ISA Journal - Issue 5

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Free the children

ISA schools changing lives around the world

Also inside...

All change – Jim Stearns on the educational landscape for 2013 Child bereavement – how to support your pupils Outstanding art – results from the ISA competition Gaining with Training www.isaschools.org.uk ISSUE 5

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Welcome to the fifth issue of ISA’s new magazine for Member schools

You’ll soon notice that this edition of the ISA Journal has an international flavour.

With “We Day” coming to the UK in 2014, our partners at Free the Children outline the opportunities that already exist for cross-border charity projects and we also feature examples of further international links that help to widen pupils’ educational experiences. It is through such inter-cultural learning and understanding that we equip our pupils to become successful citizens on a global stage.

But learning can sometimes be hijacked by the unexpected. Most

Heads have to face issues of child mental health and even bereavement at some time in their careers and the two articles around these topics will provide some useful pointers and contacts.

If Heads still entertain doubts that these issues are important, it is worth seeking out UCL’s March 2012 longitudinal study highlighting the benefits of good links between schools and specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and the provision of mental health information to pupils.

Finally, Jim Stearns, ISA’s Chair of Academic Policy, gives us an excellent guide to the main academic policy issues since the 2010 White Paper. If ever we had hoped for a quiet time in education, the next twenty-four months aren’t it.

With very best wishes from all of us at ISA.

CEO, ISA

ISA Annual Conference 2013 Booking is now open for ISA’s Annual Conference which takes place between 16th and 18th May at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne.

The theme of this year’s conference is Resilience and Growth in Modern Leadership, and the event is open to all ISA Head Teachers.

Book now at www.isaschools.org.uk.

Visit the new ISA website at

www.isaschools.org.uk

Managing Editor Neil Roskilly

Marketing & Communications Officer Angie Shatford

Editor Caroline Scoular

Publisher Sean Ferris

News Leigh-Anne Ogilvie

Circulation Jon Hardy

The Independent Schools Association (ISA) exists to provide professional support to Headteachers of independent nursery, prep and secondary schools, and sixth form colleges. t: 01799 523619 f: 01799 524892 Independent Schools Association 1 Boys’ British School, East Street, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1LS

ISA Journal is published by ALCHEMY CONTRACT PUBLISHING LTD, Gainsborough House, 59/60 Thames Street, Windsor, SL4 1TX For editorial, publishing and sales enquiries: e: info@alchemycontractpublishing.co.uk t: 01753 272022 f: 01753 272021 www.alchemycontractpublishing.co.uk

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

welcome

Meet the Team

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ISA Midlands Region Swimming Gala

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ISA Committee Contacts The ISA network of Area Committees.

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News from the ISA areas ISA schools show what they’re made of – from prize-winning inventions to charity fundraising.

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The International Dimension China, Russia, USA, Hungary…just some of the countries with which Dixie Grammar School has forged cultural links. The school has proudly held the British Council’s coveted International Award for over five years. This is their story.

Free the Chidren: How ISA schools can make a difference Craig Keilburger was just 12 when the distressing story of a young Asian boy sold into slavery changed his life.

Today, he heads up international charity Free the Children, inspiring young people to change the world.

Taiyeba Hussain reports.

‘Stakeholdering’ for successful schools The ability to use stakeholders strategically is an essential skill, advises ISA CEO. Neil Roskilly.

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All Change – Never a dull moment in education!

Jim Stearns, Head Teacher of Shoreham College and Chair of ISA’s Academic Policy Committee, reflects on the changing political landscape and examines the impact on schools of key issues emerging at Westminster.

Mental Health First Aid for Pupils Nearly 80,000 young people suffer from severe depression in this country.

English Teacher and former Head Dick Moore, whose son tragically took his own life, urges greater investment in mental health awareness.

Bereaved Children and School – Rebuilding lives together Over 90% of children will experience a significant bereavement before the age of 16. For many children the support they receive from school will be vital to their long-term recovery.

Child Bereavement UK explains.

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News Bulletin Updates and insights, news and views.

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Outstanding Talent at ISA National Art Results and pictures from this year’s competition.

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Gaining with training Latest news on ISA Courses and the Autumn Conference, who should attend and why.

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If you go down to the woods today...

Can learning outside the classroom impact upon children’s behaviour?

Can it influence social skills and foster attainment? ISA Forest Schools has no doubt that it can. ISA reports.

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Making the most of the school website An informative, well designed website is essential in the modern digital age.

A look at how to ensure it is used to its full potential.

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Product showcase Sourcing products – from furnishings to refrigeration.

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Sporting Times Reports from the wide range of ISA sporting events which marked a fitting end to 2012, a glorious year for sport in Britain.

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VoIP – are you up to speed?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can be a big money saver for schools with big phone bills. A back to basics approach.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

CONTACTS FOR ISA AREA COMMITTEES EAST ANGLIA Area Coordinator ahampton@thorpehall.southend.sch.uk Assistant Area Coordinator headmaster@neweccleshall.com President lindsay@greenblade.plus.com Chairman s.welch@gosfieldschool.org.uk Secretary stuartn@ccss.co.uk Treasurer stuartn@ccss.co.uk Arts Reps a.gwynne@gosfieldschool.org.uk richards@ccss.co.uk Sports Rep rturner@thorpehall.southend.sch.uk LONDON NORTH Area Coordinator headmistress@lyonsdownschool.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinators PrePrepHead@Berkhamstedschool.org d.berkin@groveindependentschool.co.uk Chairman stefan.anderson@tringpark.com Secretary PrePrepHead@Berkhamstedschool.org Treasurer lchiverrell@snaresbrookcollege.org.uk Arts Rep mimc@hotmail.co.uk Sports Rep LONDON SOUTH Area Coordinator office@vfps.org Assistant Area Coordinator head@bishopchallonerschool.com Chairman headmaster@shorehamcollege.co.uk Vice Chairman head@oakhyrstgrangeschool.co.uk Secretary head@towers.w-sussex.sch.uk Treasurer stdavids@dial.pipex.com Arts Reps office@vfps.org head@sacredheartwadhurst.org.uk

Andrew Hampton 01702 582340 Richard Allard 01953 887217 Paul Spendlove 07739 156010 Sarah Welch 01787 474 040 Stuart Nicholson 01223 716890 Stuart Nicholson 01223 716890 Amanda Gwynne 01787 474 040 Richard Swift 01223 716 890 Richard Turner 01702 582340

Lynn Maggs-Wellings 020 84490225 Samantha Jaspal 01442872742 Deborah Birkin 01908 690590 Stefan Anderson 01442 824255 Samantha Jaspal 01442872742 Linda Chiverrell 020 8989 2394 Mim Clark 01279 657706 TBC

Sports Rep sagepompey@aol.com

Meg Baines 020 8653 2169 Karen Barry 020 8460 3546 Jim Stearns 01243 814320 Alex Gear 01883 343344 Carole Baker 01903 812185 Ann Wagstaff 020 8777 5852 Meg Baines 020 8653 2169 Hilary Blake 01892 783 414 Richard Sage 01797 252494

LONDON WEST Area Coordinator principal@hurstlodgesch.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinator tgp@hawleyplace.com Chairman head@hemdeanhouse.co.uk Secretary nick.rees@abingdonhouseschool.co.uk

Vicky Smit 01344 622154 Trevor Pipe 01276 32028 Joanne Harris 0118 9472590 Nick Rees 0845 2300426

Treasurer tgp@hawleyplace.com Arts Rep principal@hurstlodgesch.co.uk Sports Rep m.castle@mayvillehighschool.com

Trevor Pipe 01276 32028 Vicky Smit 01344 622154 Martin Castle 023 9273 4847

MIDLANDS Area Coordinator head@stwystans.org.uk Assistant Area Coordinators head@knollschool.co.uk head@dagfaschool.notts.sch.uk Chairman head@heathfieldschool.co.uk Vice Chairman rmw@castlehouseschool.co.uk Secretary headmaster@adcoteschool.co.uk Treasurer head@dixie.org.uk Arts Rep head@ruckleigh.co.uk Sports Coordinator hilary.forecast@dodderhill.co.uk Sports Rep headmaster@bowbrookhouseschool.co.uk NORTH Area Coordinator head@firsschool.net Assistant Area Coordinators mdg59@tiscali.co.uk

Phil Soutar 01283 703258 Nigel Humphreys 01562 822622 Jane Le Poidevin 0115 913 8330 Roger Brierly 01562 850204 Richard Walden 01952 811035 Gary Wright 01939 260202 John Wood 01455 292244 Barbara Forster 0121 7052773 Hilary Forecast 01905 778 290 Chris Allen 01905 841242

sj@qe.org Chairman rjoxley@lineone.net Secretary headmistress@greenbankschool.co.uk Treasurer headteacher@forestschool.sch.uk Arts Rep headmistress@greenbankschool.co.uk Sports Rep angela.davis@church-schools.com

Margaret Denton 01244 322443 Marie Grant 01625 520632 Steven Jandrell 01625 520632/0870 742 3300 Rachel Oxley 0151 426 4333 Janet Lowe 0161 485 3724 Rick Hyde 01619804075 Janet Lowe 0161 485 3724 Angela Davis 01482 657016

SOUTH WEST Area Coordinator hm@hatheropcastle.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinators headmaster@polwhelehouseschool.co.uk Chairman headmaster@trinityschool.co.uk INSET Coordinator headmaster@moylescourt.co.uk Secretary victoria@st-christophers.devon.sch.uk Treasurer bursar@trinityschool.co.uk Arts Rep katie.green@stjosephscornwall.com Sports Rep larkmanr@trinityschool.co.uk

Paul Easterbrook 01285 750206 Alex McCullough 01872 273011 Tim Waters 01626 774 138 Gregory Meakin 01425 472856 Victoria Kennington 01803 762 202 Shaun Dyer 01626 774138 Katie Green 01566 772580 Robert Larkman 01626 774138

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s a e r A A S I e th m o fr s w e N

Beech House Lord Sharkey visits of the House er Lord Sharkey, memb House ech Be ited vis of Lords, ent Week as liam Par g rin du l hoo Sc tiative to build part of a national ini and greater awareness of, entary liam par h, wit engagement . democracy in the UK

The show m ust go on Lyonsdown School manag ed to install art lighting a new state and stage sy of the stem in tim Parents and e for its Na the Friends tivity. of Lyonsdow were thanke n School (FLS d for provid ) ing the fund round fund s through ye −raising ac ar tivities.

Den hit in Dragons’ in a Hamster proves ead, took part lst Ha ol, sfield Scho ideas s es sin bu Pupils from Go eir th ent, presenting ster Power, ‘Dragons’ Den’ ev oduct was Ham pr g in nn wi e Collins e Jo to staff. Th d an Keedy−Davies ua sh Jo by a ted by crea generated ere the power ctronic ele ge ar (pictured), wh ch to could be used eel wh s. ’s ce er vi st ham or MP3 de mobile phones items such as

Holocaust Educational Trust Beth Tyson (pictured above) and Mitchell Seaton, Year 13 students at Bridgewater School, Worsley, have been selected to take part in The Lessons from Auschwitz Proj ect, exploring the history of the Holocaust. A Next Steps proj ect will see the students pass on the lessons they have learned.

Austria exchange trip Girls from Adcote School's Year 11 enjoyed a 10 day exchange visit to Adcote’s partner school in Bad Radkersburg, Austria. Funded by the EU Comenius Programme, the visit focused on communicating sustainable development through art and drama and culminated in the production of a show.

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Welcome to the jungle!

Heathfield Senior pupils and staff from at their week a t spen , erley School, Wolv then stayed sister school in Bangkok. They re activities in the jungle in Chiang Mai whe ing and raft r wate e included climbing, whit . s hant bathing elep

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Gadgeteers Net Top Prize Year 10 Compu ting GCSE pupi ls at LVS Asco (pictured) won t the school £500 for computing equipment by cr eating a new m obile device using Microsof t.NET Gadgeteer . The winning competition en try by Alex Lang edijk (15) and Mathias Munk (15) involved bo th the building and programm ing of a ‘footba ll goalie game’ device.

Local link encourag es ‘STEM’ growth Malvern St James Gir ls’ School has annou nced a partnership with Ma lvern Instruments to promote opportunities in sci ence and engineering which will offer students access to mentorin g support and degree sponsors hip

Year 2 extension opens Rosemead Prep School, Dulwich, of the celebrated the official opening ing build their latest phase of the school’s programme, coinciding with ities will activ ther Fur ary.

70th annivers be held throughout the year.

Castle House School n (pictured BBC TV presenter, Nick Owe of honour t above centre), was the gues ch Day. Spee ool’s Sch se Hou for Castle he Following an inspiring speech, ificates cert or es priz s, cup presented ils, Alfie to all the children. Head pup 6, spoke LVS Students Mind a Sp orts Tournament Deahl and Emily Lamb, both year Sixth Form studen and ol ts from LVS Ascot of their time at the scho supported a Sport in Mind event at the Ma praised the dejski Stadium last Headmaster, Richard Walden, term. The ch ari se ty Hou us le es sport to promote we many achievements of Cast ll−being among peo Martin experiencing mental health ple Dr with e abov red Pictu children. problems.

Deahl, chairman of governors.

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New Library at Moyles Court Moyles Court School, Hampshire, has opened a new state of the art library (with internet access). The library is dedicated to former Deputy Head and Head of Mathematics, Jane Warren, who passed away last summer.

All for one and one for all pany recently Greenfield School Theatre Com e Thre The of ance staged a perform onsible for resp e wer ils Pup ers. kete Mus creating the making costumes and props, tickets and g sellin , ation anim and ic mus running backstage.

Paris Choirs sing in or School LVS Ascot Seni to Two choirs from ity un rt po op y rdinar and had the extrao ber am Ch ance. The LVS perform in Fr 3rd on ris Pa to avelled Senior Choir tr ed at the e they perform December wher leine’ in Paris de Ma la de eglise prestigious ‘L' ntury and is Ce ck to the 15th which dates ba inent choirs. welcoming prom renowned for Life−Line School for id of the trip: sa Sri Lankan children son of Year 10 Rebecca Steven an amazing Fifteen pupils from st ju s wa ne Rookwood School, lei de Ma La in t g ils “Singin Andover, worked wit le cry“, wh h AidCamps Internatio even made peop nal experience, we to build a pre−sch “The view id: sa 10 ar Ye ool at the Sevenagal of o als n so hn ch a ‘Home su d Abbie Jo ha aw I ay ! fro od m go Home’ centre in Sri tower is so Lanka. It took from the Eiffel two years of planning to go back”. and fundraising (ov nt wa I e, tim t er a grea £12,000).

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THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION The Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth has held the British Council’s coveted International Award for over five years. The award is given to schools who excel in forging links with other countries, and give their students the opportunity to examine their roles as citizens of the global community. Sarah Ennis, International Director at Dixie, explains.

It is perhaps fitting that a school that numbers amongst its former pupils Thomas Hooker, one of the founding fathers of the United States constitution, should emphasise a Global Dimension to the education of its current students, in both the Junior and Senior Schools.

At the Dixie Grammar School we are proud of the International links that have helped us to hold the coveted British Council International School Award since 2007.

Like many schools we began fairly traditionally by establishing an exchange link with the Jade Gymnasium in northern Germany, French homestay visits for GCSE students and regular skitrips to Europe and North America.

The expansion of our international links began over ten years ago when the previous headmaster, Richard Wilmott, signed a memorandum of agreement with the Baxian Middle School in China, now the Chongqing Experimental School.

Since 2001 Sixth Form students from the two very differing schools have regularly exchanged cultural visits, initially with the support of the British Council.

Nowadays, with the opening up of the ‘sleeping dragon’ that is China, school visits there are more common but the fact that our students stay in one another’s homes is still ground-breaking and gives them a unique opportunity to see this most fascinating of countries. In addition to spending a week living with their host families experiencing a Chinese home and school our students also spend three days in Beijing, enabling them to visit the historic and cultural sites of the capital city, to climb the Great Wall and visit real pandas at the zoo!

The contrasts between the two schools

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are mind boggling. Our Senior School numbers less than 400; they initially had over ten times that number and are now approaching 6000 pupils. Our day school, with its small classes, is housed in historic buildings in a quiet Midlands town; theirs includes boarders and a modern campus, including a science ‘tower’ (incorporating their own observatory with full-scale telescope) and houses classes of over 60 students in the world’s biggest city – vibrant, bustling Chongqing with its population of over 30 million.

The focus of each trip is agreed in advance and includes joint cultural and educational activities. Our first group of students carried out experiments on the water quality of the Yangtze River. The practical emphasis and ‘hands on’ Science education which their students experienced then and on subsequent visits to Dixie has helped to develop the way that Science and other subjects are taught in our sister-school -although providing experimental practice for classes of 60+ gives them a huge challenge. Our subsequent visits have

“Music is truly an international language.

Two new Russian students who arrived speaking almost no English are already active members of our school choirs, enjoying improving their language skills through singing!”

focused on Music & Drama, History and Art, Maths & ICT and it is no exaggeration to say that, for many of our students and staff, the experience has been life changing.

Following the initial link for a period of three years, from 2006-9, we welcomed a teacher from Chongqing to join our staff from October until June to initiate the teaching of Mandarin across both the Senior and Junior schools. The success of this initiative led to the appointment of Lucy Gu, our full-time Mandarin teacher and to the development of the language to GCSE and A level. The original exchange link is flourishing and we also organise ‘language immersion’ visits to Beijing for students from Year 9 upwards.

Mandarin is now embedded in the curriculum as part of our language teaching to AS level, and all subject areas include some focus on China within their teaching.

We do not neglect our European languages. Pupils begin French in the Junior School and all students in the Senior School learn both French and German as well as Mandarin. In addition to regular homestay and language trips to Paris and further afield, such as to the French speaking area of New Orleans, the German exchange is flourishing and an exciting new link with a school in Nimes begins this year. National competitions feature across the year groups including a Year 7 French spelling bee, a Year 9 foreign language film production and an annual British Council Mandarin speaking competition. Next Easter we shall also be defending our title as national champions of the Vocab Express on line competition!

Across the curriculum of both Junior and Senior Schools there is a considerable emphasis on international matters. Cross curricular projects in each year of the Junior School give pupils the opportunity to link together aspects of the history, geography, costume, art, music and culture of a variety of countries.

In each year of Key Stage 3 students

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behind space exploration, theme parks and marine biology as part of visits which afford them ‘backstage access’ to many of the tourist attractions of Florida. In a complete contrast of climate, joint Biology/Geography field trips to Iceland have allowed students to experience life in the ‘frozen north’ whilst studying the geology, flora and fauna of a totally different landscape. Closer to home regular visits to Twycross, our local zoo, let biologists and junior pupils get ‘close synagogue as well as our local Anglican up and personal’ with animals from many Parish church to compare the worship countries, most recently the snow and traditions of major world religions at leopards in the new Himalaya enclosure. first hand. Colourful assembly ‘Spot’ the snow leopard, our cuddly presentations complete with traditional school mascot, has his own passport and costumes have celebrated special religious is widely travelled since he accompanies events such as Diwali alongside major most of our international trips. He has Christian festivals. been photographed in a number of Regular History visits to the First World interesting countries and locations, often War battlefields in Belgium have included whilst tasting the local fare. the opportunity for students to find the In Home Economics students have the resting place of relatives and have shown opportunity to learn to cook food from

“In 2013 we shall again be hosting both Chinese and Hungarian visitors in the same week, allowing a three way cultural interchange of music from East and West, culminating in the joint performance of a specially written choral work by one of our music staff.”

them the poignant significance of the many cemeteries. The stark reality of war was also brought home to those who participated in a moving visit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

The PE department arranges ski-trips and European hockey and football tours on a regular basis and older students also have the opportunity to participate in regular World Challenge expeditions. The next is to Peru and will involve participants in numerous fund-raising activities since they are supposed to be self-funding! These trips to the developing world teach life and leadership skills via a number of activities and challenge participants to learn new skills and work as a team.

Year 9-13 students have the opportunity to investigate the science

many cultures and to use ingredients from around the globe. Our school caterers also support our International work with regular themed lunch menus.

This year their choices range from Mexican to Caribbean via African, Greek and Spanish. Students love the variety and relish the opportunity to taste a number of differing cuisines without even leaving school!

From simple beginnings and with the hard-working support of staff at the Dixie Grammar School we have developed a huge range of international activities across all aspects of school life. New countries and ideas are always being added and we hope that the variety and quality of experiences that we provide will enable us to retain our prized International School Award. www.isaschools.org.uk

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study the music of a different country and have the opportunity both to perform it and to find out how it is learned/notated. To enhance this we have hosted a variety of workshop performances including a Beijing Opera, African drumming, Samba band and traditional Indian sitar and tabla music.

Thanks to links formed via a member of staff who is Hungarian we have established a musical exchange programme with the Moricz School, Dunaujvaros, which enables students from Years 7-9 to host/visit a Hungarian student. Each trip includes several joint concert performances which have enabled our students to learn about traditional Hungarian dancing and singing and to teach theirs about English Morris and barn dancing. Music staff from the two schools have also benefitted from studying the pedagogy of the two musical cultures. In 2013 we shall again be hosting both Chinese and Hungarian visitors in the same week; allowing a three way cultural interchange of music from East and West, culminating in the joint performance of a specially written choral work by one of our music staff.

Music is truly an international language and this has been proved again only this term. Two new Russian students who arrived speaking almost no English are already active members of our school choirs, enjoying improving their language skills through singing!

The Art department has a special link with the Tongabezi School, Zambia and has organised several trips to Africa.

These have included not only carrying out joint art projects, such as decorating classrooms and making a colourful hanging quilt, but a variety of other activities. Preparing lion cubs to be introduced to life in the wild; counting passing elephants to plan measures enabling them to live in harmony with local villagers; planting trees to enrich the Dambwe forest, removing illegal snares in a national park and teaching in a village school are some of the memorable moments our students can treasure for life.

The Humanities also focus on global affairs. Our proximity to the vibrant multi-cultural city of Leicester enables the RS department to organise regular visits to places of worship. Year 7 students are able to experience visits to a local mosque, Hindu temple and Sikh Gurdwara, Buddhist Centre and Jewish

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FREE THE CHILDREN HOW ISA SCHOOLS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE The founder of international charity Free the Children was just 12 years old when he was inspired to make a difference. Canadian Craig Kielburger was so disturbed by the story of a young Asian boy sold into slavery, that he inspired a group of school friends to help him fight the cause. Today he runs an international charity which inspires young people to change the world, and works alongside schools such as ISA’s King Alfred School in north London.

Taiyeba Hussain, Free the Children’s Youth Programming Co-Ordinator, explains how the charity started, and how The King Alfred School are working with them to make a difference.

Free The Children believes in a world where all young people are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change. We are an international charity and educational partner which empowers youth to remove barriers that prevent them from being active local and global citizens. Our domestic programmes educate, engage and empower hundreds of thousands of youth in North America and the UK. Free The Children has been working with schools in the UK since 2010, reaching over 40,000 young people in over twentyfive different counties, with 3,500 young people currently actively engaged in our projects. Our international projects, led by our holistic and sustainable Adopt a Village model, have brought more than 650 schools and school rooms to youth, and provided clean water, health care and sanitation to one million

Free the Children scholarship winners make friends in Kenya

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London. During our first visit to King Alfred, two of our young and dynamic speakers told the stories of Craig and other young people around the world, recounted personal experiences, and explained why it is so important for young people to engage with issues of citizenship. It was an opportunity to share with those students who we are, why we do what we do, and why nobody is ever too young to make a difference in the world.

Atlantic. It involves a free motivational assembly and leadership workshop aimed at educating, engaging and empowering students to believe they can make a difference in the world. As part of the tour, we provide schools with year-long student mentorship and teacher support, as well as a multitude of free teaching resources. This includes a calendar of local and global campaigns in which students can get involved, a wide selection of curriculum-matched lesson plans, and one-to-one support and visits from a dedicated Youth Programming Coordinator at the Free The Children UK office. Virgin Atlantic also offers a ‘£ for £’ matching scheme, where every pound raised by students will be matched by Virgin Atlantic.

Students from across all year groups at King Alfred have since continued to learn more about global issues, demonstrating the power of young people to make a positive difference both at home and abroad. Students have taken it upon themselves to provide presentations to their peers, sharing information about Free The Children and the impact our programmes have had on them as individuals, as a way of motivating others to get involved. One student told us that “the charity is able to make young adults

“The charity is able to make young adults feel they have a voice that’s worth something, and that they have the power to make a difference in the world...”

Our initial visit laid the foundations of what is now an educational partnership that is going from strength to strength.

King Alfred School is one of the most proactive, passionate and highly driven schools in our network. Their unique and creative efforts to promote active citizenship are outstanding. Following our first meeting at the school, the students have since worked hard to raise money for a school in a Kenyan community.

Since King Alfred opened their doors to us in 2010, students threw themselves into taking action, and we have been there every step of the way to help and support them as well as celebrate their fantastic achievements.

In November 2011 we returned to King Alfred to deliver our ‘Be The Change’ tour. ‘Be The Change’ is a free active citizenship programme we offer to schools in partnership with Virgin

feel they have a voice that’s worth something, and that they have the power to make a difference in the world... For me, involvement in Free The Children is an outlet for my ideas concerning international problems.”

We have been inspired by the creativity and imagination shown by King Alfred students, who have hosted a variety of campaigns – from sponsored silences to holding school concerts and shows, selling homemade houmous, running a Christmas candy cane delivery service, organising sponsored runs, and producing and recording music CDs. Furthermore, we have been delighted to host students from King Alfred at our annual UK Youth Summit, where students from across the UK come together to meet other like-minded young people, and learn more about issues that matter to them.

For the last three years, we have received www.isaschools.org.uk

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people around the world, freeing children and their families from the cycle of poverty.

Founded in 1995 by international children’s rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has since grown to work with more than 1.7 million young people who are involved in our innovative education and development programmes in over forty countries.

Free The Children’s unique and inspirational story engages young people all over the country. One Year 10 student told us: “There is so much potential in each human being – something that can be released by equality and opportunity.

Craig Kielburger has made such a difference from an early age; just think what we can do.” Her response came after hearing our speakers recall Craig’s story.

In April 1995, at the age of just twelve, Craig gathered together a group of his school friends in a bid to beat child labour. He wanted to raise awareness of children’s rights and gain a better understanding of the issues after reading an article in his local Toronto newspaper.

The headline read: “Battled Child Labour, Boy, 12, Murdered.”

Craig was struck by the raw but courageous story of a boy his age named Iqbal. Iqbal Masih was born in South Asia and sold into slavery at the age of four for around ten pounds. Six years of his short life were spent chained to a carpet-weaving loom. Following his release from the factory by child rights activists, Iqbal captured the world’s attention by speaking out against child labour. Eventually, Iqbal’s wide media coverage caught the attention of those who wished to silence him. At the age of twelve, Iqbal lost his life defending the rights of children.

The article filled Craig with feelings of anger and confusion. Later that day, after reading it aloud to his class at school, he said, “I don’t know much about child labour, but I know we have to do something. Who wants to help me stop this?” Craig concluded from Iqbal’s story that the bravest voice can live in the smallest body. Today, Free The Children aims not only to free children from poverty, neglect and exploitation, but also to free youth domestically from the notion that they are powerless to make a positive difference in the world.

One school that has been inspired by Free The Children, and in turn has inspired us, is King Alfred School in

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incredibly passionate applications from King Alfred students for our fully-paid volunteer trip scholarships to visit Free The Children communities abroad – an initiative that we are now running for the third year. A successful applicant from King Alfred, Ella Hohen-Ford, wrote that the trip was, “the most incredible trip I think I will ever go on. I now see the world from a broader, globally enriched perspective. It has helped me realise my own passions and has helped me to become more motivated and enthusiastic towards everything I do.” The trips not only allow participants to embrace a new culture and help support the ongoing development in the community, but also develop personal leadership skills.

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students at King Alfred, who have expressed interest in getting involved and continuing their engagement with Free The Children.

Back in September, I met with three highly engaged students, who committed to adopting an entire Free The Children community. I was blown away by their maturity, and their eagerness to support whichever community was in greatest need.

During a meeting with Dawn Moore, Head of King Alfred School, we discussed the importance of empowering youth to believe in themselves, and supporting them in their efforts. Dawn was keen to develop our partnership as she felt that our values mirrored those of the school.

We are now working with Dawn to create a long-term plan for King Alfred, where the school and students will help raise money to support the development of a

community in Ghana. This plan not only sets regular fundraising goals, but also establishes ways to raise awareness about sustainable development, barriers to education and active citizenship through the school curriculum. As part of this plan, we are offering students the opportunity to visit the community they are supporting.

Trips enable students to see for themselves the difference they are making. Having run volunteer trips overseas for the past decade, we are able to offer an experience with a deep emphasis on volunteering and community-based learning, leadership development and cultural immersion.

Our trips aim to create systemic change, by educating participants as well benefiting the communities we visit.

Through schools taking local and global actions, they become eligible to apply for tickets to Free The Children’s signature youth empowerment event, We Day (www.weday.com). This is a cutting-edge movement promoting active citizenship, which comes to the UK for the first time in 2014. We Day is Free The Children’s most powerful tool to engage youth in active citizenship, volunteerism and social justice.

The event brings young people together to lead global change, defy apathy and celebrate change that they are making in their local and global communities.

Examples of local actions that schools are currently taking include addressing the issue of food insecurity in the UK through holding food collections to increasing awareness in their communities about the impacts of bullying.

Tickets to We Day can’t be bought – students must earn their way in through service. The event kicks off a year-long series of actions, called We Act, whereby students and schools choose a local and international issue on which they want to become involved and create positive change. Ongoing support and educational materials pertaining to various causes are provided to educators at no cost.

If you would like to learn more about Free The Children programming contact Jessica Bentley-Jacobs Director, UK 020 7921 4305 jessica@freethechildren.com The “We Day” event comes to the UK in 2014 and ISA schools will have preferential early registration.

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‘STAKEHOLDERING’ FOR SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS

Even if you are unsure that the word “stakeholdering” really exists, working successfully with your partners is vital if you are to move your school forward. Neil Roskilly, CEO of the Independent Schools Association, outlines one of the key discussions from ISA’s recent Heads’ Induction Course.

“Stakeholder” is one of those words that have almost become meaningless through overuse. “Stakeholdering”, or the ability to use stakeholders strategically, is a much less common term, but one that neatly encapsulates a fundamental set of skills essential to every school leaders’ armoury.

For example, many Heads have become seriously mired by overlooking that their stakeholders are human and won’t necessarily see things as intended, no matter how well the Headteacher has explained the issue at hand. Key to this is not just knowing who your stakeholders are, but developing an understanding of the influence and dispositions of the principal players. Most Heads will be aware of who their main stakeholders are, but few will have given much thought to how they operate and influence – either negatively or for the better – the future development of a school.

Stakeholder theory is quite clear on all this. In business law, share or stockholders are the stakeholders who take precedence over all others.

Employees and suppliers play second fiddle, and trade associations, unions and customers appear somewhere down the pecking order. Stakeholder analysis in business often includes a mapping exercise that balances power, support and influence, giving an organisation (if it wishes to extend this to a very logical conclusion) a mathematical descriptor of how proposed changes (price point, production, workforce, etc.) can influence share price.

For schools, rightly or wrongly, things are not so clear cut. Heads in independent schools “sort of ” know who their stakeholders are (governors, parents, pupils, teaching and non-teaching staff, alumni, the inspectorate, perhaps the Local Authority (LA), etc.) and may only 16

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give thought to the whole business of influence when major changes are mooted, such as going co-ed, changing the school uniform or closing a boarding house. However, even minor changes can generate a great deal of heat that may affect a school’s bottom line, namely the quality of teaching and learning. Internal wrangling detracts from the business of education and so Heads are well advised to invest time in a form of stakeholder analysis if they want to avoid pitfalls or effect deep and systemic change.

This was the theme of a recent session at the ISA Heads’ Induction Course at the Grovefield Park Hotel in

lifetime can be dismantled in an instant unless stakeholders can sense a fair degree of “ownership” in the school’s enterprise.

This is not to suggest that Heads should embark on a process of prioritising their relationships with key stakeholders. They want the best for their pupils and want each to maximise his or her life chances through the academic and pastoral provision of the school.

Naturally, Heads feel the weight of responsibility towards all stakeholders but, in turn, it is important to recognise that stakeholders want slightly (and occasionally significantly) different things from the Head.

“When the going gets sticky, stakeholders who have benefitted from your attention will be more forgiving and be with you rather than against.”

Buckinghamshire. “New” ISA Heads are obliged to spend a few days with us discussing significant issues that could derail any headship, such as crisis management, finances and development planning.

One agreed conclusion was recognition of the importance of investing in your stakeholders, gaining an understanding of their nature and building relationships before you have to rely upon them. Quite simply, an understanding of stakeholder dispositions means that in good times, Heads can work with and through key stakeholders to realise the aims of the school. When times are more challenging, stakeholders will help to ensure what Katzenbach and Smith call “process support”. When the going gets sticky, stakeholders who have benefitted from your attention will be more forgiving and be with you rather than against. Heads are deeply aware that the work of a

Parents in the UK, for example, aspire for their offspring to do better than other children in the school. That’s not to be damning, but just something that has been drilled into them by an education system that emphasises class or year positions. A parent may send their child to a school in the top 3% of highachieving schools nationally, but will feel the disappointment of their child coming 68th out of a year group of 80 in mathematics. A governing body with an over-representation of parents will often reveal such tensions rather than prioritising the strategic development of the school. Similarly, staff will naturally gravitate towards personal pay scale arguments without balancing these against the fees families pay.

So in developing a deep understanding of these stakeholder dispositions, Heads are able to better control reactions to change, whether the change is planned or

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the invariable crisis that affects all schools from time to time. This understanding balances the degree of involvement against level of support.

Classic “change champions” are heavily involved and very supportive of change.

In fact, in some schools the only change champion is the Head and that is why some schools struggle to turn things around. At the other end of the scale are those traditionally and unimaginatively called “the enemy”. All schools have one or two in their cultural woodwork and identifying their exact level of involvement is crucial. In between are the low-involvement cynics (annoying but for the most part harmless), fence-sitters (with even lower involvement) and willing helpers, who exercise moderate involvement but are great supporters.

Heads need to know where each of their stakeholders crudely sits, including the chair of governors, key parents, proprietors, other senior leaders, teaching staff, non-teaching staff (from cleaners to Bursar) and perhaps surprisingly for independent schools, even Local Authorities.

Of course, it is not wise to jump to assumptions. Governors, for example, have different allegiances and not all will be fully committed to the aims defined in the school’s development plan. This will be particularly so where the school has illdefined values, as these are vital to engendering a sense of “belonging” among all stakeholders. Similarly, senior teachers may hold some kind of deepseated grudge from missed promotion

opportunities and may see change driven by the Head as a further threat.

Chairs of governors vary tremendously in their commitment and leadership of the governing body. Even Local Authorities who are not often associated with independent schools may have a different view when it comes to exercising their responsibilities for Early Years funding or Safeguarding.

Heads also need to be aware of the degree of influence that each stakeholder may exert, which of course differs widely from school to school. Again, some chairs of governors can be very much “hands off ”, but can be unnecessarily drawn into the day-to-day management of a school by other stakeholders when responsibilities between the Head and Chair have not been clearly defined.

If Heads are to successfully change a school, an understanding of the strength of the relationships between stakeholders is also vital. History and personal ties come in to play, particularly if influential parents have direct links to governors, or an established Deputy Head is close to (or even married to) members of the administrative or teaching staff. A Bursar who also acts as clerk to the governors sometimes struggles to identify where his or her accountability truly lies, despite what the job description may say. The vocation in common often means that teaching staff in schools naturally socialise together and some will only have work colleagues as their communal support. So a few will find objective decision-making in school quite a

challenge and perhaps even lose sight of what is best for the pupils.

By developing greater understanding of stakeholder dispositions and influence, Heads can identify where to invest their time when they want to effect change, and not waste too much of their energy on those with low influence and low involvement.

Any Head who wants to successfully manage change will smooth the road well in advance, engineering stakeholder relationships into becoming more positive and (where helpful) more involved. This is easily achieved through small but significant gestures of goodwill that cost very little but pay back enormous dividends. A little money for the pupils’ council or involving a small number of parents in an “opinions forum” would be common examples. “Awaydays” for the SLT and/or governors work wonders and the published topics for such events are merely the pretext for greater collaborative working.

Encouraging contributions to an online shared blog or bulletin board can also be effective (and less costly), as are regular visits by classroom staff to feeder schools. Inviting agencies and individuals such as the police, LA or LADO into the school often builds trust, as does working constructively with the local media – a fabulous investment in keeping the message positive about the school. Then when push comes to shove, Heads will feel more confident in dealing with stakeholders and also have a better feeling of who to inform, consult and actively involve when they wish to implement that new idea to change the school for the better.

Neil Roskilly is Chief Executive Officer at The Independent Schools Association.

See page 3 for contact details.

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“Developing a deep understanding of these stakeholder dispositions, Heads are able to better control reactions to change.”

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ALL CHANGE – NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN EDUCATION

Jim Stearns, Head Teacher of Shoreham College in East Sussex and Chair of ISA’s Academic Policy Committee, reflects on the changing political landscape in 2013.

Jim Stearns Shoreham College, Sussex

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Fifteen years ago Tony Blair set out his priorities for government with the immortal phrase “education, education, education”, a reminder of the important place education holds in the political landscape. Labour’s six Education Secretaries, from Estelle Morris to Ed Balls, drove through considerable change, and many of their policies, from National Diplomas to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), had a significant impact upon independent schools.

So what of the current situation? The Education Secretary, Michael Gove MP, came to power with the coalition in May 2010 and has driven massive change through in the two and a half years that he has held the position. His first step was to revert his department’s name back to the Department for Education, which most agreed was

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an improvement on previous labels.

Beyond that it is fair to say that his proposals have not met with universal agreement.

So what are the key issues emerging at Westminster, and how will these impact upon our schools and the children we teach?

New types of school One of Mr Gove’s early initiatives was the scrapping of the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ (BSF) programme, which put a stop to school building plans across the country. Gove also moved quickly to introduce so-called “Free schools”, and to accelerate the Academy programme.

Previously, schools wishing to become an academy had to apply and meet certain criteria. Now any failing school could in theory be forced into academisation. Free schools meanwhile can be set up in any area where there is willingness from a group to sponsor and a perceived need.

The latter programme has taken a little longer to get off the ground than Mr Gove envisaged, with just over 100 free schools opening last September, and a similar number due to open in September 2013. However, the number of academies has increased dramatically; to the extent that the DfE had to find extra funding for the programme, having overspent by a billion pounds in their first two years in power.The next big push will be to convert failing primary schools into academies.

GCSE Changes It is hard to argue with aspects of Mr Gove’s desire to raise standards. We all want the best for our young people. But The Government’s plans in relation to the exam system have been beset by controversy. One of their early targets was the examination system at 14 and at 16.

This was initially manifested by the scrapping of modules, meaning that those pupils currently in Year 10 will sit all of their exams at the end of their courses.

Modules have not been without issues of course, as frequent re-takes placed a huge logistical burden on schools. It could also be argued that some candidates did not approach modules with sufficient effort, knowing that a re-sit was always available.

For a large number of learners, however, (often weaker ability or those with learning support issues) the ‘chunking’ of work and on-going assessment had benefits. In other changes, limits have also

Bright Sparks: the EBacc subjects have a strong academic focus

been placed on the number of resists that can be taken and there are new restrictions as to which mark counts (in some cases it is not the best of the two marks taken, but the most recent).

English Baccalaureate In 2010 DFE introduced a new performance measure: the ‘English Baccalaureate’ (EBacc). This suite of subjects – English, Mathematics, Sciences, Modern Language and History or Geography – caused much consternation.

A strong lobby argued that Religious Studies should be included as a humanity, and I was amongst those raising the objection. Although my school’s background is Church of England, we are not overly religious. However, the Philosophy and Ethics GCSE course is engaging and rigorous and, in the hands of a fantastic teacher such as I am lucky to have at my school, it more than competes on an even keel with History and Geography. Mr Gove’s argument is that Religious Studies is a compulsory element of state education. His concern is that schools would opt for RS to the detriment of History and Geography. I find this rather disappointing when faced with the dilemma of discouraging pupils from

doing a subject which is well taught, enjoyed and successful, or seeing my school suffer in the league tables.

Another EBacc issue was that the measure was applied retrospectively.

Therefore, rather than giving schools the opportunity to plan for its introduction , it was actually applied to the previous year’s GCSE results. Like most independent schools we fared pretty well, having stuck with the traditional suite of subjects (although as I mentioned, a number had taken RS instead of History or Geography). But it did seem rather unfair on state school colleagues, who had no opportunity to prepare themselves, and the reaction it provoked was extreme at times. There were anecdotes flying around of technology colleges closing down their design and technology departments to focus instead on the Ebacc subjects.

This last point highlights another key issue with the EBacc, which is that it is not a baccalaureate at all, due to the narrow way in which it ignores other subjects, particularly the creative subjects.

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“Our concerns around the narrow scope of the EBC continue to grow. There is a real risk that non E-Bacc subjects will be squeezed from the curriculum and take-up will plummet.” the confidence of children and better prepare them for the rigours of exams and beyond. With so much resting on performance tables, it requires boldness on the part of school leaders to retain this in their schools.

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about the re-introduction of O-level style exams. This was followed by a hasty announcement from the DfE launching the idea of English Baccalaureate certificates (EBC). These were to be introduced for teaching in 2015, but only in the Ebacc subjects. The plan is for the exams to be harder than GCSEs and entirely assessed terminally, with one

exam to sat by all abilities, i.e. no tiering.

As with a number of other DfE initiatives, consultation was launched, but in common with these the scope was not as broad as it could be. Instead of questioning whether there was actually a need for EBC, the consultation focused on what it should be called, and which subjects should be included. This felt rather like being consulted on the re-introduction of hanging, but only being asked which colour rope one should use. ISA responded to the consultation nonetheless to highlight key issues, including a real concern about what sort of assessment criteria can fulfil the proposal and the timescale proposed. Few of us can see how a terminal examination will successfully perform what is being demanded of it and furthermore, how this would prepare young people for life beyond 16.

Our concerns around the narrow scope of the EBC continue to grow. There is a real risk that non-EBacc subjects will be squeezed from the curriculum and takeup will plummet. There is a further irony to this, as while our education system may not always fare too well with international comparisons such as OECD (though other studies published recently have shown that independent schools perform very well internationally), it is understood that Britain excels in creative areas and is a huge exporter in this field.

I attended a Teacher Association meeting recently at Ofqual with members from all the teaching unions, as well as HMC, GSA and representatives from the DfE. All of us spoke to the DfE with one voice; quite an interesting moment when you consider the diversity of the organisations. On the day, Ofqual themselves were fairly quiet on the matter, but a few days later it became apparent that they shared our concerns.

The Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey wrote to the Secretary of State echoing the points discussed here. The letter led to interesting scenes at the Education Select Committee in early December when Mr Gove refused to disclose its contents, despite the Chair asking a number of times (Ofqual subsequently published the letter).

Perhaps it is worth exploring Mr Gove’s arguments for changing things so dramatically. He has stated that tiering limits ambition and labelling students as ‘foundation’ inhibits their opportunity.

He also feels that a more challenging examination regime will raise standards,

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not be required to follow it. Academies and Free Schools, like independent schools, are exempt. And the qualifications that are being designed to test it are in danger of being produced before the new version is published.

One change that many welcomed relates to GCSE equivalence. Over the years a number of outraged stories printed details of vocational courses and how many GCSEs they were ‘worth’. The issue was certainly worth reviewing, as beyond the hyperbole of headlines there were indeed cases when schools used some of these courses to bolster their league table positions, possibly to the detriment of some pupils. As a non-selective school that has only ever offered GCSEs, and to be compared with state schools locally who have sat the alternatives, I see the review as a positive move. From 2014 a much shorter list of vocational courses will be eligible, and they can be worth no more than one GCSE pass.

There has not been much discussion of vocational courses beyond this change however, and there is no alternative to the EBCs proposed by the DfE to serve those in need of a more vocational education.

Labour has proposed a ‘Tech Bacc’, but this is rather thin on detail at present.

A-levels

The National Curriculum

None of us can say for sure what is on the horizon. The outcome of the DfE consultation is due to be published as The ISA Journal goes to press, and this is likely to be followed by an Ofqual consultation.

The National Curriculum, meanwhile, is in the process of being reviewed. There are a couple of ironies to this, as there are an increasing number of schools that will

Post-16 (Further Education) did not escape attention last year. A-levels were said to be no longer fit for purpose, and major changes were proposed and consulted on. The removal of all modules, including the AS exam, was suggested and the higher education sector were encouraged to come in and re-write new A-levels. Interestingly the response to that request from universities has been mixed at best and overall rather muted, with concerns raised about the capacity of universities to undertake such an exercise and the fact that universities themselves actually quite like AS levels. Currently AS levels are staying, though the January modules have gone and at least the A levels will remain just that. There is no proposal, as for the EBCs, to have a single examination board for each one. The EPQ is being promoted as a good accompaniment and many of us would support this.

What’s next?

If EBCs go ahead, the next stage will be for awarding bodies to submit their proposals to Ofqual. Once Ofqual is in a position to approve the bids, they will then be sent to the Secretary of State for his final decision. As independent schools, there is no compulsion on ISA members to offer new qualifications: independent schools already lead the way with the use of international GCSEs (iGCSEs) and IB as alternatives. This switch did lead to a number of leading independent schools plummeting to the bottom of the league tables, but the reasons for this were widely known and helped provoke debate. It will be interesting to see whether this transpires to an even greater extent or whether alternative qualifications spring up at the same time.

It has also been suggested that controlled assessments, the coursework element of GCSEs, may well be axed in advance of the introduction of EBCs. Schools are also wrestling with somewhat unclear instructions on the use of laptops in examinations. And just so our junior colleagues don’t feel left out, it is proposed to make the study of a modern foreign language compulsory in key stage 2 (most ISA schools already do this of course).

Moving forward...

It is important that we do not stand in the way of progress and change is of course inevitable. My hope is that Mr Gove listens carefully to the professionals, and that the consultations his department undertakes are properly considered. This will ensure that change is effective, with clear and realistic outcomes which genuinely improve the provision for the children we teach. We have the luxury, as independent schools, to observe from a distance these developments as they unfold. Our willingness to get involved in the consultation process, commission studies, meet with government departments and speak out on the issues, should tell the DFE an awful lot about the proposals in their current form. It will be interesting to see how things develop, but you can be sure that ISA will continue to follow and respond as matters unfold.

Jim Stearns is Headmaster of Shoreham College, a 3-16 co-educational school on the South Coast. He is also Chair of ISA’s Academic Policy Committee.

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and that having competing examination boards has caused a ‘race to the bottom’.

Another popular theme is to attack coursework or controlled assessments and other forms of on-going assessment. This is ironic considering that the International Baccalaureate (IB) is often held up as an example of good practice, though it has a coursework element. The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is similarly lauded, but is in its entirety a piece of coursework.

Events of the summer, with GCSE English and a continuing high number of re-marks and appeals, do highlight the problems with the current system. HMC published a damning report into examination marking and it is being taken very seriously by Ofqual. There is much agreement that there needs to be a more rigorous marking regime for our examination systems, but rushing through an entirely new set of qualifications to such a short deadline is a cause for great concern to all; particularly at a time when the Department for Education is planning to significantly reduce its workforce.

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MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID FOR PUPILS As a teacher or Head your knowledge of child protection procedures will be considerable. But would you know how to recognise the signs of mental illness in a pupil? English Teacher and former Head Dick Moore, whose own son tragically took his life, urges greater investment in mental health awareness.

Dick Moore

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In the early 1980s, a boy at the school in which I worked, climbed to the top of a classroom block, attached one end of a rope to the window frame, placed the other end around his neck and jumped. The member of staff who was first on the scene (and who is now an eminent headmaster) cut him down and the emergency services were called. Sadly, the boy died in hospital some days later. I

remember the shock and horror of it all: such a traumatic event inevitably strikes at the heart of any school community. What I don’t remember was any concerted or wide ranging review of policy aimed at reducing the risks of mental ill-health amongst the pupils. At that stage, of course, mental ill-health, especially when it culminated in suicide, was a taboo subject.

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• 10% of 16 year olds have self-harmed • 11.5% or 510,000 young people aged 11 to 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder • Nearly 80,000 young people suffer from severe depression • Over 8000 children under 10 years of age suffer from severe depression • Suicide consistently ranks as one of the leading causes of death for adolescents – and is the leading cause amongst young men aged under 35 It is those seemingly least at risk who sometimes suffer most – often in silence.

Lucy was widely regarded by her peers, her teachers and her parents as being one of the most popular, able, good looking, vivacious and talented pupils in her year group.

Unable to cope with the perceived pressure of maintaining this picture of perfection, Lucy turned to cutting herself in order to release some of the tension and prove to herself that she was far from perfect.

“Every act of life, from the morning toothbrush to the friend at dinner, became an effort. I hated the night when I couldn’t sleep and I hated the day because it went toward night.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Nearly 80,000 young people suffer from severe depression

James was also something of a star pupil – a wonderfully talented actor and respected academic. He was appointed head of house and his sense of humour and sparkle were legendary. Then, in the course of three months, he lost interest in previously enjoyed activities; he began to be unable to sleep; he lost interest in friendships and became morose and irritable. Eventually, he told a friend that he had experienced some very dark thoughts – the prospect of killing himself had become a possible solution to his depression.

We are still woefully short of where we should be and we are living on a knife edge. There are children in our schools TODAY who are desperately in need of help but who are either misunderstood or who are suffering in silence.

Schools are rightly keen on attaining high standards (however they may be measured) and safeguarding the welfare of their pupils.

But two essential groups of staff remain at risk of being exposed to difficulties which they will be ill-equipped to manage without further training.

Front line pastoral staff, house parents, tutors, matrons and others, need to be able to recognize the difference between adolescent malaise on the one hand and deteriorating mental health on the other.

How many such staff would have appropriate skills to provide initial help and reassurance whilst offering guidance on appropriate self and professional help?

Doctors are revered and many heads inevitably and rightly defer to their expertise in matters of pupil health. But Heads should nonetheless check that their school medical officers have undergone recent training in mental health issues. Some GPs are not fully conversant with NICE (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence) guidelines or the IAPT (Increased Access to Psychological Therapies) initiative.

Several organizations provide training in mental health awareness. Of these, Youth Mental Health First Aid offers a two-day course to those who work with young people. YMHFA teaches participants not to become therapists but to recognize warning signs and take appropriate action. The Charlie Waller Institute (based at Reading University) offers courses designed for GPs and other health professionals.

School budgets recognize the need for ongoing professional development for staff. It is to be hoped that an increasing proportion of the CPD budget is spent on mental health awareness training. For there is no health without mental health.

For more information or to arrange training in your school contact Mental Health First Aid via their website www.mhfaengland.org Dick visits schools to talk to pupils, parents and staff about mental health issues. He also offers the two-day Youth Mental Health First Aid course.

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Thirty years later, what has changed?

When the third of my four sons took his own life some 14 months ago I was not aware of a hunkering down of attitudes, of a reluctance to communicate with us for fear and embarrassment, or a lack of support and understanding. Far from it.

It seemed that the extreme consequences of one young man’s depression had been understood.

To what extent is this new understanding reflected in schools today?

We are all well versed in child protection procedures. We all have our copies of ‘Every Child Matters’, and we all take care to tick boxes, dot i’s and cross t’s so that inspectors are satisfied. We all say that we place pastoral care at the top of our list of priorities. We have counsellors and medical officers and school nurses. The physical health of our pupils is in good hands. But can the same be said of their mental health? I don’t think so...

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BEREAVED CHILDREN AND SCHOOL – REBUILDING LIVES TOGETHER

92% of children will experience a significant bereavement before the age of 16. For many children the support they receive from school will be vital to their long-term recovery. Child Bereavement UK is the UK’s leading charity that supports families and educates professionals both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved. Jill Adams explains the role that schools have to play, and how staff can be better prepared to help support grieving children.

It is widely acknowledged that the quality of care children receive at the time of a death can have a huge impact on future outcomes. Whilst this may appear a big responsibility, it is easy to deliver. What most grieving children need is very simple: care and concern from adults they trust. Child Bereavement UK knows from experience that a little help, given at the right time, can make a big difference towards positive outcomes for grieving children. Schools are well placed to provide this.

At Child Bereavement UK, the bereaved children that we support tell us that how school responds when someone they know has died is something they never forget. By simply carrying on with the usual routines and rituals of the day, school can offer a huge amount to a grieving child or young person. When their world has fallen apart, the familiar routine of school life feels safe and secure.

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It can be a helpful reminder to a child that life does carry on and that not everything has changed. School can also provide a sense of normality for a child whose life suddenly feels very abnormal, and an opportunity to escape from what might be a roller coaster of emotions at home.

Every death is unique and each child will grieve in their own way, but a school that has thought about a framework to work to, will be much better placed to respond in an appropriate and effective way. As part of this response, all staff will know that it is part of their remit to provide a listening ear and a watchful eye.

Normality with compassion is the approach to take. You can never be totally prepared, but being as prepared as you can be will make a huge difference to your own and the school’s ability to do what feels right. The Schools Section of Child Bereavement UK’s website has guidance

on how to go about putting together a plan.

Supporting grieving children in school Some basic principles apply: • Acknowledge the death. To ignore what has happened implies that this is an unimportant event and denies the existence of the person who has died.

Grieving children and young people do not want to be the centre of attention, so try to do this as discreetly as possible. A few quiet words to say how sorry you are, is all that is needed, or slip a note into a homework diary.

• Offer a little time and someone to listen and let the child know who can give this.

Schools are noisy, busy environments and sometimes a grieving child just needs a bit of quiet time to reflect and just ‘be’.

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room, and aims to enable teachers to equip children with the skills to cope when someone dies. Providing creative exercises, lesson plans and fun activities, it will give school staff the resources to help pupils explore the subject of bereavement in an age-appropriate, straightforward and accessible way, ending with an optional tea party fundraising event for all to enjoy. Schools can sign up by visiting the website: www.elephantsteaparty.co.uk

• Grief is a whole school issue. Most grieving children do not need professional support if they are surrounded by adults willing to give a bit of their time and concern. Staff who work in schools naturally have the skills to do this, they do not need to be a bereavement expert or professional.

• Take proactive steps. As well as the pastoral care aspect, schools can take a more proactive approach by treating death and dying as a normal and natural part of school life. This has the added benefit of creating opportunities to improve emotional literacy and encourage empathy with bereaved peers.

Children who have some preparation and know what to expect when someone dies, are more resilient and better able to adopt coping strategies should they experience the death of someone they know. This lesson on life will remain with them into adulthood. Another proactive approach is to familiarise young children with what we do when people die. School pets offer an opportunity to create a gentle introduction to the end of the life cycle.

• Involve the bereaved child. Child Bereavement UK often receives calls from schools concerned about managing Mother’s or Father’s Day when there is a bereaved pupil in the class. If the lesson is carefully planned, and teachers involve the affected pupil in advance, most will choose to remain in the class and join in.

Our website includes lesson plans which include a sensitive reminder that for some families, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be particularly difficult.

The Mother’s Day lesson plan has been successfully used as a whole class activity in several primary and prep schools. One Head Teacher from a Buckinghamshire School commented: “The lesson plan gave us a platform to naturally talk about things we do not make space for any more.”

“The teachers helped her so much, not by making her special but by watching out for her and giving her time.” Hermine, Ruby’s mother style and current world events result in children being more aware of death and dying than most adults realise. However, the media does tend to present a skewed version of events, concentrating on the traumatic and dramatic. Child Bereavement UK is encouraging all schools to sign up to their Elephant’s Tea Party, a new awareness campaign which takes place in June this year. Designed for KS1 and KS2, the campaign builds on the metaphor : there’s an elephant in the

• Keep it simple. A school that has an open culture will encourage ‘Healthy Grief ’. This is grief that is spoken about with honesty using words that are appropriate for a child’s age and understanding. Staff will be child-led with their support by answering questions as they arise in words appropriate for a child`s development.

Staff will not be afraid to use the words “dead” or “death.” Euphemisms such as “lost” or “been taken from us” just confuse children.

• Be Prepared. Put together a “Bereavement Tool Box” of books and resources to be used with bereaved children. You will find suggestions and links to information packs on the Child Bereavement UK website (see below).

• Consider Training. Training will raise awareness with all staff and build their confidence to address this emotive subject. Best delivered before it is needed to be put into practice, awareness training will give confidence to anyone not sure

• Raise Awareness. Today’s ‘tell all’ media www.isaschools.org.uk

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• Remember that children and young people will grieve for life. They will need support from school, not just in the first few weeks or even months after the death, but throughout their school years. A child will revisit their grief as the meaning and significance of the death changes and deepens as part of their journey into adulthood.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS what to say or what to do. Staff with pastoral care responsibilities will benefit from support and more in-depth knowledge.

Support for staff in schools Being alongside bereaved children is emotionally draining. More so if the death is that of a member of staff and you are dealing with grief of your own. It can be hard to admit that you need help.

Teachers are used to having all the answers and being in charge. Recognising this is not an inability to cope or a sign of professional incompetence – it merely means that you are human. We all need help sometimes and it is often school that parents turn to when they are not sure what to do.

The Child Bereavement UK Support and Information Line – 01494 568900 – offers a confidential listening service and can be a vital support for schools.

Breaking the Taboo As part of my work I have listened to, and learnt from, many grieving children and young people. They have taught me that when we adults are treading on eggshells,

and don’t know where to start, they do.

We continually underestimate the ability of children to deal with the tough things in life, but they cannot do this in isolation. If schools can be encouraged to talk about death and dying in an open and honest way, hopefully this next generation will grow up without the fear and burden of death being treated as a taboo subject. It does not cost money; it just requires everyone in a school community to have the confidence to address the subject.

About Child Bereavement UK Child Bereavement UK supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement.

Every year we train around 5000 professionals – including teachers, social workers, midwives and emergency services – at the front line of bereavement support.

We provide ongoing professional support to bereaved children and families and also support the individuals and organisations that become involved with these families. We do this through our

training, over the phone, via our website and face to face.

In 2009, HRH The Duke of Cambridge became the charity’s Royal Patron.

The Child Bereavement UK website has a special section for schools with a wealth of information and guidance, lesson plans, and details of our training courses.

Teachers can also order a special Schools Information Pack.

• Visit www.childbereavementuk.org

ISA Annual Conference – May 2013 Online booking is now open for ISA’s Annual Conference 2013.

Hosted at the famous 5 Star Grand Hotel in Eastbourne between 16th and 18th May, this will be an event to remember.

With a theme of ‘Resilience and Growth in Modern Leadership’, the conference boasts a packed programme of high quality speakers.

The event includes the Association's AGM and Annual Black Tie Dinner and is always the highlight of the ISA year.

Book now to secure your place.

Visit www.isaschools.org.uk ISA's Annual Conference is open to all ISA Head Teachers, School Associates, Affiliate Members and Heads of schools on our Interim List.

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ISA NEWS REVIEW Extra Time in Examinations Ofqual has concluded its review of the principles over the provision of extra time in assessments as a Reasonable Adjustment. The Ofqual paper on extra time, together with open letters to the five GCSE/GCE awarding organisations and teachers associations, is now available on the Ofqual website.

The Ofqual paper sets out its position, in that schools and colleges should be providing this extra time when that need has been established, and not otherwise. Ofqual feels that there is room for improvement in this regard and has asked the awarding organisations to take extra steps to ensure such an outcome, including taking appropriate action in relation both to those centres failing to apply for extra time for students entitled to such a Reasonable Adjustment, and to those who are providing extra time to students who do not fulfil the relevant criteria.

2013 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling The KS2 grammar, punctuation and spelling sample materials and the test framework documents have now been published on the DfE’s website.

Materials are available for the level 3-5 and level 6 tests. These replace the illustrative examples that were published in June 2012. Hard copies will be sent to schools from the end January/early February. An updated leaflet for parents is also available on the Department’s website. Independent schools are not subject to these tests but may well find the materials and guidance useful.

• For more information visit: www.education.gov.uk/schools Discrimination against Independent Schools ISA has raised with DfE a case of possible discrimination against independent school pupils in the funding awarded to regional orchestras by the Arts Council. DfE subsequently uncovered some misleading Arts Council advice which has now been rectified.

The remit for music hubs is to cover all children in an area, not just those attending maintained schools. Their government funding is based on the number of pupils attending maintained schools in the area, reflecting their core role of providing instrumental tuition and other musical opportunities in maintained schools.

However, they are expected to raise money from other sources so that they can offer and fund activities that benefit all children, particularly in choirs and orchestras where there are clear benefits for children from many schools to work together. It should not be the case that independently educated pupils are asked to pay when others are not and schools hearing of such cases are asked to contact ISA HQ.

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ISA CHAIR: 2013 A YEAR FOR RESILIENCE ISA is delighted to welcome Angela Culley, Head of the Mead School in Tunbridge Wells, as our new Chair for 2013. Angela has been an active member of the Association for many years, and has been closely involved with our Inspections and Membership Committees.

Speaking at the start of 2013, Angela said that it was a huge privilege to take on the role, in what will no doubt prove to be a challenging year for education.

“ISA will be at the forefront of discussions at all levels this year, and we will ensure that our members are kept fully informed. As always, our aim is to support all of you as we continue to drive our schools forward to be ‘leading lights’ and provide our pupils with the highest educational provision and experience we can.”

Angela thanked ISA’s outgoing Chair, John Wood, for his inspirational leadership, and said that he had “worked tirelessly for the good of the Association.”

Writing in a New Year’s message to members, Angela highlighted the importance of fellowship and support in Headship, and urged colleagues to take advantage of the many benefits ISA membership affords.

“Fellowship, Comradeship and Community are at the heart of what ISA offers its members. Headship can be lonely and through ISA not only do we have ready and constant professional advice of the highest quality at the ping of an email or the ring of a phone, but

ISA’s new Chair, Angela Culley, is pictured with outgoing Chair John Wood.

we have the wonderful opportunity to meet others who really do appreciate and understand our careers and work.

“ISA provides a wealth of opportunities for its members and thereby their schools. I urge you to take time to re-aquaint yourselves with the many facets of our association and truly hope you will rediscover the power and value of membership and become increasingly involved at both local and national level.”

Angela also looked forward to ISA’s Annual Conference, which takes place at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne between the 16 - 18 May. “My theme for this year is ‘Resilience and Growth in Modern Leadership’ and I hope that you will be able to join us for what promises to be an excellent, exciting and memorable event.”

SCHOOL DIRECT AND QTS The GTP route to QTS will come to an end in Summer 2013, and from September 2013, schools based training (as opposed to the assessment only route) will be via a new programme called School Direct. School Direct will offer two routes into QTS: fully funded, non-salaried places allocated by the Teaching Agency; and salaried employees at a school (but still awarded places via the TA). However the latter route also allows for self-funded places and the independent sector will need to pay if it wishes its teachers to undertake an employment-based route to QTS. As yet, the Teaching Agency is unsure how applications for this self-funded, salaried route will work, but it is likely NOT to be via a central application process.

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DEAR PARENT OR GUARDIAN...

DEBORAH LEEK BAILEY OBE Deborah Leek Bailey, ISA’s former Chair and a leading member of Executive Council, was honoured with an OBE for services to education in this year’s New Years’ Honours Announcements.

An active member of ISA for many years, Deborah stepped down from headship at the end of December, and is moving on to a prestigious new role at the National College. Staff and pupils at Babington House School in Chislehurst, where she was Head for 15 years, bid her a fond farewell at a special event which took place before Christmas.

Neil Roskilly, ISA’s CEO said: “Colleagues throughout the ISA Community are delighted that Deborah’s achievements have been recognised through the award of an OBE. Even though Deborah is stepping down from headship and Executive Council, she remains an important figure on the UK independent educational stage. During her year of Chairmanship of the Association, Deborah strengthened links with the National College and with DfE, particularly in the important area of partnerships with the maintained sector.

She was one of three independent sector advocates for the College and will now be the only representative for the sector with that body. She has raised the profile of ISA and continues to provide guidance at many levels throughout the Association. In recognition, ISA’s Executive Council has awarded Deborah Honorary Membership and we look forward to her continuing her excellent work on behalf of all of our Members.”

THE DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE December 2012 saw the launch of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), a merger between the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (the other ISA). The merger is designed to combine the knowledge and experience of both organisations in helping schools to make safer recruitment decisions and in preventing unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. Schools will still use the same contact details as they have always done – whether it is applying for criminal record checks or referring people for safeguarding decisions. Importantly, the staff who process the applications and make the safeguarding and barring decisions also remain the same, so there should be no disruption to the service.

From the 1st of December 2012, the terms used to refer to the CRB services have changed to the following: Old terms

New terms

CRB, ISA

DBS

Standard CRB check

Standard DBS check

Enhanced CRB check

Enhanced DBS check

Enhanced CRB check with Barred List check Enhanced check for Regulated Activity ISA Adult First

DBS Adult First

Vulnerable adults

Vulnerable groups, including children

You will see the change in the paper disclosure certificates received from the DBS. Schools should not be penalised for using the old terminology in any of their policy documents, but may like to update these with the new terminology in due course.

A Happy New Year to you all, unless you are Chinese, Assyrian, Balinese, Iranian or Aztec, in which case I hope that the 1st of January went well for you. We did receive a few comments about our multicultural interpretation of the festivities in the run-up to Christmas, or the 25th December, and I feel that I ought to explain that we did try to make events accessible to all members of the school community. Despite St. Christina the Astonishing’s foundation, I am sure that you will appreciate the need to widen our client base and update the appeal of Christmas when times are economically challenging. A few parents have commented that the carol service should not have included popular Spice Girls numbers, though Ms Cowell (or Scherzo Spice as she is known by the choir), our Director of Music, felt that the message of “tell you what I want what I really really want” is very much in keeping with the modern approach to the season. More popular was the addition of Petty Dwarf Roots and Elvish Bread (provided by Ms Beeton and the Year 7 Home Economics class following their trip to see The Hobbit) to the mince pies and mulled wine served on the last day of term, something that will no doubt repeat next year (so I am finding).

Finally, while the Pope doubts that any animals were present at the nativity, he did not make specific mention of dinosaurs and so we felt that Boris’ three veloceraptors were acceptable.

The ginger biscuit on string that forms part of our new weather station is frozen and so you don’t need to be John Ketley to know that we are in for a hard winter.

The fact that we refuse to grit the school driveway is in keeping with our environmental policy and nothing, the Bursar wishes me to emphasise, to do with the rising cost of rocksalt. I am sure that we can avoid a repeat of the twenty car pile-up seen last year if parents take more care when dropping off their children in the morning.

Please keep in mind that only four-wheel drive vehicles fitted with chains should attempt the final uphill 300m, as it is difficult to extricate cars from the moat, as we found during the last blizzard. The moat, by the way, is protected under the Ramsar Convention and the Bursar tells me that he is still awaiting permission from the United Nations to remove the old shopping trolleys.

Finally, I would like to confirm that the published date for the next parents’ evening has not changed. Almost 50% of staff have confirmed that they will be available and the rumoured Saturday Night Palsy endemic has yet to materialise. May I remind you to leave your dogs tied up at the entrance, ensuring that their leads are short enough to avoid the carnage experienced last term? We cannot be to blame if the new chapel cat decides to take a wrong turn, particularly as any rat that Tiddles happens to flush out may well try to hide behind canine protection.

Concerned parents will like to know that Year 9 managed eventually to find most of Fluffy, our previous mouser, who has now been interred with appropriate ceremony in the crypt, a place he used to creep into regularly.

www.isaschools.org.uk

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notes from the frontline

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OUTSTANDING TALENT AT ISA NATIONAL ART Pupils from over 50 schools entered work into the National ISA Art competition, which was held at ISA’s Autumn Study Conference in Kettering last November.

The exhibition of competition entries was a highlight of this year’s Autumn Study event, and ISA Art Chair Vicky Smit said that the standard of work had never been higher.

“I was so excited to discover that this year we had almost 2000 entries into the Art competition across all our regions,” said Vicky.

“Every art co-ordinator felt that their region’s entry level had gone up as had the standard and range of the work submitted. I am always astonished by the professionalism of the artwork that we see and this year was no exception. The range and quality was outstanding and there were several pieces that I would have loved to have had displayed on my own walls at home!”

Prizes were awarded in a range of categories including 2D and 3D Art, photography, textiles and computer aided design.

In the 2D art category the winning entries covered a range of subjects from self portraits to landscapes. One of the stand out entries was a stunning painting of Istanbul in the snow, produced by Onusa Charuwana from Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies.

The 3D category produced some

2D Art, Individual - Key Stage 3 Isabel Grove, Red House

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2D Art, Individual - Key Stage 2 Imogen Reichel, St Hilda’s, Harpenden

memorable work, including an Olympic track scene, produced by KS2 pupils from Abingdon House. A colourful 3D tree entered by Howe Green House pupils scooped first prize in the KS1 category, and was one of the most popular entries on display.

“I would like to thank our judge Simon Poppy for agreeing to be our adjudicator this year”, continued Vicky Smit.” My thanks also go to the area Art

2D Art, Individual - Key Stage 4 Thomas Kiernan, Moyles Court

Coordinators who organised the regional finals and who all those who helped stage the National Competition at the Autumn Study Conference.”

The competition is a fantastic opportunity for schools to showcase their talent, and for pupils to gain independent recognition for their work. Do consider getting your school involved if you haven’t already done so. Full details can be found on the ISA website.

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3D Art, Individual - Key Stage 4 Ashleigh Bevis, The Gregg

3D Art, Individual - Key Stage 1 Aimee Reynolds, Greenbank Prep

3D Art, Individual - Key Stage 3 Henry Robins, Rookwood

Textiles/Needlewor k, Individual Key Stage 3 & 4 Annie Barker, Babington House

3D Art, Individual - Key Stage 5 William Holland, Dixie Grammer

3D Art, Group - Key Stage 2 Abingdon House

3D Art, Group Key Stage 1 Howe Green House

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2D Art, Individual - Key Stage 5 Onusa Charuwana, CCSS

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GAINING WITH TRAINING ISA COURSES JANUARY 2013

MARCH 2013

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5

THE NEW STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR EYFS. Venue: Priory School, Birmingham

APPRAISAL AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

FEBRUARY 2013

Venue: Mander Portman Woodward, London

6

PREPARING YOUR SCHOOL FOR INSPECTION

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JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ CONFERENCE Venue: Mercure Parkside Hotel, Milton Keynes

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CAL SYMPOSIUM Venue: City of London Girls’ School, Barbican, London

21

PRACTICAL AND TACTICAL MARKETING

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DEPUTY/ ASSISTANT HEADS’ CONFERENCE Venue: St. James Schools, London

MAY 2013 2

SEN(D) CONFERENCE Venue: Bishop Challoner School, Bromley

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ANNUAL CONFERENCE Venue: The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

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LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM Venue: Hurst Lodge School, Ascot

Venue: Mercure Parkside Hotel, Milton Keynes

JUNE 2013

7

6

THE ISI REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS Venue: Mercure Parkside Hotel, Milton Keynes

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ICT TO DEVELOP SECONDARY TEACHING AND LEARNING

HOW MIDDLE MANAGERS CAN RAISE STANDARDS THROUGH INSPECTION SKILLS Venue: Rushmoor School, Bedford Venue: St Martha’s Senior School, Hertfordshire

APRIL 2013

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EMPOWERING SENIOR TEACHERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SCHOOL

17

JUNIOR ICT CONFERENCE Venue: BMA House, London

18 Venue: Bridgewater School, Manchester

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HOW MIDDLE MANAGERS CAN RAISE STANDARDS THROUGH INSPECTION SKILLS Venue: Greenbank Preparatory School, Cheshire

APPRAISAL AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Venue: Alderley Edge School for Girls, Cheshire

Venue: GEMS Sherfield School, near Basingstoke

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ASSESSMENT AND TRACKING TO RAISE STANDARDS Venue: LVS Ascot School, Berkshire

Further information and online booking can be found on our website.

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IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY...

The link between outdoor activity and children’s health has long been established. But can learning outside the classroom really have an impact upon children’s behaviour, social skills and attainment? Angie Shatford meets the ISA Forest Schools who are offering outdoor learning – at EYFS and beyond.

It’s Monday morning and Year 2 at Hurst Lodge School are collecting hens’ eggs. “It’s a great way for us all to start the week”, says Principal Vicky Smit, as a group of pupils hurry around her with baskets. “The children love the responsibility of working on our small holding, and go back into class ready to learn after a healthy dose of fresh air.”

Vicky is passionate about outdoor learning, and it shows. Principal of Hurst Lodge School, a rural co-ed school in Berkshire, Vicky is one of a growing band of senior teachers to embrace the Forest School initiative, which encourages children to learn outside the traditional classroom.

Initiated in Sweden over 40 years ago, Forest School learning is based upon the principle that all children can benefit from outdoor learning. Forest Schools first appeared in the UK in the 1990s, and with the publication of Labour’s 2006 Learning Outside of the Classroom manifesto, the initiative soon gathered momentum. As schools seek to improve the quality of their Early Years and Foundation stage 34

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Vicky Smit, Principal of Hurst Lodge School, Ascot

Jonathan Teesdale – Head of Copthill School

provision, many have looked to Forest School learning as a model.

But for many ISA schools outdoor learning isn’t just about weekly activities on the playing field. Some have fully embraced outdoor education, making it a part of everyday life. And as a national Centre of Excellence for Outdoor Education, Hurst Lodge is leading the way.

“We passionately believe that education does not stop once a student leaves the classroom and that opportunities for learning and development exist

everywhere”, explains Headteacher Kate Leiper. “At Hurst Lodge we are fortunate to enjoy a rural setting, enabling children of all ages to be exposed to a wide range of learning environments and challenges.”

These learning environments include a smallholding with chickens, pigs and bees, extensive gardens and woodland. Students are also taught the importance of biodiversity and sustainability through clubs, societies and activities including the school’s own natural science programme.

And whilst Forest Schools are often found in Early Years settings, Principal Vicky Smit firmly believes that outdoor learning can benefit all ages.

“Forest School has become a popular feature of the Early Years Foundation and Kindergarten time tables in many independent schools, but we use it up to and including Key stage 3.”

“Our youngest pupils are engaged in making woodland art, hunting minibeasts and splashing in muddy puddles. But for our older students, Forest School provides them with an opportunity to explore

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enterprise and entrepreneurship through our ‘Grumpy Duck Pickle Company’. We truly believe that it can benefit the full age range.”

One of the key principles of the Forest School approach is that it is child or pupil centred. A qualified Forest School leader devises a program of learning that is based on the pupils’ interests, allowing them to build upon skills at their own pace.

Practitioners agree that children gain a new confidence in adapting to situations.

This impacts upon their ability to choose activities independently and their confidence in self initiating tasks develops dramatically.

“The Forest Schools initiative has become an invaluable learning tool, enabling children to take risks, solve problems and develop their thinking and reasoning skills,” explains Vicky Smit. “They take charge of their own learning and it is fascinating to watch the interaction between them as they pool their knowledge, collaborate, experiment, investigate - fail, try again and then come and check their facts.”

These benefits can be far reaching, influencing children’s attainment and achievement both inside the classroom and out. Forest School leaders report that children engaged in regular outdoor activities become more focused and display improved communication and social skills. These benefits may be particularly marked in boys and kinaesthetic learners, as well as pupils with Attention Deficit Disorder and other special needs.

As Vicky Smit observes: “Our more restless children find it of particular benefit and will concentrate for hours when deciding how to use the bill hooks to coppice or use sharp pen knives to form toasting forks.”

Vicky believes that fears over health and safety have prevented many Heads from fully embracing outdoor learning.

“Climbing trees and taking risks is fantastic learning for life. Our staff have the confidence to give guidance but then to stand back and let them explore and discover for themselves. Children learn to get dirty and explore the living world around them.”

“There is great excitement when woodlice and creepy crawlies are found and the sighting of deer and the flight of a hawk become real talking points. Our children love to climb trees, build dens, make fires and saw logs. All this helps them to develop a sense of self-esteem, respect for themselves,

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Off to the woods Forest School session at Copthill

‘The children usually return muddy and smoky but always with a smile on their faces!’

Minibeast Hunt at Hurst Lodge

each other and the environment. They develop a genuine sense of responsibility as they assess and take risks. These are lifelong skills – and we shouldn’t shy away from equipping our children to develop them.”

For Jonathan Teesdale, Head of Copthill School in Lincolnshire, the conversion to Forest School thinking seven years ago was something of an epiphany.

“I remember walking around the school on a beautiful day, with all our children sitting at desks listening to their teachers or hunched over a computer. “What are we doing?” I thought – “these children should be outside! Most of these lessons could have taken place outdoors!” Since then we have undergone what can only be

described as a gradual outdoor ‘revolution’ which has changed the whole ethos and reputation of the school.”

Copthill is a 300 pupil mixed independent school for ages 2 -11, situated on a working arable farm, in South Lincolnshire. The school has always had an excellent reputation locally, but since adopting the Forest School philosophy, its success has soared.

“The Forest School programme has engaged, enthused and educated children, delighted parents and refreshed the teaching approach of our staff. It has given pupils greater opportunities for creativity, developed independent learning skills and most importantly it has also attracted new www.isaschools.org.uk

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children to the school who have benefitted from this approach to their learning”, Jonathan explains.

“In a relatively short space of time we have changed the whole approach to education at Copthill from a very formal classroom based learning environment to one that makes fantastic use of our grounds. This has had an immense benefit on pupils, staff and parents. And has certainly not been at the expense of our academic reputation, with our results continuing to rise year on year.”

Copthill School has trained a significant number of staff to be ‘outdoor facilitators’, who lead sessions joined by subject teaching staff. All pupils have a prescribed programme of access to Copthill’s Forest School. The programme is designed to teach a progressive range of skills, build knowledge and develop confidence, and has proved particularly effective in engaging kinaesthetic learners.

As at Hurst Lodge, the scheme is open to pupils of all ages, and for junior classes the 36

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sessions are linked to specific subjects. In History, for example, pupils might learn to build a Roman catapult or establish a Viking Camp. One recent English project saw Year 6 pupils acting out scenes from Macbeth in the woods. “The setting added to the magic of the production, and the level of pupil engagement and learning far surpassed any such similar study in the classroom,” remarked Jonathan. “Most importantly the pupils all had great fun and it made them hungry for more Shakespeare. What a result!”

The school has gradually developed its grounds to create different areas which have their own character and environment, and can be used for different types of learning. The cost, explains Jonathan, has been negligible, though he agrees that not all schools are lucky enough to have so much land at their disposal.

“I appreciate that all schools have very different situations; some have wonderful buildings, some excellent sporting and

drama facilities. We had a small forest and some fields and from that we have effectively developed a whole new set of inspirational classrooms. If you are lucky enough to have school grounds ...however big or small... just make sure you are using them to their full potential. Everyone benefits.”

Hurst Lodge School offers Forest School Leader Training in association with the Forest School Learning Initiative. The programme is provided by experienced trainers who have an outstanding reputation and continue to be practicing Forest School Leaders themselves on a weekly basis.

Forest School Leaders should aim to hold the NOCN (National Open College Network) Level 3 Award, which takes between four and nine months to complete.

For more details visit: www.forestschoollearning.co.uk or telephone: 01242 602476

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ASK THE EXPERTS

WONDERS OF THE WEB –

MAKING THE MOST OF THE SCHOOL WEBSITE Having an informative, well designed and interesting website for your school is essential in the modern digital age. But how do you ensure that you maximise its full potential? Larrytech offers the following advice.

Much investment goes into building a school website. But once it’s up and running, this is really just the start of the journey. How can you use it to maximise the success of your school both in terms of attracting prospective parents and in being a useful resource for current parents? Here are some tips that will help you to do just that:

Update the site regularly There is nothing worse than going onto a website that has a news feed on it and seeing the latest post as some time in 2011. Believe it or not, this does happen and it is so easy to avoid. It is essential that you update your site regularly to prevent visitors feeling that nothing much happens at your school. Your website will be much more interactive and compelling – and prospective parents will immediately get a feel for the school and its core values.

At the same time as updating your website, you need to encourage prospective parents to get in touch. You can make it easy for them to either call or email you, fill in a request for a printed prospectus or even view a prospectus online. Think about a call to action for prospective parents and make it easy for them to get more information with the minimum of fuss.

From a search perspective, updating your website will improve its performance within search engines.

Google, Bing and the other search engines love fresh, unique content to process. This will generate increased levels of traffic to your website, particularly from prospective parents which will in turn generate more enquiries.

Plenty of photos In our experience, many schools we have worked with enjoy being able to add and update photo galleries on the website themselves. Images have a major impact on site visitors and we would always 38

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ideally recommend that a professional photographer is used to help make sure the ethos of the school is captured straight away. This will ensure the school’s values and ethos are apparent, and photos taken by a skilled photographer will always enhance the image of your school which in turn will lead to more enquiries from prospective parents.

Adding photo galleries is key – your school will look much more attractive to prospective parents if there are plenty of images of children undertaking interesting and stimulating activities and having fun doing so! This will make your school more appealing, and prospective parents will again get that sense that your school is a place they have to visit.

Save costs, increase efficiency and protect information!

Many schools waste a lot of time and money every year on letters they send home to parents that don’t even make it out of a child’s bag, or are left in the classroom. By creating a password protected parents’ area on your website, or sending communications direct to parents’ emails, you will be able to include letters home in a safe environment where you know parents will receive them, and read them. Further you’ll save time and money by not producing print versions.

A password protected parents’ area offers that bit of exclusivity to your website and your school as a whole.

Prospective parents will see it as a benefit and it would certainly suggest your school is advanced, forward thinking and up to

date with all things digital. Current parents will see the benefit, too, as information about their children will be protected and secure.

A parents’ area allows you to share photos, sports team sheets and other information that should not be in the public domain. Not only does this protect your children, but at the same time it will protect your school as a whole.

Analyse the results Once you start to implement changes on your website, it is important to put measures in place that will allow you to monitor results. For example, if one of your primary goals is to increase the number of visitors to your website, make sure you have Google Analytics in place.

You will then be able to track how many visitors you are getting to your site on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. You can also track the journey of visitors through Analytics to establish the relative popularity of each page and also to understand where the majority of your visitors come from. You can then test and alter accordingly. Testing and analysis allows you to set goals and make sure you really are getting the most out of your website. If the results are not what you expected, don’t be afraid to experiment so that you can learn why.

Conclusion By testing, measuring and altering your website, you will be able to really maximise its potential – attracting prospective parents and effectively engaging with current ones.

Larrytech is a web design agency which specialises in providing creative, engaging websites for schools. To find out more about how you can enhance your web presence, please contact them on 01892 888 011.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

PORTALS TO THE PAST

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It clarifies the focus and vision of the School from both an internal and external perspective.

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It has been another fantastic term for ISA Sport, with pupils up and down the country taking part in a range of events which marked a fitting end to 2012, Britain’s memorable year of sport.

ISA GIRLS U14 AND U16 NATIONAL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT September saw the finals of the ISA National Girls Hockey Tournament, held at St Edward’s School in Cheltenham. Teams from seven ISA schools took part in the event. The schools – Stafford Grammar, Hipperholme Grammar, Hull Collegiate School, Hill House School, St Edward’s

School, Cheltenham, Claires Court and Malvern St James – played many closely fought matches throughout the tournament.

In the Under 14 Category, the trophy was scooped by the team from Malvern St James, with second place awarded to St Edward’s School Cheltenham.

The Under 16 final was won by Claires Court Schools, Maidenhead, and runners up were Hill House School, Doncaster.

Congratulations to all the players who took part, and special thanks to organiser Alex Kenyon from host school St Edward’s.

MIXED JUNIOR HOCKEY Vernon Lodge School were crowned winners at the first ever Midlands ISA Mini Hockey Tournament, which took place in November, at the Cannock Hockey Club. The event saw teams from six ISA schools take part. Organiser Dave Ferris said, “Congratulations to Vernon Lodge on winning the first ISA Mini Hockey event.

It was a competitive tournament with more than 60 boys and girls participating.

Many thanks to Chase Academy for helping to organise and to Cannock Hockey Club for hosting the day.”

MIDLANDS UNDER 13 AND 15 GIRLS HOCKEY

It has been a busy term for ISA Sport in the Midlands, with November also seeing the 11 a side Girls Hockey Tournament. Hosted by Cannock Hockey Club, the tournament included seven ISA schools from across the region. In the Under 13 category the team from Stafford Grammar were crowned champions, with 16 points at close of play. The Under 15 prize was won by Malvern St James, who closed with 30 points to runners up St Edward’s 23. Congratulations to all the Midlands schools who took part, and thanks to organiser Laura Hampton from Chase Academy. www.isaschools.org.uk

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SPORTING TIMES

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MIDLANDS FOOTBALL Pupils from Stafford Grammar and The Priory School, Birmingham, scooped the top prizes at the ISA Midlands Football Tournament last term. Both schools featured in the finals, with The Priory winning the Under 14 category, and Stafford scooping the Under 16 shield.

Organiser Brendan Tyrell, from Dagfa School thanked the other schools who took part - The Dixie Grammar School, Heathfield, Highclare, Dagfa, Chase Academy and Bowbrook House.

Pictured are the winning teams from The Priory (left) and Stafford Grammar (below).

JUNIOR WATER POLO

Seven ISA schools participated in the ISA North Junior Water Polo event, which took place at the Middleton Arena in Manchester on 28 September. The schools – Hipperholme Grammar, Forest Prep, Beech House School, Hillcrest Grammar, Greenbank Prep, Prenton Prep and Forest Park School – played 16 matches in what was an exciting and highly competitive tournament.

The closely fought final was won by a team from Hipperholme Grammar, who drew 2-2 with Greenbank but went on to win on penalties. Third place was taken by the team from Forest Prep School. The standard of play from competitors – all of whom were under 11 – was outstanding. Special thanks to organiser Kevin Sartain from Beech House School and to all the teams who took part.

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The Midlands Area Swimming Gala saw a record number of entries this year, with 26 schools entering the Junior Gala and 18 taking part in the Senior event.

Holy Trinity International School, Kidderminster, retained their Overall Winners title in the Junior Girls event, and took the top prize in all three age groups. The Junior Boys gala was won by St Wystan’s School, who also retained the title for the second year running.

In the Senior event, Bedstone College were overall girls champions, and Dixie Grammar School scooped the champions title for the boys.

Organiser Gwil Price said: “The packed balcony at Walsall Baths helped to create a wonderful atmosphere for all swimmers, irrespective of whether they were experienced or novice performers. Only a handful from each age group will go forward to represent the Midlands at the National Championships – so for many of the children taking part this was their ‘big’ event. We should all applaud these youngsters on gaining such a meaningful representative honour for their schools. Thanks to all involved in making this such a memorable event.”

www.isaschools.org.uk

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MIDLANDS AREA SWIMMING GALA

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ASK THE EXPERTS

VoIP CAN SAVE YOU MONEY ON TELEPHONE BILLS Your spend on phone bills could be radically reduced – or cancelled altogether – thanks to the advent of VoIP, explains JillMaclean from Telecoms Professional magazine.

VoIP – that’s ‘Voice over Internet Protocol’ – allows voice telephone calls to be made across the Internet via a broadband connection, rather than via a traditional analogue telephone line. And the exciting bit is that unlimited local, and international calls are available at a fraction of the cost of traditional telephone services. Some providers offer the service free, while others charge a flat fee for unlimited use, or allow free local calls but charge a small fee for calls outside the local area. Whichever provider you approach, however, it’s clear that this technology could represent vast savings on your club’s telephone bill. You can even hold conference calls with multiple users thanks to this technology. Imagine holding committee meetings where you didn’t have to get everyone in one room?

How does it work?

The caller’s voice is converted from analogue sound waves into a digital signal. This travels through the internet and is then converted back into analogue sound, so the recipient at the other end will hear it as a normal voice again. VoIP calls can be made from any computer equipped with downloadable software, and a specially-designed VoIP handset. Alternatively, a conventional telephone handset can be equipped with an adaptor. As the breadth of services offered by VoIP become increasingly recognised – not least of all for the opportunity to save money on calls – so too will the uptake. This means that local and long distance calls to a telephone of any kind are already a very real possibility. And as competition continues to increase in this field, then a wider choice of new, and improved, services will follow. This will include mobile options and ultimately lower prices.

What do you need?

Many VoIP providers distribute free, downloadable software, which allows VoIP calls to be made directly from a computer, using an existing microphone. A dedicated VoIP handset, or callcentre style headset, 46

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which plugs into the USB port of a computer will improve sound quality. Of course there is the obvious problem that should a power failure occur, calls won’t be possible. Or you might automatically switch off the computer forgetting that this will also prevent any incoming calls. You could get round this though, by plugging a telephone handset to be plugged into a broadband connection. However, do bear in mind that a

VoIP telephone number – which may be needed to access a full range of VoIP services – is unlikely to be included in most telephone directories, and that a VoIP phone itself will not work during a power failure.

Consider, too, the quality, and reliability, of the telephone service that you require; voice and data communication on the same network, as is the case with VoIP, can create bandwith issues.

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