Independent School Management Plus - Summer 2021

s u l MANAGEMENT p Summer 2021

I N D E P E N D E N T

S C H O O L

The BUSINESS of INDEPENDENT EDUCATION

Teachers' Pension Scheme

transport

matters!

The role of bus routes in student recruitment

Time to grasp the nettle?

Quo Vadis?

Where does independent education go from here?

In partnership with

Andrew Fleck, Nick Gallop, Andrew Lewer MP BURSARS

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Print and digital copies of Independent School Management Plus are distributed to named headteachers, principals, marketing and admissions leads in every independent school in the UK, plus British international schools overseas. The magazine is published three times a year.

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No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. The information contained in Independent School Management Plus has been published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or damage caused by reliance on the information contained within this publication is hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.

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Foreword

As, hopefully, we leave the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic ‘in the rear-view mirror’ – to quote the Prime Minister – leaders across the independent education sector are taking stock. Classics as a subject is not as popular as in years gone by, but I am sure that the Latin phrase ‘Quo Vadis’ is echoing in the minds of many educationalists this summer. Loosely translated as ‘Wither now?’ it is a question which seems likely to be on the agenda of every governing body across the country.

In this, the third edition of Independent School Management Plus, a number of distinguished colleagues take a look at some of the issues confronting the independent school sector which have been brought into even sharper relief by the turmoil of the past year.

From Westminster, Andrew Lewer MP, the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Independent Education, asks whether the Government should put public funds into independent schools’ bursary programmes as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda (see page 10). He argues that excellence in the independent sector leads to a rise in educational achievement across all our schools.

Educational reform is on the mind of Nick Gallop, the Headmaster of Stamford School, (see page 6) who suggests that we need to ensure that our schools mirror the changing views and values of society if they are to stay relevant.The case is critical, he believes. Meantime, in a valedictory piece, Andrew Fleck – who retires as Principal of Sedbergh School this summer – reflects on the urgent need for the repositioning of the independent school sector in the public mind and calls on the professional associations to work together, speak with a united voice – and take action (see page 41) The debate is underway. Why not join in and help to influence the direction of travel of the Ian Hunt independent education sector which is so central Independent School Management Plus Editorial Advisory Board to all our lives.

Our School Management Plus online platform is now live offering a wealth of information.

Keep up-to-date and get involved: • Latest news, regular features and opinion • Monthly newsletter and jobs to your inbox • Contribute your own ideas and opinion • Join our webinars and round-table discussions We are the leading opinion platform for the successful running of a modern independent school. Always keen to hear about the issues that matter to you most, get in touch to have your school’s voice heard. editor@schoolmanagementplus.com

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Susan Barnhurst Academic Deputy Head at Wellingborough School and senior leader for a major UK examining board

C O N TE N TS 32

Dr Helen Wright Educational consultant, former Head of St Mary’s Calne and President of the Girls’ Schools Association

Grasping the Nettle

Tory Gillingham AMCIS CEO, former Marketing Director at Pocklington School and Marketing and Development Director at St Peter’s School,York Ian Hunt School board member in the UK and Middle East, leader of international educational projects and a contributor to the national press Hugh Monro Board director and chair of governors for schools in the UK and Europe Peter Tait Educational journalist, advisor, trainer and former Head of Sherborne Preparatory School Stuart Nicholson Principal at Bishopstrow College, former Head of CCCS and Kingsley School Nick Gallop Head of Stamford School, regular contributor to the TES and editor of Politics Review

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Transport Matters

HEADS & GOVERNORS The Politics of Education in a postpandemic world

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The Squeezed Middle The only paymasters?

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In conversation with Durell Barnes: The validation of remote learning

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS Transport Matters School bus routes can be key to student recruitment

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Talking Point: Andrew Fleck

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Marketing Speak Kirsty Hassan, Chair of AMCIS

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The Virtual Student A new direction for admissions teams?

DEVELOPMENT 27

Pressing ‘Play’ on Development

BURSARS 32

Grasping the Nettle The Teachers’ Pension Scheme

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Talking Point Drifting into the Backwaters: of British Education

Summer 2021

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

HEADS & GOVERNORS

THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

Change is the inevitable result of national – and international – crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick Gallop argues that we should recognise this reality and seize the opportunity to reform education in order to mirror the changing views and values of society.

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ard on the heels of almost all crises – revolutions, wars of independence, apocalyptic famine or plague – comes major social, economic and political upheaval. While modern Britain has steered mercifully free from the most catastrophic of these, the upheavals that the UK has faced over the centuries have instead acted as accelerants to the political pressures and social problems that preceded them.

A century ago, the aftershocks of the First World War saw the enfranchisement of women, the election of the first Labour Government and an abrupt end to the stifling deference of the Edwardian era. The aftermath of the Second World War saw Sir Winston Churchill dumped from office in favour of Clement Attlee’s New Jerusalem, the creation of the modern welfare state, vast nationalisation projects, currency devaluation and the collapse of the Empire.

Inequalities exposed

One of the most significant features of the current health crisis is the way that it has amplified existing structural inequalities within British society. Not just health inequalities that contributed to disturbing disparities in infection, hospitalisation and death rates – and correlated most closely with those on low incomes and in over-crowded housing – but deeply entrenched social inequalities too.

Over the last year and more, a fundamental reappraisal has taken place of the role played by groups in society that have preserved and sustained the hidden wiring of the world that we live in. In our schools and colleges, the value and contribution of our ‘essential’ workers – our cleaners, caterers, estates workers,

The future for which we prepare our pupils is set for major, potentially irreversible, change. staff – has never been higher. Yet in society at large, those that have been most needed – health workers, carers, cleaners, workers involved in food production and waste disposal, supermarket shelf-stackers and delivery drivers – arguably remain collectively the most substantially undervalued in terms of reward and status.

David Goodhart in his 2020 book Head, Hand, Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century refers to the rebalancing of the UK’s fundamentally ‘lop-sided distribution of status’ as one of the most significant post-pandemic challenges. Consequently, the social, economic and political concerns of these formerly unappreciated groups will rightly feature far more prominently in the formulation and prioritisation of Government policy. Efforts to tackle regional disparities and housing costs, raise the national minimum wage, incentivise employers to hire more apprentices, and establish a National Skills Fund are just a handful of the main components of the Spring Budget.

While interventionist ‘big state’ spending projects are rarely the hallmark of Conservative administrations, even in spite of the highly unusual circumstances, the ideological outlook of the current Government is nothing like that of the neo-liberal, laissez-faire Conservative administrations of the recent past.

Instead, traditional ‘One-Nation’ policies are set to underpin the UK’s social and economic recovery and the centrality of the current Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda is likely to see financial commitments to schools and colleges in the maintained sector far out-strip what might previously have been anticipated.

cancellation of examinations has magnified levels of educational inequality that long predated the crisis.

However, a growing wealth of data has served to illustrate more starkly the disparities and especially the ‘differential learning loss’ caused by measures to control the pandemic. Set to influence policy, educational reform and future funding far more explicitly, is the Sutton Trust’s agenda to ‘break the link between family income and educational achievement’.

In addition, the hauling of long-stifled ‘niche’ educational debates into the political and social mainstream is set to continue. We have so far seen deliberations on the length of school days, ever greater recognition of the moderating forces of schools in stabilising mental health, a querying of the rationale for our varying term and holiday lengths, a welcome reconsideration of the vital importance of post-school clubs and activities, and discussions of the relevance and future significance of school performance league tables (currently prohibited in all UK regions except England) in a post-examination era.

Undergraduate trends

The immediate future for which we prepare the vast majority of our pupils is set for major, potentially irreversible, changes too. Pre-existing trends in higher education have become even more pronounced in 2020 and 2021, the pandemic years of university entry, as the flight continues to undergraduate courses perceived to offer the firmest prospects of postgraduate employment in an ever-more uncertain professional world. A trend that is not without consequences.

Last year, over 75,000 students enrolled on businessrelated degree courses at university, representing an increase of more than 25% within a decade. The same period, boosted by the establishment of the National

Levelling up

In addition, the UK’s radical approach to controlling the spread of the pandemic has made what was previously unthinkable, thinkable. We have experienced at firsthand the shutting down of whole swathes of economic, educational, social, commercial and cultural life for extended periods of time, with expectations that we endure the privations, accept the fall-out, and collectively underwrite the expense. If such radically interventionist action is possible to control a virus, what might also be equally and ideologically possible to ‘make society fairer’?

For that has become the central mantra emerging from the crisis, with education at the forefront. The closure of schools and the 6 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

Centre for Computing Education to provide a consistent and positive experience of computing at schools, saw a 50% increase in the number of students starting computer science and artificial intelligence courses.

With around 250,000 18-year-olds gaining a place at university each year, the proportion of them commencing courses in such a tight range of subjects – namely business and computing – is significant.

While commercial proficiency and expertise in computer science and artificial intelligence is likely to be important for the UK’s economic recovery and its global competitiveness, the trend represents a growing concentration of undergraduate skills, experience and aptitude, and one that the aftermath of the pandemic looks set to intensify.

Other popular ‘professional’ degree courses related to law, science and sport continue to prosper too, but the last decade for many ‘traditional’ subjects such as English (down by more than a third to fewer than 7,000 entrants) and History (down by a fifth) indicate a future that looks uncertain at best. The implications for schools and colleges, of so few leavers continuing to study subjects in higher education that we devote so much curriculum time to, is worth a disruptive discussion sooner rather than later.

In particular, the decline in acceptances onto undergraduate Modern Foreign Languages courses, down by a third to under 4,000 entrants, is a longheld source of apprehension and unease and set to exacerbate the professional language skills gap in the wake of the UK’s departure from the European Union.

Government moves to introduce languages into the national curriculum for primary schools from 2014, and the current roll out of a £5 million Governmentfunded pilot programme to boost the confidence of pupils studying modern languages in selected secondary schools are yet to run their full courses.

Examination reform

Calls for examination reform have long predated the health crisis, but there is little doubt that the experience of recent months has substantially enhanced the appetite for change – potentially tipping the balance in favour of the disruptive advantages of a transformation in the way that we assess young people and in the 8 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

organisation of the curriculum that supports it.

The evidence for examination reform is well established. For many, tinkering will not suffice since it is the system itself that is the problem: one that appears to be deliberately engineered against the interests of so many young people. In 2019, the last time that GCSE examinations took place, a quarter of all 16-year-olds again failed their Maths GCSE. That is nearly 200,000 students achieving below a grade 4 (the equivalent of an old C grade) with all the resulting diminishment in life chances that accompanies it. The stark reality is that for the ‘integrity’ of our current examination system to work, the annual toll is that a very substantial number need to fail.

In the same way that the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of our previously unassailably hyperefficient global supply chains, the fragility of our national examination system has been laid bare too. The supposedly ‘blue chip’, standardised, one-size-fits-all mass examination hall arrangement, largely unchanged since the 1950s, has failed us. Twice. And a reinsertion of the previous system from 2022 onwards will only serve to widen the educational inequalities that have been so evidently revealed.

Who is clapping for whom?

There is little doubt that the pandemic has prompted many to reappraise and re-evaluate their own lives.

Amid this, we have seen tension between those that have become increasingly fearful of mortality and of life’s risks and those desperate to regain old freedoms; some becoming angrier and more intolerant, taking to social media in support of popular eruptions of fury to vent at the circumstances they face.

Things that were previously held to be of indisputable importance – the routines and interests that shaped our lives – have all been weighed and measured against differing Lockdown experiences, periods of furlough and the dawning realisation among many that they too would like to be ‘clapped for’. Alongside, there has been a welcome revaluation of professional purpose, the importance of care and service, an exponential rise in applications for nursing degrees and, yes, for teaching jobs too.

It is this latter point that provides a substantial reason to be optimistic, and the possibility – already evidenced in many schools and colleges – of a considerable revival of interest in our profession. ●

NICK GALLOP is Head of Stamford School, editor of Politics Review and author of Hodder Education’s UK Politics Annual Update.

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

HEADS & GOVERNORS

THE SQUEEZED MIDDLE THE ONLY PAYMASTERS?

MP Andrew Lewer considers whether Government should put more funding into bursary places within the UK’s thriving independent school sector as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda.

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n Ed Miliband reference at the beginning of an article by a Conservative MP about independent schools may seem unconventional, but what he said as Labour Leader about the ‘squeezed middle’ resonated with the electorate and highlights a challenge for the Conservative Party that continues to this day. As a party of low tax, it is – to say the least – problematic that we have the highest sustained tax burden as a percentage of GDP for 70 years at 34.2%.

This after 11 years of Conservative-led Government and where Conservativeled governments have been in power for nearly two thirds of the time since 1951.

The squeezed middle manifests itself in other ways than just tax, such as in planning. Here, ostensibly welcome requirements for affordable housing

Parents are, in effect, paying three times. on new developments adds costs onto the full market price for the rest of the houses being sold, with those who were just about able to afford one on the open market therefore priced out.

Bursaries

Without support from Government (and certainly for those schools lacking historic endowments) the potential for the ‘squeezed middle’ problem occurs again when it comes to independent school bursaries. The life-changing opportunities for children from low-income backgrounds provided via bursaries is, of course, welcome. Every independent school I know is proud to offer them.

However, there is a risk of fees rising to cover such bursaries with pressure then put upon those families who have worked hard to just about manage to afford to pay them (often forsaking foreign holidays and new cars, or taking on second or even third jobs to be able to do so). Of course, many schools are expert at fundraising to cover bursaries, rather than using a levy on fees; there are some deeply inspiring examples of this in John Claughton’s book Transforming Young Lives: Fundraising for Bursaries. I have no doubt that most independent schools would continue to fundraise for bursaries even if Government support was forthcoming. Therefore, still more numerous opportunities would be able to be provided. At the moment, though, in the words of Barnaby Lenon, Chairman of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), “… parents are, in effect, paying three times – they pay for their own child, then they pay through their school fees for a bursary child, and then through income tax they pay for someone else’s child to go to a state school.”

Presently, the Department for Education seems to regard as anathema the idea that if an independent school provides a full bursary to a child then the state should also put in the c.£6,200 it saves by not having to put that child through a state school. That attitude from Government should be worked on and changed, because co-funding bursaries is a good idea and has worked in the past.

(Even a contribution from the state of a lesser amount than £6,200 would be a start and at that stage would be saving the state money, rather than merely not costing it more.) Such a scheme would, in effect, be doing what Direct Grant Schools were doing from 1945 to 1976 and Assisted Places did from 1980 to 1997.

School choice

The concept is sometimes dismissed as ‘vouchers’ as if that were dismissal enough. But what is wrong with ‘vouchers’? Or, to use different language, the empowerment of parents and the enhancement of school choice by giving 10 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

every parent the right to decide to which (inspected and appropriate) school the money available for their child’s education goes to? Untested and risky? Could only happen in some unregulated free-for-all society on the fringes of Western life? Not so! The Dutch have run their school system this way since, wait for it, 1917! There, something like 70% of schools are independent and the country’s fine PISA scores (the international measurement of quality of learning) attest to its success. Sweden, Denmark and Flemish Belgium also operate in a similar way and indeed the OECD themselves report that: “... school choice is an increasingly common feature of OECD education systems.”

What about those children ‘left behind’? How is a Governmentsupported bursary system fair to them?

Because well-run independent schools raise educational achievement even for those not attending them. This is secured by providing a comparator, by taking pupil place pressures off the state school system and by allowing for the development of mutually beneficial state/ independent school partnerships. (90% of Independent Schools Council and 99% of Headmaster’s Conference (HMC) schools are part of such partnerships and numerous research exercises demonstrate the benefits to all those involved.)

However, as making progress on Government co-funded bursaries may

prove to be a ‘slow burn’ – let alone ‘going Dutch’ – where else might further progress be made in independent schools working with Government to achieve positive outcomes not only for the children already being educated by them but into wider society?

Looked-after children

Boarding school places for certain looked-after and on-the-edge-of-beinglooked-after children (‘looked-after’ children are those formerly referred to as being ‘in care’) can provide lifechanging opportunities. Local authorities should be given more freedom to explore this option further, with the high cost and low outcomes of more predictable and unadventurous ways of trying to ‘look after the looked after’ as the counterpoint. As a former County Council Leader, I do not under-estimate the challenges around looked-after children, the good intentions of the vast majority of those working in Children’s

Well-run independent schools raise educational achievement even for those not attending them.

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

Give your students uninterrupted learning between school and home.

Services or the need to choose carefully who to offer this opportunity to. But when it works, it can work spectacularly well. The testimonies of some of those who have had the experience that can be seen in the publications of the national exemplar in this field, Royal SpringBoard www.royalspringboard.org.uk – a charity which undoubtedly has the appetite to expand the work they do. The Depar tment for Education has star ted to make some positive moves in this direction with the recently announced expansion of its co-funding work with Royal SpringBoard and local authorities to cover some day school placements too. But fur ther and faster – and decentralised – progress can and should be made.

School partnerships

Throughout the COVID crisis, independent schools have demonstrated their value to wider society by making their facilities available for a whole range of support services, including providing dormitories for NHS staff, making masks and visors, donating laptops and through mentoring support for partner state schools. This last type of work – where those in independent education, both teachers and pupils, mentor and support the learning development of children from other schools – has the potential to not only continue as schools recover from the impact of the pandemic but to become part of the fabric woven into the nation’s educational tapestry. We all know the mental health problems and educational attainment shortfalls that 12 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

will result from the COVID crisis and the resulting absence from a structured school environment. We know these problems will fall disproportionately upon those young people who need that structure more than anyone else and have the most to lose.

The independent school network in our country is an asset.

To help tackle this situation, the Government has announced its National Tutoring and Get Help with Technology programmes, but so far has not sought to engage the independent sectors as fully as it should. Independent schools are eager, desperate almost, to do more in this area and to help with possibly the most meaningful kind of ‘levelling up’ there can be. This has not been seized upon as eagerly as I believe it should have been by the state sector. Whether that is ideological in some quarters – unions and educational theorists – or bureaucratic in others – the rather distant nature of

Regional School Commissioners and the Department for Education in Whitehall – matters less than the need for it to be overcome. The Schools Together Group – which is currently developing into the new School Partnerships Alliance (SPA) – is an ideal vehicle for this; it just needs the Department for Education to embrace the offer.

An asset

The independent school network in our country is an asset. It is an asset that is valued by others certainly but one which we should value more ourselves. (The large number of private schools now owned by the Chinese attests to how valued an asset it is, but this creates very serious problems of its own: homegrown support could help fend off these challenging acquisitions.)

A blurring of the lines between state and independent education provision; a democratisation of access to excellence; a recognition that aspiration exists across all income levels. Moving forward with such an agenda should help us provide a bright future for our children. All could – and should – come through support and enthusiasm for what a broader independent sector could provide and thus not at the expense of ‘the squeezed middle’. ●

ANDREW LEWER MBE, MP, is a member of the Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Independent Education.

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One of the many exceptional aspects of MyMaths is the clarity of its graphics and the very logical way that a new topic is explained and sequenced.

Steve Buckle, Teacher (Hornsby House School)

HEADS & GOVERNORS

HEADS & GOVERNORS

DURELL BARNES - IN CONVERSATION WITH -

THE VALIDATION OF REMOTE LEARNING

Zoe MacDougall talks to Durell Barnes about the impact of Lockdown, the extraordinary advances made in remote online learning and the associated need for ‘exploration’ and the sharing of best practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on schools as learning migrated to the home during school closures. How would you define remote online learning provision?

There is a difference between emergency remote learning and a planned programme of remote online study. Lockdown One was an emergency, provoking an admirable response to crisis from many schools. But Lockdown Three was different. It came as no real surprise and most independent schools were prepared for it.

Planning had taken place in the Autumn Term and many schools facilitated a seamless transition to remote online learning in January.

Remote online learning is defined as live teaching on Zoom or similar. Currently, remote online learning isn’t subject to any specific regulations or validation process.

What might inspecting remote learning look like?

First and foremost, in order for schools to demonstrate compliance, new standards defining best practice in remote and online provision will need to be identified. Without regulation, there can be no compliance. Post-pandemic, remote online learning is here to stay. The possibilities for new methods of learning and teaching, which were encouraged

by Lockdown limitations, are too exciting to be sidelined now. It’s likely that blended learning, encompassing a wide range of remote and realtime strategies, will continue to push us to think creatively about how education is defined. Last year’s emergency is on the brink of becoming next year’s excitement. Those making such decisions are in a thrilling position – gifted with shaping the future. But, nevertheless, parents and students need to be confident that these new forms of teaching and learning are robust and watertight.

Last year’s emergency is on the brink of becoming next year’s excitement.

Why is there a need to inspect remote learning provision in schools?

All education needs to be regulated. There will always be pressure from Government, and from other stakeholders, for quality assurance of providers of education. Inspectorates exist to ensure the safeguarding of learners. In the independent sector, schools are charged with regulatory compliance with the Independent School Standards as set out by the Department for Education.

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what is described as a ‘cloud-based learning platform’.

They follow a full British curriculum in a wide range of subjects online, culminating in IGCSE, AS and A-Level examinations. Pastoral care supports learners as individuals. Clubs, societies, seminars and social catchups are integral to the online school experience. This InterHigh model of permanent remote online learning resonates with mainstream schools’ response to Lockdown. In Red Balloon Learner Centres, an individual programme of blended online and face-to-face provision is accessed by students who have self-excluded from mainstream education.

So, what does the future of remote learning look like?

Now that so much has been done online, it can’t be undone. There can be no going back. Education will move forward, taking with it the lessons learnt in Lockdown about remote and online learning. A blended curriculum, seeking to implement shared webinars, multi-school lectures, Zoom partnerships and much more seems likely. International franchise groups may see particular benefits of remote online learning strategies. Partnerships between independent and maintained schools could use remote online learning to really add impact and meaning to shared initiatives. And there are financial gains to be had, too. Independent schools may not be able to afford to sustain the teacher/student ratios which underpin so much

Durell Barnes Durell Barnes is a freelance educational consultant and Head of Governance and Compliance at RSAcademics, where inspection readiness is a focus in his work. He is also Chair of the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB) and has been a governor of both independent and maintained schools.

Previously, Durell was Deputy Director and Head of Communications at the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), after a teaching career when he held two deputy headships in the independent sector. of the quality of current learning. Introducing remote online strategies as part of a blended curriculum may ease financial strain. But school leaders and parents alike will seek validated quality assurance before buying into remote online provision as a post-pandemic replacement for traditional methods.

How might the role of inspectorates adjust to meet the change in QA requirements brought about by remote learning?

After so many months of education press reports citing doom and gloom during COVID-19, now is the time to recognise the positives of the pandemic experience.

It’s liberating to recognise that accessing a Zoom or Teams classroom as an expected visitor, in compliance with safeguarding policies, is possible from any computer, anywhere. That access brings with it an invigorating opportunity for exploration inside the classrooms of colleagues in different subjects, different schools, different countries.

Where do you look for examples of best practice in remote learning?

It’s important to recognise what was already happening pre-pandemic. Remote online learning was already out there and the pandemic has merely accelerated changes that we would have expected to see over a longer period of time. For example, Wey Education and Red Balloon are good examples of extant remote online learning providers.

Wey Education established Interhigh in 2005. Here, pupils are taught in live, timetabled classrooms through

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

Remote online learning is a new, yet important, topic amongst parents.

The online classroom can welcome a limitless number of students and teachers, engaged in who knows what activities and experiences. As a result, ideas will abound.

How might human and technological resources be deployed most effectively? What mechanisms might be needed to validate online assessment invigilation? What parameters will need to be acknowledged to ensure staff and student wellbeing?

Inevitably, school inspections will have a role to play in regulating and validating remote learning. Stakeholders need to know what’s happening across the full remit of provision, and the only way we’re going to find out is to go and look. An inspectorate has the opportunity to do just that. But ‘inspection’ can be a toxic word in schools.

Dread often permeates the staffroom as an inspection looms. ’Exploration’ is a better word. Then the experience could become all about celebrating best practice, sharing exemplary strategies, bouncing ideas around and asking targeted questions that seek to push boundaries on a global scale. The role of inspectorates may be to report on instances of good practice, showcasing what has gone well in Lockdown. This reporting may enable a wider range of schools to contribute to the dialogue, rather than relying on feedback from EdTech companies and demonstrator schools.

Teachers have had a hard Lockdown. Will the staffroom response to new methods of inspection be positive?

What’s reassuring about an ISI inspection is that the inspector is also a colleague – another teacher. There is a shared understanding in the dialogue that makes exploration possible. There is room for more than one right answer. Only one way of doing every lesson can never be right, as learning comes before teaching, and learners come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.

Exploration could make inspection popular in the staffroom.

What about other stakeholder groups?

How might parents respond to inspection for remote provision?

Publishing the outcomes of quality assurance is attractive to parents – the key stakeholders, indeed customers, in the independent sector. Parents want transparency, accountability and value for their investment. Inspection reports are readily accessed online, either through a school’s website or via the ISI. It’s an easy task to compare provision across a number of schools in the local area. Information about remote online learning is a new, yet important, topic amongst parents, both at the school gates and through online platforms and forums.

Guidance from inspectorates could contribute to these 16 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Winter 2021

conversations amongst parents, moving the dialogue towards greater accuracy and validity.

Inevitably, feedback from the parent body has included the question of value for money during school closures.

How do schools justify charging the same fees when much of their provision is through remote learning methods?

During the successive Lockdowns, schools have risen brilliantly to the challenges of maintaining standards in the curriculum, paying close attention to pupil welfare, and ensuring provision for enrichment. Some schools have had options in terms of deferring or saving expenditure, for example those making decisions about major building projects. But for others, the only area for economy is in personnel, which bodes ill for future provision. Where schools have been able to make economies owing to Lockdown, these have rightly been passed onto parents.

But sometimes this has not been an option and all parents would want their child’s school to survive.

How might the parents’ perspective on their child’s education have changed during Lockdown?

Remote learning in Lockdown has happened in the home, and parents have had an unprecedented opportunity to observe their children’s response to learning experiences throughout the day. Having this increased awareness may have given parents a deeper understanding of their children’s wants and needs, which could form valuable feedback to schools. Of course, there is a difference between observing a child and engaging with the learning process throughout the day and dropping in and out and forming judgements on snippets of learning out of context. Whilst the former experience is informative, the latter is less so. What I believe we’re looking at is a more transactional relationship and an open dialogue between teachers, students and parents as an outcome of Lockdown. And this relationship needs to be relied upon.

Trust is necessary. Then, the transactional relationship is hugely valuable to all concerned. ●

ZOE MACDOUGALL is an educational commentator with extensive teaching experience in the independent and maintained sectors. Zoe also contributes to timewithmytween.blog Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 17

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

TRANSPORT MATTERS!

SCHOOL BUS ROUTES CAN BE KEY TO STUDENT RECRUITMENT

Photo courtesy of Sedbergh School

The availability of safe and reliable transport for pupils living at some distance can be a key factor in many parents’ choice of a school. Emma Goligher explores the experience of Casterton, Sedbergh Prep School.

I

n a time when more children are travelling further to school, the availability and provision of transport routes is, for many families, one of the deciding factors when choosing a school. But apart from helping children get to and from school in an easy, time-efficient manner when individual members of a family are often heading out in multiple directions, it is also important that the transport service offered is seen as an extension of the school and therefore of the customer experience the school offers. For pupils and parents, it will be their first and last contact with the school each day and will be an important factor in a pupil’s school experience.

Running several bus routes along the main transport axis to and from a school’s main catchment area makes it easier for pupils to reach their school and offers flexibility for parents. It also highlights the commitment by the school to providing sustainable travel options and reducing the everincreasing reliance on car journeys to transport children to and from school.

When looking at potential schools, families will of course primarily look at reputation and results alongside the overall, and extremely important, ‘fit’ with their child as an individual. But the choice of school has to also work for them as a family, which raises a number of key questions: • How far away is it?

• What time does the school day start and finish?

• Can they get there alongside their work/ family commitments?

• How confident are they in the transport service provided?

In rural areas, other transport options aside from private cars are often difficult to access and this has only been exacerbated by the recent pandemic. For children of prep school age, the use of public transport is also often not a real consideration.

Life is busy and offering transport routes travelling to the right locations and

at the right times can help to solve the ever-present logistical challenges of family life and put a big tick in the box of your establishment when it comes to making a family’s final educational decision.

But how do you maintain the delicate balance of availability of routes versus actual demand, which can seem like a chicken and egg situation, particularly for more rural schools? In this article we share some tips and best practice from our experienced transport team, alongside the ‘two pennies’ worth’ from the marketing team, on the ‘how, why, where and when’ issues which are inherent in setting up the routes.

How do you determine your routes?

Start by looking at the geographic distribution of your current families. This is something that can be easily mapped on Google Maps using home postcodes.

Identify any areas where existing families are already centred but where you may not presently have a transport service. These would be the first places to start looking at providing routes. Add to this the school’s target catchment areas, which should be reassessed regularly. Where could you get potential families travelling from? Do any of these areas extend on from existing routes, or new routes you are already planning, to which additional stops could be added? For example, from Casterton, Sedbergh Prep School we were able to extend an existing bus route to Settle out to the Skipton area as well.

Running a bus through an area which you wish to attract families from, but from where you may not have recruited any as yet, may sound like a waste of time and money but offers an opportunity to increase brand awareness and promote the school.

Identifying the key trunk roads around the school is also a good starting point for pinpointing possible bus routes that could attract new families. Stops on these main roads can generally be accessed by families

Where could you get families travelling from?

Benefits of a successful

transport NETWORK

• Enhanced satisfaction with the school • Improved pupil recruitment and retention • Greater brand awareness • Extended outreach • A better life/work balance for students and their parents in the surrounding area who may need to make a short drive to meet the bus but for whom this represents a massive time saving against driving to and from school twice a day.

Alongside the actual routes, identifying safe drop-off and pick-up points must also be a consideration. These need to be locations where families can safely wait for and board the buses. At Casterton, changes to the stops on any given route will be considered based on demand or individual requests but always have to be assessed for safety, as well as how they fit into existing routes and timings. Recently one of our new pupils had a stop added which is located at the end of his drive!

Attracting users on these routes

Once agreed, the marketing and admissions team will need time to promote and market new routes. Allowing at least 12–18 months of planned marketing activity and promotion would present the best possible opportunity to attract families from identified areas located along possible bus routes.

Consistent and timely promotion of a new bus service to start in, for example, September 2022 along and around the proposed route can be easily tracked for return on investment and if there is no interest shown then the start of the service can be postponed.

Once you have some uptake for a new or extended route that is close to the homes of your target audience, then your bus(es) can act as a moving billboard  Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 19

PARTNERS

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

MARKETING SPEAK

for the school, visible four times a day on the same roads. Quality, branded vehicles carrying eye-catching designs, taglines, contact details and QR codes (which can be easily scanned rather than trying to scribble down a website or email address) will support an increase in brand awareness and drive (excuse the pun!) interested families towards contacting the school. Magnetic decals can also mean that the messaging can change based on marketing activity such as Open Days and scholarship opportunities, giving an additional audience to these campaigns.

Drivers

The drivers of these buses may be the first person that potential families see or meet from the school, and first impressions will most definitely count.

Safety, security and reliability are key to establishing a successful transport route and the drivers of the buses are central to securing this. It goes without saying that drivers must go through the same safer recruitment checks as any member of school staff including full vetting and DBS and CRB checking.

At Sedbergh, all our drivers are employed by the school having gone through a rigorous safer recruitment process. They must all pass a child protection interview, undertake annual child safeguarding and first aid training and they are regularly assessed and trained by the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme (MiDAS).

The importance of the role of the drivers, beyond the actual driving element, cannot be overstated. Parents are entrusting their child’s safety and security to this person every day so having a dedicated driver on each route is highly recommended. The personal relationships that families build up with their drivers is key in determining their satisfaction with the service being offered. At Sedbergh, our group of experienced drivers carry school-issued mobile phones (on a hands-free system when driving), so that parents can contact them as required.

Being able to speak with the dedicated driver for any number of reasons that can arise on a day-to-day basis offers a sense 20 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

Kirsty Hassan explains to David Moncrieff why she believes the role of school marketing teams is sometimes overlooked.

Look at the geographic distribution of your current families. of familiarity and security to families. Our drivers are regularly mentioned for their willingness to go above and beyond in the annual parent feedback survey.

Other considerations

Another part of ensuring that a child has an enjoyable trip to and from school relates to the length of the journey.

Obviously, the distances travelled in a specific time will vary based on each school’s setting, so needs to be considered accordingly. We try to keep the maximum length of a day pupil’s journey to one hour.

However, the school will discuss this with parents based on the age of the child and their individual circumstances. Parents provide booster seats for the younger children and pupils are allowed to use devices on the buses with headphones but must give these into the main office upon their arrival at school.

The choice of vehicles used by a school is also critically important. School leadership teams need to consider the optimum design/standards of the buses

used and agree how often they should be put through safety checks. At Sedbergh, we buy robust, purpose-built minibuses, ensuring they are built to the highest safety specification, and undertake full safety checks in a garage every 10 weeks.

A dedicated transport team is worth its weight in gold and will oversee the ongoing management of routes once they are established. Parents at Casterton have a dedicated person on the school staff to speak to regarding transport, and this person will contact them if there are any changes needed to the service due to school activities, for example.

The rewards of offering a well thoughtthrough transport network are significant and can impact positively on almost every aspect of school life. But most importantly, school transport provision can prove an extraordinarily powerful recruitment tool and one which rural schools such as ours should never overlook at times when we are all keen to secure new students for our schools in the face of so many challenges to everyone’s lives. ●

EMMA GOLIGHER is the Prep and Nursery Marketing Manager at Casterton, Sedbergh Prep School. Emma has honed her experience in educational marketing and admissions over the last 12 years, working at both well-established and start-up schools in the UK independent sector and overseas.

K

irsty Hassan is the recentlyappointed Director of Marketing and Development at Windermere School in the Lake District, having moved from a similar role in the South West. She has been Chair of AMCIS for the past two years which, few would argue, has been one of the most challenging periods that the independent school sector has had to face in recent decades. Marketing colleagues across the country have seen their world turned upside down as the successive COVID-19 Lockdowns have meant that the usual in-person student recruitment activities of previous years have been replaced by digital marketing techniques which were unknown to many only months ago.

A lonely role

Kirsty is rightfully proud of the manner in which AMCIS members across the country ‘stepped up to the plate’ and ensured that their schools’ outreach programmes rolled on regardless and the benefits of an independent education continued to be presented effectively to prospective parents. Recognising that digital marketing was new to many school marketeers – and that an often-lonely role became even lonelier as a result of home-working – AMCIS encouraged members to ‘band together’ and share experiences and insights into what worked and, as importantly, what didn’t in terms of remote marketing. A genuine flowering of digital marketing activities resulted with many schools laying on virtual events of which the much-praised online open days, curated by stretched marketing teams, were only a small part.

Yet despite these heroic efforts, Kirsty feels that the fundamental importance

of marketing is still not fully recognised in some schools.

Even today when a number of schools are confronting very harsh financial realities, she believes many leadership teams remain primarily focused on other areas of school life. AMCIS positions itself as an agent of change in this respect, providing members with

Nothing short of exceptional!

networking opportunities and friendly support which will instil confidence and enable them to make a success of their critical roles.

Shifting the narrative

Kirsty attributes the changes of direction in her own career, and her genuine enthusiasm for marketing within the independent school sector, to AMCIS and its ‘inspirational’ CEO, Tory Gillingham. She believes in particular that the continually evolving CPD training opportunities available to AMCIS members with all levels of knowledge and experience are demonstrably shifting the narrative and helping to secure proper recognition for the professional status of school marketing and development staff.

Looking to the future, Kirsty believes that there is more

to be done. She anticipates that new challenges lie ahead and that AMCIS and its members will have to be ‘light on their feet’ and continue to adapt to changing circumstances. She urges Headteachers to recognise and champion the contribution of their marketing teams and to ensure that they become more visible within a school’s senior leadership team. Without a robust flow of applicants, schools will simply cease to exist and it needs to be recognised that it is a school’s marketing team members who are on the frontline when it comes to ‘making the case’ for their school community to stakeholders of all sorts.

Kirsty says that her two years as Chair of AMCIS have been both a privilege and a pleasure. As she looks back, she believes that what her colleagues in marketing teams in schools up and down the UK have achieved against the odds is ‘nothing short of exceptional’. ●

There is more to be done Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 21

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

THE VIRTUAL STUDENT A NEW PROPOSITION FOR ADMISSIONS TEAMS?

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

What is the potential for UK independent schools to attract more students by offering online GCSE and A-level study programmes for international students to pursue in their home countries? James Leggett gives his assessment.

I

n more than 35 years of conducting market research for education organisations around the world, rarely have we at MTM Consulting seen such a demonstrable demand for a specific education offer as we did in 2020 when investigating the receptiveness of wealthy families resident in Asia to a British online study programme for 14- to 18-year-olds.

Global demand

Last year, we conducted a study of a thousand families in 10 Asian countries where comfortably-off parents were considered most likely to be receptive to an online learning platform offered by a UK independent school to their teenage children. The results showed that two-thirds would consider using a remote online learning platform for their children aged 14 to 18 in place of attending a local school; tellingly, the entire remaining third did not say they would not use it, but that they would educate their children online in addition to attending a local school. Therefore, 100 per cent of the families in our study would be willing to use such an online platform – a very rare occurrence in our long experience of feasibility studies of this kind.

The fact that not one family in our survey said they would not use an online programme of education provided by a UK independent school if it were offered to them would point to a huge potential requirement for programmes leading to A-levels – or equivalent Level 3 British qualifications – in the Asian countries in which our survey was conducted. It seems reasonable to assume the same demand exists elsewhere around the globe.

It is important to remember that paying for education is the norm for affluent families in many parts of the world. The respondents in our survey were from the equivalent to an ABC1 category, so families with a high level of disposable income. The results showed that wealthy families, particularly in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and India, were the most likely to pay for

There is a strong demand for online education provided by UK schools.

22 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

schooling, with more than 90% of families telling us that at least one of their children was currently attending a fee-charging school.

Many families too are keen on the idea of an international education for their children – over a third of the families in India and Vietnam who took part in this survey, for example, told us that their children were already attending schools with international curricula.

Evidence from our research work with British boarding schools and satellite schools around the world also tells us that there is a high level of interest in a British or other international education in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Why British independent schools?

The appeal of a British qualification is easy to understand. A-levels and the English-language International Baccalaureate open the door to some of the world’s top-ranking universities, which happen to be located in the UK. Currently, 458,000 students in UK higher education institutions (nearly 20 per cent of the country’s student population) are not UK-based and, for many, a key driver for the decision to study in the UK is that a degree from a well-regarded British university represents the key to many of the world’s top careers.

So, if by studying for British qualifications at home – either in their bedrooms or in a classroom in a local school – unlocks a potentially glittering future career for the offspring of wealthier families in the countries of Asia, including Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, India and Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 23

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

Vietnam – then it is fairly likely that there are just as many well-heeled parents resident on other continents who are extremely keen to invest in high-flying careers for their sons and daughters too.

Current supply

Given the demonstrable demand for an international curriculum and remote learning, it is surprising that, so far at least, only a small number of UK education organisations have diversified in this direction. Notably, one of the first is King’s College Online, which launches its programmes for 14- to 18-year-olds anywhere in the world in September 2021. Offering one-year full-time study towards Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs and two-year A-level programmes, King’s College Online gives students the choice of either studying exclusively online, or at one of 60 schools in 20 countries that are part of the Inspired group. Eleven subjects are currently offered for both IGCSE and A-level, including English literature, maths, accounting, economics, sciences and languages, and each student is assigned a tutor to monitor attainment as well as wellbeing.

Also in September 2021, the first Harrow School Online student cohort will embark on two-year individualised programmes of exclusively online study, which have been developed by Pearson and lead to Edexcel International A-levels in a choice of currently seven subjects. A famous name the world over, Harrow School Online is billed as a ‘fully online global sixth form’ for students around the world aged 16 to 18 and promises a mix of self-study and small-group live learning. Students also have access to a ‘success coach’ and online extra-curricular activities, which encourage them to mix and make friends with classmates wherever in the world they may be.

However, the idea of offering learning exclusively online is not a new one. South Wales-based InterHigh has been offering virtual classes since 2005, and although it is well known as an effective and convenient way for young actors, sports prodigies and young people required to be constantly on the move to keep up with their education, around a third of this online school’s students are not learning in the UK, but elsewhere in the world. Edexcel and Cambridge University Board IGCSEs and GCSEs, AS and A-levels are studied live online in small groups and can be used to complement study in school, perhaps adding subjects or qualifications that are not offered locally.

Currently, it seems that the UK schools broaching the international market for online study are offering a fairly concise list of possible subjects. It may well be the case that this broadens over time as confidence in platforms of this kind grows, along with the numbers of students on roll, and therefore the revenue to plough back into the development of a greater number of programmes. Unsurprisingly, in the Asian countries that were the focus of our survey, English was the top choice of subject to be studied online by children aged 14 to 18. Maths is not far behind, but interestingly, in some countries, including the Philippines, the study of a wide range of subjects was considered advantageous.

Future offer

Thanks to advances in the technology of online learning platforms, a variety of web-based education providers have popped up in recent years, many majoring on their offer of ‘fast-track’ courses (two-year courses condensed into one year) to achieve IGCSEs, GCSEs and Level 2 Diplomas, as well as AS and A-levels, Level 3 Diplomas and BTECs. These are as popular with international students as they are with UK-based students who prefer to study in their own time, the only pre-requisite being that, in normal times, exams must be taken at an examination centre local to the student, often as an external candidate.

However, the UK independent schools that have launched online learning programmes for international students have not so far rushed to add the fast-track courses to their prospectuses. Perhaps this is a likely next step? Our survey showed that a principal reason for online study of British qualifications is to access British universities, and certainly a one-year A-level programme would allow students to amass the qualifications needed to apply for higher education in the UK in half the usual time. Schools offering such intensive programmes would of course need to make sure the necessary teaching staff and resources were in place, but the rewards would be reaped through a more frequent turnover of students, and the associated fee revenue.

Although it seems that the wealthy parents surveyed

by MTM in Asia had their sights primarily set on their children obtaining qualifications that would pave the way for a university place, many also recognised the wider benefits of learning online with a UK-based school. Remote immersion in school life through tutor groups, assemblies and non-academic activities are key characteristics of the online study programmes currently

Only a small number of UK educational organisations have diversified in this direction.

24 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

A new stream of revenue. on offer and the benefits were recognised by nearly all of the families in our survey. Certainly, there is scope for even greater interaction between students outside of the core academic elements of the study programme, which would develop a range of additional skills, such as international understanding, communication and team-working.

Clear advantages

Our research certainly shows that there is a strong demand for online education provided by UK schools to students around the globe.

The advantages for students studying for British GCSEs, A-levels and their equivalent qualifications at home or in schools outside of the UK are clear, including access to some of the world’s highest-achieving universities, as well as the acquisition of an international outlook and transferrable skills that are of unquantifiable importance as young people enter an increasingly globalised job market.

For UK independent schools, offering online programmes of study for overseas-based 14- to 18-yearolds holds the potential to bring in a new stream of

revenue that could well be put to good use, perhaps for investment in school campuses at home or abroad, or for widening access to independent education through subsidising bursaries. At the same time, offering online programmes will serve to strengthen the international brand of schools who put their names to them – even those that are already famous.

Perhaps more importantly though, here is a golden opportunity for British schools to apply the expertise of teaching and learning that has been developed over many centuries of high-quality education in the UK to programmes designed to embrace students all around the world. ●

JAMES LEGGETT BA (HONS) MMRS is Managing Director of MTM Consulting.

James is a dedicated market researcher with 12 years’ experience in the education sector, working with state and independent schools, universities, education groups and education providers both in the UK and internationally. He is a member of the Market Research Society.

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DEVELOPMENT

PRESSING ‘PLAY’

ON DEVELOPMENT Louise Bennett, Joint CEO of IDPE (the Institute of Development Professionals in Education), looks back over the last year on the impact of the pandemic on schools’ development activities, and considers how to apply the lessons learnt to schools’ fundraising and engagement in the future.

W

ith a backdrop of a pandemic, you could be forgiven for assuming that all schools’ fundraising must be on hold. Yet in spite of the unprecedented challenges in the wake of a pandemic, school communities have continued to give. There are always lessons to be learnt. Here are some which we have identified.

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”

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26 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Winter 2021

Over the past year, IDPE has been advocating that all schools should continue to invest in development. With every school at a different point on their development journey, some just starting out and others with an established culture of giving, the response to the pandemic has varied. However, all schools have had to evolve their development plans, and whilst it may not have been business as usual, schools’ fundraising and engagement has continued, and in many cases,

There is now an increased and more urgent need for funds. thrived. For example, face-to-face events have moved online; hardship appeals have been launched successfully and potential donors have joined virtual fireside chats with the head, rather than visiting the school in person.

Education remains front and centre of mind for parents, grandparents and alumni, and it is therefore vital for all schools to continue to maintain and deepen relationships with their community, and to ‘press play’ on development in 2021.

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Don’t press ‘pause’ on development

There is now an increased and more urgent need for funds to support families impacted by the pandemic and to close the gap in educational attainment between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. The pandemic has not only created an urgent need for funds but offered us a platform for fundraising. Schools like Withington Girls’ School (see the case study on p31), have met this challenge head-on,

14/12/2020 10:43

Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 27

launching a successful hardship and bursary appeal which has helped them to support those pupils worst affected.

For schools with an existing bursary programme, the ‘ask’ has become evermore urgent. For those yet to establish a bursary programme, now is the time to consider how your school will play its part in driving forward social mobility.

It’s good to talk!

Building relationships is the foundation of any successful fundraising programme – it is so much harder to make ‘an ask’ of someone you don’t know! The Lockdown last year gave development teams the opportunity to focus on strengthening these relationships. From calling the most vulnerable, to organising online social events for the most isolated; from virtual university inductions for school leavers, to careers talks and online mentoring programmes for graduates; there was a need to reach out and support the whole school community – in its widest sense – through the crisis. Not only has this developed existing relationships but, in many cases, schools have engaged with new audiences and identified potential new donors.

The pandemic has in fact reminded us that it’s good to talk and, as we return to some normality, it will be essential to

DEVELOPMENT

It will be important for schools to consider whether their needs have changed. continue to focus on such personalised approaches. Whether this is the one-toone phone call, the hand-written letter or ‘Zooming’ into someone’s living room, we must continue to use our improved understanding of donors’ motivations and interests, to inform appeals and accelerate fundraising.

Harness the power of stories

At the start of any fundraising campaign, development teams share a ‘need’ which exists within their school and explain how potential donors can make a difference. The pandemic is no different.

Many schools have shared their journey through the crisis with their school community of families financially impacted

by COVID-19, of challenges facing school leavers and graduates, and of alumni losing their jobs. Through harnessing the power of these stories, development teams have enabled their communities to respond to these needs by giving time, expertise and financial support.

As we look to the future, schools must continue to adapt their case for support in response to the here and now. It will

be important for schools to consider both whether their needs have changed as a result of the pandemic, as well as what their community will be most likely to support. For example, is now a good time to ask your community to invest in STEM facilities empowering young people to become the scientists of the future?

Or with the growing gap in educational attainment, are transformational bursaries the greatest need?

Don’t stop asking

With many feeling the financial impact of COVID-19, you could be forgiven for thinking that now is not the ideal time to ask for help. Yet over a million volunteers came forward to support the NHS in just over a week at the start of the pandemic, and we saw an outpouring of support for Captain Sir Tom Moore when he inspired the nation with his challenge to walk 100 laps of his garden. This generosity extends to the education sector and schools, with increasing numbers of alumni sharing their expertise as mentors, parent volunteers supporting COVID-19 testing, former teachers leading online

reunions, increased engagement on social media and remarkable levels of giving to hardship funds.

In a 2009 report from The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) on the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on fundraising, research showed that whilst total donations dipped by 11%, donor motivation remained constant. This demonstrates that giving is seen as a social act as opposed to being purely defined by economic factors and one of the most cited reasons in the report for stopping giving was because donors ‘no longer felt connected to the organisation’.

Those who continued to donate gave more.

Ten years on, headlines from the CAF UK Giving Report 2020 show that donation levels have held up during the pandemic. In fact between January and June 2020, the public donated a total of £5.4 billion to charity – an increase of £800 million compared to the same period in 2019.

Whilst there remains a need for sensitivity, schools must still consider how they can continue to harness this incredible sense of goodwill and, fundamentally, continue to ask for support.

Virtual is here to stay

It seems remarkable that a year ago many of us were unfamiliar, and perhaps slightly uncomfortable with, Zoom, Teams or any other form of video calling. However, the pandemic-driven digital revolution, combined with massively increased home-working, has created incredible opportunities for schools’ development teams to try new ways of engaging with their communities. Through reunions, mentoring programmes, careers fairs and speaker series, schools have reached out virtually to engage and support their communities.

Donors no longer felt connected ...

28 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

Photo courtesy of Withington Girls’ School

DEVELOPMENT

Withington Girls’ School Bursary and Hardship Fund The Sunday Times’ North West Independent School of the Decade, Withington Girls’ School is a day school located in south Manchester for girls aged 7 to 18. Withington is a former direct grant school and is proud of a long history of welcoming a diverse range of pupils.

The bursary fund is an integral function of the school and consolidates its vision and ethos to create a warm community centred on equality and opportunity. Currently, more than one-in-six pupils are supported by the bursary fund.

Withington is seeing an increase in bursary applications year-on-year and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic also saw some existing Withington families needing support for the first time, as income and livelihoods were affected. Lesley Dowdall, Director of Development at Withington Girls’ School, reports: “We carried out an alumnae survey

at the beginning of Lockdown, which gave us the reassurance that an appeal would be welcomed with a warm response.

Initially, the development team created a direct mail appeal that focussed on raising funds for the bursary and hardship fund. This featured one of our current bursary holders and her mother, who agreed to share their story and the impact that bursary support has had on their family. We also approached one of our major donors who agreed to support the appeal with a challenge gift, to inspire donors by matching their contributions; in fact this wonderfully generous alumna increased the size of her matching gift twice because she was so delighted with the success of the appeal.

The appeal raised over £114,000; over 50% of those responding were either new donors or had not made a gift in over 10 years. “ Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 29

DEVELOPMENT

Donation levels have held up during the pandemic.

Whilst schools will return to offering face-to-face events when it is safe to do so, the past year has demonstrated that there are real advantages in continuing to provide a range of online engagement activities. These include increased interaction with international alumni at minimal cost, diversification of speakers at events, and reaching members of your community who have never engaged before. Virtual is definitely here to stay.

The head must lead the way

IDPE’s latest benchmarking report demonstrates the integral role school leaders play in development success.

Statistically, the average gift size is three times greater in those schools where the head spends more than 5% of their time on development-related activities.

At such a time of crisis, it would be easy – and understandable – for school leaders to put development to one side. However, as we return to a sense of normality, all school leaders have a crucial role to play in development, particularly in capitalising on the cultivation of existing (and potential) major donors. Now is indeed the time to press play on development and the head must lead the way.

Be realistic

Creating a new way forward for development in the face of seemingly endless uncertainty is challenging even for the most established of schools.

Whilst your school’s long-term vision may remain unchanged, it is likely development teams will need to adapt ‘how’ they will achieve this in the wake of the pandemic.

Development teams must be realistic, explaining how they will minimise risk and maximise on opportunities and consider presenting management with different scenarios, for example a best, moderate and worst-case budget. In turn, senior leaders must celebrate the added value delivered by development teams – such as increased engagement with the school 30 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

community, supporting the careers programme, recruiting volunteers and regular communication with diverse stakeholders – as well as fundraising success. There is no ‘right’ way forward – the post-pandemic world is new territory for us all – but it is important to continue the conversation between senior leaders and the development team to ensure expectations are realistic and the value of development is recognised by the whole school.

Embrace opportunity

With a lack of ‘normal’ comes the opportunity to try something different.

Over the last year, and in spite of the challenges faced, schools’ development teams have adapted to a very different way of working, finding new, innovative means to fundraise and engage with their school communities: virtual reunions reached new audiences, hardship funds attracted new donors, digital fundraising galvanised new supporters. In the context of a global pandemic no one has all the answers, but it has provided the perfect backdrop to innovate!

As we emerge into the sunlight, it is this innovation we must reflect on. We must evaluate what has worked (or conversely not worked) over the past year and ensure our schools adapt their fundraising and engagement activities moving forward to take advantage of these new opportunities.

We’re all in this together

‘We are all in this together’ seems to have become the mantra of the pandemic.

From your school community rallying behind hardship funds and parents volunteering to deliver COVID-19 tests to teachers attending class reunions and

With endorsement from GSA (Girls’ School Association) and HMC (Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference), IDPE has developed the ‘Fundraising for school leaders’ programme, designed to fast-track heads (and aspiring heads) of independent schools to set up and lead effective professional fundraising programmes.

This year’s IDPE annual conference, from Monday 14 – Friday 18 June 2021, is a five-day virtual conference, which will bring together experts from across the educational and charity sectors to delve into the latest trends and insights and inspire schools to consider how to think differently and embrace opportunity.

Why not join us?

Find out more at idpe.org.uk development teams finding speakers for assemblies, we have seen extraordinary levels of support across our schools and we must capitalise on this sense of togetherness.

Throughout the past year, I have been reminded of the overwhelming sense of community I experienced when I first joined the schools’ development sector. Such willingness across the IDPE community to share and support each other has never been more important.

As we look to the future, and schools consider how to move forward, IDPE will continue to champion emerging best practice through providing training, guidance, support and benchmarking to support all schools in achieving fundraising and engagement success in 2021 and beyond. ●

LOUISE BENNETT is Joint CEO of IDPE (the Institute of Development Professionals in Education).

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BURSARS

BURSARS

GRASPING THE NETTLE THE TEACHERS’ PENSION SCHEME

Changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme are presenting a financial challenge to independent schools across the country. Richard Harman considers the options open to school leaders confronting the issues.

I

ought to declare an interest. I am a beneficiary of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and it is an excellent, generous defined benefit scheme.

However, for many independent schools it is becoming unaffordable. In 2019, the employer’s contribution rose from 16.48% to 23.68%, an increase of more than 40% in one go, and it may well go up again following the next actuarial revaluation in 2024. For this reason, around 200 independent schools have now consulted staff and withdrawn from the scheme and about the same number again, having at first decided to ‘wait and see’, are

32 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

seriously considering their options or embarking on a consultation process. For school governors, the pandemic has thrown the issue of cost control into much sharper relief and this has accelerated what was already a growing trend.

The choices facing governors

The provision of pensions for employees is a matter for each governing body to consider individually, and the choices can appear uncomfortable. Many boards would prefer to remain in the TPS if it is financially viable for them to do so. This position

is likely to be particularly driven by concern about future recruitment and retention of teachers. To deal with the increase in contribution costs, which will have added approximately 7% to the teaching cost base in one fell swoop, a school may decide to increase fees to parents beyond what was already planned (perhaps difficult post-COVID), and/or to reduce teaching and administrative costs in other ways. Seeking ‘efficiencies’ is the usual code for this approach, which may involve a salary freeze or redundancies. Alternatively, governors may decide to live with a lower level of surplus if they can, accepting that there will then be less to plough back and reinvest into the school. There may also be other cost-saving or income-generation actions that individual boards can take to be financially fit for the future, bearing in mind that other significant cost pressures are also rapidly approaching.

If a combination of the above actions still leaves governors nervous about the medium- to long-term financial future of the school, then they should certainly consider the pros and cons of moving to consultation with staff about withdrawing from TPS and enrolling members in an alternative, more affordable, Defined Contribution (DC) scheme. This could be, for example, APTIS – a scheme designed

by Aviva in consultation with the ISBA on behalf of the ISC Associations.

Phased withdrawal

whether to remain in TPS or voluntarily to consider an alternative DC scheme. Care needs to be taken over this (inducements cannot be given) and of course with a voluntary scheme there is no way to guarantee that staff won’t change their mind in future. Having opted out for a period, they might choose to re-enter the scheme later and so, again, any cost savings may be neither substantial nor certain to last.

Boards might wish to consider a ‘total pay and benefits’ model, under which schools operate two pension schemes for teaching staff: TPS and an alternative DC scheme. Teachers would be required to choose the scheme in which they wished to participate. The overall total ‘pay and benefits package’ under each would be the same, but with the balance between pension contributions and salary varying depending upon the choice made.

If this option is being considered, it is essential that schools take appropriate professional advice.

As to which route to take, that will vary according to the context and profile of each school. Decisions will differ according to the specific circumstances; it is for each Board to weigh up the risks and consider the pros and cons of each option.

An increase of more than 40% in one go.

One recently announced development is the option of ‘phased withdrawal’ from TPS, sometimes known as the ‘mixed economy’ option. This mirrors what has happened with many ‘final salary’ schemes in the private sector of the economy, where the scheme can be closed to new joiners but existing members remain in. At first glance, ‘phased withdrawal’ appears to offer an attractive third way. However, it is very unlikely to solve the affordability problem in the near term, because of the pace of staff turnover, and it may well carry other complications, including divisions in the Common Room and challenges recruiting new senior staff if they are moving from a school that is still in the TPS to one which isn’t. If Boards need to grasp the nettle of significant cost savings soon, ‘phased withdrawal’ may not be the way to do it.

It is possible to consider the scope for running two schemes in parallel and giving staff the option

Other cost pressures?

Looking at the bigger financial picture, there is no current proposal from government to abolish mandatory business rate relief (MBRR) in England, introduce VAT or a ‘levy’ on school fees, impose exit penalties on TPS or increase employer pension contributions to TPS. However, it is likely that at least some of these things will become a reality in the near future; when considering their pension provision, schools must therefore weigh up the chances of such financial shocks occurring in the medium term and consider what to do by way of mitigation.

The two risks most likely to become a reality within three to five years are the loss of MBRR in England and further increases to TPS employer contributions.

Then there is one material cost increase already on the horizon: the proposed increase in the national level of starting salaries for teachers from September 2022 to £30,000. This will push up wage costs in schools significantly, not least through the impact on wage differentials and salary scales and thus, again, Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 33

BURSARS

BURSARS

Small details can take on great importance.

increased pension contributions for those schools remaining in TPS. Other financial considerations include: • the impact of changing market conditions, including continuing uncertainty around the longer-term impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, on the wider economic performance of the UK; and • the impact of low interest rates and, indeed, the risk of negative interest rates with the resultant impact on the discount rate.

Schools also need to note that the quadrennial actuarial revaluation of TPS is underway. Employer contributions will rise from 2024 and there is a possibility that the compensation stemming from the McCloud and Serjeant case will, on its own, add 3–4% to employer contributions.

Against this background, one firm of actuaries has said that a rise in TPS costs “must be a strong prospect”, with the possibility of employer contributions going to 30%+. For many schools this is a daunting prospect and will drive a review of their TPS membership.

34 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

The process of consultation

Experience to date shows that when embarking upon consultation about possible withdrawal from the TPS, the process should not be rushed.

The standard 45 days seems insufficient and many schools have found that they need to allow two terms in order to ensure that there is an opportunity for both collective consultation and individual meetings as appropriate. In any case, consultation should involve a careful consideration of all the options, now including phased withdrawal.

As a former teacher myself, I can confirm that many teachers have a less than optimal knowledge of the ins and outs of their pension provision and tend to take it for granted – or at least that used to be the case. For that reason, governors should ask their senior management teams what information and education should be offered to their teaching staff.

Many have found it important and helpful to pay for an Independent Financial Advisor with pension specialism to visit (or attend remotely) to offer both generic and specific 1:1 advice for teachers. In addition, academic staff sometimes have a sketchy understanding of the school’s overall financial position, so again it is more important than ever to offer clear, concise explanations.

The school’s business case for proposing any change is key to the consultation process. Care should be taken in advance to make sure this is robust and stands up to scrutiny. The unions are, of course, likely to present a challenge to a school’s figures. However, it should be possible to sign an NDA which allows them to see the details which can often result in a fuller understanding and then greater co-operation in the process. In a minority of cases, schools have been subject to the threat of strike action and it is certainly true that the teaching unions are taking a more proactive (some would say aggressive) stance during the pandemic to issues ranging from health and safety to salaries and pensions. Getting the communications right from the outset with all parties,

including the unions, is likely to lead to a shared understanding of what is in the long-term best interests of both the teachers and the school.

After all, teachers need to have a viable school in which to work.

Remodelling pay and conditions

It is quite possible to look upon the TPS issue as an oppor tunity to remodel a school’s pay and conditions package. This may make any change proposed more attractive to some staff, par ticularly those earlier in their career who might prefer more money in hand now (for mor tgages etc.) than the promise of more later via a final salary pension. Equally, it should be possible to reassure more senior staff that they will not lose the benefits they have already accrued under the TPS scheme and at the same time give them the flexibility to do something different with their pension pot for the final few years of their service. Here again, it is vitally important to get the messaging right from the word go.

Above all, governors need to make sure that any consultation is a meaningful process and that there is no sense that the governors and senior leadership are merely ‘going through the motions’ for a decision that is already made and unchangeable. Employers need to listen, be open to proposals that may emerge and then evaluate them carefully. Small details can take on great impor tance. For example, how life and income protection are going to be provided in future if the school withdraws from TPS will be of significant interest to some teachers. Looking at the package in the round, and encouraging teachers to do the same, will be impor tant.

The importance of taking good advice

Questions

GOVERNORS REVIEWING TPS SHOULD ASK 1. Can we afford the current increase in employer contributions?

2. Can we future-proof against risk of future rises? (What if it is 30% or more in 2023?)

3. Even if the 23.68% contribution is affordable now, what will be the impact of further financial shocks, e.g. loss of MBRR? 4. If we withdraw from TPS, will we breach bank covenants or will there be ‘going concern’ issues?

5. Is remaining in TPS a proper use of charitable funds (if you are a charitable school)?

6. What will parent reaction be to any decision on additional pension contributions?

7. Should we leave TPS now in line with other schools and whilst there are no exit penalties?

8. What would the impact be on teacher recruitment, retention, morale and industrial relations of exiting TPS? 9. What should the future remuneration strategy be in the context of changes to TPS? towards greater parity of pension provision between them and the teaching staff. Perhaps it will even help reduce the old ‘them and us’ feeling?

Do not forget the support staff!

However the process goes, taking the right advice, both from professional advisors like IFAs, lawyers, actuaries and consultants and from the associations including AGBIS and ISBA (who have a whole library of excellent briefing papers on this topic), is likely to be beneficial. Indeed, it is a requirement for charity trustees. There is plenty of experience now building up in the sector and there is sometimes value in not being a pioneer, particularly as the landscape continues to change.

In all of this, please do not forget the support staff.

It may turn out to be a good thing if there is a move

Governance

One thing is certain. More than ever before, this is a time to address the overall effectiveness of your school governance. There has never been a greater need for supportive but effective, forwardlooking governance. That is where AGBIS is particularly well placed to help. But there again, perhaps I should declare an interest... ●

RICHARD HARMAN is CEO of AGBIS. He was previously Headmaster of Aldenham and subsequently Uppingham. Richard is a past Chairman of the BSA and of HMC. Summer 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 35

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ince 2002, school fees have doubled.

And I cannot escape the fact that for 19 years I have been an agent in making education increasingly exclusive and irrelevant to growing numbers of parents.

Year on year, the ISC census reports that the number of pupils in its schools has risen.

In much the same way that exam results are used to validate ministerial claims of improved education, the sector uses the pupil roll to imply constant support for independent schools. However, the surveys show imbalances in age and place that the whole sector should be concerned about and, as importantly, they fail to quantify the rising tide of media criticism of private education or the sector’s limited influence on Government policy. In the absence of authoritative analysis, I wonder whether

we are drifting into the backwaters of British education?

Fees beyond reach of most

If we are, it’s our own fault. Much has been made of the ‘facilities arms race,’ where, apparently, schools compete to build the most impressive buildings in a bid to woo the market. That has never been my experience in the North of England, but fees still rise year on year driven by creeping operational costs arising from new developments in education.

Technology budgets have mushroomed, the curriculum has broadened, individual pupil support has burgeoned, leadership teams have grown, and administration costs have risen. All these have merit, but collectively their costs drive our fees

beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest in Britain’s divided society. Game Theory is playing out in private education as schools act rationally to invest in their individual success, ignoring the collective impact which is steadily eroding the sector.

Unsurprisingly, our strength is our greatest weakness. The independence of our schools from Government funding and large tracts of policy allows us to be innovative and distinct. However, the same characteristic hinders sector-wide planning as schools voice differing pressures, priorities and philosophies, which has made significant reform impossible from within.

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Summer 2021 | schooladmissionsplus.com | 37

Photos courtesy of Sedbergh School.

Now, we just need you.

Febrile social environment

If we cannot change our collective selves, then we should beware the context in which our schools will operate in the coming decades. Brexit has normalised the divided society. Politicians regularly exploit the schisms and populism which are the natural product of such a febrile social environment. As we contemplate the impact of the pandemic and wonder about the future bequeathed to our children, the demand for a fairer, greener society is unsurprising and welcome.

Where, I wonder, will we find the space to fit in? How will we play the significant role in society that our founders envisioned?

Repositioning the sector

Whilst individual schools have their challenges to face, our most pressing question is where on this wave of social change will our sector lie? Left to their own devices, individual schools will reform at different rates. Sedbergh will reduce its carbon footprint by 50% between 2019 and 2025 and has embarked on widening access to the local community, other schools are well ahead, and some will be behind. However, the greater challenge to reposition the sector in line with the changing public mood falls to the associations.

Whilst much good work has been done by individuals over many years, the impact of the associations (ISC, IAPS, BSA, SoH, ISA, GSA, HMC, ISBA, AGBIS) as agents of change has been limited. There is a long list of reasons: associations place their members’ priorities ahead of whole sector interest; Headteachers promote their individual agendas ahead of those of their association and media stereotypes prevail.

However, the greatest impediment is the diversity of views and inertia amongst members. I remember a short-lived attempt to introduce a common English Baccalaureate early in my membership of HMC. A speaker who advised that the ‘Eton Group’ had endorsed the idea was swiftly followed by another who, ‘speaking on behalf of the Doc Martin Brigade’, dismissed the proposal roundly. Consensus on far-reaching collective change has been in short supply ever since.

38 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Summer 2021

The challenge is to reposition the sector in line with the changing public mood.

Appeasement strategies

The ISC has worked hard to promote the Schools Together par tnership programme and promote bursary schemes as strategies to assuage Government demands that we contribute to performance improvements and social mobility.

Schools have invested heavily in these appeasement strategies, but little has changed since the Sutton Trust Open Access Report (2012) described them as ‘scratching the surface’ of division. There is no obvious exit plan, and in its absence it is inevitable that Governments will continually raise the bar and make increasing demands of our schools. Fee increases are the inevitable result.

Some schools will find solutions to he political, social and financial pressures through diversification, environmental investment and community par tnerships. But without a sector-wide response to the changing socio-economic landscape it is impossible to describe our collective role in improving society, the old, damaging stereotypes will persist and fees will continue to rise. New school models are already meeting the demand for lower-cost private education and will continue to erode our market.

Put aside traditional divisions

Headteachers are the members who determine association strategy. Too many of us are too busy to engage thoughtfully with this work as we focus on the immediate challenges we face in our schools. Membership demands that we take responsibility for guiding the sector as a whole so that our schools play their proper role in society in the decades ahead. It is high time we put aside traditional divisions of age, gender, education type and performance which define the boundaries of association membership and which are irrelevant in today’s social landscape. A single representative body would usher in a new dialogue, would offer clarity in the public space and have the merit of efficiency and greater resources. And the upheaval this would require might just be the catalyst to start the new conversations about purpose, role and cost which are well overdue.

I shall leave education in August. It has been a privilege to work with hundreds of talented colleagues and thousands of interesting pupils. I hope the world’s best liberal education will become accessible to more pupils than is currently the case and that school leaders will invest the time required to define its role in improving our divided society. ●

ANDREW FLECK retires as the Principal of Sedbergh School in August 2021.

Winter 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 39

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