Education Magazine no 56 for web

Edition 5, 2013

Aspiration... and how to instill it P14 New Government funded schools project launches to encourage girls into engineering p20

Shocking Increase in sexual abuse and selfharming revealed by students p28

Old schools – hidden assets for a sustainable future p22

Procurement strategies – Insurance p30

Why women make great entrepreneurs p24

Accounting for academies p32

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Contents 2 News 14

Aspiration… and how to instill it Talking to Joe Davies has been the Master at Haileybury School in Hertfordshire

20 New Government funded schools project launches to encourage girls into engineering

22 Old schools –

23 Standardising

on products without compromising on quality

24 Why women make great entrepreneurs

By Ali Golds, Founder of Operation Enterprise and The Juno Project

26 Cyber Security:

Protecting your website against DDoS attacks

30 Procurement

strategies – Insurance

By Michelle Brankovic, Category Manager, ESPO Professional Services

32 Accounting

for academies Lisa White is a partner at UHY Hacker Young Bristol chartered accountants

34 More News

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hidden assets for a Shocking increase sustainable future in sexual abuse and An opinion piece Jonathan Tuckey self-harming revealed by of Jonathan Tuckey Design students

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Cover pic: Haileybury School.

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Children revel in ‘Gliori’ of reading Fylde Coast pupils enjoyed a ‘Gliorified’ lesson in children’s literature when one of the country’s most exciting authors of young children’s books dropped in for a chat at one of the area’s leading independent schools.

Debi Gliori, the Scottish based author and illustrator, whose last book, ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf?’ is shortlisted in this year’s Scottish Children’s Book Awards, called into Rossall School, Fleetwood as part of a book tour for her latest illustrated novel ‘Dragon Loves

Penguin.’ She enthralled children from Rossall Junior School and another local school with a talk about her characters and how she has brought them to life in words and pictures in the dozens of acclaimed books she has written and illustrated since she burst onto the literary landscape in 1990.

Debi Gliori, surrounded by avid fans at Rossall. Left to right: Ellie Williams, aged 5 of Rossall; Eleanor Christy, aged 4 of Larkholme; Juan Mkpadi, aged 4 of Thornton; Rowan Mistry, aged 5 of Poulton and Kye Kashyap, aged 4 of Thornton.

Katie Lee, said: “We encourage all our children to develop a love of literature from an early age and the visits of authors are extremely beneficial in helping to generate a passion for reading that is so important. The visits of

The Author’s visit is one of a series of high-profile visits to the school by some of the UK’s leading children’s authors.

Commenting on the visit, the Head of Rossall Junior School,

of aluminium - an infinitely recyclable material - the innovative teaching initiative reminds young designers about aluminium’s increasing use in the world we live in; from smartphones to cars, drinks cans to buildings.

Aluminium D&T Challenge opens to schools for 2nd year Key Stage Three pupils (11-14 year olds) are being invited to take up the Alu Design & Technology (D&T) Challenge, a national competition encouraging students to think about the importance of sustainable design, using aluminium.

Returning for its second year the exciting competition is part of a free, flexible D&T online teaching resource developed by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) in partnership with the Aluminium Federation and leading aluminium recycler Novelis UK. The competition has been endorsed by the Design & Technology Association (DATA).

Aiming to communicate the recycling message to the next generation whilst also educating students about the incredible properties and sustainability potential

Debi Gliori and other renowned writers have also created a great deal of excitement amongst our children, which has encouraged them to read more and has helped them to develop reading skills beyond their years.”

Legasee wins Heritage Lottery support to record and exhibit the stories of second world war convoy veterans.

The Legasee Educational Trust has received £62,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the ”Keeping Britain Afloat” project.

Working with Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and local young people the project sets out to film the personal stories of 50 Veterans who served as Chatham Ratings in the Convoys of the Second World War. The project will culminate in 2015 with a permanent exhibition at Chatham Historic Dockyard celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The free teaching online resource contains lesson plans, design briefs, stimulus sheets and guidance for teachers and supports the D&T Curriculum throughout the UK. Based on the success of last year’s Challenge, which saw entries from almost 1000 11-14 year olds whittled down to six winners, this year’s competition sets challenges in three design categories focusing on Transport, Building and Packaging Recycling.

The youngest Convoy Veterans are now in their late eighties. This vital project will enable the young people of Kent to discover the hidden stories behind the Convoys as they aid Legasee in interviewing these amazing Veterans, recording their remarkable stories and according the Veterans the recognition they deserve.

Working with Legasee, volunteers and young people will learn about the techniques of interviewing, filming, editing and transcribing as they capture and archive filmed oral history. They will gain a deeper insight into the importance of the Convoys in keeping Britain and its Allies supplied with essential items, including food, during the war and they will also learn how important sea trade still is to Britain’s survival as a nation.

The winning student in each category will win a second generation 16 colour 3-D printer (worth £1000) for their school plus £200 in vouchers. The same prize will be awarded to the best team entry across the categories. Every school entry and finalist will be recognised with a D&T Challenge certificate and in March 2014, the winners will be invited to a prize-giving event for winners and their teachers at the Thinktank Science Museum,in Birmingham.

Commenting on the Award, Legasee Trustee Martin Bisiker, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and confident that finally this incredible story can be captured, that the key role Convoy Veterans from Kent played will be recognised and that young people will be part of the process.”

Alex Patterson, Collections and Galleries Manager for Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, commented: “This award from the Heritage Lottery Fund will help capture and tell the stories of those men who were part of a vital front of the Second World War and which are in danger of being lost forever. As The Historic Dockyard is home to HMS Cavalier, the last surviving Second World War Destroyer that served in the Arctic Convoys and now the National Destroyer Memorial, this project will preserve these stories for future generations.”

The competition launched at the beginning of the 2013 autumn term and Alupro invites all teachers and interested parties to contact them now on Tel: 01527 597757, email: info@ alupro.org.uk or visit the web site, www.aludtchallenge.co.uk

Legasee are looking to interview anybody who served as a Chatham Rating in any of the Convoys of the Second World War and have a story to tell. Please call Martin on 02070339773 or email martin@ legasee.org.uk if you would like to be part of the project or know some-one who should be.

For further information, please contact Martin Bisiker on 020 7033 9773 martin@legasee.org.uk .

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Alcohol Health Alliance UK welcomes alcoHELP An alcohol education charity has joined a prestigious group of organisations whose mission is to reduce the damage caused to health by alcohol misuse.

and we look forward to presenting the findings of our work to the Alliance with the aim of helping to make an impact on government policy.”

common mission of reducing the damage caused to health by alcohol misuse. It is made up of some 30 members including the Medical Royal Colleges.

‘alcoHELP’ have joined the Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA UK), a select group of organisations including medical bodies, charities and alcohol health campaigners, that work together to highlight the health risks of alcohol.

alcoHELP was formed in 2004 with the aim of informing young people about the harm alcohol causes as a drug, and since then more than 70,000 children and young people have taken part in the charity’s workshops and events.

The Alliance also proposes evidence basedsolutions to reduce the harm from alcohol including the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing, a reduction in the drink- driving limit and restrictions around the sales locations and promotion of alcohol to young people.

Terry Martin, trustee of alcoHELP, said: “The AHA is one of the first lines of government consultants and lobbyists, and being part of this group will give us the opportunity to help influence policy at the highest level.”

The charity works in partnership with schools, police, councils and youth groups to give children and young people the facts about alcohol, the consequences of its effects and the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, AHA Chair, said: “I am delighted to welcome alcoHELP as a valued member of the Alliance which will bring a new perspective through its important work.”

“alcoHELP is the only member of the AHA that has direct contact with schoolchildren,

This ethos fits with that of the AHA, which brings together organisations with the

For more information visit www.alcohelp.com

Young people thank Kier for new kitchen Kier receives special thank you from community special school for donating and fitting a new kitchen.

Pupils at St Francis Community Special School in Lincoln are delighted with their new design and technology kitchen facility.

The old kitchen was outdated and unsuitable for present needs, so contractor Kier stepped in and offered to supply and fit a new kitchen specially adapted to the needs of the pupils.

The refurbishment included a fully fitted kitchen, new electrical points, tiling and decorating, which took place during the school holidays in preparation for the new school term. The school has recently seen an increase in numbers, which means having the right facilities and fulfilling the adaptive needs of the pupils is more important than ever.

The staff and pupils are so happy with the finished result they wanted to formally thank Kier by inviting them to a buffet lunch,

catering provided using the new kitchen facility, of course.

Kier regional operations director, Phil Oades, said: “At Kier we strive to make a positive contribution to the community where we work. This can mean providing apprenticeship opportunities, working with subcontractors, raising funds for charity or offering our skills and expertise to help others like fitting this well needed kitchen. We are pleased to be able to provide St Francis Community Special School with something that will enhance the lives of the pupils.”

St Francis Community Special School is a day school with a residential facility for young

people with physical or medical disabilities.

It is classed as a centre of educational excellence and opportunity, providing full curriculum from nursery, through primary to secondary, post 16 and beyond.

Head teacher Ann Hoffmann said: ”The school has been longing to redesign the kitchen for many years. We are extremely grateful to Kier for enabling this to happen and providing us with an outstanding, modern kitchen where the young people can enjoy learning to cook and gain all the necessary skills for independent living in the future.”

For more information about Kier visit www.kier.co.uk

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Hats off to school’s £1million refurb A newly opened music suite and sixth form centre built at an historic county school by a leading Midlands construction firm is music to the ears of fundraisers who raised an “amazing” £1 million in less than a year to pay for the project.

Adams’ Grammar School Headmaster Michael Barratt praised the teamwork of the Campaign Board – a group of willing volunteers of parents, governors, ex-pupils – in raising the funds and contractors McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd for completing the four month development on time for the start of the new school year.

The construction team from McPhillips converted a disused 17th century Coach House into

The Sill pilots first school discovery day Pupils from a Stockport based primary school have become the first school group to try out a brand new pilot programme of outdoor learning, launched by the team behind The Sill, an exciting new initiative to create a flagship Landscape Discovery Centre and YHA Youth Hostel, in Northumberland National Park.

38 year five pupils, from Norris Bank Primary School, took part in The Sill’s first school ‘rivers’ discovery day hosted at Walltown Recreational Site,

by Northumberland National Park Authority. In order to experience a wide range of curriculum based outdoor activities, the pupils were engaged in everything from pond dipping to discovering

a much needed music centre with classrooms, four practice rooms, and an ensemble room with built-in acoustics for recording.

The school’s original Performing Arts Centre was converted into the new sixth form centre with a bistro, soft seating social area, office, tutor room, learning space with tutorial rooms and a lecture theatre.

The opening of a new music suite and sixth form centre is music to the ears of Headmaster Michael Barratt and McPhillips construction site manager David Franklin, pictured with Adams’ Grammar School pupils Joscelin Dent-Pooley and Sandy Stewart.

A special ceremony to celebrate the opening was held for donors and organisers who launched the “Our Dreams – Your Future” campaign in September 2012.

foyer and auditorium in the Music and Performing Arts Centre.

Adams’ Grammar School was founded in 1656 by local benefactor and Haberdasher William Adams and has over 800 pupils, including 100 boarders and 300 sixth formers.

A second phase of further improvements to the school is planned in January 2014 with campaigners aiming to raise further funds for a second wing,

The school, which remains to

mini-beasts; exploration of river side habitats and orienteering, to uncovering the legends and mysteries of fascinating Thirlwall Castle.

as the project moves forward.

Georgia Villalobos, Learning and Participation Coordinator at The Sill, said: “With its abundance of wildlife, incredible natural landscapes and rich habitats, Northumberland National Park is a living classroom like no other. We were delighted to welcome Norris Bank School to take part in our very first pilot workshop; it was great to see the pupils having fun and enjoying the experiences on offer.

The launch of The Sill’s pilot outdoor school programme comes at a time when children are said to be living an increasingly inactive lifestyle and teaching young people to enjoy the great outdoors and engage with the natural world is a fundamental part of The Sill’s offer. As part of the Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) development phase of the initiative, Northumberland National Park Authority and YHA (England and Wales) are trialling a wide range of activities with schools and education establishments and feedback from teachers on the types of activities they would like to see facilitated at the building will help to shape plans

“There’s been a lot talked about in recent weeks about children living an increasingly inactive lifestyle and spending lots of time indoors, and we know from experience that there’s a strong connection between being active and being happy. So much of learning is conducted inside the classroom but it really is so important that 6

this day closely involved with the Haberdashers’ Company made its appeal for funds a year ago.

It was answered by past and present parents, former pupils, suppliers and governors with over half of the target being achieved before the campaign was even formally launched.

children experience learning in the outdoors from an early age..

As The Sill develops its plans for a widespread programme of learning and participation activities, the team at Northumberland National Park Authority and YHA (England and Wales) recognise the importance of trialling a wide range of discovery days in order to discover what works for schools the length and breadth of the UK. Plans are currently being developed to work with other partner organisations to put in place a structured programme encompassing everything from traditional skills to farm visits and star gazing.

For more information about The Sill and the upcoming events, visit www.thesill.org. uk , find The Sill on Facebook or follow The Sill on Twitter @ thesillproject Education Magazine

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Reforming the accountability system for secondary schools Minister of State for Schools David Laws makes an announcement on school accountability.

“Until now secondary schools have been judged by the proportion of pupils awarded 5 GCSEs at grade C or better, including English and maths. Schools currently improve their league table position if pupils move over the C/D borderline. This gives schools a huge incentive to focus excessively on the small number of pupils around the 5 Cs borderline. This is unfair to pupils with the potential to move from E grades to D grades, or from B grades to A grades.

It is also, paradoxically, unfair to those on the C/D borderline because it leads schools to teach to the test. Ofqual, the chairman of the Education Select Committee and others are all clear that this is the case.

Indeed, all 5 of the maths organisations said that the current approach harmed the teaching of mathematics. The Association of Teachers of Mathematics, for example, said that “Teaching to the test results in superficial skills development which means that students are ill prepared for adult life.” Furthermore, as Chris Paterson at CentreForum has shown, the current accountability framework discourages

Persistent pupil absence falls by a third

schools from focusing on the lowest attaining pupils.

In a recently published book ‘The Tail’, the authors argued that the last 15 years have seen rises in average attainment, but not in the attainment of those at the bottom.

International surveys such as TIMMS confirm this position. We need secondary schools to give more attention to pupils who are falling behind.

The current measure also permits many schools, particularly in affluent areas, to ‘coast’. These schools find it easy to hit targets based on 5 C grades. The school may look successful, but Cs are not a success if pupils are capable of more. The accountability system must set challenging but fair expectations for every school, whatever its intake.

The 5 A* to C measure also encourages schools to offer a narrow curriculum.

Mastery of just 5 subjects is not enough for most pupils at age 16. Furthermore, the use of equivalent qualifications means that some students have not been offered a rigorous academic curriculum that would have served them well. Until this year, a school could offer English, maths and only 1 BTEC and still have the pupil count as having achieved 5 Cs or better. We believe that we can do better.

We will require all schools to publish core information on their website, in a standard format. From now on, there will be 4 key measures which must be published”: The full response to the consultation is available on the Department for Education’s website.

The government has taken the following action to reduce persistent absence:

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The number of schoolchildren regularly missing school has fallen by almost 140,000 over the past 2 years.

The figures for the first two terms of the 2012-to-2013 academic year show:

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139,750 fewer children missed 15% or more of school - equivalent to missing one-and-a-half years of a whole school career - compared to two years ago

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the number missing 15% or more of school is down from 450,330 in the 2010-to-2011 academic year to 310,580 in the 2012-to-2013 academic year 65,540 fewer children missed 20% or more of school - equivalent to missing two years of a whole school career compared to two years ago the number missing 20% or more of school is down from 199,370 in the 2010-to-2011 academic year to 133,830 in the 2012-to-2013 academic year

in October 2011 the government reduced the definition of ‘persistent absence’ used to hold schools to account from 20% to 15%, in order to encourage schools to address the problem at an earlier stage in September 2012 fines for truancy were increased from £50 to £60, and from £100 to £120 if not paid within 28 days from last month the time limit for paying the penalties was reduced from 42 to 28 days

Thousands more pupils studying rigorous subjects New statistics reveal more than a third of GCSE state-school students this year took the EBacc - compared to fewer than a quarter last year.

Pupils achieve the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) if they secure a C or better in English, maths, 2 sciences, history or geography, and a language - the subjects most valued by universities and employers.

Since last year, the percentage of pupils who took languages is up 20%, history up 19% and geography up 21%. This is the first cohort that chose their GCSE options after the EBacc was announced.

The figures also show that the numbers taking A levels in the so-called facilitating subjects - defined by the Russell Group of universities as those A levels most commonly required for entry to leading universities and therefore giving students more options - are also up.

Research from Edinburgh University found that studying rigorous subjects such as languages, English, maths and science had a greater impact on whether individuals were in professional jobs at the age of 33 than what type of school they attended.

Overall, 60.2% of pupils in state schools achieved at least 5 GCSEs, including English and maths, at C grade or better this year, compared to 58.8% last year.

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Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said: It is vital all children attend as much school as possible. That is why we have increased fines for truancy and encouraged schools to tackle persistent absence at an earlier stage.

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We know that poor attendance can

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have a hugely damaging effect on a child’s education.

Children who attend school regularly are four times more likely to achieve 5 or more good GCSEs than those who are persistently absent.

The figures for pupil absence in schools in England: autumn 2012 and spring 2013 are available to download Figures on overall and persistent absence in the 2011-to-2012 academic year were affected by unusually low levels of flu-like illness in schools along with the religious festival Eid falling out of term time. However, today’s figures confirm that the reductions in persistent absence shown in the 2011-to-2012 two-term figures have been maintained in the 2012-to-2013 academic year.

Of pupils who miss between 10% and 20% of school, only 39% manage to achieve five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths. Of pupils who miss less than five% of school, 73% achieve five A* to Cs including English and maths.

Education Magazine

Intervention in academies Letters issued to academy trusts by the Department for Education The sponsored academies programme has been a huge success in transforming the fortunes of the weakest, most challenging schools.

There are currently 912 sponsored academies (alongside 2,532 converter academies). In May 2010, there were 203 academies, all of them sponsored.

Sponsors are appointed to take these struggling schools out of local authority control and turn them around. The vast majority of schools which have become sponsored academies are now thriving thanks to the greater freedom afforded to them and the strong, new leadership of these sponsors.

Badgemaster help launch Lloyds and TSB rebrand

Overall: • GCSE results in sponsored secondary academies are improving far faster than in other secondary schools; their rate of improvement has exceeded that of other secondaries year on year for a decade • the National Audit Office says academies have achieved rapid improvements in pupil attendance, reduced the number of NEETs, and shown a clear increase in performance compared to the schools they replaced

September saw the old name of Lloyds TSB disappear. Six hundred and thirty former Lloyds TSB branches have been re-branded as TSB with 1,300 branches being re-branded as Lloyds Bank.

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The picture shows John Bancroft MBE, Managing Director of Badgemaster, cutting the ribbon to launch the new Lloyds brand in Derby.

Badgemaster a major supplier to the education sector have designed and manufactured the new name badges for the customer facing staff in both the new brands.

However, in the small number of cases where an academy is not performing well, ministers are clear that they will hold the trust to account.

John says that “this was a very proud and privileged moment for him and it was great to support such a great 250 year old British brand”.

In cases of sustained poor academic performance at an academy, ministers may issue a pre-warning notice to the relevant trust, demanding urgent action to bring about substantial improvements, or they will receive a warning notice. If improvement does not follow after that, further action - which could ultimately lead to a change of sponsor - can be taken. In cases where there are concerns about the performance of a number of a trust’s schools, the trust has been stopped from taking on new projects.

For more information on Badgemaster call Badgemaster on 01623 723112 or email customerservices@badgemaster.co.uk or visit www.badgemaster.co.uk

Since the start of the 2011 to 2012 academic year, pre-warning letters have been written to 25 academy trusts about 34 academies. In 2 cases, these letters have been followed up with warning notices.

The list of notices is available to download.

No academy had been issued with a pre-warning letter or a warning notice before 2011.

Academies have largely responded extremely well to the challenge - on average at the 8 academies issued with a pre-warning notice in 2011 to 2012, the proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs including English and maths at C or better improved by an average of 16 percentage points in 2012. The 2013 results will be reported in January but are expected to show another increase.

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We expect all sponsors issued pre-warning letters to respond in similar fashion.

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If not, and an academy continues to underperform, further action is taken. In six cases the Department for Education’s intervention has initiated a change of sponsor.

In cases of severe underperformance, the Secretary of State may issue a warning notice to an academy. This is an initial step in the intervention process which might lead to the Secretary of State appointing additional directors to an academy trust or local governing body if the warning notice is not complied with to the Secretary of State’s satisfaction within the specified period.

The Secretary of State is required to warn the academy trust and academy that he may issue a warning notice, by first issuing a prewarning letter.

List of academies in receipt of pre-warning and warning letters can be seen at www.gov.uk/government/news/intervention-in-academies

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Bolton school awarded 1000th in UK to gain Fairtrade status A BOLTON primary school has been awarded the coveted accolade of becoming the 1000th Fairtrade School in the UK. St Maxentius gained Fairtrade School status after incorporating Fairtrade into the curriculum throughout the past year, with staff and pupils committed to learning about trade across the globe. The award was presented to the pupils and staff at the school by Arun Ambatipudi, a Fairtrade cotton farmer from India.

Fairtrade ingredients needed for a cake. Pupils held community events and encouraged school cooks to use Fairtrade ingredients.

Clare Bennett, Headteacher at St Maxentius in Bolton, says: ‘We are over the moon at being awarded not only with Fairtrade School Status, but also to have the honour of being the 1000th school.

The Fairtrade schools scheme, implemented in 2007, is a national initiative by the Fairtrade Foundation to engage young people in development issues and help tackle global poverty through trade.

As of July 2013 there were more than 5,000 schools registered as working towards the Fairtrade school status.

‘Throughout the year we’ve touched on issues surrounding poverty, social justice and human rights, with pupils being able to explore the complexities of these, develop understanding and become more rounded global citizens. I’m extremely proud of staff and pupils who have worked towards achieving Fairtrade status.’

Being a Fairtrade school means that young people understand how trade works and how we can work together, to make it fairer.

Schools use and promote Fairtrade products, and also take action for Fairtrade in their local communities. By planning and running events to promote Fairtrade young people gain confidence and develop enterprise skills.

Fairtrade has been incorporated into every part of the school curriculum from PSHE to maths, from discussions on how much farmers are paid in the developing countries, to the amount of

Schools urged to share kitchen nightmares

with kitchen facilities that aren’t up to the job because of their age, their size, their layout or their equipment – costing schools when it comes to time and fuel.

A national charity is launching a campaign to rate the state of the nation’s school kitchen facilities – to make sure they’re in shape to deliver on the aims of the government’s national School Food Plan.

“These fantastic teams are always determined their facilities won’t compromise the meals on children’s plates. They make do and get on with the job, because replacing kitchens and their equipment can feel like a complicated, expensive business.

Research by the Children’s Food Trust estimates that around 73% of primary schools have full production kitchens, while almost 16% either have to get hot food transported from elsewhere or have only a cold food service. However, the charity says it’s working with schools whose kitchens are too small, too old or which rely on equipment which is out of date, and that the vast majority of schools it talks to have at least some issues with kitchen kit, layout or size.

It’s calling on schools to join a national school kitchen census, to help gather a comprehensive picture of kitchen infrastructure in schools.

Chairman and chef, Rob Rees, said: “We’ve worked with lots of schools over the years where catering teams are having to cope

The Trust’s research shows that more children tend to eat school meals in areas where more schools have the kitchen facilities to offer freshly-cooked food, while studies have shown the financial and time savings which can be made by improving kitchen equipment and facilities.

School business managers, catering managers and school cooks around the country are being urged to join the census, which has also been supported by the National Association of School Business Management, at https://www.surveymonkey. com/s/schoolkitchens2013. For more information visit www. childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/

Voice of apprentices gets louder IAC supports Government’s National Apprenticeship Council plan The Industry Apprentice Council (IAC) has announced its support of a potential National Apprenticeship Council (NCA), which was outlined by government in the recently published Apprenticeships Implementation Plan.

As the voice of industry apprenticeships, the IAC was conceived and formed by specialist industry awarding organisation EAL over a year ago to give apprentices a national voice for the first time.

Government’s plans to improve apprenticeships awareness looks to build on the achievements of the IAC. One aspect of that work “could include the creation of a National Apprenticeship Council run by young people with elected representatives to spread peer to peer messages.”

the needs of learners. As a member of the IAC, we hope to play a central role in the development, implementation and running of a National Apprenticeship Council in future.”

“A national apprentice-led council, with representatives from all sectors of the economy, would ensure the voice of apprentices gets louder and we can have our say on the future of Apprenticeships in England,” said Lizzie Moffatt, an IAC member and Vauxhall apprentice.

The IAC’s members are all industry apprentices from around the UK, aged 18-24 years old, from employers including: Airbus, BAE Systems, Caunton Engineering, DAF Trucks, Ford Dealerships, Ford GB, KMF, MBDA, National Grid, Nestlé, Rolls Royce and Vauxhall.

“A National Apprenticeship Council would give apprentices another platform to make our voices heard and ensure Apprenticeships meet

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Chinese delegation signs memorandum of understanding with Bradford College

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Education policy fellowship

the British Council’s UK-China Partnership in Education, Skills for Employability programme.

Both staff and students of games design, photography media make-up and special effects and sounds will benefit from an exchange programme between the two institutions. Games design undergraduates from both organisations will work together to produce an entry for the 2015 Bradford Animation Festival.

Bradford College students are set to benefit from an agreement which will see China’s Shenzhen Institute of Technology and Bradford College work together to develop a joint curriculum, as well as producing a games development entry for the 2015 Bradford Animation Festival.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Khadim Hussein. It is part of a national initiative to promote joint educational opportunities between China and the UK and is funded by

The Shenzhen Institute of Technology (SIT) has been designated as a Centre of Excellence in Games Design by the Chinese Government and will open its new £150m campus in September 2014. Six Bradford College undergraduates will accompany two members of staff to the opening, followed by a two-week visit to Shenzhen, while more than 30 of the college’s undergraduates are set to benefit from the relationship. The SIT team will visit Bradford again for its twoweek exchange visit in November 2014.

For further information, visit www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk

Toughened up skills tests ensure only the best train to teach New more demanding rules ensure only high-quality candidates with good levels of literacy and numeracy go on to train to be teachers.

New figures show that changes to toughen up the skills tests taken by prospective teachers have raised the quality of those entering the teaching profession.

New more demanding rules introduced in September 2012 have ensured only highquality candidates with good levels of literacy and numeracy go on to train to be teachers. This will raise standards in schools. As a result, the Department for Education will not be bringing in new tests.

Since 1 September 2012 applicants: • must sit and pass both skills tests (literacy and numeracy) before starting a teacher training course - previously they did not have to sit and pass the tests before starting teacher training • must clear a higher pass mark on both tests - this has raised the standard for entry into teaching • are limited to 2 resits per test - previously they could take the tests an unlimited number of times - this change has ended the excessive resit culture of previous years; candidates who fail to pass after 2 resits cannot reapply to teacher training for 2 years Under the previous system, the proportion passing was very high - 98% of candidates in the 2011 to 2012 academic year passed both skills tests and so could progress to qualified teacher status.

In 2011 to 2012: • 1,050 candidates had not passed the numeracy test after 5 attempts • 270 candidates had not passed the literacy tests after 5 attempts • 20 candidates had not passed both tests after 20 attempts Results of the first cohort of applicants to teacher training sitting the tests under the new rules show that 88% passed both tests within 3 attempts. 12% did not pass both skills tests in 2012 to 2013. Almost 3% failed 3 times and cannot progress to teacher training for at least 2 years.

The Department for Education is launching a fellowship for candidates who can contribute to the future of education and children’s services The department is working on a reform programme and want the best people to help achieve it. They are establishing a Department for Education fellowship to widen the pool of people who contribute to making and delivering government policy.

Quote from the DfE..

‘We are looking for exceptional individuals who are interested in a secondment opportunity at the heart of the department. Fellows will use their experience to support high-quality policymaking in the department, providing hands-on advice to policy teams, and working closely with ministers.

We would like to hear from you if you can offer:

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strong analytical skills and experience applying them to complex social challenges

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an innovative approach to policy development or service delivery

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practical experience of reforming education or children’s services in the UK or abroad

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a successful track record of leading organisational reform and engaging staff – in any sector

Roles We have a range of roles suitable for where you are in your career. Your time as a fellow could range from spending a day a week in the department for 3 or 6 months to help us become a more datadriven organisation, through to a full-time secondment of up to 18 months to support us to maximise the impact of our resources on the front line.

How to apply To apply to become a fellow please download the Education policy fellowship applicant pack (MS Word Document, 133KB) from https://www.gov.uk/ government/news/education-policyfellowship

NEWS News News News NEWS News NEWS News

150,000 children to receive help from promising teaching leaders Extra funding to develop teaching leaders announced by Schools Minister.

Hundreds of thousands of children in challenging schools will receive extra help from specially trained teachers after Schools Minister David Laws announced £10 million to help develop school leaders of the future.

The Department for Education money will more than double the number of so-called ‘teaching leaders’ working in schools from 766 currently to 1,706 by 2015.

The scheme - called Teaching Leaders - sees teachers already working in schools defined as challenging and with the potential to become outstanding leaders, such as heads of departments, put through a rigorous 2-year training programme which develops their skills and helps them get the most from pupils.

More than 125,000 children from disadvantaged backgrounds in 365 schools have already received assistance from the specially trained teachers since Teaching Leaders began in 2008 with government funding of almost £9 million.

A 2-year study of the 118 teachers who started the programme in 2011 found the proportion of pupils achieving A* to C grades at GCSE in teaching leader-led departments rose 7% between 2011 and 2013 - from 65% to 72% (source: Teaching Leaders).

David Laws said: This programme has shown that outstanding leadership is crucial in getting the most from pupils.

Teaching Leaders has helped schools identify their most promising teachers and turn them into the outstanding head teachers of tomorrow.

This new funding will also allow them to work with schools outside our main cities ensuring that wherever a child goes to school and whatever their background they will receive the best possible education.

Teachers from the 2011 group who have completed the programme have gone on to successful careers in education.

Teaching Leaders previously only worked with schools where more than 15% of children were on free school meals or under 40% achieved 5 or more A* to Cs at GCSE.

92,000 2-year-olds already receiving free childcare Around 92,000 of the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds are now receiving up to 15 hours a week of fully funded childcare - just weeks after free pre-school education for these children was introduced.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and Education and Childcare Minister, Elizabeth Truss, welcomed the figures which show that after just 1 month of this year’s scheme being launched, an estimated 70% of the identified 130,000 children are already benefitting from the scheme - a huge increase on the 20,000 children accessing free early education in 2010.

Evidence shows that 2-year-olds in good and outstanding places - including nurseries,

Bigger bursaries and scholarships to attract more top graduates into teaching Prestigious new scholarships and bursaries to attract more high-quality graduates into teaching important, rigorous subjects.

Schools Minister David Laws said more scholarships and bursaries would be available to help recruit the most talented graduates with the potential to be brilliant teachers in key subjects. This would help raise standards in schools and ensure all children were given a good education.

Scholarships, awarded by respected subject organisations, will be available to the most talented maths, physics, chemistry and computing trainees. Bursaries will be available to top graduates in maths, physics, chemistry, computing, and languages, in primary and in priority subjects at secondary school (English, history, biology, geography, music, and design and technology).

The government introduced scholarships in 2011. Since then, 425 high-quality graduates in maths, physics, chemistry and computing have been attracted to teaching through the scheme. A further 680 teacher training scholarships will be available for trainees starting in the 2014 to 2015 academic year.

The following changes to scholarships and bursaries are being introduced for the 2014 to 2015 academic year:

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scholarships for graduates training to teach maths, physics, chemistry and computing with a 2:1 or better will increase from £20,000 to £25,000.

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school nursery classes, and childminders - see real benefits in terms of their early language skills, and physical, social and emotional development. Parents can also be confident in the knowledge that their children are receiving high quality care which will benefit them in later life.

Yet access to early education remains unequal, with children from low income families far less likely to receive high-quality learning despite research showing that they stand to benefit the most.

The government wants to see more eligible 2-year-olds in high-quality early education, and has committed to providing funding for 130,000 2-year-olds to access free places from September this year - increasing to 260,000 from next September. This offer is backed up by over half a billion pounds of government funding this year, rising to £760 million in 2014 to 2015.

The scholarship is paid instead of the standard bursary • bursaries for graduates training to teach maths and physics with a 2:1 will increase from £15,000 to £20,000, matching bursaries for those with a first. For those with a 2:2, bursaries will increase from £12,000 to £15,000. New bursaries of £9,000 will be introduced for maths and physics trainees with a relevant degree and a good A level in the subject (a grade B or higher) • bursaries for graduates training to teach computing with a first or 2:1 will increase to £20,000, from £9,000 and £4,000 respectively. New bursaries will also be introduced for those with a 2:2, worth £15,000 • graduates training to teach design and technology will receive bursaries worth £9,000 for those with a first and £4,000 for those with a 2:1 • bursaries for primary maths specialists with a 2:1 degree will increase from £6,000 to £11,000, matching bursaries for those with a first. New bursaries will be introduced for those with a 2:2, worth £6,000 This year up to 250 scholarships are available - an increase from 150 scholarships last year.

They are worth £25,000 - an increase of £5,000 from last year.

The IMA and its partners offer additional benefits to successful scholars. This includes membership of the IMA, LMS, RSS, and MEI as well as access to online resources including MEI’s online maths teaching and learning resources.

Details of initial teacher training (ITT) bursary changes can be found at www.gov.uk/government/news/biggerbursaries-and-scholarships-to-attract-moretop-graduates-into-teaching

Education Magazine

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Aspiration… and how to instill it Joe Davies has been the Master at Haileybury School in Hertfordshire for 5 years. For the nine years prior he was the Head at Sutton Valence, an independent school, near Maidstone and before that the Deputy Head of St John’s School in Leatherhead.

Inspiring architecture has an influence.

He comes from a family of teachers: his father was a University Head and his mother was a teacher. He is married to a teacher, two of his brothers are teachers and three of his children are in the profession too. So it’s no surprise he grew up thinking that education was the most important thing in the world! He recalls that he wanted to be a teacher from the age of 14, when being a teacher was the last thing in the aspirations of any of his peers.

Haileybury School has just published exam results which are equal to the best in its history. 80% of our graduates achieved their

all aspired to and achieved great things. I wanted to discuss this aspiration and how the school instils it into its pupils.

Education Magazine What is the ethos of Haileybury that generates Alumni of such a strong calibre?

Joe Davies There are three elements to it: The first is an obvious one, we want every pupil to achieve their full academic potential. In practice this means that we want them to open an envelope containing their exam results and have achieved the requirements to enter the university of their

Achieving full academic potential.

1st choice of university, 97% achieved their 1st or 2nd choice. However, the results themselves are not what I wanted to discuss with Joe. Instead, it was how Haileybury instilled the will to succeed into their pupils.

Haileybury has many distinguished and varied alumni in its roll call; Clement Attlee, Christopher Nolan, Stephen Mangan and Alan Ayckbourn, plus numerous names from the fields of the arts, business, sport, law, politics and the armed forces, including 17 Victoria Cross holders. These are people who

them the opportunity to achieve and excel at it. This builds their self-confidence and also gives them a good idea of where their hidden talents lie. It also enables them to reflect on the ways they have developed their interpersonal skills like teamwork and leadership. These are the qualities that employers look for in a potential employee and they are also skills that are needed for someone to enjoy a full and happy life.

The most important element children learn whilst they are here at Haileybury are values.

We are an Anglican foundation, established in 1862. We have an Anglican Chaplain and

Top class teachers are essential.

choice. So we want them to aim high and realise that by hard work they can achieve their individual goals.

However, people are rarely happy in life simply because of their academic ability. We see that it’s our responsibility to ensure that children develop all their abilities to the best extent they can. We encourage them achieve their best in sport, drama, music, debating, dance etc. We do not specify what they must do but they must do something that gives

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regardless of individual religious beliefs we all attend Chapel together. There, we aim to instil the positive values that are common to all religions. This is a core principal of the school and has been since the school came into being. I do not think it is a coincidence that the first Labour Prime minister was educated here as there is a strong sense of service in this school.

EM Aspiration is something that good schools instil in their pupils, and I recall

Education Magazine

being told by a head that once past a certain point in the educational process of a child, they have to want to learn if they are to progress as far as they can. They need a reason to learn, and that requires them to aspire to something that requires a good education. So how do you instil aspiration in your charges?

JD The first thing to have is top class teachers, they are essential and they must expect a great deal from their pupils. If you expect a great deal then more often than not the pupils will deliver it. For instance; today they will have four one-hour lessons, where they are expected to do very well, then this afternoon they have four hours of sports where they are expected to do well again!

This expectation applies to academic and non-academic activities alike, such as music and drama, and to all the other activities they are expected to take part in.

We help pupils with their aspirations in many ways, one of these is by obtaining valueadded statistics. To obtain these, we have every new pupil sit an online IQ test that has been designed by Durham University.

Durham send back the results with a prediction of the grades that pupil can be expected to achieve in public exams were they to attend an average UK Independent school. With this benchmark, our target is that they should do better than the Durham forecast. This system enables us to individually target and coach each pupil. For

Regular appraisals.

example, if they are forecast an A grade then we coach them for A*, if a B grade then we coach them for an A. This means that we tailor what we expect them to achieve on an individual basis, as what is excellent for one would not be acceptable from another.

We usually are able to help pupils achieve an improvement of half a grade at A level and three to four points with the International Baccalaureate. We are always expecting a great deal from pupils individually so they deliver it more often than not. This on-going

Talking and listening to the students is essential.

process instils in them the trust that they can do better if they try which is a very effective way to encourage aspirations.

The quality of feedback a teacher gives to the pupil is also very important. It should not just be a mark, like 7 / 10. Rather, there should be constructive comments. In this way, a constant driving up of standards can be achieved across all ranges of ability.

How teachers mark work is crucial. I do not agree with giving a mark at all with some pupils. With our younger pupils we do not give marks at all, just constructive advice on how to do better. One reason for this is that marks can be compared and those with greater ability may take away a pupil’s incentive to improve. Advice is more individual and leaves an impression in their

JD Not exactly. We do have to ‘teach to the exam’ as the results pupils achieve will greatly determine their future. However, we still have to challenge them in a supportive way to constantly try to improve. We teach the pupil to believe that they can and should want to constantly aim higher and improve, not being satisfied with however good they already are.

EM So if you monitor each pupil very closely, how do you do it?

JD Teachers comment regularly on their attitude and attainment in and out of classand we even keep track of where they are sitting! We regularly measure performance against their potential. This information is shared on the parental web portal, so

Non educational activities to bring out lifeskills.

minds that it’s not how good you now are that matters, it’s how good you can be. We don’t want a 13 year old settling into the mind-set that they are a particular grade of pupil. Only once they are sitting for public exams do we start marking them along comparable lines.

parents can log in and update themselves on their child’s progress and welfare. Every five weeks there is a discussion between the pupil and their tutor based on this information. From this comes a programme of support and action tailored to the child’s individual needs.

EM Is this to avoid the pressure to ‘teach to the exam’ for as long as is possible?

EM What about the historical context of this school, what effect does that have on the pupils’ aspiration? Does having so many continues overleaf u

Education Magazine

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Aspiration… continued high achievers in your alumni have a positive influence, or any influence at all?

JD On the parents, it seems to have very little influence. However, on the pupils it does seem to have a bearing. They seem to be very aware that Kipling studied here, as well as Allenby who recaptured Jerusalem, Prime Minister Attlee and many others. They are drawn to the impressive chapel here and learn that 589 pupils died in the Great War. The school has a tradition of achievement and service, but it’s the influence of the senior pupils that has a greatest impact on the younger pupils.

Much of this school’s tradition, in fact any establishment’s traditions, is passed from one person to another. I’m constantly amazed at the infectious, caring attitude of the seniors; it wasn’t present in my school but at Haileybury it’s most noticeable and encouraged.

EM When it comes to parental involvement, some must be very interested, some less so.

How do you encourage the ‘less-so’ parents to become more proactive in their child’s education?

JD We have an advantage here in that few parents will pay the sums required to send a child here and be disinterested in the outcome. So the children here are very lucky in that respect. The online parental portal gives almost up to the minute information on what the child is achieving. Easy access to that information is vital to getting parents

involved. 70% of our parents live within an hour and a half of the school so they support the activities like music, drama and sport. The house system is also very useful in creating a sense of community with the parents. They can come in and be as important and involved as they wish to be. Usually, that is a lot! Pupils develop best when they are fully supported, by the school and their parents, and we do all we can to encourage parental involvement.

EM What about the schools involvement with outside agencies, careers advisors and an involvement with other schools in the state sector?

JD Careers advice is provided internally now and we invite outside lecturers in on a regular basis in order to stimulate the imagination and minds of the pupils. Our connections with state schools are extensive and expanding, we have very close links with a nearby school called Turnford which our pupils regularly visit and engage with their pupils in music, sport and drama. We also share lectures with them. We sponsor a RAF Cadet section at another local school in Hatfield whose staff work closely with us helping with our extensive outward bound activities.

EM Every school has to plan for the future, independent schools more so as they have to sell themselves to a very discerning customer base who have to pay a great deal of money for the service you provide. How do you 16

decide how to develop whilst maintaining the ethos?

JD We carry out regular surveys into what the parents want; we also consult all the staff, not just the close knit leadership team.

We also want the pupils’ input. To this end we regularly carry out a full consultation with each child during which they can comment on any aspect of the school and its workings.

We are especially interested in their thoughts on the curriculum and the pastoral care they receive. All this information comes back into the management team and we plan and make any changes accordingly. For instance; until recently the standard summer sport for girls has been rounders, however there has been a strong push for football amongst the girls themselves, so we have introduced it. We have found that the best feedback is from the pupils themselves so we do all we can to encourage it.

EM Thank you for talking the Education Magazine.

Education Magazine

Reply No.

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Schoolwear and sportswear from a trusted supplier

Nora flooring specified for the University of Ulster Coleraine Campus

The provision of a good school uniform service should never be left to chance.

The relationship between schoolwear supplier and school is likely to be long-term, and so it is very important to establish early on that you are going to get on together. A trusted partner can contribute significantly towards the successful development Reply your school and experience School uniforms cost less when No. of sourced by John Cheatle counts for a great deal.

9 There are several factors to take account of that will contribute positively to this relationship: an excellent range of schoolwear and sportswear so you can choose your uniforms; flexibility in how you want parents to buy school uniforms (from a handy local retail outlet, perhaps on-site at school, or online or mail-order services); and the ‘people factor’ – do you feel confident the supplier can deliver on time, maintain stock and sort out little problems before they become big ones?

Reply No.

Frequently used in schools worldwide, nora flooring systems has recently 10 installed their norament® 926 crossline flooring within the canteens at the University of Ulster Coleraine Campus in Co. Londonderry.

Norament® 926 crossline is offered in 16 expressive colours and features a subtle 3D texture, inspired by hand-crafted woodcuts. It is made from high-quality rubber and carries the Blue Angel certification for low emissions.

The physical environment has a strong influence on learning and floor coverings are a large contributor to the built environment. Nora rubber flooring provides an attractive visual appearance, which is preserved for many years thanks to the durability and wear resistance of the resilient material. nora also benefits from low VOC’s; providing a superior indoor air quality. In summary, these outstanding characteristics of nora floorings, which come as standard, significantly contribute to a positive atmosphere of well being for the benefit of the students and teachers alike.

John Cheatle is a leading supplier in this sector to over 1200 UK schools and its buying power means it can achieve significant savings for your school. With priority treatment on stock, plus almost a century of experience, you need not worry about schoolwear again.

Find out more here or enquire to justin.cheatle@john-cheatle. co.uk or 0116 299 0925.

For more information contact nora flooring systems.Tel: 01788 513 160 email. info-uk@nora.com www.nora.com/uk Education Magazine

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Reply No.

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New Government funded schools project launches to encourage girls into engineering October 2013 saw the start of an exciting new, twoyear educational project called ‘Girls Engineering the Future’. This Governmentfunded programme will use cross-curricular teaching and learning to engage Year 10 female students into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects with the aim of encouraging them into engineering apprenticeships.

The first year of the project will involve the intake of 800 girls from 16 schools across the country taking part in an introductory STEM Day within their schools. The programme is set to grow in year 2, with a further 1,600 Year 10 girls from 32 schools being recruited on to the programme. Girls Engineering the Future is being delivered by The Smallpeice Trust and The Outward Bound Trust with the full support of leading engineering business partners: BAE Systems, Bentley Motors, Network Rail and Rolls-Royce.

The project runs over two academic years and is made up of four elements: an inschool introduction STEM Day in October; participation in a 10-hour STEM Club during the autumn school term; a 5-day residential Outward Bound® course in January 2014; followed by a STEM Careers Club during Year 11. Throughout the entire project students will be mentored by female engineers currently in employment with one of the participating four engineering business partners. These women in engineering will provide valuable real life insights, support and guidance for students considering careers in engineering.

Dr Kevin Stenson, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust comments: “With the continual concern about the low number of female students studying STEM subjects up to and beyond A-Level, this project aims to encourage and educate our future female talent into engineering and manufacturing. All four elements of this project have been created and designed to engage, encourage and excite students about the key role and contribution that women can make in business innovation, design and problem solving.”

learning course delivered by The Outward Bound Trust at their Aberdovey Centre, in Snowdonia. During the course pupils will develop skills such as: communication, leadership, teamwork, resilience, personal responsibility and trust.

Natalie Harling, Head of Education at The Outward Bound Trust further comments: “We’ll be enabling female students to realise their true potential and equipping them with key skills to achieving this in the typically male dominated engineering sector. Our experiential learning process of reviewing and reflecting on the activities undertaken during their residential course with The Trust will transfer back into the classroom and is proven to have a lasting effect on their future capabilities.”

STEM Day Designed and delivered by independent educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, this day gives teams of students the creative challenge of building a new-generation loud speaker to use with a mobile phone or MP3 player. Once built, each team will work on a name, strapline and logo for their company and will develop reasons why their design is the best and what it has to offer the market.

STEM Days support the aim of the National Curriculum and schools’ agenda by linking the curriculum to the wider world and help demonstrate that what is being taught in the classroom has direct relevance within the world of work. Students enhance their understanding of, and aptitude for, creativity, design, and engineering.

STEM Club Following the STEM Day, students can go forward to take part in a STEM Club, which will run over 10 consecutive weeks for an hour at a time. Here they will work in teams on a project created to enhance their understanding of engineering. Students will be tasked with designing and constructing a wave-powered generator to supply electricity to a small island. The teams will be asked to explore all aspects of their chosen design such as longevity, through to the environmental impact, and will create and present a proposal to a panel of judges.

Outward Bound® Residential Course Students showing aptitude, talent and engagement during STEM Club will go on to further challenge themselves and develop valuable new skills for their future through a 5-day residential outdoor experiential

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STEM Careers Club During the second year of this programme Year 11 students will continue to have regular access to their assigned mentors.

They will learn skills to prepare them for future employment such as CV writing, how to complete outstanding employment application forms, as well as interview techniques and skills practice. In addition, students will be made aware of the numerous apprenticeships on offer from the programme’s business partners: BAE Systems, Bentley Motors, Network Rail and Rolls-Royce.

For further information please visit: www. girlsengineeringthefuture.org.uk ‘Girls Engineering the Future’ is a joint venture delivered by The Smallpeice Trust and The Outward Bound Trust.

The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.

The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966

by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”

The Trust is now governed by an eminent board of non-executive trustees and members from a diverse range of engineering, industry, educational and professional bodies.

In the past year, The Smallpeice Trust has engaged with 17,495 young people through 35 different subsidised residential courses, in-school STEM Days and starting up STEM Clubs. The Smallpeice Trust has also trained 1,280 teachers to enhance their delivery of STEM in the classroom.

A strong interface is maintained with industry, education and professional bodies that help to support, promote and develop the courses. Through these relationships the Trust is also able to provide a number of tailored or specialised courses.

For more information about The Smallpeice Trust visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk or call 01926 333200.

Education Magazine

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Old schools – hidden assets for a sustainable future Jonathan Tuckey of Jonathan Tuckey Design says: “We should be looking at our existing schools as a pleasant, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of accommodating pupils and their teachers” Schools are not only teaching energy conservation but are increasingly looking to ensure that they themselves operate in a way that reduces their carbon footprint. This applies to day-to-day waste management and also the way their own building stock is procured and maintained.

Estates departments of schools are seeking out architects and engineers who can suggest ways of creating sustainable buildings that minimize energy consumption.

This of course makes sense in terms of keeping running costs low but it also allows schools to live up to an ethos of securing a better future for younger generations.

In the construction industry there has been a myth that new buildings achieve energy efficiency in a far superior and more costeffective way when compared with the refurbishment of existing building stock.

This myth is, however, easily challenged when looking at traditionally well-crafted building types like schools.

Until relatively recently, schools are some of the sturdiest building types around and particularly Victorian schools are exceptional in terms of their fine workmanship.

Yet councils and governing boards are shortsightedly still overlooking and even demolishing such buildings in an effort to create what they deem as state-of-the-art facilities. However, new per se is not always better. With today’s budgets, it is hard to match the inherent benefits of, for example, a nineteenth century brick built school. These buildings’ heavy-weight enduring materials, their thermal mass and the daylight provision provided through their unusually generous volumes make such buildings tough to match or surpass in terms of performance. And although historically buildings were purposebuilt, their designs often had such strength that in later years so many old building have lent themselves to new uses in a very powerful and characterful way.

There are of course other reasons working with existing buildings that are is satisfying.

Existing buildings can have a special place within a community. They may need altering to better serve their purpose but this need not require a bulldozing approach that can, in fact, alienate those who feel a bond and ownership with their past.

Also, with some foresight and care, schools can continue to operate on their sites thereby reducing the disruption of a big move. Many old buildings have a character and quality that create a sense of patina or passage of time that is extremely conducive to creating a pleasurable and inspiring environment. And of course retrofitting buildings is also often more economical than starting from scratch.

With companies eager to secure big contracts, many schools fail to get proper advice on the real potential of their existing assets. Often there are missed opportunities to imaginatively use pockets of perhaps “newly discovered” space. In our experience of working with schools, we have freed up considerable amount of space on projects just by working with now redundant photocopying or resources rooms. In fact, we are time and again demonstrating to our school clients that there is scope to make their buildings work much harder in order to accommodate new uses and without building on playing fields or playgrounds.

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For example, at Wilberforce Primary School in London, we suggested that the accommodation required for community and after-school facilities be placed within a newly introduced gatehouse that utilises previous unused parts of the playground.

Another example of imaginative use of space that we like to investigate is the introduction of mezzanines into schools that enjoy rooms with generous ceiling heights. This is often the case in 19th century buildings and purpose built Victorian schools. In one example, we have added 30% extra space without the need to actually extend the school. And of course a mezzanine need not cover but half of the overall room to offer valuable storage space without compromising a feeling of airiness afforded by the unusually high ceilings.

To us, this is common sense but it is also an inherently green approach as well. New build may resolve some of the challenges of retrofitting in order to meet current regulations; but new build does not get around the chain of events required from demolition to fabrication of building components to construction, and the overall energy consumed which is often greater than when refurbishing, converting or extending buildings. This phenomenon has been analysed by English Heritage’s recent study: Improving historic Soho’s environmental performance: Practical retrofitting guide, 2013.

Sadly, the financial squeeze of the last five or so years has been such that one is often faced with a bottom line argument arguing that off-the-shelf solutions are best as price can be guaranteed to be low. Bespoke solutions whether involving working with existing schools or designing new ones are thus usually deemed more expensive than the standardized route of prefab building.

Yet at a North London Primary School we created a new bespoke classroom within an existing 19th century campus that in terms of cost is comparable to a typical Portakabin, or flat-pack solution. And as a practice looking at the site as a one-off situation, we were able to work with views out of the building thereby creating something that responded to where it was in a very basic but meaningful way. This of course enabled continues overleaf u Education Magazine

Advertising feature

Standardising on products without compromising on Quality The Hermitage Academy, based in County Durham, is an Ofsted rated ‘outstanding’ school. With 1000 students – aged between 11 and 18 – the school provides high quality teaching and learning, backed by first-class care and support for pupils, parents and teachers. It also has a strong reputation for innovation: technology is used to help students both enhance their learning and prepare to excel in further education and onward careers.

printer.” By standardising on the WorkForce Pro it is also much easier too to manage ink stocks, saving us precious time that’s better spent elsewhere.”

To help Andrew manage his fleet, the printers are networked allowing Andrew to remotely view the ink levels and status of all printers from his office. The school also benefits from being a member of Epson’s Authorised Self Maintainer Program (ASM); a service where the loan of products or parts can be kept on site allowing fast access to replacements and maintaining critical operations if necessary.

The school has all of their Epson products listed on a secure portal. If any equipment has a problem, Andrew can register this online and swap the product with a spare held by the school. Epson meanwhile orders a new product immediately. The service comes at no additional cost. “I’m amazed by the quality of support we receive,” observes Andrew Reynolds.

Andrew Reynolds is Leader and Manager of ICT Support Services at the School. He says: “We’re committed to providing the best technology to pupils, but we need to be mindful of cost.

We’re also conscious of the environment but won’t compromise on quality. These issues influenced our decision to standardise our printer fleet and projectors with Epson.

The Epson products that we use allow us to combine excellent performance with efficient power consumption, cost efficiencies and comprehensive support.”

Standardising the printer fleet During a review meeting with Epson, Andrew highlighted the issues he was experiencing with his existing print estate. “Over the years we’d acquired different models of laser printers from a well-known manufacturer.

Managing ink supplies was time consuming and we sometimes over ordered. What’s more, the printers consumed a lot of power. We felt standardising on one printer would ease the situation. Epson recommended that we evaluated a WorkForce Pro WP-4015DN.” Following a comprehensive evaluation a decision was made to replace the fleet of printers with 50 Epson WorkForce Pro inket printers. The printers are used in classrooms, the principal’s office, and departmental offices throughout the school. Andrew says: “The inkjet technology used in the Epson WorkForce Pro printers delivers great print quality. The printers are competitively priced, but more importantly are exceptionally cost effective to run and maintain. At the same time they are highly power efficient so we’re saving additional money and helping to reduce our environmental impact. The printers come with a 3-year warranty as standard. With many manufacturers this level of warranty would cost more than we paid for each Epson Education Magazine

able to change the settings on all 50 projectors remotely too – that saves a lot of time.”

The projectors are a key teaching aid and are used in every classroom throughout the school as well as its assembly halls. The class can view content from the internet – controlled from the teachers PC or laptop – HD Blu-ray players, and visualizers to show books and other teaching materials. As they are in constant use the onsite warranty is extremely important. This also covers replacement lamps. “It’s a well thought out service with the back-up that schools need to reduce downtime from teaching tools that we rely on heavily,” says Andrew.

Big prints, big performance The use of Epson technology within Hermitage Academy doesn’t stop with WorkForce Pro printers and ultra-short-throw projectors. The school also wanted the ability to display examples of students’ work from art and technology and design departments around the school. “These needed to be large, so when it came to looking for a large format printer, Epson again seemed the obvious choice,” says Andrew, The main buying considerations were print size, print quality, and operating costs. The school was a loaned a test unit – the Epson Stylus Pro 9890 44-inch professional printer. Designed for photographers and fine artists it creates true-to-life prints with accurate colour at high speed. It immediately impressed.

Projecting further efficiencies The ASM service was one of the main reasons Andrew also chose to standardise the school’s fleet of projectors by purchasing 50 Epson EB475W ultra-short-throw units. Performance, ease of installation and operation were key factors too.

The projectors are wall mounted and project 2,600 lumens of both white and Colour Light Output (CLO) delivering vivid, natural colours and deep blacks, even in daylight. As the projectors are ultra-short throw the teacher does not cast a shadow over the projected images or get light in their eyes. In high ambient light conditions the image is clear and easy to see throughout the classroom with an image size of up to 100-inches. There’s also an internal speaker so there’s no need for additional equipment. The projectors are easily networked with Epson’s EasyMP™ software.

This means that Andrew can remotely manage settings to ensure the projectors automatically turn off at night. He also values the fact that the projectors are supplied with all the components required for installation.

He says: “We used to pay an AV installer to put projectors in. We can install the Epson EB-475W projectors ourselves – it’s really easy and saves a quite a bit of money. Also, it’s great to be 23

“Print quality is jaw dropping,” comments Andrew. “With a 30m roll of paper, that’s 44inch wide, we can print huge images. We can control access to the printer and that helps ensure that people print only what they really need. A large format printer is obviously an investment purchase for us, but the running costs are lower than a standard printer due to the economies of scale delivered by utilising larger, high capacity ink cartridges. This makes the overheads more manageable for schools.

Standardising on an all Epson solution for our day-to-day printers, projectors and large format printing needs has helped Andrew Reynolds reduce operating costs and save time that’s better spent elsewhere. He concludes: “The quality of all the Epson equipment we use is first class. All the kit is used frequently throughout the whole school. Thankfully problems are extremely rare, but when we do have them the service agreement kicks in and we’ve a replacement on site quickly. The fact that the service and support is part of the deal is fantastic. It convinced me to standardise on Epson which is saving me a lot of time – and other IT managers in education will know that time in our profession is in short supply.”

For more information visit www.epson.co.uk Tel: 0871 423 7766 or email: prcommunications@epson.co.uk

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Old schools – hidden assets for a sustainable future continued us to make the most of day-light as well.

The result is very different to a standardised solution for new classrooms and the main difference being, not money, but the time it takes to create something specific and thus genuinely “fit-for-purpose”.

store cool air from night to the following day, thereby reducing the need for air conditioning. The largest programme of school building in this country was during the Victorian era, these buildings were heavyweight (largely brick built), making a good case for them to be retained reused and remodeled.

2 Day-lighting Making use of good day-lighting to reduce the need for artificial lighting will reduce the energy consumption of a building. Older school buildings usually have very good provision for day-lighting. This is because they were originally designed when artificial lighting was very expensive and difficult to provide.

We have worked with SGA consulting who are Building and Environmental Services Engineers to look at key areas that make existing buildings of various types ideal candidates for sensitive and thoughtful remodeling for future use as school buildings. Some of the foremost features of existing building stock we think needs to be carefully assessed before considering replacing are: 1 Thermal mass New buildings are often fairly lightweight, this is usually to reduce their construction costs. This can lead to high heat gains in summer which can lead to the need for energy consuming air conditioning.

Heavyweight buildings can be used to

3 Air tightness A large proportion of the heat loss of a building is often from draughts through leaky windows. This needs to be tackled if a building is to be re-furbished. However this is usually a fairly cheap and easy thing to do. Seeing this as the opportunity to design a room within a room is often an interesting way to approach this as opposed to upgrading windows to double-glazed.

4 Thermal insulation Clearly if a building is to be re-furbished the thermal insulation of the building fabric should be improved. This is usually very easy to achieve in roofs and floors. Windows can often be replaced by new double- or tripleglazed units. Where this is not possible, because of aesthetics, it is still possible to install double-glazing within the existing

frames. The thermal performance of walls can often be improved, but it requires careful detailing.

And last but not least, 5 Theory versus Reality New buildings are often proposed and are sold as being very energy efficient. In theory they probably would be very energy efficient. However, it is so often the case that new buildings are barely any more energy efficient than the buildings that they are replacing. Therefore it would better to improve the existing building. This poor performance is due to a number of factors: a) Over complicated design that cannot be managed by the school staff b) Poor design c) Elements of the low energy design being ‘lost’ due to cost cutting during the construction process d) Building being incorrectly maintained.

In the light of increasingly positive feedback on retrofitting as a green option in terms of the overall life cycle of a building, it really is this last component of –Theory versus Reality- that confirms to us that old schools buildings have certainly not run their course.

We would strongly recommend that schools consider their options fully in how they expand and improve their facilities to meet future requirements and that they focus on the best in the new and the old.

For further information visit www.jonathantuckey.com

Why women make great entrepreneurs

By Ali Golds, Founder of Operation Enterprise and The Juno Project As an advocate for women, Ali Golds, Managing Director and Founder of Operation Enterprise and The Juno Project, discusses the why women make such great entrepreneursbeing one herself!

Women account for less than a third of those who are self-employed, although between 2008-2011 they represented 80% of the new self-employed (Labour Force Survey, Office of National Statistics 2013). They start businesses with less capital, and are definitely less likely to apply for funding.

Women have lower confidence in their abilities, and are scared of failing, yet those who do take the plunge appreciate the flexibility and opportunities that self-

employment can offer, particularly to those women with families. Interestingly, more women than men in the age ranges 30-39 and 40-49 are running their own businesses.

more prepared to take risks but they also know how important it is to embrace the unpredictability and the challenges ahead and to carry on regardless.

So why are there so many contradictions when the evidence is that women actually make fantastic entrepreneurs?

Women are fantastic multi-taskers – another useful skill in business – and are also great at diffusing tricky situations, which makes for smoother sales negotiations and quicker outcomes.

I work with women who want to set up businesses and, during my travels around the UK speaking and training, I come across lots of ladies who are really keen to have a go at starting their own company but find something stopping them. When we get down to it, the real reasons behind that barrier are not a lack of ability or qualifications – or even experience – it’s just that us girls are nervous of getting it wrong.

We spend far too much time planning, and re-planning, and planning again – just to be on the safe side – and not enough actually getting out there and doing it.

My experience of working with female entrepreneurs is that they are wellorganised, passionate, dynamic and extraordinarily hardworking. They certainly plan their businesses well, often with more detail than the men I work with who are 24

Lots of the women entrepreneurs that I know are also mums; so not only are they juggling their work life but they’re also juggling their home lives too. If they work from home, like me, they become super adept at cooking supper, doing the washing and making business calls whilst overseeing homework – all at the same time!

Women seem to think that if you’re a mum, you definitely can’t then run a business. Not so ladies. Use those skills to your advantage and fulfil your potential.

Ali is a hugely successful entrepreneur. She founded her first business in 2000 and, so far, has run and managed five successful businesses. Ali is currently founder and CEO of Operation Enterprise and The Juno Project

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Advertising feature

West Yorkshire academy pioneers innovative ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) scheme The Purston E-ACT Academy in West Yorkshire has successfully pioneered an innovative scheme, which provides students with individual access to mobile devices.

Working with its service provider, Capita Managed IT Solutions and its finance and insurance provider, Syscap, the scheme was initially trialled as a pilot project to help disadvantaged students before full implementation extended across the academy. The academy received funding to support this initiative through Pupil Premium, a Government scheme which addresses the underlying inequalities between disadvantaged students and their peers.

As a small academy with big ambitions, the major advantage is that it has helped enable a different approach to the financial pressures schools and academies face.

Wayne Parkes, Principal at The Purston E-ACT Academy said, “I am extremely proud to be principal of an academy that has had the opportunity to pioneer such an innovative scheme. As a result of the BYOD scheme, all of our students now have access to the internet via a portable mobile device, extending the classroom beyond traditional boundaries. Our academy reflects the 21st Century world we are living in and the use of high quality, innovative technology, such as that implemented

by Capita Managed IT Solutions, helps prepare our students for their future working environments.”

The scheme has also enabled the academy to get closer to a student to device ratio of 1:1. Furthermore, as the students are able to take the devices home, parents are also encouraged to use them; extending the benefits to the local community.

Chris Wiseman, education sales director, Capita Managed IT Solutions added, “The BYOD scheme is a powerful way to re-engage students; it provides access to learning materials from any location with internet access, and helps teachers monitor student progress. The Purston E-ACT Academy is enhancing the learning experience for its students, and the team at Capita Managed IT Solutions is very pleased that the scheme has been so well received by everyone involved.”

Cyber Security: Protecting your website against DDoS attacks you can see how educational facilities become easy targets for a 15 year old, for example, to become a star with his or her peers by stating he can bring down his/ her school›s website. This presents the opportunity for great bragging rights for even a not-so-novice DDoS attacker.

What are the risks of DDoS attacks to the education sector?

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyber attacks on schools and educational facility websites are on the rise. With students often reliant on their school’s website for important information, resources and updates, this can have a detrimental effect on not only a school’s reputation, but also can pose a significant financial risk. Mark Teolis, general manager at DOSarrest Internet Security, offers insight into the rise of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyber attacks on school websites and provides advice on how schools can protect themselves.

What is a DDoS attack?

When a DDoS attack is launched, the end goal is to make a website unattainable to its intended users. A perpetrator will often attempt to bombard a target machine with so many external communication requests that it floods the system and overloads the server to such a point that it can no longer function. This means that any content that is hosted on the website, such as school information, forms, reports and announcements are unavailable for the duration of the attack.

Why are schools being targeted?

Educational websites, whether they are primary or secondary schools, universities or other educational related websites are feeling the effects of DDoS attacks for two major reasons: it’s easier to find the tools to perform one and schools haven’t educated themselves enough about the risks. It’s not so much that schools are being targeted more now than 5 or 10 years ago, but it has become more popular simply because the tools to perform a DDoS attack are readily available- either as a DIY kit or you can rent a botnet (a group of computers that have been infected with malware in order to allow a third party to control them) for 24 hours for as little as £15.00.

It’s easy for those managing these sites to think: “We don’t generate any revenue with our site so no one will attack us” or “we only help our community so we won›t have to deal with DDoS attacks.» But it is becoming more and more apparent that this is not the case. In fact, we have seen a 25% rise in our customer base that is in the education arena in the past six months alone.

When you combine the above two points, 26

If a school’s website is hit by a DDoS attack, it can lead to the inability to disseminate timely, critical info such as class schedules, special events or resources that students and patrons often rely on the website to obtain.

It could also make the site unable to process new admissions, charges or charitable donations which could mean loss of revenue for the institution, not to mention a loss of reputation due to a poor experience.

It is also pertinent to note that DDoS attacks are often used as a diversion to much more sinister cyber attack methods that can lead to severe cases of data loss or id theft, which can potentially have even greater financial and reputational risks attached. Cyber criminals can gain confidential information on students, teachers or patrons to wreak havoc in all sorts of ways like committing fraud or stealing credit card details.

How can I protect my institution’s website from DDoS attacks?

The best start is to have a plan in place. Start by thinking about having your website down for a day to three days and how it would impact current and prospective students, teachers and the prestige of the school. The Internet is usually the first port of call when checking out an establishment, so chances are high that any disruption to your web experience won’t be favourably looked upon by prospects. While protecting yourself does come at a price, can you really afford to take the risk not to?

If you want to protect yourself, there are a couple of ways to go about it. You can buy a piece of equipment, a DDoS mitigation device, which is a one-time fee and it will stop attacks, though each device has different capabilities. Another route is to go to a provider who offers protection services– again, some are better than others. In this case you are usually paying a monthly fee.

However, be aware that one of the biggest misconceptions people have is if they buy a service or a device it will be able handle everything, and it’s just not true. Keep in mind- your provider is only as good as their upstream connection—if the attack is too big for the connection, your system will go down. So be sure to do your homework when choosing the best option for DDoS protection.

For more information contact Dosarrest tel:0800 016 3099.

Education Magazine

Supply2Schools.co.uk School Decision Makers need to make choices with cost, safety and practicality in mind.

We at supply2schools send exclusive emails on behalf of our clients who wish to contact and supply schools with a variety of products and services at the best price, with quality and reliability at their heart.

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Our clients send their emails to both supply and inform schools of their latest products.

When schools receive an email sent from supply2schools, they can be confident that they are getting up to date information, from a reliable company, who have experience in supplying the education sector.

For more information about supply2schools please visit

www.supply2schools.co.uk

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Shocking Increase in Sexual Abuse and Self-Harming Revealed by Students Shocking statistics have just been revealed by the organisers of a new empowerment programme designed to help protect young girls from sexual exploitation and self-harming.

After the course, more than 70 per cent of the participants admitted to self-harming and feeling vulnerable, while 34 per cent made disclosures about being victims of child sex abuse.

So far this year, more than 1,000 girls aged between 10 and 16 have participated in ‘Breaking the Silence’ empowerment days which is the first programme of its type in the UK. Central to the course, and key to its success, is a specially designed play called ‘Hidden’ involving a teenage girl being exploited by an older man.

spotlight who are involved. We all have a duty to educate our young girls so they can make their own choices. Parents and teachers cannot be present 24/7 so empowering the girls is the way forward, but this must be done in a really engaging way – we all know normal lecturing doesn’t work.

“Incredibly, according to The Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, one in four girls will be sexually abused before they reach 18 and the things we are discovering during the programme supports this statistic. Girls affected by sexual violence and abuse often self-harm and their experiences almost certainly impact on their studies, their attendance and their emotional health. More confidence, improved self-esteem and better social skills can all help young people recognise and respond appropriately to the threat – and the reality – of sexual abuse.”

The company behind the venture, ICU Transformational Arts, was founded by actress, author and empowerment expert Tonya Joy Bolton who felt that not enough preventative work was being done to address the problems of sexual exploitation and grooming before young girls actually became victims. Thanks to sponsorship from the young people’s sexual health charity Brook, Tonya has been able to visit schools across the UK from Darlington to Dover.

The programme begins with a live performance of “Hidden” – an inspirational and hard hitting one woman play about the challenges faced by a teenage girl - ‘Chante’ - unaware of the dangers she faces. Chante feels misunderstood by grown-ups, hates school and longs to be a pop star. Just when her dreams seem about to come true, she discovers something that will change her life forever. The play is directed by Jon Trevor and provides an excellent starting point for discussions, debates and exploration.

Tonya praises the forward thinking head teachers and parents who have invited her and her team into their schools, rather than ‘brushing the problem under the carpet’.

She said: “Being a writer and an actress, I felt I had to speak out and use my skills to do something about these serious issues which just seem to be getting worse. We all know sexual exploitation is going on everywhere - it’s not just the celebrities in the media

“The Breaking the Silence programme uses effective ways of removing ‘barriers’ and dealing with sensitive issues. It helps girls make long lasting, positive changes for their future by equipping them with strategies to protect themselves both physically and emotionally. As a result, the girls develop in confidence and are better able to deal with conflict and adverse social situations. I am so pleased to be helping children across the

Top head teachers to make challenged schools a success

country,” Tonya added.

Tonya has also created a video http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=VD1eepTQcGA which helps to communicate her vital messages about protecting young girls.

For more information or to book an empowerment day or live performance, please email Tonya Joy Bolton at tonya@ icu-transformational-arts.com or call her on 07969 472 392/0121 551 6899, or visit http:// www.icu-transformational-arts.com Brook is the country’s largest young people’s sexual health charity. For over 45 years, it has been providing sexual health services, support and advice to young people under the age of 25.

With the awareness of abuse being raised recently following the shocking Jimmy Savile cases and many others, schools and other organisations have become more aware of the need to educate young girls so they are more prepared to deal with any potential threats and risks to their welfare.

1,050 girls aged 10 to 16 took part in the programme between April and October 2013 The schools visited were in Walsall, Coventry, Birmingham, London, Darlington, Corby, Dover and Nottingham.

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• • • •

100% of the girls who attended the programmes said they learned something from the event about protecting themselves from sexual exploitation and self-harm that they did not know before.

99.4% of the girls said they will behave differently as a result of what they had learned on the empowerment day.

34% of the empowerment programmes have resulted in young girls making disclosures of child sex abuse.

Over 70% of the girls admitted to selfharming and feeling vulnerable 96% of the girls wished the empowerment programme was longer and wanted to attend another empowerment day in the near future.

Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre, www. rasasc.org.uk/childhoodsexualabuse.html 1

performing head teachers or exceptional deputy heads ready to take on this challenge.

This pool of top teaching talent, what I call our Champions League of Head Teachers, will stand ready to move to schools in challenging circumstances: those schools, which are struggling to succeed, overcome the attainment gap for their disadvantaged pupils and need outstanding leaders.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announces ‘Champions League of Head Teachers’ scheme.

A new programme to get outstanding leaders into the schools that need them the most was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

The programme will provide participants with support for the first 3 years, however, participants may choose to stay on at their school for longer than 3 years.

'Schools that are facing the toughest challenges and are in need of a leadership boost will be matched with the nation’s best and brightest school leaders to raise standards and improve the education offered to children.

The first of these leaders will be in place from September 2014 following a rigorous selection process.'

The scheme will encourage schools that aren’t able to attract the best talent to come forward and request a Champions League Head from the pool of top talent. This pool could include high-

Details about the application process will be announced in the new year. Applications will be invited from participants and schools across the country.

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Rokzi - Anti-tip security for school chairs Rokzi is a simple and effective stability system for children and young people who need extra support when using standard school chairs.

The Rokzi system consists of two elements – Rokzi Armz and Rokzi Legz which can be used together or separately.

Rokzi Legz are simple, bolt-on antitip legs which prevent children from tipping school chairs, potentially causing serious injury. Now even longer and more effective, with new, versatile clamp mounting, all at a lower price! They have been specially designed to harmonise with the existing chair, helping children and young people with disabilities integrate into mainstream school environments. They are supplied in pairs to fit to front or rear legs (or both – two pairs required). For more information visit meru.org.uk/shop/rokzi-legz/

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Rokzi Armz are simple, bolt-on armrests which provide comfort, confidence and security, making it easier to sit and stand up safely. They have been specially designed to harmonise with the existing chair, helping children and young people with disabilities integrate into mainstream school environments.

They are available in dark gray, blue or red to match most school chairs. For more information visit meru.org. uk/shop/rokzi-armz/

Tel: 01372 725 203 www.meru.org.uk Education Magazine

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Procurement Strategies – Insurance

By Michelle Brankovic, Category Manager, ESPO Professional Services Insurance is often seen as a long-winded, laborious tick box exercise until the time comes when you need to make a claim. It is only then that you really find out how well you were covered and find out how the claims handling process is managed on your behalf.

Before the drive to convert to academy status started, local authorities supported schools with specialist advice and guidance on a wide range of financial, business and procurement issues. However, as an increasing number of schools have converted, local authorities have cut back on their education departments to save money, leaving schools to fend for themselves.

But what needs to be insured? Schools and academies must have a clear understanding of their insurance requirements in order to ensure that they are adequately covered. There are many risks that need to be considered including school trips, travel, supply teaching resources, minibus, IT, financial loss from cancellation of school events, public liability, professional indemnity for external services and so on. Whilst some may have the relevant skills in this area, many do not and need independent expertise to ensure that sufficient levels of insurance cover are in place.

But what is the right level of cover? Too little and schools run the risk of not being adequately covered and having to pay significant costs from their own budget.

Over covered and the costs will be far higher than necessary impacting on overall school budgets.

Education Funding Authority Many schools have turned to the insurance market for help. However the extent to which schools’ insurance requirements are fully understood is fairly limited. In particular, many players in the market are either not aware of the need to and/or do not provide a compliant route for schools to obtain EFA top-up funding.

As part of their general annual grant (GAG) all academies are permitted to receive perpupil funding. This funding is in two parts:

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an amount delegated by the local authority through local funding, which is equivalent to the amount that maintained schools receive for insurance. This is estimated to be around £25 per pupil on average. an additional grant of £20 per

pupil, to reflect the fact that, on average, insurance premiums are higher for academies than they are for maintained schools (the supplementary amount).

EU procurement regulations Compliance is an issue that cannot be ignored by schools and academies when procuring insurance to ensure fairness and transparency. Failure to follow these published Regulations can result in legal challenges from suppliers, who can sue for damages as well as legal costs. A fully compliant tendering process will then have to be re-run leading to further costs.

The safer way to ensure that contracts comply with all regulatory requirements is to use the many frameworks that are available from public sector procurement organisations such as ESPO. They provide a compliant route for EFA top-up funding and eliminate the need to undertake lengthy and costly EU-compliant procurement processes as all necessary formalities have already been conducted. The latest insurance framework (RM958) was developed by ESPO in partnership with Government Procurement Service (GPS) and the Pro5 Group. It is the first national agreement for the provision of non-life insurance and is estimated to be worth around £850 million over the next four years providing access to brokerage services, insurance underwriting, claims and risk management without having to go through lengthy EU procurement processes.

The insurance services framework provides access to over 29 insurers and 10 brokers with extensive experience of the needs of the education sector. Options available include:

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•

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Lot 3 – single supplier lot including 1 broker covering the provision of insurance brokerage and support services for schools and academies requiring additional support, guidance and knowledge Lot 2 – multi supplier lot including 10 brokers covering the provision of insurance brokerage and support services Lot 1 – multi supplier lot including 29 insurers covering the provision of insurance services

An innovative eAuction was conducted for Lot 3 of the new framework resulting in the successful supplier bid being 31% lower than the lowest opening bid. This demonstrates how public sector costs can be driven down to deliver better value for money.

Delivering Savings The new framework can deliver significant cost savings to the education sector as shown by the experience of Brunts Academy, a specialist college for the performing arts 30

based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Aon, the provider of brokerage and support services for Lot 3 carried out a detailed analysis of the academy’s requirements before proposing a solution that delivered a 36% reduction in the overall brokerage fees and insurance premiums compared with the previous year.

When to buy Instead of leaving it to the last minute, sufficient time should be allowed for the procurement process whether using your own broker or one of the nationally available public sector frameworks. Ensuring that you have the right cover can easily take up to 6-8 weeks and even longer if you decide to run your own open tender process when it takes at least 52 days for all the bids to be submitted. When you know what you are doing, the open tender process can take around 4-5 months and even longer when you don’t.

Schools and academies should also be careful about when they should undertake the insurance procurement process. In every industry there are peak periods that are best avoided if you want to receive the highest levels of service. For the insurance industry, these periods are typically April and September, coinciding with the start of school terms, when brokers are unlikely to be able to provide the same care and attention that they can deliver at other times of the year.

Further information is available at www. espodealingdirect.org or email insurance@ espo.org

We are always looking for good news on Education issues. Please call us if you have any ideas or articles you would like published.

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Education Magazine

New 3D printers to boost STEM and design teaching A 3D printer programme that will boost science, technology, engineering, maths, and design and technology teaching is to be extended.

A programme to bring futuristic 3D printers into state-school classrooms to boost the teaching of science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM), and design and technology is to be extended by Education Secretary Michael Gove.

3D printing is already an established industrial technology used for prototyping and manufacturing products and components across a range of industries.

But it is a new concept in schools and last year the Department for Education funded a project to allow 21 secondaries to trial the use of the printers in STEM and design and technology classes.

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Following the success of that trial, Michael Gove is bringing the technology into more schools - setting up a £500,000 fund so up to 60 teaching schools can buy 3D printers and train teachers to use them effectively.

It is the latest stage in the government’s programme to improve standards in hi-tech subjects. The new curriculum for computing will ensure primary school pupils learn to write computer programs while computer science will also be included in the EBacc from next year. The new design and technology curriculum, backed by inventor Sir James Dyson, specifically mentions 3D printers and will see pupils taught about advanced skills, including robotics, so that more are prepared for jobs in the engineering industry.

Michael Gove said: “3D printers are revolutionising manufacturing and it is vital that we start teaching the theory and practice in our schools. Teaching schools will be able to develop and spread effective methods to do this. Combined with our introduction of a computer science curriculum and teacher training, this will help our schools give pupils valuable skills”.

The extension of the 3D printer programme follows the success of trials in 21 schools which used them in lessons.

A report into the pilot said that so far in the UK, the technology had been restricted largely to design and technology classes but that there was “considerable potential for them to be used within a range of STEM subjects, for example to enable links to be made between mathematics, design and physics in a similar way to, for example, ‘sound’ enabling links between music, physics (wave properties), biology (hearing) and engineering (concert hall design).”

The pilot schools reported that early work with the printer was often limited to demonstrations and printing of small files such as 3D shapes. This highlighted the need for good training of teachers, which is why part of the money will be for continuing professional development (CPD).

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Examples of how the printers were used included: • science departments used the 3D printer as a context to discuss the properties of plastics, to build models for teaching science such as molecules, eyeballs, cells and sine waves, and to build components for working equipment such as rockets

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at Watford Grammar School for Boys the printer was used to demonstrate a 3D graph for various algebraic equations as well as producing examples of regular shapes (dodecahedron)

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Honywood Community Science School in Essex designed an advanced 3D development learning tool, enabling pupils to create 3D objects using typed code in POV-Ray3. This enabled pupils to practise writing and debugging code and also supported studying algebra and understanding 3D/2D space

The funding covers the rest of this academic year and 2014 to 2015.

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Accounting for Academies Lisa White is a partner at UHY Hacker Young Bristol chartered accountants The transition to Academy Status provides a school with a number of benefits: freedom from the control of its local authority and the National Curriculum, the ability to set its own term times and the power to independently set pay and conditions for staff. However, this independence from Local Authority (LA) control also presents a number of challenges when it comes to managing financial procedures and policies.

In addition to the financial issues faced by traditional commercial entities, such as payroll bureau and bookkeeping, assessing and managing financial risk, budgeting and reporting; an academy school is also burdened with the additional requirements that are placed on public organisations and charities.

Schools transitioning from state to Academy Status often inherit adequate procedures from their LA, though these may require updating in order to ensure full compliance with the Academies Financial Handbook.

Governance An academy school must be accountable for its own financial results and is expected to demonstrate how it uses public funds.

As part of its annual report and accounts, it is required to prepare a Governance Statement on regulatory, propriety and compliance. Within education, it is important to remember that school

The Business of Reinvention Roger Saul, founder of Mulberry, spoke at the inaugural Chilton Cantelo School Lecture series about the importance of reinventing oneself in business in order to thrive and survive.

Now Kilver Court and Sharpham Park proprietor, Roger talked about his continually eventful journey in business and how he had kept Mulberry on-trend and recession-proof over the many years he was at its helm.

Starting with making and selling snakeskin chokers to boutiques in Carnaby Street to diversifying with home furniture shops in cities from Paris to Tokyo, Roger gave example after example of how the company had shifted and changed in order to overcome economic adversity over the years such as global recessions and fluctuating exchange rates.

Moving from fashion to food, one of Roger’s current enterprises involves growing spelt and

officials such as governors are, in the eyes of the law, the equivalent to company directors. It is therefore crucial that the head teacher or governor implements appropriate governance structures, policies and procedures to ensure clear lines of accountability within the organisation.

The Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) financial Handbook for 2013 confirms a non-mandatory requirement to appoint a Responsible Officer, which is defined as a non-employed trustee with an appropriate level of qualifications and experience. The remit of the Responsible Officer is to provide an independent oversight of the academy’s financial affairs, reporting to the finance committee in an advisory capacity. However, this requirement has been relaxed to provide schools with several alternative options to allow academies to share this administrative burden. The alternatives outlined within the EFA’s Handbook include: internal audits, the use of external auditors, peer reviews or any combination of these or the appointment of a responsible officer.

Value for Money In my experience of working with the academy school sector, it has been encouraging to see that providing a valuable education for students remains the primary focus for most school leaders.

However, the fact remains that academy schools are also obliged to demonstrate producing a range of food products which are now carried by Waitrose. Another of his new ventures is Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet which continues to grow and add shops and restaurants to its designer emporium.

When asked what main lesson he had for young people on succeeding in business he said: ‘Planning ahead is critical as well as seeing things through and working hard. I’m still doing this now and love every minute of it.’

Verity White, Headmistress of the school said: ‘We couldn’t have had a better speaker at our inaugural lecture. Hearing from influential people about their personal experiences benefits our pupils hugely and we will be hosting more events like this in future.’

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Chilton Cantelo is an independent boarding school for boys and girls, ages 4 to 18, located near Yeovil

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The school is positioned in 20 acres of idyllic, rural parkland and has recently upgraded its premises to offer PrePrep as well as Sixth Form to become 32

value for money (VFM). To do this, academies must systematically self-assess and document how they have achieved VFM on the funds provided to the school.

All academy trusts are required to complete an annual VFM statement to help them self-assess what they have done to maximise the impact of their investments.

The statement must be signed by the trust’s Accounting Officer and a copy of the signed statement must be emailed to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) by 31 December each year or within one month of filing their Financial Statements with the EFA (whichever is sooner).

The statement is designed to provide accounting officers with an opportunity to demonstrate to parents, stakeholders and Somerset’s newest ‘all-through’ school

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Fees are deliberately set low and affordable, and include free: afterschool activities, learning support, English as a foreign language tuition and weekend trips for boarders

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There are no Saturday morning classes The school is part of the Cognita Group of Schools which was founded

by Sir Chris Woodhead and is run by education specialists with expertise in all areas of independent education.

Cognita currently owns and operates 58 schools world-wide in the UK, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brazil bringing benefits as a group including international exchange programmes and access to high quality degree courses. Cognita seeks to continuously improve its schools; raising standards through a rigorous quality assurance programme and enhancing provision through curriculum development and investment into school facilities.

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the public how their trust has made use of public assets and funds. Ultimately, this should be seen as a chance to evidence value for money during the year and openly identify areas for potential improvement.

Therefore, in the interest of public disclosure, academies are required to publish their statement on their trust’s website within one month of submission to the EFA.

Academies who endeavour to assist neighbouring schools should also declare remunerations generated by the secondment of educational staff to other academies and Local Authority schools. Furthermore, it should also be noted that academy status also provides schools with the opportunity to raise additional income for capital and revenue projects free of LA control.

Thankfully, the EFA states that Value for Money statements need not take the form of a lengthy report. That said, statements need to reflect the size and complexity of individual academies and must include specific examples of how academies have achieved a return on their investments by highlighting any notable financial gains.

Academies are required to identify how they have achieved such returns against key criteria, which include their use of tenders and benchmarking to ensure value in matters of procurement. Ultimately, this should stand to illustrate how an academy’s financial governance has helped to ensure effective spending and, importantly, how an academy has sought to maximise its income.

While it is necessary to highlight your academy’s efforts to provide value for money, it must be remembered that the model Articles of Association for an academy specifically prohibit ‘substantial permanent trading activities’. Therefore, it is essential for academies to identify which of its activities constitute trading and to consider whether it is appropriate to carry these out.

Maximising income While it may feel unnatural to consider a school as one would a commercial entity, schools are increasingly expected to contribute a range of services and ‘added value’ in their communities. Many academies quite rightly generate funds through such endeavours, however it is vital that these are documented within the VMF statements. Examples of maximising income include; the letting of sports fields and facilities, the hiring out of meeting rooms, the sale of goods via school shops and the sale of photographs to students, or any commissions paid by outsourced photography company.

Tax and VAT The general tax position is that trading activities carried out by a charity, in this case an academy school, are exempt from tax if the profits from the trade are applied for the purposes of the charity, namely the provision of education. Therefore, each stream of income should be considered individually. In the event that an academy does develop substantial trading activities, the common solution would be to create a subsidiary company.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a complicated area for many businesses and it can often become even trickier for schools to comprehend. Thankfully, in April 2011 the Government introduced a VAT refund scheme to allow Academies to recover the VAT incurred on goods and services associated with the provision of free education. The scheme is designed to mirror the current arrangement that LA’s have for schools under their control.

Audits Annual audits are a daunting proposition for every business and the same is true for academy schools. When the time comes there are many factors to consider and taking short cuts are not an option! It can be a challenge to holistically assess a year’s activities but academies can benefit from considering tips such as: reviewing the cut off on school trips and prepay or defer income and expenditure as necessary if money has been paid or collected for a trip in the new academic year; identify any ‘internal’ transactions to avoid inflating income or expenditure. These could include transactions between schools in a multi-academy trust, or between the main school fund and other accounts such as the Voluntary Fund; and account for any revenue grants paid for the year to 31 March, including the Pupil Premium - will need to be apportioned over two academy accounting periods.

For academies, reporting statements, funding, VAT and audits are just the thin edge of a rather large wedge. Further issues such as staff pensions and personal tax liabilities, risk management, guarding against fraud and procedures such as succession planning are all issues which must be considered.

The dynamic nature of academy schools requires a holistic approach to the planning and implementation of effective accounting procedures. There is a lot to be considered, and it can become a complicated affair, but this burden can be eased by enlisting the support of experienced financial and legal advisors.

For more information visit www.uhy-uk.com

Raising Anchor and Standards The Anchor was raised and so were standards, when the Mayor and Mayoress of Wyre, Councillor and Mrs John Hodgkinson, officially opened Rossall School’s Anchor House, following an extensive programme of refurbishment.

Councillor and Mrs Hodgkinson cut the ribbon and the ceremonial anchor cake to officially open Rossall’s junior boarding house, which takes its name from the Anchor on prominent display in the building, believed to have been salvaged by two enterprising pupils in 1929 from the wreck of the Belgian trawler, Commandant Bultinck, which ran aground on Rossall Beach during a fierce storm. The newly refurbished facilities are part of the larger investment programme on campus, which over the past four years has seen Rossall’s student accommodation, academic, sports and catering facilities benefiting from an investment of around £5million.

Anchor House is home to boarding pupils from the age of seven and is the final house on campus to be restored in a programme of renovation that has taken around four years to complete. The refurbishment has involved the development of improved pupil accommodation, the introduction of new shower and bathroom facilities, the creation of a new day room and extensive renovation of the building’s facade.

A slice of history:The mayor and Mayoress of Wyre, Councillor and Mrs John Hodgkinson cut the cake to celebrate the opening of Anchor House, helped by Rossall School’s Head, Elaine Purves.

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Speaking at the opening, councillor Hodgkinson said: “I’m delighted that the refurbishment will mean so much to pupils and staff here. I’ve been a councillor in a nearby ward for many years, yet this is my first time on Rossall’s campus and my only regret is that I have now lost my sight and can no longer appreciate the wonderful architecture of which many people speak. However, the warmth and sense of history here is palpable and I’m sure this new development will be a credit to the school.”

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ISS and Redbridge Council pledge to freeze school meal prices until 2016 The price of school meals in Redbridge schools have been frozen at two pounds a day for the next three years following negotiations between the Council and, ISS Facility Services Education, who provide catering in the majority of the Borough’s primary schools.

ISS and the Council have worked closely together to ensure Redbridge pupils continue to enjoy high quality, fresh and healthy school meals at an affordable price.

In 2010, the 52 schools in the London Borough of Redbridge which dine with ISS were awarded the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark. In 2012 they achieved the Silver accreditation which has now been retained for 2013/14.

The Food for Life Catering mark means that the food served is sustainably sourced, high quality food, which has been freshly prepared and cooked on site each day. The school menus also include a selection of organic products, including bread, yoghurts and milk, as well as a range of locally sourced, seasonal produce.

In addition, all of the eggs are free range and all of the meat, including the halal provision in schools which have requested it, is Farm Assured/Red Tractor certified.

For two pounds per day, pupils in Redbridge can choose from either two or three main meal choices (which include both meat and vegetarian options), two vegetable accompaniments and a choice of a hot dessert, piece of fresh fruit or organic yoghurt. Diners also have full and unlimited access to salad bars, which contain a variety of fresh vegetables.

Councillor Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “For the price of a newspaper and a couple of pints of milk, school children in Redbridge will be provided with a tasty, nutritious meal every day.

Uptake in school meals in Redbridge has increased to over 50% over the last few years, and Mark Davis, Divisional Director of ISS Education is confident that ISS will help Redbridge achieve the School Food Plan’s target of 70%: “We know that nutritious school meals help pupils to learn and stay healthy. Our fixed price commitment, along with our forthcoming online payment system, will help increase uptake further by giving parents the reassurance that their children can enjoy great value delicious, healthy meals and be in control of their financial arrangements.”

Polam Hall School, Darlington applies for Free School status

We want to give them confidence for life, with our ethos of genuine pastoral support and care, and our exciting curriculum, outstanding drama, music and art, and long tradition for outward-bound and sport.”

One of the oldest and most highly regarded schools in the North East of England is applying to become a free, rather than feepaying, school from 2015.

Local politicians and business leaders are also backing the school’s move to open up its offering to all, regardless of their ability to pay.

Polam Hall School in Darlington is applying to become a state-funded independent school to enable it to share its outstanding offering to all.

Alasdair MacConachie, chairman of the Darlington Partnership, said: “I am delighted that Polam Hall is opening its doors to young people across Darlington and the rest of the region. We warmly welcome their partnership.”

The school, which provides first class education for girls and boys aged four to 19, is applying to the Department for Education to become a Free School from September 2015.

Free Schools are state-funded independent schools and the change would mean that Polam Hall could offer its highly regarded pastoral care, teaching and confidenceboosting extracurricular activities to all without fees being charged.

However, the school, which has long championed progressive, non-selective education, will remain on its current 19-acre site on Grange Road.

Chair of governors Sally Pelham, said: “By opening our doors to all, regardless of ability to pay, we are honouring the life-enhancing vision of education set out by our founders.

We are deeply committed to giving young people in Darlington a real choice, with our all-through education from four to 19.”

Headmaster John Moreland, added: “The young people that we welcome to Polam Hall are at the heart of everything we do.

Polam Hall was founded by Quakers in the nineteenth century and is the oldest school in continuous existence in Darlington.

The school has a proud history of close support for each child, developing resilience and character, promoting creative thinking and community values.

It also has a reputation as a centre of excellence in science and maths, music and the arts and believes this success would be continued as a Free School.

Polam Hall has a tradition as a boarding school and will continue to offer 60 boarding places, while it will have a wide catchment area as a Free School, with pupils coming from all parts of Darlington and the wider DL postcode area.

The school will also join one of the most impressive school partnerships in the UK, with Darlington having the highest proportion of academies in the country.

Sandford award for Gladstone Pottery Museum Staff at Gladstone Pottery Museum are celebrating the achievement of a prestigious Sandford Award for the quality of its education opportunities.

The award is independently judged and assessors look at all aspects of educational visits to the museum. It provides a quality assurance ‘kite mark’ for education provision at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections, which is recognised by schools and other institutions across the United Kingdom.

The Longton museum was assessed earlier this year during a visit by Holden Lane Primary School, Stoke-on-Trent. The Year 4 group took part in a Clarice Cliff ‘art deco’ style painting workshop where they decorated a plate to take home with them.

They were also taken on a guided tour of the preserved site and both parts of the experience were praised by the assessor.

The awarding committee commented: “Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum which offers school groups an indepth experience of past and present life in the Potteries. The children’s experience

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is enriched by the facilitators’ knowledge and personal understanding of the working pottery and of its history.”

This achievement is a testament to the hard work of all of the staff at Gladstone and consistent high standards in ensuring visitors of all ages enjoy their visit. Education staff, guides, workshop leaders, demonstrators and visitor services staff are all thrilled to be considered worthy of commendation by such a stringent and well respected scheme.

The service offers a wide range of sessions at Gladstone Pottery Museum and The Potteries Museums & Art Gallery, linked to key stages of the national curriculum.

They also visit schools to deliver outreach sessions, put on special events, offer loan boxes of museum objects to schools and much more.

For more information email museumeducation@stoke.gov.uk. The service’s new education brochure can be downloaded from the Stoke Museums website at www.stokemuseums.org.uk/ education/

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