening activities’ that are an integral part of the 16-18 curriculum will be removed because of the reductions in budget This evaluation of teaching time could lead to an overhaul of teaching methods for sixth form classes. “It may lead schools to think, when there is more than one group within a subject, whether there should be lead lessons taken by one teacher with a large number of students followed up by seminar and smaller group sessions in order to maximise the use of teacher time,” suggests Trobe. “It also raises the question as to whether the same amount of contact time is required for each subject. Schools will very often have operated on reduced contact time for subjects for which they have only a small number of students and they can build on this experience.”

While this is not always viable for schools with only a single year group studying a subject in any one year, it may be possible in situations where there are traditionally more than one group in a subject; it is possible schools will introduce larger group sizes in order to reduce the overall group numbers across a year.

One of the concerns of the funding cuts is that in order for sixth forms to remain viable, certain subjects will have to be cut, with a more limited selection offered to students. Trobe warns that this is likely to be the subjects that only recruit a small number of students, although he adds that this is not always going to be the traditional ‘minority’ subjects, such as modern foreign languages, economics, and religious studies. “It may also lead institutions to consider whether they should look at set programmes of study for students, rather than a more open choice of AS and A levels, such as a science pathway, a humanities pathway or a social science pathway.”

Schools should also consider developing students’ independent working skills, although this is likely to take a significant amount of time in terms of developing and setting up the materials they will require.

Other areas of concern for post-16 funding include the provision of appropriate career advice and guidance.

“There are also concerns that a number of the ‘broadening activities’ that are an integral part of the 16-18 curriculum will be removed because of the reductions in budget,” says Trobe. “We would also anticipate that schools and colleges will increase the amount of partnership and collaborative working in order to help ensure that appropriate provision for all young people is available within a specified geographical area. With reduced funding, not every institution will be able to offer the full range of programmes, thus making collaborative working a necessity in some parts of the country.”

There are many options open to schools that will allow them to improve the efficiency of sixth form education. Whether this will be sufficient to save all post-16 provision remains to be seen, but with quality business management, there at least remains a fighting chance.

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Community service Ossett School became Ossett Academy this year, having converted to a trust two years earlier. School business manager-turned-assistant principal Tracy Jackson led the way and stands as a champion for academy conversion. Julia Dennison reports

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fact box SCHOOL Ossett Academy TYPE Mixed 11-18 academy PUPILS 1,800 Specialisms Sports and technology Teachers 123 Support staff 90 Annual Budget £10m Federation Education Ossett Community Trust Assistant principal Tracy Jackson BACKGROUND With a background in local government finance, Jackson started in education as a bursar at a small 11-16 school before moving to Ossett Academy eight years ago. She holds the CSBM and the DSBM from the National College.

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

he Ossett Academy grounds play host to a hodgepodge of school buildings. The main building is a striking Victorian structure, grade-one listed to protect the arts and crafts detailing of its main hall. Surrounding it are structures dating from the 1920s to the 21st century, reflecting every architectural period in between, from flat-roofed 1960s blocks to cottage buildings made from Yorkshire stone. “You would never design a school like this,” Jackson quips with a hint of frustration, for Ossett Academy had been in-line to receive Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding before the scheme was axed last year.

Jackson’s observations of the school around her are practical ones, for although her title of assistant principal reflects a broader leadership role, a little over two months before EdExec visited her, Ossett Academy was still Ossett School, and she was its business manager (see box on p28).

Ossett became an academy as an outstanding school under the new scheme driven by Education Secretary Michael Gove.

This wasn’t the first time the school had experienced change. Two and a half years earlier, in September 2008, Ossett School joined forces with eight other primary and special schools in the area to become the Education Ossett Community Trust (EOCT). When I sit down with Jackson, it’s clear she embraces the business of running a school wholeheartedly and welcomes the independence academy status brings with it – something she is hoping other school leaders in the area will, too.

How did converting to academy go?

The lead-up to becoming an academy was incredibly frantic. It was a steep learning curve.

Do you think it was easier to become an academy as a trust school?

In some ways; the consultation process of becoming a trust school was much more difficult. The negativity we got from unions and local campaign groups was a lot more severe then, which is surprising. They were confusing trust schools with the old-style academy and we had to keep reinforcing the idea that we weren’t becoming an academy then. We were a group of nine Ossett schools that wanted to work collaboratively to provide 3-19 education, albeit on a number of different sites. The EOCT strap line is ‘a first class entitlement for all’; we wanted to guarantee a common entitlement across all the schools so students of all ages could access our specialisms – from the arts to the sciences.

What made you want to form a trust?

The main driver was the children’s education, but part of it was a dissatisfaction with some of the services provided by the local authority, like grounds maintenance, premises development, pay roll, and human resources.

What was dissatisfying about them?

We didn’t feel like the customer. That was nothing against the workers; it was the system and administrative bureaucracy that surrounded the services. They weren’t service-led, they were bureaucracy-led.

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Becoming an academy has stopped us making some very difficult decisions What was the first thing you did when you became a trust?

The biggest source of dissatisfaction across the schools was around grounds maintenance: we never knew when the workers were turning up; it was difficult to contact anybody directly, you had to go through a chain of command; and if you wanted something urgently, it might be two weeks before you could get it done.

When there’s a school sports day, you want to be able to just ring someone to cut the grass.

Tell me about becoming a trust.

The trustees were registered as company directors and the land and assets were transferred from the local authority to the trustees. The employment of staff became the direct responsibility of each school’s governing body, which each maintained under the Minority Governance model. We also had to become a registered charity. We

got some fantastic solicitors who knew trusts inside and out to help us get our heads around everything. I trained in public sector finance, so having to understand company law and finance was very new to me.

What’s changed at the school since becoming an academy?

We’ve not re-branded the school as yet, we haven’t changed uniforms – the only thing that has changed is the name. As for the business side of the school, we wanted to make its image appear a bit more corporate.

What was harder, becoming a trust or an academy?

Had we not gone through the trust process, I think I would have found becoming an academy very difficult. Things like company law, land transfer issues, consultation processes, TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings

(Protection of Employment)] – we’d trodden on that path before, so this time we felt we were in territory we knew. Some of the responsibilities increase with becoming an academy, and of course so do the risks.

The local authority top-slicing around 13% of our budget used to frustrate us. As an outstanding school, we felt we weren’t really getting value for money.

If you were going to do it again, what would you do differently?

I would have started the insurance process much earlier, because I didn’t realise how onerous a task that was, and the lead time it needed – we had to find out random things like what kind of bricks and mortar we used. I also wouldn’t have panicked as much about pensions and the like as it was far more straightforward than I’d anticipated.

Was it a financial decision to become an academy?

I would say it was 90% financial, 10% the autonomy. As an outstanding, national support and a dual-specialist school, we felt we had

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the capacity, leadership ability, knowledge and experience to be brave enough to stand on our own two feet and also work with other schools to help them become academies – but it was mainly the additional direct funding that finally persuaded the governors.

So the budget is healthier?

Yes, we have control of about £1m more per year. We also got a £25,000 start-up grant, which was plenty to cover our legal fees, some additional admin support, and new software licenses for our financial management system. I think because we were doing a lot of things in-house anyway, such as pay roll and premises management, we’d already dealt with a lot of the start-up costs that other academies face.

There are those who say schools should be wary of becoming an academy for financial reasons, as the start-up grant, for example, is a one-off payment.

Does that worry you?

We’re working on the basis that the LACSEG [Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant] – additional funding that would have gone to the local authority – is going to decrease to almost nothing over the next four years. If the government is downsizing the local authorities, we think they’re going to try to downsize the local authority equivalent money they’re giving to the schools, so we’ve factored that into our financial plan. That’s why we’re trying to make economies wherever we can, such as sharing services throughout the trust.

How have you dealt with not having BSF money?

It was quite disappointing because we have parts of buildings that are not really fit for purpose and had plans in place to fix them using BSF funds. We get a lot for our money with our in-house premises team – we get windows fitted, refurbish as much as we can and create spaces out of nothing. Space is an issue here because we’re a successful, over-subscribed school. We find we’re getting bigger and bigger at post-16 level.

Is that a challenge with post-16 funding cuts?

We’ve calculated that from September the cuts will affect us in the region of £300,000, which is not insignificant.

Wow. How will you cope with that?

To be honest, the academy conversion has saved that money and more. It has also stopped us needing to make some very difficult decisions. Where other schools have to go down the redundancy route, we’ve not had to do that at all. That’s not to say that we haven’t reevaluated and refined our curriculum to make sure it’s cost effective – we have, particularly at post-16.

In what ways have you done that?

We’re stopping some of the curricular options in our sixth form. Previously it was pretty much a free rein at post-16. We had some fairly uneconomical groups, such as five in textiles or four in modern languages, but we wanted to do that to give students the choice.

The majority of our sixth form students go on to university and we think that’s partly because we offer them whatever they want. However, in fiscally-tight times, you can’t justify that. So we’ve now said post-16 groups cannot go below 12, and even that’s a low number.

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

Fundraising Ossett Academy supplements its funding through initiatives including: n Extended school services n Being a National Support School n Letting out its swimming pool, sports hall and 3G football pitches.

Do you find yourself getting more involved in curricular decisions?

Absolutely; I think I always have, but up until three or four years ago, when money was aplenty, I was more trusting and just sat back and let the curriculum person do the curriculum and once they’d done that, I’d do the staffing. Now I’m challenging curricular decisions more. Seventy-five per cent of an average school’s budget goes on teaching costs, so that’s where you can find our biggest savings. If you manage to save two teachers, you save the best part of £100,000.

Would you call yourself a business management leader within your trust?

Yes, I find I’m at the end of the phone a lot to the other schools in the trust – they’ve all got my mobile number! We put in a bid at the National College for a shared business manager between the primary schools through its School Business Management Primary Partnerships grant, and unfortunately we didn’t get it because they’ve been inundated. So they’re moving our application to the new financial year and hopefully we’ll get through.

What’s in a name?

Before Ossett School became Ossett Academy, assistant principal Tracy Jackson had the title ‘school business manager’. She was always on the school’s leadership team but over the last three years her pay has been aligned to that of an assistant headteacher, so her head wanted her to take the role in name as well as pay. “The head was pushing for me to be called ‘assistant head’,” she explains, “but my argument at the time was, ‘I can’t call myself an assistant headteacher when I’m not a teacher.’”

When Ossett became an academy in February and the head became principal, Jackson accepted the title ‘assistant principal’, “because ‘principal’ to me doesn’t necessarily say I teach; it says I lead.”

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Secure in the knowledge School security should be high on the agenda, whether it is protecting people during school hours or securing the premises during the holidays. Matthew Jane looks at some of the options

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chools, colleges and nurseries should be areas of learning, achievement and progression, where children and students can go to advance their skills and be given the best possible footing to progress in life. As teachers and school leaders strive to offer the best learning experiences, it is essential to ensure that those people and property entrusted into the care of the institution are safe, secure and well cared for at all times.

The Department for Education recently produced guidance for screening, searching and confiscating items brought onto school premises that could pose a threat to pupils or staff. The guidelines explain the lengths that schools can go to, such as using metal detectors to search for weapons, in order to keep their places of learning safe. While schools may strive to keep spaces as open and inviting as possible, the sad reality is that there are situations in which extreme measures are necessary to create as safe an environment as possible.

Fortunately, there are many measures that can be introduced to act as a first line of defence against any unwanted activity. “Short of installing and manning full body scanners at every entrance, one of the most cost-effective ways of preventing dangerous items being carried into schools is to set firm rules with a contract drawn up between parents, students and staff when starting at the school,” says Simon Lusty of MEL Secure Systems.

There is a wide range of solutions that can help ensure the tight security of a school premises, protecting against dangerous items or unauthorised people being granted access to the site. Muriel Runnalls from ADT Fire and Security suggests that the range of threats and challenges facing schools means the most effective solutions involve a combination of physical, electronic and procedural measures. “Technology has developed apace, with innovations in systems such as CCTV, intruder detection, access control and fire detection,” she explains.

“Suppliers are also able to integrate these technologies seamlessly onto one platform for better management and control, providing schools with a greater opportunity to deliver a safe and pleasant learning environment for staff and students.”

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

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The challenges and, in turn, the solutions to schools security are different depending on the time of day and the use of the building. “The major security risk during school hours is unauthorised access to premises through lack of proper door control,” says Lusty. “Out of hours, poor lighting makes it difficult to achieve full surveillance of all areas.”

LIMITED ACCESS Ensuring only approved people are allowed into schools while keeping the space inviting for guests is one of the challenges of security. Runnalls suggests the best approach is to deliver a combination of physical, electronic and procedural measures (see box on p32 for more).

Hugh Murray of the Knighthood Group suggests that controlling access to doors and gates can be done in a variety of ways. “Firstly, the schools should minimise the number of access points and then avoid leaving them open on automatic timers,” he says. “Secondly, all visitors should be managed, preferably from the initial appointment to arrival. The most limited access control should ensure that visitors cannot access the premises without staff intervention and a suitable badge.” He adds that, if necessary, children could also be provided with biometric access or hands free tags.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA Cameras can be a great way to protect schools, acting as an initial deterrent and providing a range of security services beyond simply recording activity. “CCTV has reached a sufficiently intelligent level where it can warn of anybody

The major security risk during school hours is unauthorised access to premises through lack of proper door control www.edexec.co.uk may 2011

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CCTV has reached a sufficiently intelligent level where it can warn of anybody crossing the property by creating virtual ‘trip wires’ on the screen loitering in particular areas or crossing on or off the property merely by creating virtual lines, or ‘trip wires’, on the screen,” explains Murray, who adds that there are systems that can even provide an age range and even the sex of individuals.

There is more to CCTV installation than simply attaching cameras to buildings. Lusty says the technology can be a great asset “providing a data controller is appointed with a code of practice to ensure proper usage”. He adds that an operational requirement should be completed for each camera.

There are several management implications of using security cameras that should not be underestimated. “Local CCTV monitoring requires a significant amount of staff resource if it is to be carried out continuously and is reliant on staff having been provided with adequate training,” explains Runnalls. “A system can be rendered ineffective by users who are unsure how to operate the technology, as well as lacking knowledge of the data they are handling and gathering.” She suggests that system monitoring is undertaken off-site by an approved monitoring centre.

When considering surveillance equipment, it is important to contemplate the school surroundings and how natural surveillance can be maintained, for example by planting slow-growing shrubs maintained at no more than one metre high.

“Trees should be canopied to allow surveillance and the perimeter fence should be well-maintained,” says Lusty. “Any access should be gated or locked with clear and enforceable rule-setting with staff.”

PROTECT YOUR ASSETS The equipment and expensive ICT products that are now commonplace in schools make them appealing targets for robbers, especially during the holidays and outside of school hours. “Burglary is often committed by opportunistic thieves, but police are also aware of incidents where gangs of thieves target particular schools knowing exactly what valuable equipment is on site,” says James Brown from Selectamark. “Expensive items such as computers, laptops, whiteboards and data projectors are particularly vulnerable to theft.”

The first step a school should take is to try to prevent the act of theft, but they should also attempt to reduce the rewards for the burglar. “Thieves are now aware that security measures such as forensic marking are making their job much harder, as marked items are more difficult to sell on,” says Brown. “As a result, DNA forensic marking is proving to be a very effective deterrent in itself, reducing theft by up to 85% in some instances.”

SECURITY STRATEGY When considering the most appropriate security measures to adopt, Runnalls suggests establishing a risk management group, which could include site managers, teaching staff, pupils, governors and parents. The group should be consulted on issues such as carrying out risk assessments, monitoring the effectiveness of solutions and arranging training to improve the risk awareness of staff and pupils.

Brown also suggests involving the local police in any security decisions. “In areas such as Dorset, Essex and Oxfordshire, hundreds of schools have been successfully tackling the problem of theft using forensic marking as a powerful deterrent,” he explains. “These marking schemes have all been backed by local police and are often financed by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.”

He adds that there have been other examples where the police have organised leaflet drops to neighbouring residents, encouraging them to report any suspicious behaviour during school holidays.

Importantly, schools should be looking for long-term security measures.

Runnalls says that quick-fix solutions simply don’t exist. “Organisations should take a long-term strategic approach and consider the overall life safety picture across the school,” she explains. This could include a needs analysis based on existing measures, applicable codes and standards and the overall security goals.

Schools should also develop response strategies that can be implemented quickly and communicated to necessary parties, and formulate a plan and timeline for migrating to a long-term, overarching solution that will ensure the security of the school is thoroughly considered far into the future.

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

TOP tips Security advice from Muriel Runnells, ADT Fire and Security n All visitors should be directed by means of prominent notices to a

single entrance door/reception point. n Casual access to other parts of the school building should, as far

as possible, be prevented, such as through locked external doors. n Visitors should be escorted to and from their destination within

the building as and when appropriate. n All visitors should sign in and out providing their name,

organisation worked for, person being met and car registration. n Visitors should be asked to produce evidence of their identity as

and when appropriate. n All visitors should be provided with a badge while on the site. n The reception should incorporate a secure lobby that restricts

entry into the building until allowed by a member of staff. A secure reception hatch should overlook this lobby from the office but there should not be a door leading from the lobby directly into the office.

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comment

You can bank on it With the educational landscape adapting to the academy era, school banking and finances are in flux.

Ian Buss of Lloyds TSB gives his expert advice on school banking for the future

W pictured | ian buss

ith the continued acceleration of academy conversions and many believing that the government will push this option even harder, schools are taking the opportunity to review existing banking arrangements or look into having their own banking partners for the first time.

Whatever your reasons for reviewing your banking, it is an excellent time to examine your school’s financial processes.

I always find it fascinating that schools (rightly) want the protection and security of dual-authorisation on payments but many strive to make their lives easier by keeping a supply of pre-signed cheques in their safe!

With cheques expected to be phased out by 2018, it is likely this will force a significant change in many schools’ banking procedures for payment of goods and services as well as funds in from parents.

The ‘social’ benefits of removing cash from the playground can be high – less cash in the playground helps reduce bullying may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

electronic avenue For those who don’t already embrace it, electronic banking is the future. The security and flexibility offered by online banking is a huge benefit over cheques. The ability to have dual-authorisation on payments without the approvers needing to be in the building ensures that payments can be made at times convenient to you.

When switching to electronic banking your next aim is to encourage – or even insist on – parents moving away from the use of inbound cheques (and even cash). Doing this well in advance of 2018 gives you a chance to phase this practice out over a couple of years and ease through the inevitable objections.

While there are costs to moving to a system of allowing parents to pay online or by PayPoint cards, these can be outweighed by the often-significant time saving in the administration, and counting and banking of vast quantities of cash and cheques. The ‘social’ benefits of removing cash from the playground can also be high – less or no cash in the playground can help reduce bullying.

A study of secondary schools by ParentPay showed that up to 50% of the dinner money handed over at the breakfast table never makes it to schools’ bank accounts.

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50%

half of dinner money given to secondary pupils never makes it to the school

Debt is not an option The Department for Education has indicated that there is still little appetite to allow schools to borrow, even following the conversion to academy, as debt held by schools counts towards the national debt. This means the need to ‘break even’ or attempt to make surpluses each year will continue to be challenging, especially in this era of austerity.

Schools need to consider how they ‘market’ themselves to their catchment areas as even a relatively small reduction in intake numbers can have a significant detrimental impact on income over the years as this compounds.

Strength in numbers Creating or joining a group or federation can help address some of these concerns.

For instance, a secondary school that teams up with primary schools nearby, can not only scale up and reduce costs through group purchasing and shared resources but also strengthen the feeder relationship by having common focus and values.

We have two great examples of federations that feature in our new publication, the Lloyds TSB Commercial Academy Guide.

Researched, written and produced in collaboration with experts from leading law firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards, accountants Baker Tilly and the National Association of School Business Managers (NASBM), the guide explores the processes, benefits and potential pitfalls of becoming an academy or federation with relevant case studies of a number of schools.

A copy is available in this issue on page nine.

Remember that whatever needs your school has, your relationship with your bank is crucial. A good relationship manager who specialises in education and is local to you should be able to offer you the right support and guidance in all areas of school finances.

TOP tips n Sign up to electronic banking n Discourage parents from using

cheques or cash n Market your school to your

catchment area n Consider joining a federation to

benefit from group purchasing

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fundraising

Filling the piggy bank The best remedy for disappointing budgets is finding cash for your school you never knew existed. Julia Dennison looks at ways to augment your school’s funding

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ots of money can be found in the most unusual places. If you think you’ve exhausted your sources of funding, think again: there are often ways to source additional cash if you think creatively.

According to data on school finances from the Department for Education, as analysed by Gareth Wynne of Futurelab Education, the average income for a school is approximately: n £4,103 per pupil in primary/middle schools from grant funding and £212 per pupil from self-generated sources n £5,297 per pupil in secondary schools from grant funding and £296 per pupil from selfgenerated sources n £20,404 per pupil in special schools from grant funding and £889 per pupil from selfgenerated sources.

“This means that less than five per cent of primary/middle schools’ income is self-generated with 5.2% for secondaries and 4.2% for special schools,” Wynne explains in a blog on EdExec.co.uk.

“There is a real opportunity in this era of ‘more for less’ for entrepreneurial school business managers, who are in a lot of cases running medium-sized not-for-profit enterprises, to consider how they might diversify income streams and fill some of the voids left by the scaling back of local authority services.” Here are a few ways.

Part-payment schemes are proving a popular way for schools to fund trendy gadgets such as the iPad – though educators should be sensitive to the implications this could have on the children of less well-off parents. It is for this reason the issue is dividing opinion at schools.

Pete Spencer, headteacher of Coedcae school in Llanelli, Wales, told the Guardian he flatly opposes it. “Things like that are OK in affluent areas, but what would we do about those children whose parents couldn’t afford £10 a month? It would create a two-tier system in the school.”

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), also felt uneasy about it. “Not every parent can afford it,” he said. “The people who already have a lot will be able to afford it and their children will benefit and the people from disadvantaged backgrounds will go without.”

However, Valerie Thompson, chief executive of the e-Learning Foundation, said it was the only viable option to ensure pupils have access to the tools they need in these cash-strapped yet digitally reliant times, and the e-Learning Foundation asks parents to make donations to help schools in underprivileged areas set up digital, e-learning programmes, ensuring all children have access to a computer and the internet at home as well as school.

Parents

Parents should be asked to contribute a regular donation to the school, in the same way as churchgoers make to their church

Parents can be lucrative sources of cash for the smart school business manager, particularly in areas of affluence. It’s important to look to them to see what kind of funding they could help with, whether through donations, raising money, giving their time, sharing their skills or even participating in part-payment schemes for expensive equipment.

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

“I accept a lot of families can’t afford £10 a month, but a lot can and do,” Thompson told the Guardian. “Fifteen per cent of children in the UK are eligible for free schools meals, which means their parents are on less than £16,190. So, 85% of children have parents who are on more and can afford to pay. We are scrupulous in making sure that children whose parents can’t afford to contribute can still take part in the programme.”

Another form of fundraising comes in the shape of school alumni, a source of cash independent schools are already taking good advantage of. There’s no reason a state school can’t do the same, particularly when pupils have succeeded much in thanks to a good education.

Gift aid Before you ask for donations, it’s important your school is opting into the Gift Aid scheme. Gift Aid increases the value of donations to charities – so your school needs to register as a charity first – by allowing them to reclaim basic rate tax on gifted money. If basic rate tax is 20% and someone gives £10 using Gift Aid, it’s worth £12.50 to your school (for more information visit http://www.hmrc.gov. uk/individuals/giving/gift-aid.htm).

“The cuts in funding for schools, particularly the drastic cuts in devolved formula capital allowances, mean that schools need to become fully geared up to maximising Gift Aid in order to

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fund key equipment and services to benefit pupils,” says Eric Willis of European Vocational Training – an expert in school fundraising.

To take advantage of Gift Aid, not only will a school need to set up some kind of charitable status but it will need a system of recording gifts and ensuring the gifts are made by eligible tax payers. “Establishing charitable status is easy for academies and voluntary-aided schools; for other schools, the school fund account could be registered as charities or a school company limited by guarantee set up,” explains Willis. He says parent-teacher associations should also be registered as a charity and all their fundraising events should be coordinated and Gift Aided.

Once all this is in place, schools should establish a Gift Aid strategy. “Ideally parents should be asked to contribute a regular donation to the school, in the same way as regular churchgoers make to their church,” says Willis.

“Obviously it helps if the school is oversubscribed, and has reasonably well-off parents. The emphasis on the Gift Aid fund should be that it will always benefit the pupils, and there should be regular publicity on the positive things that have been funded by Gift Aid giving.”

The school should also establish a calendar of Gift Aid-friendly events. Willis gives examples that include sponsored events, dress-down days, The X Factor-type talent shows, choral competitions etc. events that a have a prize (i.e. raffles), however, are not eligible for Gift Aid. Also, claims can be backdated three years. “So if a school has any records of gifts made then back claims can be made,” Willis explains. “A wellcoordinated Gift Aid strategy can raise thousands of extra funds every year for very little effort.”

A well-coordinated Gift Aid strategy can rise thousands of extra funds every year for little effort will provide a newsletter service updating schools in their area on funding opportunities made available. Websites like Grants4Schools.info also provide a regular update on funding available from sources including the government, EU, National Lottery, charitable trusts and commercial sponsorship sources – basically any sources of funding that fall outside the scope of the main school budget. Signing up to as many RSS feeds and information streams as possible from the above organisations will put the smart business manager in good stead for getting a little extra cash put in their pot. Lastly, it’s important to remember when seeking out grants that if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so what’s the harm in asking?

5%

aVerage aMOunt Of a sCHOOL’s inCOMe tHat is seLf-generated

PuPiL PreMiuM From last month, schools receive a pupil premium of £430 for each child eligible for free school meals.

It is estimated that around 20% of parents who could claim a free meal each day for their child don’t and some schools blame this on the social stigma attached to it. In the run-up to April, headteachers and business managers throughout England encouraged eligible parents who earn £16,190 or less a year to claim free school meals.

Some say they have been asking families to register their entitlement even if they have no intention of claiming the meals at lunchtime.

According to the Derby Telegraph, Ramsey Tetlow, headteacher at Highfields school in Matlock, Derbyshire, approached parents because he feared a funding crisis. In a letter, he urged them to sign up “as soon as possible” and added “it is vital we do all we can to maximise our funding”.

Meanwhile the Somerset Guardian reports that in a similar letter to parents, Mandy Allwright, a local school business manager said: “It is vital to us to be aware of who is entitled as this information generates more income. It does not mean that your child has to have a free meal. They are welcome to bring their own if they prefer.”

LittLe-KnOWn grants The sources for lesser-known grants from charities and the government alike are endless and changing every day. Some local authorities

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21

century bursar st

With more highly skilled school business managers in demand than ever, Gareth Wynne looks at the skills needed for the 21st century bursar

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

career advice

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s hundreds of schools across the country make the move to autonomous academies and free schools, attractive, yet demanding, career opportunities are opening up for ambitious school business managers and bursars.

Even for those not changing their governance structure, the situation is becoming ever more complex as previously recharged local authority services morph into ‘traded services’.

However, independence from the LA also brings its own new set of challenges. As the National College estimates the requirement for more than 13,000 senior level SBMs by 2013, those in the role need to consider adopting best practice attributes found in the private sector to build the 21st century skills required to carve a successful career (see box out).

What the future holds A recent bursar job ad on the National Association of School Business Management’s website stated: ‘This is so much more than a bursar’s role’ under the title ‘strategic business development manager’, outlining the need for ‘highly developed influencing skills’ and ‘commercial flair’. The key focus of the role is to strategically lead the school’s marketing strategy, seek and secure external funding as well as securing the operational management of the school’s finances.

The CFO of tomorrow should be a big-picture thinker rather than detail-oriented, outspoken rather than reserved, prefer to delegate rather than be hands-on, emphasise what gets done rather than how things are done, and make collaborative rather than unilateral decisions ” An excerpt from Future Perfect: The CFO of Tomorrow

alongside sponsors, many of which will have come from a business-focused background. Private sector best practice, therefore, is well placed to support SBMs to help their school make the successful move away from a culture of spending allocated state budgets, to one where they are actively generating revenues.

Five skills 21st centry SBMs need 1. An understanding of technology. It is vital that SBMs keep up to speed with technology to maximise learning opportunities and return-on-investment. In cash-constrained times when budgets are often scrutinised, evaluation of impact is more important than ever.

2. Ability to deliver ‘efficiency-plus’. To achieve cost efficiencies that drive school improvement and deliver learner outcomes, SBMs must not only cut costs and try to achieve the same result, they must also seek to reduce expenditure while improving outcomes. This requires a much more imaginative starting point with a focus on outcomes and not inputs. With technology, for example, schools should focus on its pedagogical use and evidence of its impact on teaching and learning to help create efficiencies (e.g. access to curated content rather than teacher-generated content) and not the unit cost of kit.

3. Self-promotion. SBMs need to develop a much stronger narrative about the areas where they add value to a school and hence why they should be at the heart of all strategic decisionmaking. These range from being a facilitator of organisational change, to the technical skills and knowledge required to set up and operate trading subsidiaries and raise finance.

4. Display of gravitas and insight. SBMs require a deep understanding of the vision of their school and must translate this into effective commissioning and management of relationships with service suppliers who support its realisation.

An SBM should develop a reputation as an ‘honest broker’ who achieves outcomes by engaging senior leadership teams in collective decision-making based on an SBMs’ sound analysis and interpretation of available information.

5. A ‘higher order’ management of finances. Once the ‘cushion’ of LA support is removed, cash flow becomes critical. Robust cash flow forecasts, incorporating scenarios that aim to ensure the school will have sufficient funds available at the right time to pay for operations over the long-term, must become a core activity for SBMs.

Other positions cry out for ‘first rate communication Gareth Wynne is an associate director at charity Futurelab skills’, an ‘inspirational and engaging leader’, ‘a creative approach to problem solving’ and ‘the ability to whistle in the face of adversity’. ‘Vision, empathy and the highest level of personal integrity’ and a ‘deep knowledge of, and moreover be a champion of, best practice within a large and complex organisation’ are other attributes frequently cited.

The growth in academies is accelerating the professionalisation of the SBM role and individual academies Some top attributes of a company finance director, are now routinely appointing directors of finance. Key success according to Grant Thornton and Directorbank Group, indicators for these positions include elements as diverse as worth applying to the role of a school bursar: ‘delivery of an outstanding human resources plan’, ‘review and n Excellent communication skills across the business shape support functions’ and ‘position the school well from a and with the outside world. marketing and PR perspective’. We often, and quite rightly, hear talk of 21st century learner skills but little around the skills n Broad people skills, particularly the ability to required for SBMs to be effective in the 21st century. As befits lead a high-calibre team. a role at the heart of modern senior leadership teams, what n Commerciality and in-depth understanding of might these be? the business, its markets and customers.

As schools become more entrepreneurial and seek to fill the voids in services previously provided by LAs, the ability to n The ability to support and challenge the CEO. analyse and research new business opportunities and develop robust business cases for them, becomes a core competency n An affinity with numbers and the ability to and will require schools to operate akin to private enterprises. interpret them for others.

In the academy environment, SBMs will be working

What makes an outstanding finance director?

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CPD

How to be a better boss As schools earn more autonomy, school business managers need to ensure they have their team on-board. Without them on your side, you won’t get far. Julia Dennison finds out how to be a better manager

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hanges in the UK’s education system mean increased independence and accountability in schools. For a school to become the fortified small-island it needs to become under diminishing local authority control, its staff need to work as a team. The school business manager is crucial in ensuring that at the core of every school is a well-oiled business machine and happy employees are essential to this goal.

A more interactive public sector is proven to be a more successful one. Seventy-eight per cent of highly engaged employees in the UK public sector say they can make an impact on public services delivery or customer service, as opposed to just 29% of the disengaged, according to a recent Towers Perrin report.

One key characteristic of employee engagement in the public sector – staff advocacy – was strongly associated with better organisational performance as measured by external regulators, a 2009 UK government report revealed. This is why it is absolutely crucial that school leaders stay in conversation with their staff as they transition through the changes required for 21st century learning in the UK.

Employee engagement Engaging employees will be essential to seeing your organisation thrive. Will Mitchell of consultancy A&DC, explains what this entails: “Engagement means focusing on employees’ strengths to achieve peak performance. People who are engaged use their signature strengths within their roles to achieve heightened levels of performance. This benefits the business as it achieves increased productivity, enhanced employee wellbeing, job satisfaction and very importantly, commitment. It also benefits the individual as people are naturally motivated by tasks that interest them.”

According to this quarter’s ‘Employee Outlook Survey’ from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), seven in 10 public sector workers have had their pay either frozen (63%) or cut (six per cent).

There’s also a growing sense of realism in the public sector relating to the risk of redundancy. The survey shows

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

that nearly a third (31%) of public sector workers fear they could lose their job.

Ben Willmott, senior public policy adviser, at the CIPD, said: “With employees feeling the pinch financially, concerned over their job security and with fewer opportunities to move up or move on, employers need to deliver consistently high quality leadership and management on the frontline.” How managers communicate, consult and coach and develop staff is critical.

Money can’t buy love In the current economic climate where pay rises are scarce, schools looking for alternative but equally powerful ways of getting the best out of their staff and improving their productivity should let their staff know they care.

Dominic Turnbull, MD of consultancy The McLane Group, explains: “One of the most important techniques involved in increasing productivity is to appreciate and acknowledge your staff. Regularly doing so will help increase the overall feeling of being valued and therefore how the work gets done.”

Change is well and truly upon us, so if you haven’t had your team in for a school staff-wide meeting on what to expect, now is the time. The last thing you want is to lose them to another school in this time of churn.

Maintaining an engaged workforce n Explore why people excel, not fail. n Embrace transparency and trust. n Create a ‘door’s always open’ culture. n Adopt a collaborative leadership style. n Identify engaged employees. n Request staff opinions. n Seek to understand employees’ concerns.

CPD

acknowledgement and appreciation a list of all the people you work with and note 1 Make down a particular quality, behaviour or attitude you genuinely admire about them, as well as the specific example when you experienced them exhibiting it. If you have never specifically acknowledged them for this, make an opportunity in the next two weeks to specifically acknowledge them. direct and specific in your acknowledgment and 2 Be describe the impact they had on you. on your relationships and projects (both 3 Reflect personal and in the workplace) and identify who and what you could genuinely acknowledge that would heal and transform the relationship or empower the possibility of the project. it comes to acknowledging and appreciating 4 When your team remember to allow them to take control.

Take some time out with your team and acknowledge each member for one thing they have contributed. acknowledge others without the intention 5 Regularly of getting something in return and, vice versa, be sure to respond when you are acknowledged and try to lengthen answers. Do not play them down or simply say thank you. what qualities you admire in others that 6 Establish you are able to acknowledge and appreciate. If you struggle to achieve this, study someone you know who is a master at acknowledgement and giving people authentic praise. What do they say and how do they say it? Think about how you respond when you are acknowledged – how does it make you feel and how do you benefit from it?

Boxes with thanks to A&DC and the McLane Group

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HR

Absent minded In cases of high staff absence, an occupational health assessment can help determine the cause of action for a school to take. Dr Matthew Mills explains what is involved in this process

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anaging an employee’s frequent short-term sickness absence can be a challenge. Obtaining an occupational health assessment can be important in addressing this pattern of absence.

An occupational health assessment can help in a number of ways. It can help determine if there is an underlying condition contributing to the sickness absence, and if so whether you need to be considering adjustments. It can provide advice on whether there is a work-related element to absence that needs to be addressed. The occupational health clinician (OHC) can often address lifestyle or general health factors that may help the individual to improve their attendance in the future. They can also offer advice on the future; is attendance likely to improve, stay the same or deteriorate.

It is important to remember that the OHC cannot pass judgement on whether a particular employee’s sickness absence is acceptable to the employer-only the employer can do this.

KEY QUESTIONS Managers will want to know whether they can expect the employee’s attendance to improve in the future and if there is an underlying reason for the high sickness absence. If an underlying and ongoing or recurring medical condition is present, then it may well be possible for the OHC to advise on the likely future course of this condition, and therefore, to some extent, predict future attendance. For example, if the absence is a

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

result of multiple sclerosis, which shows signs of progression, it is likely that attendance will not improve in the future. Where there is no medical condition, the OHC will often remind the manager that past sickness absence is the best predictor of future sickness absence.

An exception to this rule may be that the individual has had high sickness for some other reason, and this other reason may change or improve in the future, e.g. a sick family member or a stressful personal situation that is about to be resolved. The OHC will always encourage the employee to discuss these issues with their line manager, as they will often be able to consider additional support to help the employee through a difficult period. OHCs can also signpost employees to helpful services such as counselling or the employer’s employee assistance programme (EAP).

Often, frequent short-term sickness absence relates to one-off episodes of what doctors refer to as ‘self-limiting illness’. This includes coughs, colds, flu and vomiting bugs. The OHC can advise if there is an underlying medical reason why the employee might be expected to experience a greater

number of such infections than the general population. Such underlying medical reasons are generally absent in most referrals for frequent sickness absence, but might include conditions that suppress the immune system. Asthma or chronic chest disease may result in more frequent (and more severe) respiratory infections, while diabetes may result in an increase in infections of any type.

Often employees will associate a high frequency of self-limiting infections, especially colds and flu, to work in schools where large numbers of people gather. There is little evidence that such workplaces cause an increase in selflimiting infections, and a person is probably just as likely to get exposed to common infections on a bus or in a supermarket.

High short-term sickness absence in the absence of any predisposing condition, or underlying medical problem, is likely to continue and should be managed as per the organisation’s sickness absence policy.

RECOGNISE THE CONDITION Where an underlying condition is present, the OHC can use their knowledge of that condition

The occupational health clinician can often address lifestyle or general health factors that may help the individual to improve their attendance in the future

hr

to give an opinion on whether the attendance is likely to improve, deteriorate or stay the same.

Sometimes a report from a treating specialist can be helpful in establishing how well controlled a person’s illness is and whether there is scope for improvement.

Conditions that can cause high levels of recurrent absence include epilepsy, diabetes and asthma. It is not possible for the OHC to advise on what constitutes a typical level of sickness absence for any given condition because the severity of a condition can vary significantly between individuals. That said, one would normally expect conditions such as these to be well controlled, with appropriate medical supervision. A minority of individuals will have poorly controlled diabetes, asthma or epilepsy through no fault of their own, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

If an employee has an underlying medical condition with related high short-term absence, then there are a number of considerations that the OHC can assist with. For example, is there scope for improving their control? Is the individual compliant with medical advice or medication? Are they engaging with specialist support services, such as a diabetes clinic? Is the person taking responsibility for his or her own health? If not, then they need to be encouraged to do this and reminded that they are accountable to their employer in taking responsibility for their health where this is affecting their ability to attend work. It may be necessary to obtain a report from the GP or specialist to help address these questions.

An OHC can also advise on adjustments that the employer can consider to assist in improving the person’s health condition, for example adjusting shifts for an employee with insulindependent diabetes or restricting a person with epilepsy from night work. In cases of high sickness absence where the employer may have no choice but to consider termination of employment on the grounds of capability then it is important to first ensure that the employer has taken advice on any measures that they can take to help support the employee.

These conditions are all highly likely to be regarded as disabilities by a tribunal, but employers are still entitled to decide what level of attendance is reasonable. In cases of sustained high levels of short-term absence it may be the case that the individual is simply not medically capable of fulfilling the role, but an occupational health assessment can be vital in informing such management decisions.

Occupational health professionals can offer advice on many aspects of frequent sickness absence, and managers would be well advised to seek an OH assessment in any case that is escalated through the sickness absence policy.

It is important to remember, however, that an organisation’s sickness absence rates are about much more than medical matters, and encompass issues such as organisational culture, management style, stress management and worker fulfilment.

Dr Matthew Mills is deputy clinical director at Premier Occupational Healthcare and a consultant in occupational health.

TOP tips How an occupational health assessment can help n It can help determine if there is an

underlying condition contributing to the sickness absence, and if so, whether you need to be considering adjustments. n It can provide advice on whether there is

a work-related element to absence that needs to be addressed. n It can address lifestyle or general health

factors that may help the individual to improve their attendance in the future. n It can offer advice on the future, like

whether attendance likely to improve, stay the same or deteriorate.

www.edexec.co.uk may 2011

43

work/life

Break Time ?

Secret life of a business manager

On the water

March might seem a bit cold for venturing out on the water, but the first day of the sailing season was a bright day this year and it is a day I always look forward to.

The water is always cold this time of year, so I dress accordingly. No one wants to fall in at the start of the season so I take it easy and don’t take any risks. As the weather warms up we get more adventurous and don’t mind the

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

odd capsize.

I find getting out on the water is a really good way to escape from everything, especially the mobile phone. Sailing is a great leveller and our club is a very friendly.

I would recommend the sport to anyone: it

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6 5 1 7 2 8 9 4 2 6 1 8 7 2 1 5 9 7 9 6

3 1 5 6 9 2 7 5 8 6 8 8 1 7 3

can be done by all ages and abilities, is great fun and also provides a good social life.

I do get some amazed looks from my pupils when they see me dressed up for a winter sail, taking on a different identity to the one they see in the school office – it is far more action packed!

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

Isabel Emby, Bursar, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Kent

HISTORY In military terms, what is ‘Conshie’ short for? ........................................ technology What was the world’s tallest structure between 1889 and 1940? ........................................

Do you have an interesting hobby or activity? We would love to hear from you. Email editor@edexec.co.uk with the subject line ‘secret life’ and 200 words on your hobby. Every entry featured wins a £20 M&S voucher.

may 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

GEOGRAPHY What is the name of Italy’s largest airport, situated in Rome? ........................................ music To whom was the singer Sarah Brightman married until 1990?

PE In football, what was introduced during the winter of 1963 and has been used ever since?

........................................

........................................

........................................

english Name the three musketeers.

ANSWERS History - conscientious objector; Technology – the Eiffel Tower; PE – Pools Panel; Geography – Leonardo Da Vinci International; Music – Andrew Lloyd Webber; English - Aramis, Porthos and Athos

44

Coming up in next month’s education executive The James Review

Green cash

What will be the price paid for sacrificing bespoke school design?

Solar panels as eco-friendly money makers

Working in clusters

School dinner grant

One school business manager acts as advisor to local primary cluster

How are you using your no-longer-ringfenced money?

Saving money on the curriculum

Redundancies

How better organising class sizes could save your school funds

A guide to treading carefully with staff layoffs

Out in June