Independent School Management Plus - September 2021

s u l MANAGEMENT p Autumn 2021

I N D E P E N D E N T

S C H O O L

The BUSINESS of INDEPENDENT EDUCATION

Embedding equality, diversity and inclusion Responding to Everyone's Invited

legacy

fundraising

Sensitive but rewarding In partnership with

Championing Healthcare

vir tual-schoolexperience.com

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A priority for all our schools BURSARS

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Incorporating

Conference & Common Room William Clarence Education Green Park House, 15 Stratton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8LQ Tel: +44 (0)207 412 8988

EDITOR

Irena Barker editor@schoolmanagementplus.com

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William Clarence Education Ltd William Clarence Education is a leading UK education consultancy working with independent schools throughout the UK, and British international schools overseas. williamclarence.com schoolmanagementplus.com

DISTRIBUTION

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

© William Clarence Education

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.

Foreword

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ne of my great pleasures over the summer has been to judge the several hundred entries from schools in the Independent Schools of the Year 2021 awards on behalf of Independent School Parent magazine. I won’t give away any secrets, but suffice it to say have been en oying reading some really super accounts of how schools have continued to offer better and better opportunities for their pupils. ndependent schools across the country rose magnificently to the challenges they faced during the pandemic and countless stories have materialised of school communities going more than the extra mile to ensure that their pupils were able to keep learning and experiencing school life that was as close to normal as possible.

As parents, one of the most important gifts we can give our children – apart from our love and our time – is the chance to try out all sorts of different activities so that they can discover their own passions. This is what so many schools are doing, in abundance. In the award entries, we have been reading about opportunities for students to become involved in environmental action, to learn from nature in the outdoors and to participate in online link-ups with children in other schools – and much, much more! rom pro ects on virology to flipped’ learning, where pupils use technology to be able to access the content of the classes in advance (and afterwards), schools are drawing on the best practices they adopted and adapted during lockdown learning and are working out what to keep in order to enhance the quality of the whole educational experience. As an educator and a parent, it is such a joy to see schools emerging from the pandemic stronger, more flexible, more versatile and able to provide an even better Helen Wright education for their pupils.

International Education Consultant; Chair, Onwards and upwards!

Independent Schools of the Year 2021 Our School Management Plus online platform offers 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

CO N T EN T S 14

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

The Shadow Board In Conversation With Samantha Price

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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 Richard Harman CEO of AGBIS. Previously Headmaster of Aldenham and subsequently Uppingham. Past Chairman of the BSA and HMC Louise Bennett CEO of IDPE (the Institute of Development Professionals in Education) 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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BURSARS

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion A call to action!

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In Conversation With Samantha Price

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The Shadow Board Using young alumni to challenge and scrutinise

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Communicating Value Shifting the perception of independence

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Championing Healthcare in Schools Introducing HIEDA

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS 30

A Different Perspective Sixth form marketing

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Partners: AMCIS Marketing speak

Partners: AGBIS New ways of working

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Championing Healthcare in Schools: Introducing HIEDA. Page 24

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Legacy Fundraising A sometimes neglected tool

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Partners: IDPE The generosity of school communities

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Talking Point Public noise versus private legwork: Which works best?

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION A CALL TO ACTION!

AGBIS’s CEO Richard Harman and Maria Strauss of Farrer & Co urge schools to respond to the Everyone’s Invited-inspired public debate, acknowledge their shared responsibility and proactively review and strengthen their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies.

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his month sees the launch of a new resource, commissioned by AGBIS from Farrer & Co to support governors of independent schools in understanding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and designed to help them set strategies to embed fairer and more equal cultures within their school communities.

It comes at a crucial time for the education sector.

The coronavirus pandemic has created extraordinary pressures on our education system. On top of that, and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has placed a powerful spotlight on racial equality across society. Meanwhile, #MeToo quickly followed by the testimonies on Everyone’s Invited has shown the scale of sexual harassment and sexual

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violence taking place across the country, including amongst young people in our schools.

Everyone’s Invited and Ofsted

In the slipstream of the Everyone’s Invited dialogue, the Government commissioned a review by Ofsted into the incidence of sexual harassment in educational settings he main findings were • Incidents of sexual harassment are so commonplace that children see no point in reporting them.

• Schools should act as though abuse is happening, even if they have no reports.

HEADS & GOVERNORS • Adults underestimate the prevalence of issues or don’t identify them as problematic.

• Pupils don’t want to talk about sexual abuse and harassment, even when encouraged to do so.

• On Relationship, Health and Sex Education (RSHE), students said: – too little, too late – lacks the information and advice needed for the reality of their lives – they are turning to social media and peers for information.

Overall, the review recommends that school and college leaders act on the assumption that sexual harassment is affecting their pupils and take a whole-school approach to addressing these issues, creating a culture where sexual harassment and sexual violence is not tolerated.

The report’s key recommendations are that: • School and college leaders should develop a culture where all kinds of sexual harassment are recognised and addressed, including with sanctions when appropriate.

• The RSHE curriculum should be carefully sequenced with time allocated for topics such as consent and the sharing of explicit images.

• Schools should provide high-quality training for teachers delivering RSHE. • There should be improved engagement between multi-agency safeguarding partners (i.e. police, health and local authorities, and schools).

Professionals working in this area need high-quality training as well as ongoing support and supervision. At the very least, staff and governors need to be fully appraised of the issues. A starting point is that staff should be trained in what to do when children display harmful sexual behaviours, when to make referrals to the Local Authority and when to escalate matters. They also need to be trained in the ‘dos and don’ts’ of managing allegations.

Action for governors

chools play a hugely significant role in shaping the minds and attitudes of future generations. The context in which this is undertaken, of course, includes what is happening outside the school gates. It is true that some of the harmful sexual behaviours uncovered in recent times has taken place at parties or in locations beyond school, but nevertheless schools have a key responsibility and

hen considering their response to the report, first and foremost governors should take an active interest in, and show engagement with, the issues which have been highlighted. Training has a vital role to play, as does best practice guidance.

In relation to oversight of the school curriculum, governors should ask how effective the delivery of RSHE is. Too often in the past this has taken second place to scrutiny of public examination results and a focus on those academic subjects that are core to league table success. There is plenty of good practice in schools in RSHE, but there is also some patchy implementation and many schools are, rightly, in the process of overhauling their provision in this area. It is one thing to have a good programme on paper, but how do we know how effective the delivery is and what do the pupils really think about it?

These are now key questions for governors to ask.

Alongside that questioning goes the need for governors to show practical support for their school leaders and staff, ensuring they have access to the right expertise when they need it. Sexual harassment cases are amongst the most challenging for schools and can be stressful for the staff managing them as well as the pupils and parents who are involved. Governors need to ensure that the right support and processes are in place for everyone involved.

Changing cultures

One of our biggest collective challenges centres on the question of how to ensure we are really hearing all students’ voices and changing cultures where they need to be changed ey to this is finding ways to address children s reluctance to disclose and report issues as well as ensuring that staff detect and act properly on harmful behaviours at the earliest stage. This means being more focused on the lower-level issues among pupils and staff; attitudes to ‘banter’ or casual use of language can be indicators of a deeper problem in the culture that needs to be addressed.

The overarching point is for governors to shift the emphasis of their work from being primarily concerned with compliance (important though that is) to a focus on what is actually happening on the ground – or even beneath the surface. For governors, this very much sits within AGBIS’s long-standing set of training mantras: ‘How do we know?’; ‘Trust but verify’; and ‘Eyes on, hands off ’.

Shaping minds and attitudes

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HEADS & GOVERNORS all concerned need to accept their roles and work together. This includes engaging parents and carers in the process of educating children and having those difficult con ersations in some cases.

Given the changes brought about by easy widespread access to pornography and the increase of sexting, technology has a massive part to play in addressing these issues. Government, too, has a role, especially in the sphere of legislation around online safety. We can only hope (and lobby where we can) that they will make the necessary changes quickly.

COVID inequality

COVID-19 has caused a plethora of issues for society as a whole and the challenges for schools have been immense. An increase in inequality is now acknowledged to be one of them illed as the ine uality irus , the data that is emerging suggests that the pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on minority groups, including women, people with disabilities and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. These societal issues will no doubt have an impact on schools. Governors and school leaders should therefore be conscious that where there is inequality there will be scope for discrimination and harassment, with damaging effects on the pupils and staff.

Political and reputational issues

Even before the pandemic struck, independent schools were coming ever-more frequently under the political

Additional Information • Briefing b Farrer on the post- er one s n ited fsted report incl ding a s mmar of the e findings and proposals for the creation of school-specific action plans farrer co globalassets briefings e er ones-in ited-ofstedreport--anal sis-and-action-plan- pdf • idance from Farrer on addressing low-le el concerns farrer co globalassets clientsand-sectors safeg arding low-le el-concernsg idancepdf • Farrer s peer-on-peer ab se tool it farrerco globalassets clients-and-sectors safeg arding farrer--co-safeg arding-peer-on-peer-ab setool itpdf

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and media spotlight he la y picture editors regular use of that 1930s image of top-hatted Harrovians next to the London kids sums it up. This widespread perception of privilege has been exacerbated by the increasing unaffordability of many independent schools for middleclass parents he ad antage gap has opened up e en more star ly in the wa e of he eryone s Invited dialogue was seen, by some, for a time, as a ready-made stick with which to beat the sector. Naturally, politicians were drawn into the discussions.

To some extent we in the independent school sector are once again the victims of our own success, having in many cases handled the shift to online learning so well in 2020-21 that the imbalance between an independent education and that provided by the maintained sector has been highlighted even more clearly. It may feel unfair that this could become another rod with which to beat us politically and in media terms, but it is a real and present danger and thereby a further reason to get our strategies right, to promote EDI and minimise risk and to address the associated questions as effectively as we can.

Getting it right

Getting our approach to EDI right is critical for independent schools. Where governors truly embrace the task of embedding a safer and more inclusive culture, starting at the top with themselves and their senior leaders, their schools should be better able to detect and act on inappropriate behaviours early. An embedded strategy for will help foster a spea up culture where issues are raised rather than ignored or even covered up.

All of this will, in the long run, serve to protect the school against complaints, grievances or legal challenges.

It can be daunting to think of the huge changes in go ernors responsibilities o er recent years but it is essential they are proactive and respond to the massive adjustments now taking place in our society. Not only is it the right thing to do but not acting would mean that we run the risk of being overwhelmed as a sector – and then we would be failing future generations of children too.

There is plentiful research from the corporate world to show that having a more diverse and inclusive community reduces group-think and massively helps to prepare an institution for a challenging future. So let us act. ●

RICHARD HARMAN is CEO of AGBIS. He was previously Headmaster of Aldenham and subsequently Uppingham.

Richard is a past Chairman of the BSA and HMC. Maria Strauss is a partner at Farrer and Co.

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

- IN CONVERSATION WITH -

SAMANTHA PRICE

BENENDEN SCHOOL’S HEADMISTRESS AND CHAIR OF THE GIRLS’ SCHOOL ASSOCIATION Zoe MacDougall talks to Samantha Price about the impact of the pandemic on students and the value of a girls-only education.

What really goes to the heart of the matter for you, when advocating girls-only education?

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PHOTO CREDITS: BENENDEN SCHOOL

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s all schools work their way out of the pandemic this autumn, Samantha Price counsels a commitment to listening and dialogue.

Whilst the COVID experience settles, she believes we need to give our students some time to heal. Young people have had a lot to process in the last 18 months, and they’ve had to do so on their own. Isolated from regular contact with teachers and friends, and fuelled by social media, the lockdown experience was intense. Now is the season to work through all that has happened and determine how to move on. This will be a time of heightened awareness about mental health. It will be a time for young people to find their true voice about race, gender and activism in a global context. As Mrs Price begins her time as Chair of the GSA, her expert and sincere commitment to young people guides her appraisal of what girls-only education is likely to encounter in 2021-22.

Everybody working in a girls’ school is an expert on working with adolescent girls.

And I think that gives the girls a real advantage in terms of the kind of support they receive. There is a depth of understanding, of expertise, in our approach to our students. In a singlesex context, we understand how a girl’s brain works, we understand how girls respond, we understand the best way to get a group of girls to really engage with us and with each other. And that gender understanding and expertise makes a huge difference.

This autumn, as we attempt to move on from lockdown and remote learning, there must be a greater need than ever before for just such expertise and understanding. What did you observe of students’ experience of lockdown?

Lockdown restricted the freedom of all young people, and therefore it slowed the natural adolescent progression.

Our young people couldn’t go out, couldn’t socialise, couldn’t communicate in the way that they usually would. They couldn’t manage work stress by diffusing it in ways that they have historically. As a result, quite a number of students have become fairly introverted. They had to adapt to a much more isolated existence.

Their outlet has been, of course, social

HEADS & GOVERNORS

“We understand how a girl’s brain works.” media, and TikTok and, with it, managing bombardments of messaging about hard-hitting subjects, from body image to gender identity, to other very important matters concerning inclusion and race and so on. Alongside that you’ve got mental health issues which have emerged, or been exacerbated, in both boys and girls, with regard to eating disorders and self-harm.

What are your thoughts about how independent schools might respond to our national experience of COVID?

During lockdown, young people were on the receiving end of a huge amount of information which they didn’t have the opportunity to talk through and process.

So I think that one of the things we all need to do over this coming year is to listen. We really need to let that weight of information settle. We need to work through some massively important topics with our students and work out how these topics are potentially impacting them and their generation.

Then, we need to identify what it is from the last 18 months that we want

to take forward as really effective change.

I believe we need to think innovatively about how we use our digital platforms in order to be able to broaden access to the learning opportunities that we give our own students. I think there’s also great scope to use digital platforms to be able to support girls nationally and internationally, again with that particular expertise in what girls need. With everyone upskilling so quickly in online teaching during COVID, another door has opened for us.

The sector has always had a commitment to share our resources where we can.

Now, we have more effective ways of sharing good practice and resources with our state school partners, arguably accessing and supporting a greater number of children than ever before.

We can also engage more effectively with parents, using digital media for parentteacher meetings, and for hosting relevant guest speakers online. Ironically, the school community actually grew closer during COVID. A lot of schools are completely re-vamping their PSHE programmes

samantha price Samantha Price has been Headmistress of Benenden School since 2014, following a Headship at Godolphin School from 2010-2014. She began her teaching – History and Art History – in 1999, having previously enjoyed a career at Tate Britain. As Chair of the Girls’ Schools Association, she is a renowned expert in girls-only education.

to address healthy habits for managing stress. We’re also addressing inclusion and what it feels like to belong in greater depth. Different schools are researching mental toughness as a response to greater mental health awareness. Then there’s another dialogue to be shared about Everyone’s Invited, the topical website which enables girls and women to give an anonymous voice to past sexual conflict experienced in educational settings.

Historically, schools started to discuss parties, and looking after yourself in Year 10, alongside the sex and drugs talks. But that’s now shifting right back to the beginning of Key Stage 3. During lockdowns, so many children have been exposed to sustained periods of social media, without all of the other distractions of going out, and having sports matches on Saturdays and the middle of the week, and going to birthday parties, and so on. And therefore you’ve got younger pupils who have probably been more engaged with a more mature level of discussion than they might have been previously.

You mentioned Everyone’s Invited as a potential PSHE topic.

How does the dialogue about Everyone’s Invited sit within the context of girls-only education?

I think we have a huge advantage.

We have the opportunity to be able to talk extensively to the girls about relationships, about what consent really looks like. We can empower them to support each other if they see someone in a potentially compromising situation or if they witness someone making a poor decision. We can encourage them to really develop their voice, which I think is something that girls still need to feel enabled to do effectively.

Being a girls-only school, the girls aren’t with boys day-to-day, and therefore there is no potential for them to be

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 11

HEADS & GOVERNORS

“... encourage them to really develop their voice.”

subjected to compromising situations within the school environment. But we do need to make sure that when they’re going off to parties, which they should be doing, they’re well equipped, and also that they don’t demonise boys because nobody wants that whatsoever.

Alongside our girls-only conversations, many girls’ schools work with partner boys’ schools – for instance, Benenden School works with Tonbridge School.

We have senior girls talking to senior Tonbridge boys about consent, about difficult situations, about what different experiences feel like from a girl’s point of view. Then, of course, the girls are hearing the boys’ points of view as well.

Both groups of students are able to really work together. And when senior students are also able to effectively mentor younger students coming through, then I think that’s a really powerful partnership.

The traditional argument against single-sex education is that it’s not representative of the real world, that girls who attend girls-only schools won’t be as effective as their co-educational counterparts in life and work after school. How do you respond to this argument?

Ironically, I think girls-only education makes girls more confident in the postschool, co-gender environment. In a girls’ school, it’s not about arguing a girl’s point of view with the boys. Girls have space to establish what they really think at school. When you know what you really think, having explored it, you will be much more confident and relaxed in

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how you communicate it. So not everything you say is going into battle. I think the idea that girls in a single-sex school are in an anachronistic environment is very far from the truth.

Everything that we’re doing is preparing them for what they need to thrive, professionally and personally, when they leave. And that’s in our curriculum, it’s in all the professional skills that our girls are learning. It’s about enabling girls to have the confidence to speak up for themselves, to work effectively with others, to make a difference. It’s those softer qualities that are going to enable girls to really navigate their way through the workplace. I think girls’ schools do that really well in very relevant environments.

The GSA has a thoughtprovoking programme of events lined up this autumn, including a youth gambling and gaming awareness workshop. What prompted you to take on this issue, in particular?

I think that the pandemic has really exacerbated young people’s reliance on gaming. I was really surprised, when I attended a talk run by the Boarding Schools’ Association, that gaming was such an issue. And also that gambling was such an issue, amongst schools. I was really fascinated to learn that the number of girls gambling is not that different to the number of boys. And I think that’s as a result of lockdown. And this is something that we need to be aware of,

to know what it looks like. So much of the gambling is algorithm based that we don’t even recognise it as gambling. So I think there is work to be done there, I think that we’ve got to do that work quite quickly, and I’d hope that we can do so.

What’s your focus going to be for the coming year as President of the Girls’ Schools Association?

There have been a number of issues in the last 18 months which our young people have experienced including Black Lives Matter; Everyone’s Invited; climate activism; mental health awareness; and the uncertainties surrounding our national assessment and university admissions systems. I think there are really important conversations to be had around all five of those topics. I want girls, through those topics, to find their voice, to enter into dialogues which work towards tangible outcomes, to effect long-standing change. think D has intensified an awful lot. I wonder whether we would have had five topics of such intensity in such a short period of time if it hadn’t been for lockdown, which was a time for over-thinking, frustration and social media bombardment.

I think all the topics we’re talking about are really positive – it’s managing them all at the same time that’s more of a challenge.

Samantha Price’s appraisal of the current educational context is reassuring: she believes there are challenges ahead, but sympathy and wisdom will help us all to win through. There will be a time for certainty again, and our schools can and will support young people to journey safely towards it. ●

ZOE MACDOUGALL is an educational commentator with extensive teaching experience in the independent and maintained sectors. Zoe also contributes to timewithmytween.blog

Cottesmore School is a boarding prep school set in leafy grounds on the Surrey and Sussex border. Named Prep School of the Year by Tatler and Boarding School of the Year

by Tes, Cottesmore has been preparing boys and girls for major public schools, such as Eton, Winchester, Wellington and Marlborough, since 1894.

Our ethos is to be kind, to work hard, and to have fun, and if you’re not doing any of those three things at any one time, then you’re not doing the right thing at Cottesmore.

Obviously, the need for us to prepare the children very thoroughly for their next schools is always there. One of our main aims is to get the children into the correct school for them next and that requires a lot of preparation.

My vision for technology is for it to serve us. Secondly, it has to increase the time that we spend together and CENTURY helps us to do that. It is increasingly helping our teachers to be even more pupil-facing by automating their marking and planning and giving them more time to actually focus on teaching.

TOM ROGERSON, HEADTEACHER, COTTESMORE SCHOOL

CENTURY is brilliant and we use it the right amount to help pupils to learn but also to allow our teachers to be freed up to help those pupils even more. When we’re in the classroom, we use it to free ourselves up because of those AI recommended pathways, which extend and are adaptive – these give us more time to be face-to-face with the pupils.

Often if a child has found a lesson difficult, they’ll tell you that they’re feeling on the fence, whereas actually if you look at the data, often they’re doing very well and they’re just being stretched. CENTURY allows you to see what’s actually happening in terms of understanding, which saves you time because it’s marked and analysed for you, with instant personalised feedback.

The automated marking is a huge boost to our teachers.

CENTURY gives you insights into pupils’ levels of understanding that would not otherwise be possible.

Ahead of time you can assign pupils micro-lessons on CENTURY, which allows you to see instantly who has got it, who is able to apply that knowledge and who is really struggling straight away. Within a very short amount of time you can get instant feedback, which is more accurate than asking pupils how well they understand a topic in class.

I use CENTURY heavily in my teaching and I have found it to be a phenomenal resource. The impact is brilliant and it is driving the children on. There’s no finishing activities, there’s no running out of resources, there’s no being caught on the wrong foot because pupil x has actually nailed that topic and is smashing the examples. Using a resource like CENTURY to bolster your activities is a very, very good thing. I’m glad that we have it, I think it’s helped us out a lot through this last year and will continue to be an important part of our teaching.

MIKE WALLER. DIRECTOR OF STUDIES, COTTESMORE SCHOOL

Find out more at century.com/ismp21

HEADS & GOVERNORS

THE SHADOW BOARD USING YOUNG ALUMNI TO CHALLENGE AND SCRUTINISE

Photo courtesy of Caterham School

Ceri Jones explains that the creation of a Shadow Board at Caterham School is designed to query and question established thinking and inform future strategic planning.

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vents of the last 18 months have challenged educational organisations to their core. And these challenges have originated not just from the many and seemingly constant problems wrought by COVID-19, but also from the issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Everyone’s Invited website.

These topics have now, rightly, moved to the top of the agenda for those involved in school management and the communities that they lead.

Diversity, inclusion and gender equality have long been a priority for schools. What the events of 2020-21 and

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the Black Lives Matter Movement have demonstrated is that for all the excellent progress that has been made in this area over recent years, the impact, pace and range of this work in our organisations needs greater urgency with tangible and visible changes to the experiences of our pupils. The wider and welcomed activism of our pupils on a range of issues over recent years has also played a part in encouraging schools to look for additional ways of both hearing and responding to the voices of our pupils and alumni, above and beyond the traditional school council and prefect body.

HEADS & GOVERNORS

Challenge, scrutinise and inform

At Caterham, we have created a Shadow Board to ensure that the views of our increasingly diverse pupil and alumni body have a role in informing and shaping the way the school thinks about the current pupil experience and the future strategic direction of the school. The hadow oard is a first and has been embraced by everyone from Trustees to pupils. The Shadow Board (it began life as a NextGen Board) is made up of ten alumni, all aged between 18 and 30. Their remit is to challenge, scrutinise and inform the conversations that the Full Board are having. The members of the Shadow Board also have training in, and develop experience of, corporate governance, change management and board meetings. Our hope and expectation is that not only will some of them progress through to the Governing Body of the school but that the experience they gain will be advantageous within the organisations in which they themselves are employed. Change will come more quickly and be more effective as boards challenge themselves to be representative of their schools as they exist today.

from those who had recently stepped from school into university and early careers, and to truly hear young and di erse oices and allow them to challenge and filter our decision-making, there needed to be an open and strong working relationship built into the Board’s structure.

Huge positivity

With this realisation, it was important to get the Board of Trustees involved from the inception. Members of the Senior Leadership Team, the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association committee worked together to build a model best-placed to bring effective engagement and voice to decisionmaking. There was huge positivity from all quarters to make the project work – which itself says much about the strength of community and shared ethos of the school. The resulting Shadow Board meets at Caterham three times a year and has a chairman who attends all full Board of Trustee meetings annually. Recruitment begun in the late Autumn Term and, following a competitive recruitment round, board members were announced in the new year of 2021.

The Shadow Board’s work is to review ey areas identified by the oard of Trustees in addition to bringing forward matters they believe are important to address. Since the inaugural meeting in spring 2021, issues they have focused on include pupil experience, with particular focus on diversity and inclusion, and ethical investment, with a view to ensuring that any investments made by the school are in line with and support its ethos.

We all have

things to

learn from each other

Shared endeavour

Caterham School

The genesis of the idea of a Shadow Board predates the events of the last 18 months with the underlying notion being to work with young alumni to bring relevance and a different perspective to our conversations around issues such as sustainability, the digital transformation of the workplace, preparation for Higher Education and wellbeing. As our plans for the Shadow Board developed over 2020, a group of former pupils rightly questioned us about their recent experiences as young people as the world responded to the shocking murder of George Floyd. Our response was to encourage these voices onto the Shadow Board from where they will be able support and challenge the work we are doing as a school in the areas of diversity and inclusion and beyond. This has been a hugely affirming e ercise and has created a sense of shared endeavour.

The proposal for the creation of a Shadow Board originated with our Alumni Association whose committee members had professional experience working with global commercial brands who had seen multiple benefits and mar et insight from establishing such boards. As we took the idea forward, we quickly realised that for a ‘next generation’ style board to bring real impact to our school, it had to be integrated with the Board of Trustees rather than existing as an adjacent committee or enhanced focus group e felt that to harness the benefit of hearing

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HEADS & GOVERNORS

Change will come more quickly Finding solutions

Educational leadership rightly demands a huge level of experience and knowledge to succeed. When big issues sweep across a whole sector, as was seen in 2020-21, it is surely logical that the only way to fully understand and resolve the issues and experiences involved is to ensure that a di erse array of oices are engaged in finding the solutions. Fortunately for schools, we often do know the right people: we work and live alongside them in our own communities.

It goes without saying that the issues of the last year have affected everybody. Throughout the spring and summer terms of 2021, at every open morning or family meeting, parents wanted to know what schools, particularly independent schools, were doing to respond to the highly sensitive matters around personal responsibility highlighted by Everyone’s Invited and the issues of gender and diversity surfaced by the Black Lives Matter movement. And quite rightly. Being able to demonstrate a proactive approach that embraces diverse voices and one which actively seeks out recent alumni experiences to prepare pupils for a rapidly changing world has been hugely reassuring to families visiting Caterham.

Voices from the

Shadow Board “There is a fundamental shift in education occurring before our eyes, and I think young voices are well placed to be able to comment and give counsel on issues that young people face in and around schools. School demographics are not a monolith, nor should they be. Therefore, diverse oices need to be gi en a platform to re ect those demographics and inform the powers-thatbe on the issues they face, helping bring forth solutions to resolve them.”

“I believe the establishment of the Shadow Board will help create more diversity of thought when it comes to decision-making processes and will bring a fresh perspective on what is in the school’s best interests.”

Powerful statement of intent

Of course, for current pupils and parents this has also been a powerful statement of intent from the Governing Body of the school. It signals a very important message to all of our community about the willingness of the school to learn from the experience and expertise of others irrespective of status or standing and plays to a strongly held view that we all have things to learn from each other.

It is our hope that Caterham School’s Shadow Board is one example of how engagement and inclusion can improve leadership and decision-making for everyone. ●

CERI JONES is Headmaster of Caterham School, an HMC co-educational day and boarding school in Surrey. Ceri founded and remains a Trustee of the Access & Accelerate Foundation, a university access programme established with the Sutton Trust and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He was previously Second Master at Tonbridge School.

“The Shadow Board is important as it brings a different generation of voices and experiences to decision-making, ultimately helping current and future pupils to get the best possible experience and preparation from school. As a board, we are ten young people with incredibly different skillsets and post-school career pathways.”

“Young and diverse voices are shaping the future world that we live in. The Shadow Board provides the school with the opportunity to gain insight into the minds of young people who have attended the school and have had first-hand experience of mo ing thro gh university and careers beyond school.”

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 17

Photo courtesy of ISEB

HEADS & GOVERNORS

Julia Martin of the ISEB explores why independence is our sector’s most valuable asset and enhances the impact of the education which independent schools are able to provide to their students.

U

ntil recently, education leaders have looked to traditional metrics and benchmarks to communicate educational excellence, value and ‘identity’ to prospective and current pupils and parents. However, it’s not just the cancellation of public examinations for two years running, but also of open days, sports fixtures, concerts, performances and prize-givings that have caused us to explore what it is we truly value about independent education and how we communicate that. The independent sector’s ability to adapt, innovate and deliver during the pandemic has shone a light on best practice in our sector and with the public and policy debate gathering momentum, now is the time to champion what we do and the ways in which we can share our achievements more widely.

Growing pressure

COMMUNICATING VALUE SHIFTING THE PERCEPTION OF INDEPENDENCE

We are acutely aware that communicating the value of what we offer to parents and pupils is increasingly important in the current climate. The independent sector continues to face accusations of elitism from without, and a growing pressure from fee-paying parents from within, to continue to live up to its reputation, achieve the results and offer the experiences that define independent schools. How then should we communicate value when traditional benchmarks of success have been replaced by an uncertain assessment landscape?

Our most valuable asset

At ISEB, we think that independence is our most valuable asset. We believe that the independent sector can lead the way in the emerging national debate about the future of education, playing a vital role in

HEADS & GOVERNORS providing examples of teaching, learning and assessment best practice.

We are an exam board with a heritage stretching back nearly 120 years. This means we have a unique perspective and an intuitive understanding of not only our member schools, but also of the wider impact that best practice and innovation from within the independent sector can contribute to the national dialogue. In light of the recent conversations around the future of assessment as we emerge from the pandemic, we can see that educational innovation is embedded not just in curricular and extra-curricular activity (e.g. EtonX) but also in assessment (e.g. Bedales’ Assessed Courses, the Benenden Diploma and PSB). We want to work with all our independent education partners to shift the perception of independence in the emerging educational debate to a position where it is recognised that our sector doesn’t just offer value to the few but is in fact a key asset in the development of national and international education more broadly.

consultation within and between the associations and government on the future of assessment start to surface...

Thinking about the future

The response to the cancellation of public examinations has shown us all the value that schools, parents and pupils continue to place on traditional exam-based assessments. As an independent board, we were able to make our Common Pre-Tests, Common Entrance (CE) and Scholarship exams available in the summer and autumn of 2020 and again at the beginning of this year. The continuity of these exams played a key role in giving schools and parents certainty at a time of great uncertainty. It meant that pupils’ endeavours and achievements continued to be recognised and supported the transition into senior school. But we need to look to the future.

In the independent sector, teaching, learning and assessment have always evolved, exploring curriculum innovation and new

Give back to wider education by testing and piloting new ideas

Under scrutiny

When GCSEs and A Levels were cancelled in March 2020, and then for a second time in January of this year, it became clear that reliance on end-of-curriculum examinations to mark the conclusion of one educational stage and the transition into another would be under scrutiny.

During the summer term, teachers and leadership teams worked under the additional pressure of providing the grades for public examinations. We know that teachers are excellent at giving accurate and carefully considered marks and feedback, but wider assessment services are still required, including moderation, standardisation and quality assurance. As an exam board, the ISEB has a unique vantage point and a range of skills and can support independent schools and teachers further as the results of the wide-ranging

pedagogies. Now is the time to bring that expertise to the table as thinking about the future of assessment and education are at the forefront of public and policy debate. Common Entrance, for example, one of the sector’s oldest qualifications, was released with new specifications this year. As a board, we understand that changing the exam has a positive impact on teaching and curriculum. The new specifications balance the exploration of concepts and demonstration of academic skills with secure subject knowledge, meaning that pupils can apply what they know to new situations. Exams like this offer reassurance that working towards an examination such as CE encourages a broad range of skills that provide a key milestone to success at GCSE and beyond.

Creativity, diversity and individuality

To complement more traditional and established examinations, schools have embraced other qualifications too.

Research projects have been shown to encourage deeper thinking and greater

HEADS & GOVERNORS

And after 120 years providing established examinations, the independent sector’s exam board is changing too. We’re developing innovative and bespoke assessment tools and services with global educational impact and we’ve enjoyment of the learning process by enabling pupils to connect study with their personal interests. This model offers pupils the freedom to explore a wide variety of project forms, including written reports, podcasts, presentations, videos, business plans and creative work. The ro ect ualification emerged from the thinking behind the EPQ, allowing pupils and schools to reflect, present and represent their individual and diverse cultural settings too. ualifications like this can encourage collaboration between sectors, provide opportunities for schools to widen participation and reflect the diversity, creativity and individuality of their pupils.

When the Government announced the appointment of an education recovery package overseen by an appointed commissioner in February of this year, it became clear that there would be more pressure than ever on schools and teachers to identify and then bridge the gaps exacerbated by distance learning and online teaching. As well as navigating a ‘catch-up curriculum’, it also fell to teachers to assess their pupils and provide grades for GCSE and A Level examinations. Independent schools were ustifiably confident about the fact that their digital teaching provision and the continuation of learning delivered during the pandemic was of very high quality.

undertaken a 12-month project to talk to as many organisations, charities, education businesses, schools, leaders, teachers and administrators as possible about the future of independent assessment and education. During the summer, we’ve been taking those ideas from schools we’ve already spoken to and are actively turning them into exciting new initiatives. We’d love you to be part of the conversation. Please contact CEO@iseb.ac.uk The splendid public examination results announced in August have proved this.

As a sector, we had the infrastructure and resources to transition teaching and learning online swiftly.

Bespoke educational identity

However, as board, we appreciate that just providing summative ‘snapshot’ examinations at the end of a course of study can no longer be enough. Although Common Pre-Tests and Common Entrance have always formed just one aspect of the ways in which schools make decisions, teachers, parents and pupils need much wider support through training, resources and assessment tools that meet their needs. By acknowledging this, we can help schools validate the quality of their provision beyond summative exams, recognising teaching excellence and proudly offering a range of formal and informal assessments that represent the bespoke educational identity that fee-paying parents expect of their chosen school.

Certainty at a time of great uncertainty

20 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

Situated at the heart of the sector, we think it’s our role to support this challenge and consider now what the curriculum and assessments of the future might be by crystallising best practice and innovation into assessment tools, resources and services that reflect the thought-leadership inherent in the independent sector. Through facilitating valuable discussion between schools, teachers and policymakers, now more than ever, the independent sector is able to demonstrate the value of its role and give back to wider education by testing and piloting new ideas and exploring innovative approaches.

Garnering value

To provide a broader picture of all the different ways in which pupils garner value throughout their education, the ISEB is looking to start conversations with prep and senior schools about what new developments in assessment could look like. Not only do we want to facilitate conversations, we want to create both formal and informal assessments, resources, content and training which will help demonstrate value not only to prospective pupils and parents, but also make a wider contribution to best practice in education.

Recently, we have heard calls for confidence in our independence from Barnaby Lenon, Chair of the Independent Schools’ Council. We aim to demonstrate the wider value of the independent sector as we all adapt to digital and blended approaches that are likely to continue to form part of an education for the future. Independence doesn’t have to mean exclusivity. We should be proud of the ways in which we can stand at the forefront to influence, impact, innovate and inspire. ●

JULIA MARTIN is the newly appointed CEO of the ISEB, the Independent Examinations Board, established in 1904 and owned by its patron organisations (GSA, HMC, IAPS). The ISEB provides assessment tools and services including Common Preests o on ntran e ro e t ua i ation and Scholarship examinations.

Saving time and energy reducing your PSHE planning What is Jigsaw?

The Jigsaw teaching programme is a comprehensive and original scheme of work covering all aspects of Personal, Social, Health Education as required by the Independent School Standards (guidance, paragraph 2.12 2019), and including statutory Relationships Education at Primary and Relationships and Sex Education at Secondary (DfE Guidance 2019).

How is Jigsaw PSHE structure?

Every year group studies the same Puzzle at the same time at its own level, lending itself to a whole-school approach.

Is it easy to use?

Attainment descriptors (working at, towards and beyond) for every Puzzle make progression clear and assessment straightforward, to maximise and evidence learning.

Success Story: Impact of Jigsaw: The staff have seen a noticeable impact on how pupils respond to situations which might previously have upset them. Using Jigsaw has allowed the children to develop the way in which they communicate with each other, showing respect for each other’s opinions. Their listening skills have also improved in terms of responding to each other as opposed to simply offering their own ideas and thoughts.

Learn more at jigsawpshe.com

How does it fit into my school?

Designed as a whole-school programme, Jigsaw enhances growth-mindset culture and builds ethos; enhances a sense of belonging and community; values every child and is inclusive, and nurtures positive relationship with self and others, all conducive to learning.

What is core to Jigsaw PSHE? The authentic focus on emotional and mental health is underpinned by mindfulness philosophy and made real by mindfulness practice being embedded in every lesson. This empowers students to regulate their own emotional states and choose their responses, impacting positively on behaviours and self-esteem.

What is the end result?

Students gain knowledge and insight into themselves, others and the world they live in and become discerning and resilient global citizens.

Listening to their discussions and spending time in the classrooms, it is clear that Jigsaw has helped to establish an environment based on respect. The ideas being shared are honest, open and the pupils feel comfortable talking about their thoughts, feelings and emotions.

The staff also noted an increase in the children’s empathy levels and their ability to reflect and respond thoughtfully.

MALCOLM MCKINLAY Headteacher Parkgate House School

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 21

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SHOWCASE AND PROMOTE YOUR BRAND IN A DYNAMIC AND IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT For more information support@virtual-schoolexperience.com | (+44) 207 412 8988 22 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021 VIRTUAL-SCHOOLEXPERIENCE.COM

PARTNERS pupils and staff on their achievements in this most difficult of years.

Just like schools, AGBIS has had to adapt and evolve the way we offer services to our members to keep up with the ever-changing world.

All-time high

WORKING

Over the past 18 months, governors have encountered some of the biggest challenges they have ever had to face and, as a result, have changed their whole approach to supporting their schools. Cheryl Connelly explains.

‘U

nprecedented’ has been an over-used word during the pandemic, but school governors have certainly had to adapt their ways of working in rapid and unforeseen ways during this extraordinary period. Some of these changes will prove lasting and may well enhance how we do governance in the future. ince the first lockdown in arch , governors have had to find new ways to build relationships, work with their executive teams and exercise effective oversight. Attending meetings and other key school events in person has been difficult or impossible. ew working methods had to be established quickly.

Adapting to ‘Zoom-world’ was a steep but vital learning curve for many.

In addition, school closures (often at short notice) and ever-changing government guidance over health and safety requirements put extra pressure on staff and governors.

The ever-changing world Adapted well

has to schools in membership and supports thousands of governors. any of them have been in contact over this difficult period and AGBIS has provided timely, relevant support and guidance where needed.

As an organisation, we have seen many examples of governing boards that have risen superbly to the challenge, adapted well and adopted new ways of working.

They have been conducting school business online, supporting SLTs remotely and attending key school events virtually.

Particular highlights have included not only regular virtual ‘drop-in’ sessions for staff and pupils, but also chairs of governing boards recording their end-ofyear speech day addresses, congratulating

For AGBIS, offering webinar training has meant that our engagement with members is at an all-time high, reaching over , members in . eedback from our members shows that many would like to see a more flexible approach to training in the future, where they can either attend seminars in person or log on to webinars.

We have also been able to offer reviews of governance and on-site training virtually as well as in person and this will continue after the pandemic.

This allows us to be more responsive and efficient and support our members who can be located anywhere in the world.

Some of the changes adopted by governors and schools over the pandemic will be here to stay, as many now have oom and icrosoft Teams embedded into their communication methods. For example, communication between heads and chairs is likely to remain a mixture of online, email, text, phone and face to face, depending upon need and context. any governing boards are planning to conduct their future committee meetings virtually, whilst still expecting full board meetings to be held in person.

Whatever challenges come next for our governors and schools, AGBIS will be here to support our members in whatever way possible. Please visit www.agbis.org.uk to find out more.

If you are not a member and would like to find out more information about joining AGBIS, please email enquiries@agbis.org.uk. ●

CHERYL CONNELLY is the Director of Training at AGBIS. utumn

| schoolmanagementplus.com |

BURSARS

CHAMPIONING

HEALTHCARE IN SCHOOLS

Introducing HIEDA

The BSA Group is launching a new membership association which aims to champion health and wellbeing education in schools, colleges, universities and workplaces.

Jane Graham, Director of Health and Wellbeing, BSA Group, and Director, HIEDA explains why HIEDA (Health in Education Association) has been established and explores some of the ideas around health and wellbeing best practice which the organisation will be sharing with members.

E

arlier this year, Dame Donna Kinnair, Head of the Royal College of Nursing, called for a nurse to be present in every school to combat the impact of social inequality on children’s health. Her comments won support from many nursing and education leaders and were also backed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said during the spring that every school in the country needed a nurse to support the medical needs of students and staff.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve been receiving similar feedback from BSA members – and non-boarding health and wellbeing professionals – indicating that greater support and guidance is needed in healthcare education across all different workplaces and settings. All that we’ve witnessed over

24 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

BURSARS

More support needs to be available the last year and a half has told us that healthcare in educational settings should be increased and improved, and that more support needs to be made available to achieve this. That’s why we’ve launched the Healthcare in Education Association (HIEDA).

Pastoral care in the boarding sector has been developing over a long period of time, and is one of its great strengths, but the coronavirus pandemic has seen schools become increasingly aware of the importance of looking after students in a more holistic way.

They now have a greater understanding of how beneficial it is to have staff on board with medical skills or healthcare backgrounds, whether that’s specialist expertise in mental health, or counselling. But, of course, whilst having the right staff in place is an excellent start, they too need support to ensure they can be as effective as possible.

Training and support

Our aim with HIEDA is to provide training and support to members on all health and wellbeing matters. We will work with and for our members to share knowledge and best practice, while championing excellence in health and wellbeing provision in the workplace. Starting from September 2021, we’ll be offering a comprehensive range of CPD and training, specially tailored to meet members’ needs and requirements, which will be delivered by a range of experts, all of them leaders in their own specialist fields. longside extensive advice, guidance and case studies for members, we’ll also be sharing pieces of research as examples of best practice. This will be crucial if HIEDA is

to be successful in its aim to raise standards in healthcare education.

In boarding, as in any type of educational setting, health and wellbeing needs to start with staff and the school’s wider culture, so it’s essential your healthcare team members have the support they need to function well. Where a school’s leadership team can create an open and honest working environment, where staff feel comfortable raising any issues and know their concerns will be addressed, the more effectively they will be able to deal with any challenges that arise. The same principle applies for students. If a student is struggling and needs support, they need to know they can approach staff, and will be listened to. Having open and honest conversations can often prevent issues from escalating.

Mental health and wellbeing

Offering guidance around mental health and wellbeing is going to be more important than ever as we begin to return to some sort of normality after the coronavirus pandemic, and this will be one of HIEDA’S main areas of focus. NHS research suggests young people have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic.

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 25

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Brian Rollason (Building Services Engineering Manager)

Alexandra D’Arcy-Irvine (School Business Manager)

BURSARS

hieda’s key principles Much of the training and ideas of best practice HIEDA will be sharing will be based around the principles which can be applied to virtually all health and wellbeing-related situations:

Providing support around physical health can be relatively straightforward because there is comprehensive guidance and legislation in place from a variety of organisations. For example, if you have a diabetic student or member of staff, you can access advice from organisations like Diabetes UK, or you can look at guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and HIEDA can obviously point members in the direction of the most up-to-date advice to follow. Mental health and wellbeing support can be much more difficult for schools to provide as it’s about individual needs, not processes. If someone is experiencing a problem, their reaction will be unique to them.

Nevertheless, it is important to have written information that people can easily digest; this is an area on which our training will focus. Resource packs should be designed specifically so they don’t overload the reader with information and are in a simple format.

are plans and traffic lights

When you create a plan for someone who is struggling, whether that’s a student or a member of staff, it needs to be shared only with those involved in supporting that individual. If you put certain strategies in place for a student, that plan needs to be created with the input and consent of the student, their parents and relevant staff. For example, if a student is on a reduced timetable, their teachers will need to know this.

Putting together an individual care plan is a specialist skill and must be done by someone who is trained and experienced. HIEDA members can come to us for guidance. For example, if they have drafted a plan for a student: we can advise if the measures they’ve put in place are correct, or we can suggest additional things to include.

• the importance of open and honest conversations and creating an environment to make them possible, which can also help with prevention or escalation • using a joined-up approach to support individuals who need assistance • ensuring those responsible for health and wellbeing have the necessary skills to develop and implement support plans, and are trained in having difficult conversations with individuals who may need support with particularly sensitive situations • remaining compliant when new legislation comes into effect, and having clear, concise resources in place which are easy for individuals to access and understand.

key component of many plans are traffic light cards, which can help manage a student’s anxiety in classroom. The cards won’t be identifiable to other students, but teachers will know what they are. For example, if a student shows a green card, they are happy to be in their lesson and everything is fine. n amber card shows they are feeling anxious – it lets the teacher know not to ask them a question or put them on the spot or do anything that might increase their anxiety levels. Red means they need to leave the lesson immediately. They show this discreetly to the teacher so they can leave and go to a designated place, such as the school medical/health centre, which the teacher will alert as the student departs.

istening as ing the right uestions spotting signs

HIEDA recommends that wherever possible schools should have a dedicated mental health team, which could be made up of a school nurse or counsellor, a mental health first aider, the head of pastoral (or other mental health lead) together with the designated safeguarding lead. These staff need to be trained to talk in an empathetic manner which reassures the person who has come to them.

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 27

BURSARS Much of the time it’s about listening, but it’s also knowing when to ask questions and the correct ones to ask. If it’s a potentially critical situation, such as a student having suicidal thoughts for example, it’s crucial a member of staff knows how to respond to them.

Knowing the questions to ask allows staff to determine the best course of action: whether an appointment needs to be made for the student to see their GP, or a more urgent intervention and an immediate referral for help is required. In the most extreme cases, referrals can be made directly to social services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), rather than having to go through a student’s GP. Templates are useful, but all schools do things differently. Some schools may have 24/7 nursing, some may not. Having different case study examples available to show the different ways schools can interpret ISI guidance is helpful; HIEDA can assist with this. It’s also clearly critical that team members remain compliant with any new guidance or legislation; we can also help with this through both our training, which counts towards professional revalidation for school nurses, and our consultancy, where we can look more closely at members’ processes.

schools – every workplace has healthcare education needs of some sort. And healthcare education isn’t ust confined to the . roup is already an international organisation, with around 120 school members in 39 countries worldwide.

One thing we’ve learned from launching SACPA (the Safeguarding and Child Protection Association) in 2020, is that when we create a dedicated association specifically for people who work in a particular role, we can reach them better. They become better informed and have a network that brings them together with others.

They can share best practice, raise queries and talk to their community. We believe the experience and reach we have within roup leave us ideally placed to do the same for healthcare education and we hope H D will be of huge benefit for its members.

For more information about HIEDA, please visit the website: hieda.org.uk. ●

It’s about listening

Relevant for all

It’s important to remember with HIEDA that we’re not just focusing on health and wellbeing in boarding

28 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

JANE GRAHAM is Director of Health and Wellbeing for BSA Group, and Director, HIEDA. Trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Jane has spent 27 years in nursing, 17 of them in trauma and intensive care. She joined BSA Group in 2021 and is also an instructor for Qualsafe, an awarding body approved by the HSE.

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Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 29

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

SIXTH FORM MARKETING

Philippa Scudds urges schools to recognise that marketing to prospective Sixth Form students requires a different tone and approach to other recruitment activities.

T

he annual ISC censuses show that student numbers in the independent school sector have risen year-on-year for much of the past decade. Demand for Sixth Form places is particularly strong, with approximately 18% of 16+ pupils in the UK in independent education compared to around 7% of 11–15-year-olds. For the sector as a whole, 13% of pupils at ISC schools board. At Sixth Form, this proportion more than doubles to over one third of all pupils. In addition to boarding being far more prevalent at Sixth Form than at junior level, Sixth Form pupils are far more likely to board on a full-time basis with 89% of Sixth Form boarding pupils full boarders.*

Triggers for moving

There are a number of perceived reasons for this level of interest in a Sixth Form independent education. Research indicates that girls in particular move from single-sex schools to co-ed at this 16+ entry point.

Expense is also likely to be a factor, with transfer from the maintained sector at 16+ an increasingly likely option for parents keen to keep overall costs affordable.

Independent schools may also offer particular academic subjects at Sixth Form or have a strong reputation for success in entrance to highly competitive Higher Education courses – such as for Medicine and Veterinary Science – which makes a move attractive. Prospective students may also be attracted by evidence that offers secured to top Russell Group institutions – including Oxbridge – or scholarships to top international universities such as Ivy League in the US may be high. More and more independent schools are offering a pre*2019 ISC Annual Census

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS university style Sixth Form education and pupils may choose to board at this stage as a prelude to moving away from home to university. Equally pupils may be happy to choose a i th orm further afield, with a greater propensity to fully board as a result.

Highlighting the differences

online and print – therefore lean towards addressing the parent rather than the pupil and events held at the school are predominantly aimed at adults, at least during the decision-making stage. At i th orm, the pupils are young adults and, in general, the dri ers in the decision to move schools after GCSE. A prospective school’s outreach activity therefore needs to be more personally focused on them, not their parents, across all marketing materials or e ample, there should be different media engagement, and dedicated events styled to showcase Sixth Form opportunities, spearheaded by current pupils wherever possible who can share their experiences.

Choosing an independent education is a life changing decision at any stage, and some elements remain a constant whatever the entry point – smaller classes, a wide range of co curricular opportunities, strong pastoral care often through a 1–1 tutor system and a greater range of facilities. But when considering how to market your Sixth orm, you need to ta e into account the different priorities of this age group.

If pupils are going to take the plunge and mo e school, they are going to be looking for exciting opportunities and an inspirational change. Perhaps they have attended the same school for many years, or perhaps they want to move from – or to – single-sex to co-education.

They may want more freedom

Marketing 16+ entry is different to marketing 11+ or 13+ entry

a ing all this into account, it is perhaps surprising when you start researching Sixth Form offerings at independent schools that few seem to market their Sixth Form particularly differently. Some do not even have a dedicated section for Sixth Form on their websites, rather incorporating these two years within their main school structure. This could be due to the desire to portray a seamless transition through the school years without any definiti e brea point dri en, particularly from a financial perspecti e, by a desire to avoid a loss of pupils at the end of Fifth Form. Yet when you consider the figures, this is surely a missed chance to highlight the differences of Sixth Form.

Why not showcase the new opportunities it offers, not only for incoming new pupils but also for your e isting customers, highlighting what additional exciting areas are going to be open to them when they leave the GCSE years behind.

Marketing 16+ entry is different to marketing 11+ or 13+ entry for numerous reasons, but here are some areas to consider when planning your Sixth Form Admissions and Marketing.

A different customer with different priorities

When attracting pupils to join a school at or , pupils are still young and while they are having an increased input into the decision ma ing process, the chances are that it is the parents who are still choosing the school, or at least narrowing that choice down to a couple of options. Marketing materials – both

away from home through the option to board. The co-curricular opportunities offered by an independent education are well documented and surpass those at a maintained school not least as in general they have more grounds to work with and more facilities. Or perhaps they are international pupils aiming to come to the UK for Sixth Form to gain a better chance of entrance to a top British university.

A direct tone of voice when marketing to prospective Sixth Formers is a simple way to differentiate your offering. You are writing to young adults who are key decision ma ers friendly, welcoming piece from the Head acknowledging the major step to move schools at 16 and highlighting the opportunities sends a powerful message that every pupil will be welcomed as an indi idual, with their own priorities satisfied

Routes to market

While at 11+ or 13+ pupils are coming at a time of a natural break in their schooling – such as the end of primary school or the end of prep school – many senior schools have their own Sixth Form and want to retain their pupils,

MARKETING & ADMISSIONS

‘Must have’

FEATURES

on a Sixth Form webpage

Your current pupils are your best resource - so use them! so reaching prospective pupils is all the more challenging for admissions and marketing teams. Unless a senior school ends at 16, your Open Day posters and other marketing literature is unlikely to be welcome in a prospective pupil’s current school, and there will be no ‘future schools’ exhibitions or events hosted for their current parents. So marketers need to think creatively.

A separate section differentiating the Sixth Form offering on the school website is crucial. Most prospective Sixth Formers will be using the web as their first point of research – and they are savvy and know what they are looking for.

On-site and virtual events dedicated to aspects of Sixth Form life can be extremely effective ways to reach your potential market. Hold a separate Sixth Form Open event, where all the opportunities are showcased. Some schools offer taster boarding sessions which can be a great way to give prospective Sixth Formers the chance to explore this option and see if it is for them. There are also opportunities through GCSE revision courses, summer schools, careers fairs, talks and lectures, sports courses and arts events to cast the net wider.

Social media

The pandemic has certainly highlighted the importance of digital marketing.

Alongside a website, most schools now 32 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

have a presence on one or more of the main social media channels. It is important to segment these and use them according to the audience you are trying to reach.

At present, as a generalisation, teenagers favour TikTok, YouTube and Instagram over Facebook and Twitter. Instagram stories and video content are more likely to gain the interest of your average 14–15-yearolds than a static image and lines of text on Facebook. Similarly, think about the layout and content of the web pages with this in mind. Today’s teenage Internet browser wants information quickly and in an easily digestible and engaging form.

No matter how wonderful your academic departments are, pages of text about course information is not going to catch the bright eye of a potential Sixth Former.

That information can be distributed later.

Much more appealing might be pupilproduced film, blog posts from current Sixth Formers or a dedicated pupil-run Instagram feed. Monitoring from a staff member is needed but allowing current pupils as much freedom as possible to get peer-to-peer messages across moves away from the more formal ‘marketing speak’ and gives pupils a sense of what life is really like behind the scenes. Perhaps have a dedicated chat facility for Sixth Formers to answer questions direct from prospective pupils, or a slot during an event to ‘ask the pupils’ – either online or in person.

• Range of academic courses • Co-curricular activities • Leadership opportunities • School life (featuring boarding, where appropriate), including evening and weekend activities • Benefits of a co-ed or single-sex school, as appropriate • Opportunities for domestic and international travel • Statistics on university entry and pupil outcomes • Careers support and employment statistics

Finally – do your research

As marketers, we all recognise the importance of research. The likelihood is that many admissions and marketing staff are largely removed from the current teenage trends and it is important you find ways to be better informed. In this, your current pupils are your best resource - so use them! Focus groups questioning new joiners about their approach to a move and why they chose your school, your differentiators, what excites them about these final two years and guidance on the best media to use is valuable feedback which can directly inform your Sixth Form marketing strategy.

Sixth Form marketing is certainly a challenge, but with a dedicated approach and an appreciation of the priorities of this particular group of potential stakeholders, it can be one of the most exciting, diverse and rewarding parts of a marketing and admissions remit. ●

PHILIPPA SCUDDS is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications at Canford School in Dorset and a consultant with Cathcart Communications. www.cathcomms.co.uk

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If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you David Brier

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PARTNERS

MARKETING SPEAK

Tory Gillingham reports on the positive experiences of the AMCIS membership across 2020-21 and highlights important achievements and lessons.

T

hroughout the pandemic, members of AMCIS met regularly online in small ‘bubble groups’ in which they could talk about the key business – and personal – challenges they were facing as a result of the ever-changing restrictions within which school communities operated.

Tired faces

I don’t think I have ever seen such tired faces as those of the colleagues I was talking to at the end of the term!

But it was hugely rewarding to see the level of trust and confidence which had built up between the members of each bubble and the openness with which they shared insights and experiences and supported each other.

At AMCIS, we have always understood that marketing colleagues can feel marginalised within their school communities and welcome peer group support; the success of our ‘bubble groups’ has underlined this even more strongly. They will continue as we move forward.

In our end-of-term meetings, I asked participants to come up with three words which described the past academic year. Not surprisingly, a huge range were thrown into the mix, amongst them: ‘challenging’; ‘frustrating’; ‘exciting’; ‘renaissance’; ‘metamorphosis’ and ‘creative’. All of them, I feel, very accurately capture the realities of marketing independent schools in the headwind of a pandemic.

Succeeded and excelled

Yet perhaps the most telling three words offered by a colleague were – with a nod to Barak Obama – ‘Yes, we can!’ For me, they precisely describe the mood of the marketing teams with whom I have been talking.

Over the past year, colleagues have had to migrate their open days, their school visits and, indeed, their entire admissions processes online – and in this they have succeeded and excelled.

Many of our schools are reporting enquiries and applications running at record numbers. And, ironically, this success is in part because much of the engagement between marketing teams and prospective parents

Yes, we can! has taken place online. Admissions colleagues have commented regularly that they have got to know and understand their ‘customers’ better because they had more frequent, in-depth contact online compared to the days of face-to-face meetings. In some cases, very helpfully, senior colleagues have also learned, first-hand, the strengths and weaknesses of their own registration systems and processes and worked to make them more user-friendly! Again, there are lessons here to carry forward into the future.

Movement in the sector

There is a lot of movement within our part of the sector, with new digital marketing roles being advertised in numbers and experienced colleagues moving between schools. New recruits, with portable skills, are joining from the corporate world, bringing new and diverse experiences into our midst. AMCIS will be undertaking rolling research to understand and report on the underlying trends which inform this noteworthy level of professional movement.

Personally, I am delighted that AMCIS has been able to support its members so successfully during the past year. We, too, have migrated our activities online and have run three successful conferences, 14 training programmes and innumerable networking events. We, too, will draw on the best of what we have learnt and look to the future with confidence. ow more than ever, let us say, collectively, ‘Yes, we can!’ ●

TORY GILLINGHAM has been CEO of AMCIS since 2004. Prior to this, she spent 11 years in independent school marketing, including as Marketing and Development Director at St Peter’s School, York.

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 35

Photo courtesy of Oundle School

DEVELOPMENT

LEGACY FUNDRAISING A SOMETIMES NEGLECTED TOOL

Oundle School’s Matthew Dear explains the transformational impact a legacy fundraising programme can have on securing a school’s development goals.

36 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

DEVELOPMENT

F

undraising is the conversion of affinity into cheerfully given financial support through passionate storytelling. The fundamentals of legacy fundraising are no different. There is sometimes a sense amongst fundraisers, especially in education, that legacy marketing is an odd niche, a bit outside the mainstream, and somewhat uncomfortable in that it combines money and death: and discussion of either, even on their own, is guaranteed to bring most Brits out in a cold sweat. In this context it was especially significant that our industry body, the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE), recently hosted a round-table session proclaiming that legacy fundraising should be ‘the cornerstone of your development programme’.

Transformational

I suspect that many of us may be able to see some of the fruits of legacy giving from where we’re sitting down to read this article. Oundle School was constituted as a charity in 1556 by a grateful former pupil of the guild school that occupied what is now the site of our senior day house. It sounds rather obvious to say that receiving a large legacy can be transformational for a school. But it’s worth noting that, when the sector was last surveyed

by IDPE in partnership with Graham-Pelton Consulting,

We could potentially achieve much more 92 schools had received legacy income totalling £28.6m in the preceding two-year period, and 61 schools were anticipating pledged income of a further £23.4m at some future date. Moreover, the amount received represented only 20% of the total philanthropic income at the schools concerned, causing some in the sector to believe that we could potentially achieve much more.

Despite these impressive statistics, it can be difficult for legacies to find a stable place in a school’s fundraising strategy, and in the activities of even a well-established and well-resourced development office. There are a number of reasons for this. Much of it derives from the choices we make in the face of pressures to achieve quick cash-flow. The planners amongst us can be discomfited by the difficulty of setting meaningful targets, connecting activities to outcomes, and thereby analysing performance. The timing of receipts is of course the sole provenance of the Almighty, which sits uncomfortably with leaders who like to be able, at least to some degree, to forecast and to influence.

Left: It was the Will of Sir William Laxton, pictured, which established Oundle School.

Legacy fundraising key take-aways • Don’t be shy about the subject • Make sure your message is credible • Target steady growth in pledges rather than income • Ensure legacy fundraising is visible • Don’t delay!

The difficulty of target-setting

When I speak at conferences on the subject, I ask everybody in the room to think of a recent legacy that their institution has received. I then ask them to put their hands up if the legacy they’re thinking of was expected. Had the legator notified the school of their intention to leave a gift? Were they a member of the legacy society? Usually no more than 10% of people put a hand up, and that correlates with my own experience.

We do a lot to promote legacy giving, but people most often respond by doing it without telling you that they have, even if you offer to reward them with an annual drinks party if they do. This makes target-setting nearly impossible. However, our sector-wide expectation of over £20m in future income is therefore hugely encouraging if, as I suspect, it is only a fraction of the amount that has been written into people’s Wills.

Does this mean that we don’t need to run a legacy society? And what does it say about the value of all of the work that we do to promote legacies? It is important to stress that people will not leave legacies regardless of what we do, and they certainly won’t do it in any significant numbers if we do nothing. To understand this, we must keep our focus on why people give.

Why people give

The conventional wisdom is that people make or revise their Wills at three or four key points in their lives. The trick for fundraisers, therefore, is to be favourably present in people’s minds when those moments come. If you are, then your alumni may make a small gift at the earliest of these points that they feel

The Oundle Society

Remembering Oundle

Your Legacy, Their Future

www.oundleschool.o

rg.uk

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 37

DEVELOPMENT

able to. They may revise existing gifts upwards later in life if they are in a position to do so. Conversely, if your school is not thought of favourably, or not thought of at all, then it’s possible – even common – for existing bequests to drop out of revised Wills altogether.

Such disappointments can’t always be prevented, and a clear legacy strategy, including a transparent and supportable proposition for long-term philanthropy, can make all the difference.

thereof is, of course, indispensable in this day and age.

It might be assumed from some of the anecdotes I tell that I’m cynical about legacy societies, but the facts speak for themselves. Such societies, ostensibly about stewardship as much as they are about securing new gifts, correlate more markedly with successful legacy fundraising than any other variable. Even schools with nascent legacy societies amassed average pledges worth £347k, whilst schools with no legacy society at all reported average pledges of only £26k. Like everything in our somewhat sensitive world, such societies are certainly a matter of taste. Only about 10% of even our pledged legators regularly attend society events, which tend to take place once a year. But most of the others, with a few eccentric exceptions, appreciate being members, and it is an important way to bind them in, make them feel appreciated, and ensure that they are communicated with regularly and appropriately.

A legacy programme has to be visible, bold and unapologetic – yet subtle and dignified. So, what do you actually say? The starting point must be the long-term vision for the school.

Then, if your school already has a history of philanthropy, whether or not it involves legacies specifically, indicating what that philanthropy has already achieved

Be visible, bold and unapologetic

Key channels The key channels through which to deploy your allimportant messages are tried-and-tested. We tend to think, in an increasingly digital world, that direct mail is just a small and diminishing facet of successful marketing, but it is the most popular means by which schools ask people to consider legacies, and it is proven to achieve results, especially when combined with personal contact and relationship-building. Advertising in an alumni magazine can also be a useful way of giving a legacy programme a higher profile, and keeping it in people’s minds, which is a key objective. A web page, or a section

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DEVELOPMENT will make the point that funds are spent well and effectively, and that giving is not a new idea, but part of a tradition – a tradition from which the target audience has itself benefitted.

Generally speaking, legacy gifts are made without restriction, which makes it vitally important that the school’s strategy as a whole is not only well thought through, but is attractively communicated, since it becomes in itself the cause for which you are seeking support. t is best not to try to stimulate legacy gifts to specific activities even if such activities might attract particular donors – in case, when the legacy becomes operative, the specific purpose is no longer being carried out at the school or is no longer a priority.

Leaving gifts to particular departments or subjects, however, is probably safe territory, but if you want a broader but nonetheless specific proposition for donors, then any permanent endowment has obvious attractions, especially if its ob ect is to deliver financial aid to pupils in need of support. uch a proposition accords with a strong shift in the sector towards raising funds for bursaries, which was probably accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic but which was well underway before it emerged.

Ta

enefits

t can seem a little crass to target legacy marketing at older people on account of their advancing years, but one thing that’s likely to appeal to them are the tax benefits of legacy giving. wareness of these benefits still seems to be quite low: especially the fact that not only are charitable gifts deductible from a person’s taxable estate, but, if more than 10% of the net estate is left to any number of charitable causes, the inheritance tax rate drops by from to . t’s not, however, something to market as a tax-dodge quite besides the morality of such a message . t is something which appeals to people who were minded to help you anyway, but concerned about the effects on their families. hen we offer any illustrations we take great care, of course, to state that individuals should take professional advice regarding their own particular circumstances and that we are not qualified to give it.

It’s the stories which matter

n closing, ’d observe that the most important phrase above is ‘people who were minded to help you

Photo courtesy of Oundle School

Unrestricted gifts

Above: Oundle’s Adamson Centre for Modern Languages was funded by a legacy.

The cornerstone of your development programme anyway’. f legacy marketing is the cornerstone of a good development programme, is it as much because it focuses attention on the fundamentals of good fundraising as it is because it raises transformational sums in itself. n planning a legacy programme, development professionals will be deploying the very best of their skills and strategies, patiently building affinity and relationships, and putting out well-crafted and disciplined messages about the history of our institutions and their plans for the future. hatever the technical appeal of legacy giving, and however we create an audience for our stories, it is the stories themselves which are the essence of good and successful fundraising. ●

MATTHEW DEAR has worked in external relations, fundraising and compliance for over 20 years. He has been Director of Development at Oundle School since 2013.

Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 41

PARTNERS

GENEROSITY OF SCHOOL COMMUNITIES THE

Louise Bennett explores the integral role school communities have played throughout t e ande i and e ains o a s oo s an et in o ed in t e rst e er i in Week, celebrating philanthropy and engagement in our schools.

I

n a shor t membership survey conducted in June in par tnership with Mar ts & Lundy UK, IDPE members were asked to share the impact of the pandemic on their school’s fundraising and engagement programme.

Of the member schools that responded to the survey, 54% saw an increase in philanthropic income compared to the pre-pandemic period, 55% of schools repor ted an increase in the number of individuals attending vir tual events, and 50% saw an increase in the number of alumni volunteering. Whilst the long-term impact of the pandemic remains unknown, in many cases, the shor tterm response from school communities has been to give. In fact, in those schools where there was a specific appeal, the average philanthropic income was 39% higher.

Of course, it hasn’t all been positive.

Some schools furloughed staff, fundraising campaigns were paused or delayed and many schools have had to consider how they will create positive

change in the context of the Black Lives Matter and Everyone’s Invited movements.

Numerous examples of generosity

However, from IDPE’s survey and annual conference in June, we have seen numerous examples of generosity in school communities and an ongoing, and often strengthened, desire to give.

These ranged from volunteers giving their time to present careers talks online or mentor school leavers and graduates, to generous donations to bursary appeals and hardship funds used to suppor t families affected by the pandemic.

Given the integral role school communities have played in the last 18 months – and will undoubtedly continue to play in supporting young people in the future – we wanted to recognise the impact of such giving in schools.

That’s why IDPE is launching its inaugural Giving Week, celebrating philanthropy and engagement in schools. ●

An ongoing, and often strengthened, desire to give

LOUISE BENNETT is o t e nstitute o e e o ent ro essiona s in du ation 42 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

Giving Week Monday, 15 November to Sunday, 21 November The IDPE Giving Week will be an opportunity for all schools to come together and celebrate the generosity of our communities. We invite all schools to participate no matter where they are on their development journey.

Join us this November to share stories of generosity in your school community.

You could get involved by: • celebrating the history of giving within your school • thanking your community for its generosity • recruiting new volunteers to support your careers programme • holding a giving day, a 24-hour digitally driven fundraising and engagement campaign that brings together the school community • sharing stories of the impact of philanthropy on young people.

For further information, please visit idpe.org. uk/#idpegivingweek

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Autumn 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 43

Richard Smith encourages teachers to find new ways to freshen musical enjoyment The Pandemic has been a destructive influence on ‘traditional’ piano lessons held across the country, and many will be looking forward to a new sense of ‘normality’ come September. It’s a known fact that when schools teach music, the whole of society benefits. Research by the ISM revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on all aspects of music education – curriculum entitlement, singing in schools, practical music making, extra-curricular activities, instrumental learning and examinations.

Richard Smith feels this is the perfect time to freshen up the approach to music teaching. His own series of books are designed to prompt and inspire young children on their journey of learning

piano. From being responsible for marketing ‘The Beatles’ recordings in Germany to having spent some years as an EMI manager, Richard Smith provides a platform of knowledge that has helped him write such a quality series.

Most popular with teachers are the sight-reading series ‘Don’t Look at the Keys!’, which makes an often tricky part of teaching and exam preparation a fun exercise.

Also popular and incredibly fun is the duet book ‘Crazy Crotchets & Quirky Quavers’. The players swap places, stand up, sit up, reach over each other, and even clean the piano with a rag, yet the music never stops!

Loved by pupils and teachers alike, these books get rave reviews.

Giving confidence and encouragement that no other approach seems to do

To learn more about Richard and his accomplished book series, visit eyeforideas.co.uk/

44 | schoolmanagementplus.com | Autumn 2021

TALKING POINT

PUBLIC NOISE VERSUS PRIVATE LEGWORK WHICH WORKS BEST?

Robin Fletcher onsiders o t e ro essiona asso iations an or ost effe ti e o ern ent and ot er e sta e o ders to in uen e and s a e de ision a in

A

s a young evening newspaper editor in 1993, I once campaigned to get extra money for more local police officers under the somewhat naff banner of obby for a obby e trumpeted and loudly gathered signatures, all of which won a meeting with the now long departed police minister, the arl errers, in his rather nice ome ffice uarters now the inistry of ustice, opposite the office

Ultimately, we were successful, and it was with some pleasure that was able to ring the hief onstable of orthamptonshire to tell him the good news about his new constables

Stomp and be noisy

his story suggests that the way to get policy change or reasury money is to stomp and be noisy, to criticise and ca ole nd, of course, reta hunberg and her tinction ebellion followers are perhaps the best contemporary e ample of shaming world politicians into action

it t e

The scales, broadly, have tipped in our favour ut reta is, belie e, the e ception to the rule, as shown by the , people who marched against the s in ol ement in the ra ar in to no a ail It is, of course, fallacious to try to prove which wor s best, on the street public chanting for complete change or behind the scenes pri ate lobbying for policy position twea s iplomacy is always far better than war of course, but there are also times when actions do spea louder than words er the past year, the , alongside the ndependent chools ouncil and a clutch of fine education associations, has ept open a near constant hotline to the o ernment ot to oris ohnson of course, nor Gavin Williamson or Priti atel, although occasionally to aroness Berridge, Parliamentary Under Secretary of tate for the chool ystem he real connection has been not with politicians, although se eral s and members of the ouse of ords ha e been ery helpful, but the ci il ser ants who wor out policy detail t one le el this has in ol ed regularly as ing a whole stream of uestions of multiple civil servants across go ernment, including the epartment for ducation, the ome ffice, utumn

| schooladmissionsplus.com |

TALKING POINT

Squeaky moments

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development ffice, epartment for nternational rade and the de ol ed administrations

A long rally

his sort of wor is fairly transactional we as uestions for our members, ci il ser ants reply, rather li e a long rally in a tennis match with the ball going o er the net and up and down the court longside this, though, is the genuine human relationships, the getting to now real people trying their best in difficult circumstances to help you and your members while they in turn try to get sign off on policy within their own and other departments he whole process is long, comple and not necessarily as swift as we all would li e it to be here can be moments of silence and emails unanswered times when it s easy and tempting to press the red button, contact the newspapers and ma e angry calls to politicians his sort of something must be done gesture politics can be satisfying in the heat of battle, but its effecti eness is largely illusory etting angry with politicians is one thing and they are well used to it etting angry with ci il ser ants, howe er, is a fool s game and ery unfair too n my limited e perience, of ci il ser ants are not eyboard tapping obsworths ta ing delight in spinning more miles of red tape to wrap up you and your members hey want go ernment policy to be sensible and fair, and reasonable and wor able, ust li e we all do 46 | schoolmanagementplus.com |

utumn

here ha e been some s uea y moments in s dealings with the o ernment and ci il ser ants during the crisis imes when boarders were technically trapped at school unable to go home or others in foreign climes were unable to enter the without being whis ed to some go ernment run hotel to be watched o er by complete strangers contra ening safeguarding rules t these moments it is easy to id yourself that ust because you are luc y enough to ha e a ery cheap ringside seat with the chance to lobby the o ernment on policy points that in turn may affect hundreds of schools and thousands of children and their parents, you ha e some power and in uence n truth, you don t at all, because ha e used the same methods of persuasion and unarguable logic with ci il ser ants and failed to achie e my goals as ha e when ha e been successful dentical techni ue but different outcome, which begs the uestion as to what, if anything, really ma es a difference and other associations ha e won more things than they ha e lost o er the past year to the benefit of their members and boarding students he scales, broadly, ha e tipped in our fa our most of the time and am as certain as can be

that is because we ha e not ranted and raged e cept for the odd letter to the rime inister and the Times , but rather maintained polite relations with the hard wor ing policy and deli ery teams within go ernment departments t would be ery easy indeed to shoot down my assertion that slow, steady as you go relationship building with officials is ust as effecti e as shouting an truthfully say that umber or the ducation ecretary for ngland has the first clue what the is or whom it represents robably not, e en though oris was, of course, a boarder at two member schools

Proof of the pudding...

ut there is a reason why we ha e the phrase the proof of the pudding lies in the eating ecause most of the time , the and other associations ha e managed to wal away with a palatable pudding which will not poison their members ot a pudding anyone has heard of and certainly not one to post on nstagram, but a reasonably decent policy pudding none the less f course, if we ha e to, we will still chant loudly and gather signatures if we belie e that s the best way to get politicians to sit up and ta e notice e won t do that, howe er, instead of maintaining our open lines with senior ci il ser ants but as well as, because when it comes to the policy detail, it all lands up in their inbo es to sort out ith us, hopefully uietly banging the boarding drum is probably our e ui alent of the obby for a obby campaign different message for a different time and one we will stic with for the time being ●

Diplomacy is always far better than war

ROBIN FLETCHER is CEO of the BSA (Boarding Schools’ Association) and BSA Group, which also comprises SACPA (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association), BAISIS (British Association of Independent Schools with International Students) and HIEDA (Health in Education Association).

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