Isa volume 9

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ISA Awards Congratulations to all our winners! www.isaschools.org.uk ISSUE 9

The importance of financial principles Information – the key risk of our age Spotlight on mental health issues

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

It has been a pleasure to attend our Area meetings this term, particularly as many new Members were experiencing the support and fellowship for the first time at local level. What struck me about the Association as an ISA Member and consequently as its CEO is the lack of obvious competition between Members. It takes a little time to understand this mind-set, as many of us just assume that another local school is a competitor and to be shunned. I remember a governor at my school questioning my sanity when as a new Head I suggested that I ought to visit other local schools and see if we could share best practice. The governor’s view was understandable, given his business experience where very few ever reach out. Yet true fellowship takes an active willingness to support others, an outlook that I think typifies ISA

Heads and makes them rather different from those in other associations: genuine kindness and empathy towards others. At our New Heads’ Conference each January we emphasise how important this is, particularly when times get tough and headship seems a lonely business.

I think the theme of fellowship and support runs throughout this edition of The Journal. You’ll see a fascinating insight into managing pupil health and wellbeing from Professor Tanya Byron and King Alfred’s School. Tim Lello from Babington House School reflects on the benefits of financial training for Heads, given that this is an oft neglected part of our professional development, and Sarah Harris provides an overview of best practice on primary to secondary transfers, part of her work towards ISA’s postgraduate qualification with the University of Winchester.

But whatever the issue you face, please never forget that there is an ISA Head ready and willing to help.

With very best wishes from all of us at ISA.

Neil Roskilly CEO, ISA

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 www.isajournal.co.uk

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

welcome

Meet the Team

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

The Dharma Primary School

contents 6

News from the ISA areas From medical inventions to honouring war heroes.

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Contacts How to reach ISA’s Area Committees.

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A message to members New ISA Chair Andrew Hampton calls on all members to join in what he predicts will be an exciting year ahead for ISA and ISA schools.

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Gaining with training ISA’s latest news on courses, conferences and training programmes.

Annual Conference 2014 ISA’s 2014 Annual Conference saw over 200 delegates attending an inspiring three day programme.

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ISA Awards 2014 ISA schools from across the UK joined in celebrating success at the first ever ISA Awards.

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School marketing – the importance of brand Clever marketing in the independent school sector has never been more important, says ISA’s Angie Shatford.

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Why Heads and finance all add up Heads today need a working understanding of financial principles if they are to move their school forward strategically. Help is at hand, as new Head Tim Lello discovered.

Mental well-being: the school agenda Clinical levels of anxiety and related mental health difficulties among the adolescent children of aspirational parents has reached an all-time high.

ISA Charities: The Wings of Hope.

The Wings of Hope runs social enterprise programmes for UK students and provides free education to children in the developing world.

Mindfulness in Education The Mindfulness in Education movement is growing rapidly in the UK. But while Mindfulness might be a current buzzword, The Dharma Primary School in Brighton has been integrating this approach to learning for 20 years.

Easing transition between Key Stages Two and Three ISA’s Postgraduate Pathways programme in association with The University of Winchester offers Heads and teachers the chance to study for an MA or postgraduate diploma.

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News bulletin Launch of the first ever ISA Junior PE Conference, examination updates and News from the Frontline.

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Food on the plate – but what’s in it?

School caterers be warned. Legislation scheduled for 13 December this year will make due diligence an absolute necessity, so act now.

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Information – the key risk of our age Management and the security of data is one of the key risk management issues faced by schools.

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Internet – usage and abusage Your web site is one of the most important marketing tools your school can have. It’s a first port of call for potential new parents, and a valuable tool for existing ones.

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Sporting Times High hopes for National High Jump Champion Hannah, and a round up of ISA sporting events which have taken place since our last issue.

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Fun with forensics St Margaret’s Prep School in Essex shares the story of its annual Forensic Science Day – hosted with Essex Police.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

s a e r A A S I e th m o fr s New

Check mate Seven local schools competed in London st Christian School’s fir last ent am rn tou ess ch hool term. The Pointer Sc d ope sco h eat ckh Bla in y, ph tro ess the first ch to es hop ool sch the and ent am rn run the tou again next year.

Industrial Cadet Award medical Pupils from LVS Ascot had the chance to present their own ogy Technol and Design 10 Year invention to Siemens recently. The the early detect can which bangle ive innovat an with up came Team an signs of Deep Vein Thrombosis – and were presented with work. their of tion recogni in award Cadet ial Industr

Sports Relief ol in yles Court Scho Pupils from Mo end to the g tin or sp a ed Hampshire enjoy ajor events. hosting two m Summer Term t Relief money for Spor Children raised hool sc e th d run in with a sponsore s took part er nn ru 100 over grounds, and untry annual cross co in the school’s event in March.

Table−tennis Star 11 year old Charlotte Bardsley from Heathfield School is making quit e a name for herself in the world of table−tennis. Charlotte is the number one seed in the country for her age group and one of the younges t players to compete in the English Nati onal Championships last year. She was recently selected for the Engl and Team, and recently competed in both the National and European Cham pionships.

Caroline Richardson visits Alton Alton Convent School in Hampshire welcomed BBC TV presenter Caroline Richardson last term. The broadcaster shared tips for a career in journalism, and gave an insight into the challenges of her job.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Hop, skip and run raised over £2,000 for Adcote School in Shrewsbury race for life event in their a ing host cancer research by staff and parents took part grounds. Nearly 300 pupils, walking, skipping and , ning run , in the charity race tiful grounds for just over hopping ( ! ) around the beau 5km.

Brush up your Shakespeare Pupils from St James’ Junior School in Kens ington staged an impressive pr oduction of Shakespeare’s He nry V last term .

Year 5 and 6 gir ls also got to grips with The Bard, in a magical June pr oduction of A Midsummer Ni ght’s Dream.

Market Dixie war hero mar School in The Dixie Gram t las e av gr ’s Students from ro to tidy a war he ed lp er he th rm fo or Bosw ack was a Pilot Herbert Bl term. Sergeant in the Battle of lot pi a as ed rv se d an l, e weeds, pi Pu Dixie time to remov gave up their Britain. Pupils e. on clean his headst lay gravel and

Drum roll please!

Abbey Gate College in Chester played host to talented students from a nu mber of local primary schools recently. The children took part in a Gifted and Talented Music and Drama Day and were invited back to perform in the Co llege’s Gala Concert in July.

Woodfest 2014 ley held their Woodlands School in Great War dfest – in June. first summer festival – Woo ol Woodlands Joining pupils from sister scho ed, played danc Hutton Manor, the children in with ed join and s band l music with loca The weather craft activities with parents. already in the was perfect, and the event is diary for next year.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS Victorian values Pupils from Hatherop Castle School experienced life as a Victorian child when they visited a Victorian school room last term. The children were transported back to 1897, and learnt how to keep bees and grow vegetables, alongside more traditional lessons.

Street Art on the Street re stage at Maidenhead's Art Claires Court pupils took cent ts, displaying talen their d case show of all ages event in the summer. Pupils s. musical performance art work and giving drama and

CIFE prize giving Students from Collin gham College in London too k part in the annual CIFE pr ize giving day at the Hou se of Lords. The event, wh ich celebrates outstanding academic achievement , saw a number of Collingha m students receive aw ards, including linguist Em ily Taplin – pictured wit h ISA and CIFE President Lo rd Lexden.

’Ello, ’Ello, ’El lo!

Children an d staff at St. Marga ret’s Prep School, Gosfield, welc omed Chief Const able of Essex Police Stephen Kav anagh to an assem bly in July. The sc hool has a specia l link with the forc e, and hosts an annual Fore nsic Science Day for its pupils.

(See page 46 ).

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

CONTACTS FOR ISA AREA COMMITTEES EAST ANGLIA Area Coordinator thehead@saintnicholasschool.net President lindsay@greenblade.plus.com Chairman barbaraharding@woodlandswarley.co.uk Secretary ph@woodlandsschools.co.uk Treasurer stuartn@ccss.co.uk Sports Coordinator rturner@thorpehall.southend.sch.uk Sports Rep Head admin@stmargaretsprep.com Arts Coordinator richards@ccss.co.uk LONDON NORTH Area Coordinator headmistress@lyonsdownschool.co.uk Chairman cosborn@normanhurstschool.co.uk Secretary klovejoy@coopersalehallschool.co.uk Treasurer head@francishouseschool.co.uk Sports Coordinator tendaihuntley@hotmail.com Sports Rep Head d.berkin@groveindependentschool.co.uk Arts Coordinator mimc@hotmail.co.uk LONDON SOUTH Area Coordinator office@vfps.org Assistant Area Coordinator head@steephill.co.uk Chairman head@oakhyrstgrangeschool.co.uk Vice Chairman head@westlodge.org.uk Secretary jane.beales@hernehillschool.co.uk Treasurer stdavids@dial.pipex.com Sports Coordinator manola@bishopchallonerschool.com Sports Rep Head peter.kelly@cumnorhouse.com Arts Coordinator head@sacredheartwadhurst.org.uk

LONDON WEST Area Coordinator principal@hurstlodgesch.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinator headmaster@lyndhurstschool.co.uk Chairman headmaster@lyndhurstschool.co.uk Secretary carolinegoodsman@gmail.com Treasurer jtw@clairescourt.net

Keith Knight Paul Spendlove Barbara Harding Paula Hobbs Stuart Nicholson Richard Turner Elaine Powling Richard Swift

Lynn Maggs-Wellings Claire Osborn Kaye Lovejoy Helen Stanton-Tonner Tendai Huntley Deborah Birkin Mim Clark

Meg Baines Caroline Birtwell Alex Gear Susan Webb Jane Beales Ann Wagstaff Manola Toschi-Restivo Peter Kelly Hilary Blake

Vicky Smit Andrew Rudkin Andrew Rudkin Caroline Goodsman James Wilding

Sports Coordinator daniel.winch@ballardschool.co.uk Sports Rep Head headmaster@lyndhurstschool.co.uk Arts Rep principal@hurstlodgesch.co.uk

Daniel Winch Andrew Rudkin Vicky Smit

MIDLANDS Area Coordinator hm@oldvicarageschool.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinator head@knollschool.co.uk Chairman head@heathfieldschool.co.uk Vice Chairman rmw@castlehouseschool.co.uk Secretary headmaster@stedwardsjunior.co.uk Treasurer headmaster@dagfaschool.notts.sch.uk Sports Coordinator lhovland@stdominicsschool.co.uk Sports Rep Head headmaster@bowbrookhouseschool.co.uk Arts Coordinator head@ruckleigh.co.uk NORTH Area Coordinator sj@qe.org Assistant Area Coordinators mdg59@tiscali.co.uk Chairman headmistress@greenbankschool.co.uk Vice Chairman martinlloyd@avalon-school.co.uk Secretary nairnj@bwslive.co.uk Treasurer headteacher@forestschool.sch.uk Sports Coordinator angela.davis@hullcollegiateschool.co.uk Sports Rep Head info@beechhouseschool.co.uk Arts Coordinator info@beechhouseschool.co.uk SOUTH WEST Area Coordinator hm@hatheropcastle.co.uk Assistant Area Coordinator headmaster@polwhelehouseschool.co.uk Chairman headmaster@trinityschool.co.uk Secretary thehead@parkschool.com Treasurer bursar@trinityschool.co.uk Sports Coordinator sam.matthews@stjosephscornwall.co.uk Sports Rep Head headteacher@stjosephscornwall.co.uk Arts Coordinator cairnsp@trinityschool.co.uk INSET Coordinator headmaster@moylescourt.co.uk

Matthew Adshead Nigel Humphreys Roger Brierly Richard Walden Stephen McKernan Peter Woodroffe Louise Hovland Chris Allen Barbara Forster

Steven Jandrell Marie Grant Janet Lowe Martin Lloyd Judy Nairn Rick Hyde Angela Davis Kevin Sartain Kevin Sartain

Paul Easterbrook Alex McCullough Tim Waters Jane Huntington Shaun Dyer Sam Matthews Sue Rowe Pat Cairns Gregory Meakin

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“This is an exciting year for ISA and ISA schools!” says new ISA Chair Andrew Hampton. Here’s why.

After many years of being located in barely adequate office accommodation in Saffron Walden, ISA’s HQ will soon be moving to newly refurbished offices at Great Chesterford.

There are going to be many benefits for ISA’s operation and for our Members. Firstly, Great Chesterford is right next to the M11 and that knocks a good 10 minutes off journey times from nearly every direction; the new offices are also a two minutes walk from a railway station. Secondly, the new space is big enough to allow ISA to start offering training at HQ. This means greater cost efficiency, creating better income streams from our own training operation as well as opportunities for letting the space out for other commercial ventures. Thirdly, with visits for training at the new ‘ISA House’ far more frequent, our Members will get the chance to meet and get to know our HQ staff and feel much better connected to the actual organisation they are members of.

And it is this that is the theme for my one year tenure as Chair.

I am aware that, generally speaking, around a third of members attend national conferences each year, a third attend local and regional ISA meetings and the final third do not engage as much as others, including some whose school do not enter sporting and cultural events. The chances are that those Headteachers in the final third are also not reading this article (!) but I want to reach out to them and all our Members and say that the strength of any organisation such as this lies in the engagement and participation of its Members. As the cold winds of recession begin to ease I am hoping that 2014 – 2015 will be the year that far more Members decide to attend ISA meetings, training and conferences. Though many of us compete fiercely with each other for new pupils, it is always worth meeting and sharing, whether the Head you are networking with shares a fence (like I do with Gareth Davies at the annoyingly-excellent Alleyn Court School) or whether they come from the other end of

the country. ISA lists ‘fellowship’ as one of its main aims and benefits of membership – a delightfully soft, immeasurable and target-free idea, but in my experience this is something you never quite ‘get’ until you have experienced it for yourself. I hope you can make this the year you do something more than usual in your engagement with ISA. Many of you reading this will be new to the Association, either this year or having joined in recent months. The rapid expansion of ISA membership is due largely to a return to the letter of our Articles of Association; whilst previously we required all schools to undergo an accreditation inspection from ISI, our Articles actually state that a good or better outcome from any government-recognised inspectorate will qualify. New-to-ISA schools are, of course, visited by one of our tireless Area Coordinators, who scrutinise and support in equal measure, so that we can all be assured that new Members are running schools that are worthy of the ISA kite mark. Recruitment has gone remarkably well with our overall membership swelling from around 290 in 2012 to around 350 now. Apart from the obvious financial benefit to the Association, this increase in numbers has also given ISA greater clout at national level, within ISC and with ISI. If it weren’t for ISA’s successful recruitment of new schools, ISC would not have been able to boast recession-defying increases in overall numbers this year and last.

Speaking of Area Coordinators, another exciting innovation this year is the introduction of Regional Representatives.

Some concluding work has yet to be done on this idea as well as actual recruitment, but the concept of employing part-time exISA Heads to visit and support our Members in their schools on a regular, diarised basis has been agreed by Executive Council. This dovetails neatly with my aim to try to increase Member participation and engagement, with all Members receiving support in their own office from an experienced and dedicated ISA specialist. The nature of this support might be generalist or specific to your needs, it might focus on NOR/marketing or the ever-thorny issue of compliance; but what

it will do is give every member genuine value for money, making membership fees something even more worth paying.

If you are thinking of taking up my challenge of further engagement and considering involvement at National ISA level, can I say that it is well worth it! Every day out-of-school can bring its own extra workload of unanswered emails and mini crises, but I have never returned from meetings at ISA in London or Saffron Walden without the knowledge that I have learned something: something useful to me as a Head and useful for my school.

Finally, I would like to mention some names – people who have done their bit for ISA and indeed some who continue to do so.

First of all Richard Walden, Chair from January to September 2014; Richard was an excellent Chair, bringing gravitas and huge experience to the post as well as being a charming and energetic host at Annual Conference. Richard continues as an Honorary Officer (one of three that form the ‘SLT’ of Executive Council) for another year.

Next, Angela Culley, Chair in 2013, whose vision and tireless energy has been responsible for the new ISA House and all the benefits that will accrue from it. Angela is now Chair of the Inspections Committee and our ISI board member. I would like to extend my thanks for the extraordinary wisdom and knowledge imparted by John Wood, Chair in 2012 and Ann Stranack who stepped down as Vice President in the summer. ISA is all about people, and it continues to be such a privilege to work with such people.

Finally, finally, I would like to commend to you our wonderful CEO, Neil Roskilly.

In Neil ISA has a man whose knowledge, passion and energy has driven ISA on to the heights it enjoys now. ISA remains and has strengthened its position as the most friendly, welcoming and undeniably effective of the five heads’ associations and that is, in no small measure, down to his work.

I hope to get to know many new people this year, so don’t be shy! Come and say hello to me and let’s share our fellowship.

Andrew Hampton ISA Chair 2014 - 2015 www.isaschools.org.uk

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

A MESSAGE FROM ISA’S CHAIR

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

GAINING WITH TRAINING ISA COURSES ISA’s Professional Development Programme is growing, and this year includes over 40 courses for ISA schools. The programme aims to keep Heads and staff up to date with the latest educational thinking and practice, equipping schools to deal with everything from inspections and tracking to SEN and safeguarding.

New courses for this academic year include The Can Do SENCO, which offers practical advice on the most effective strategies for the management of whole school SEND provision, and CEM Assessment and Tracking, which looks at how monitoring and

assessment systems can benefit schools.

ISA schools preparing for inspection can now choose from four different courses including the invaluable Preparing Your Inspection Documentation and Inspections The Regulatory Requirements – which highlights the most recent changes in compliance.

For more information on how ISA courses can benefit your school contact ISA’s Professional Development and Training Officer Alice Jeffries: alice.jeffries@isaschools.org.uk.

NOVEMBER 2014

JANUARY 2015

FEBRUARY 2015

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AUTUMN STUDY CONFERENCE – LEARNING THAT WORKS Venue: Hinckley Island Hotel, Leicestershire Speakers include Professor Tanya Byron

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING Venue: ISA House, Great Chesterford, Essex

DEVELOPING INSPECTOR SKILLS TO RAISE STANDARDS Venue: Mercure Hotel, Milton Keynes

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PRE-PREP CONFERENCE* Venue: Berkhamsted Pre-Prep School, Berkhamsted

HEADS’ INDUCTION COURSE (by invitation only) Venue: tbc

INSPECTIONS – THE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS Venue: Mercure Hotel, Milton Keynes

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DEVELOPING INSPECTOR SKILLS TO RAISE STANDARDS Venue: Cranage Hall Hotel, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire

PREPARING YOUR INSPECTION DOCUMENTATION Venue: Priory School, Edgbaston

INSPECTION OF GOVERNANCE FOR PROPRIETORS, TRUSTEES AND GOVERNORS Venue: Dagfa School, Nottingham

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INSPECTIONS – THE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS Venue: Cranage Hall Hotel, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire

STUDENT VOICE EVENT AT BETT Venue: ExCel Exhibition Centre, London

JUNIOR PE AND SCHOOL SPORT CONFERENCE Venue: Kettering Park Hotel & Spa

27 INSPECTION OF GOVERNANCE Venue: ISA House, Great Chesterford, Essex

23/24 BETT SHOW 2015 – POWERING LEARNING Venue: ExCel Exhibition Centre, London

THINK LIKE A LEARNER* Venue: Greenbank Preparatory School, Cheadle

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DECEMBER 2014

DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO LEAD – PART 2* Venue: ISA House, Great Chesterford, Essex

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SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING Venue: St. Dominic’s High School for Girls, Nr Stafford

THE CAN-DO SENCO: A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO MANAGING TODAY'S SEND PROVISION* Venue: ISA House, Great Chesterford, Essex

* Suitable for MA Postgraduate Pathways modules accredited by the University of Winchester

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26 JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ CONFERENCE AREAS OF PROMISE* Venue: Moor Hall Conference Centre, Cookham, Berkshire

MARCH 2015 3 EYFS* Venue: Alderley Edge School for Girls, Cheshire

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

Visit: www.isaschools.org.uk 12

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

ISA’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2014

ISA’s 2014 Annual Conference saw over 200 delegates arriving at Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire for an inspiring three day programme of professional development and fellowship. Angie Shatford reports.

The theme of ISA’s 2014 Annual Conference was Values for Life, and over two and a half days delegates listened to an impressive range of speakers, while taking the opportunity to meet old and new colleagues in the historic surroundings of the 12th century former monastery.

Richard Walden, ISA Chair until September this year and Head of Castle House School in Shropshire, opened the Conference with a strong speech that underlined the importance of a fully rounded education in equipping children with values for life.

“Independent schools devote a great deal of time to the extra curricular - to lessons and activities which enrich a child’s education.

Our teachers strive to provide pupils with emotional intelligence, a developed moral understanding and a willingness to make a contribution to society. These are not measurable by statistics or on inspectors’ tick-

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charts, but they are the qualities that employers want.”

In comments which were picked up by the national media, Richard Walden suggested that too many teachers are overwhelmed by the pressure to achieve results. He also called upon the government to introduce more publicly funded independent school places – in a bid to offer a broader education to children from all backgrounds.

“There is a shortage of school places, especially now in the primary sector, but I do not believe it is necessary for government to pour millions into trying to establish new schools in many areas where there are already good independent schools. If politicians would take courage and channel funds into placing pupils at already well-established independent schools, they would know in advance the

likely outcomes for the pupils, because the ethos of the school is already deeply embedded and publicly respected. The government would have to trust us, but we can deliver. We have the know-how and the willingness to provide the virtuous education with good values that is so needed.”

Mr Walden said that he hoped the conference would be “a journey of discovery ... and I hope that will also be true for all of us in the sense of achieving a deeper understanding of what we do and why we do it.”

The theme of Values for Life was echoed by many of the speakers who took the stage at Coombe Abbey during the event.

Radio 4 Broadcaster and Journalist Anne Atkins encouraged delegates to examine their own values and to question how these might be

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

implemented for the good of every child.

The Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, followed this with a powerful session examining how we develop the values to build social capital – and the role that schools might play in encouraging the right values and habits among young people.

Emotional Intelligence, and the importance of resilience over grades, was the subject of Day Two’s opening keynote, delivered by Broadcaster and Clinician Professor Tanya Byron. Professor Byron highlighted the growing number of children suffering from clinical levels of anxiety – and stressed the need for preventative strategies both at school and in the wider community. (Turn to page 28 for a more in-depth look at these issues, with ISA Head Dawn Moore.)

And global innovation expert Mark

Stevenson invited Heads to look into the future, with a mind-blowing session

examining how schools might equip students to survive in our rapidly changing world.

ISA Chair Richard Walden said: “I hope that this year’s conference gave us all the chance to reflect on our core values – and to consider how we might implement those for the good of every child. Our powerful speakers gave us much to think about, and I am sure that we all returned to school re-invigorated by the new ideas and thinking that we shared.”

ISA’s Annual Conference 2015 – Save the Date Next year’s Annual Conference will be held slightly earlier, from 30 April to 2nd May 2015. More details and booking information will be announced shortly.

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CELEBRATING SUCCESS IN OUR SCHOOLS ISA schools from across the UK joined in celebrating success at the first ever ISA Awards last term.

Over 100 schools attended a glittering gala dinner at Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire, on the first night of the Association’s Annual Conference in May.

Hosted by BBC TV presenter and Juliet Morris, the evening saw 14 individual schools honoured in categories ranging from excellence in early years, prep and senior provision, to outstanding achievement in sport, IT and the arts.

Winning schools were invited on stage to be presented with a special plaque marking their success.

ISA’s CEO, Neil Roskilly said: “This is the first time that ISA has held an awards event on this scale” “The evening was a fitting celebration of the many achievements and successes of our schools this year, and a fantastic opportunity to bring colleagues together.

We hope to make the Awards a regular fixture in the ISA calendar. The calibre of entries was extremely high, and every school that entered deserves high praise.”

Over 100 entries were received for the inaugural event, which was launched in

January. Organised by ISA Journal publishers Alchemy Contract Publishing, the ISA Awards contained 14 separate categories, and schools were asked to submit written evidence in support of their entries.

As the April deadline approached, ISA HQ received a last minute flurry of entries, and judging took place in April at Coombe Abbey. The judges had a difficult time sifting and short-listing the evidence – but three www.isaschools.org.uk

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

THE ISA AWARDS 2014

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THE WINNING SCHOOLS

schools were eventually shortlisted in each category and sent forward to the final round.

ISA Honorary Officer Richard Walden said: “The quality of entries submitted by our schools was incredibly high. It was a real privilege to read about some of the excellent and innovative work that is going on – in even the smallest of ISA schools. The judges were particularly impressed by the extra-curricular opportunities and enrichment activities offered to our pupils – ISA schools clearly go the extra mile in offering pupils a fully rounded education.

“As Heads we are often too busy to reflect upon our whole school achievement – but the ISA Awards provided us with the opportunity to do just that. I hope that the event will become an annual one, and would strongly encourage schools that didn’t enter to do so next year.”

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1. ISA Award for Outstanding Provision in Sport: The Dixie Grammar School, Market Bosworth The sports curriculum at The Dixie Grammar is broad and inclusive – offering mainstream traditional sports alongside many minority activities. Delivered by specialist staff, the school’s programme includes everything from athletics to zumba, and sailing to cycling. Junior and Senior pupils follow a carousel programme, experiencing a new sporting activity every eight weeks, and the school enters more ISA Midlands competitions than any other.

Dixie’s community links are particularly strong – and the school works with a number of state schools and sports clubs across Leicestershire.

2. ISA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sport: Cundall Manor School, York Over 95% of Cundall Manor Pupils currently represent their school in competitive sports fixtures – and the school has enjoyed great success in a whole range of tournaments across the North of England.

In one term alone Cundall’s teams scooped top prizes at over 10 major competitions in hockey, rugby and crosscountry.

And their star pupils include equestrian champions and a GB ski squad member.

3. ISA Award for Excellence in the Arts : Oakhyrst Grange School, Caterham Students at Oakhyrst Grange School enjoy access to a huge range of arts related enrichment opportunities. Every child in the school receives music lessons with a specialist, and pupils as young as 11 have achieved up to Grade 8 in instruments such as the violin and saxophone. The school orchestra has won a number of prizes, and pupils also participate in ensemble groups for strings, woodwind and brass. Drama, creative writing and photography are hugely popular at the school, with a number of pupils having won national competitions and acquired accreditation in all of these.

The school is a regular entrant of ISA’s Art Competition, and has scooped the top photography prize three years running.

4. ISA Early Years Award: Priory School, Edgbaston The Priory School prides itself on developing and nurturing each individual child – a fact noted by ISI who recognised the school’s outstanding Early Years provision during a recent inspection. The school offers a wide range of educational programmes covering all areas of learning, and pupils regularly exceed the expected levels of development.

There is a strong emphasis on outdoor education here, and The Priory’s new Forest School and outdoor farm settings have significantly enriched the children’s learning experience. Staff have also benefitted from a recent international Comenius project, which saw the school link up with teachers in several European countries, to share best practice on outdoor learning.

6. ISA Senior Award: Scarisbrick Hall School, Ormskirk In just 3 years Scarisbrick Hall has progressed from a position of near closure to one of the most thriving and sought after schools in the area. The implementation of an innovative and determined development plan has seen student numbers treble and grades soar.

Key areas of curriculum innovation include the introduction of subject specialist teaching from Year 5, and a 3 year GCSE programme starting in Year 9.

The school has a 6 week assessment and feedback cycle which keeps parents fully informed of student progress, and a well being programme for pupils.

7. ISA Community Award: Claires Court School, Maidenhead Claires Court School is very much at the heart of the town of Maidenhead in Berkshire. The school has strategic partnerships with a whole range of local clubs and associations, and regularly hosts events – particularly in the arts – for both local schools and the wider community.

Through their innovative use of technologies, Claires Court assists hundreds of schools in developing their use of digital services in the classroom, and works with a number of state primary schools to help them introduce cloud based learning. The school is also very proud of its charity work.

8. ISA Green School: Greenbank Prep School, Cheadle Eco issues are deeply embedded in the whole ethos of Greenbank Prep School, with children, staff and parents all supporting the school’s green philosophy.

The school has its own active Eco Council – and has recently attained Silver and Bronze Eco Awards. Pupils are closely involved in monitoring the school’s energy consumption, and are involved in an annual environmental review which feeds into the School Improvement Plan.

Greenbank are particularly proud of their new Eco Garden, which was constructed using recycled materials and features wildlife retreats and a kitchen garden.

9. ISA International Award: Derby Grammar School Derby Grammar School’s four year association with a charity in Tanzania has dramatically changed the lives of hundreds of East African children. What started as a pupil campaign to raise funds for mosquito nets has now grown into a long-term partnership with The Gedeli School in Mwana – and Derby Grammar has spearheaded a number of projects which have changed lives. In July 2013 Sixth Form pupils travelled to Mwana, and helped to completely renovate classrooms, making desks for the children and even teaching lessons. Since then Derby Grammar has also paid for the installation of running water.

10. School Website of the Year: Cransley School, Great Budworth Cransley School’s new website was launched earlier this year, and has received lots of positive feedback from parents and students alike.

The new site has a dynamic contemporary feel, with four separate sections for each of the school’s settings – enabling users to navigate with ease. The website makes great use of photogalleries – using images rather than words to direct parents to the right area, and has been optimised for mobile and tablet use.

Visit Cransley School’s site at www.cransleyschool.org

www.isaschools.org.uk

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5. ISA Junior / Prep Award: Lady Barn House School, Cheadle Winning first prize in a televised national BBC competition was just one of Lady Barn House School’s outstanding achievements this year. Over 60 pupils took part in ‘You Too Can Be An Absolute Genius’ - a Dragons Den style showcase for talented young inventors. The school’s AGT provision is now an outstanding feature of their curriculum, and is driven by a number of innovative projects, including a philosophy based Thinker of the Week Competition, which invites children to answer questions displayed around the school, and an Inspirational Speakers’ programme.

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THE WINNING SCHOOLS

11. ISA Financial Innovation Award: Rushmoor School, Bedford Pupil numbers at Rushmoor School continue to show strong growth – despite local competition and a newly established local free school. Strong marketing and word of mouth reputation, have encouraged an influx of new pupils in the last year, taking the school to near maximum capacity. Rushmoor was recently approached for help by a local girls school – and has now taken over the day to day management and strategic vision of that school, generating a 3.5% rise in pupil numbers there. Rushmoor's most recent financial audit was excellent and after the school’s last inspection ISI commented: “I don’t know what it is about Rushmoor, but if you could bottle it you could make a fortune.”

12. ISA Award for IT Innovation: Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies In September 2012 CCSS piloted a new and innovative online learning service, teaching GCSE Psychology to a school in Harlow. The pilot was such a success that the scheme became a fully fledged virtual learning programme last year. ‘Cambridge e’ offers a range of subjects, both at AS and IGCSE level, and has the potential to be expanded internationally. The scheme uses special software – Microsoft Lync, enabling students not only to take part in live interactive lessons, but to replay these back at a later date. The programme comes highly endorsed by participating schools, and plans are in hand to expand both the curriculum and reach of the project.

Thank you to our sponsors without whom this event would not be possible.

13. ISA Award for Healthy Eating: St Hilda’s School, Westcliffe In 2012 St Hilda’s School in Westcliffe became the first independent school in Essex to be awarded ‘Healthy Schools Status’ by the Departments of Health and Education. The award was the culmination of two years work by staff and parents, who set out to improve the food choices of their pupils. They enlisted the children’s help in drawing up a new, healthy school menu using only fresh and locally sourced ingredients – and emphasised the healthy eating theme across the curriculum. Cookery was taught throughout the school, and GCSE home economics was offered to all KS4 students.1 1

Sadly St Hilda’s School closed at the end of the summer term, 2014.

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14. ISA Award for Excellence: Beech House School Beech House School in Rochdale were this year’s worthy recipients of the ISA Award for Excellence, which was presented in recognition of the school’s excellence in sport – and in particular the enormous contribution made by coaching staff in producing athletes who have represented their country at international level. In the last five years the school has coached and produced international athletes in dressage, golf, ice hockey, lacrosses and skiing, and British champions in a number of other sports. Beech House strongly believes in the link between sporting and academic success and offers over 20 different sports ranging from archery to zumba.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND Clever marketing in the independent school sector has never been more important. It can mean the difference between a school’s survival or closure. Too many schools focus their marketing budgets on local newspaper advertising and glossy prospectuses without measuring or evaluating the effectiveness of these spends. And in today’s competitive climate this simply isn’t enough, says ISA’s Angie Shatford.

Schools that are getting to grips with their marketing have a strong understanding of their market, and most importantly their brand. They recognise why a family would choose their school over a competitor and understand what sets them apart from the school up the road. The school brand or ethos is reflected in everything they do and their Unique Selling Point (USP) can be summed up by parents, staff and even the wider community.

When Heads approach ISA for advice on how to improve their marketing, we suggest that they first take an impartial look at their admissions process, and put themselves in the shoes of a prospective parent.

Everything from the first phone call to the handshake at the end of a visit should be scrutinised as part of this audit – and many schools find that it is often the smaller details that have the biggest impact.

Much like buying a house, many parents will make up their mind about a school within minutes of entering the building. In some cases their mind may even be made up before they enter – lack of parking, poor signage and a lukewarm welcome, can all contribute to a negative decision.

So too can a poor response on the phone or by email. One parent I know made a snap decision not to send all three of her girls to a particular school after speaking to an abrupt secretary when she phoned to book a tour. “I felt that her manner probably reflected the atmosphere of the school as a whole, and I didn’t want to send my children to a school where the staff are unapproachable”, she explained. Admission and frontline admin staff should positively shine in their dealings with parents – customer service is key.

Services such as ISA’s Mystery Shopping Scheme can be useful in providing feedback on how a school is perceived by the outside world. Launched earlier this

Hipperholme Grammar, Halifax

year, the scheme tests every stage of a school’s admissions procedure, and provides detailed feedback on contact with admin staff and the parent tour, as well as the school prospectus and website.

Crucially the service assesses the strength of your brand – and examines whether a school’s key values are visible at every stage of the process.

ISA’s Thames Christian College in London used the service at the end of last term. The school was visited on one of the busiest exam days of the year, but still delivered a warm and professional welcome and scored very highly in the final report.

The few areas for improvement that were identified are already being tackled by the Head, Stephen Holsgrove. “The report has been very useful in identifying areas for improvement that we would never have known about ourselves,” he explains.

“Schools spend lots of time auditing lessons and marking, but how much time is spent

auditing the perception we give to prospective parents?”

This view is shared by marketing expert Andrew Bennett, Director of ISA Gold Supplier Barley House Group. The firm recently launched a new Brand Check Service, which aims to provide schools with a fresh insight into their brand, communication and marketing strategy.

“Brand is the single most important asset a school will own,” Andrew explains. “It cannot be bought; it has to be built from the inside of the school and projected outwards.

A brand exists in the hearts and minds of an audience and in order to discover a school’s brand, Heads need to understand their audience.” Brand Check achieves this through engaging school stakeholders in a thorough audit process.

Communication with existing parents is just as important – and parent surveys can be an excellent way of ensuring that schools are getting this right. Word of Mouth www.isaschools.org.uk

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SCHOOL MARKETING –

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

continues to be one of the strongest factors influencing parental choice, and clever school marketers work hard to keep their parents on board. They also seek to build reputation and links within the local community through activities such as sponsorship or by hosting free events for pre-schoolers – tomorrow’s potential pupils.

The importance of digital communications cannot be overstated.

Getting the school website right – ensuring that it is easily searchable and optimised for mobile devices, is crucial – and schools should look to prioritise their marketing spend here. E-comms are far cheaper, and have a broader reach, than traditional print.

And a good website can act as an inviting shop window for future customers.

St James Junior School in London decided to revamp their website earlier this year, after realising its potential influence.

The end product – www.stjamesjunior schools.co.uk – is contemporary, fresh and extremely easy to navigate. More importantly, it gives users an immediate impression of the school’s ethos – and this is reflected through the consistent imagery and wording on every page.

“Our old website was looking tired and had limited functions,” explains Head Catherine Thomlinson. “It simply couldn’t provide the level of service we wanted to give. Our brief was very simple – we wanted a website that showed who we are, and was user friendly. We saw a lot of good website designers before we finally found the right people for us. It’s really about getting the right mix of design abilities and personalities that work well together. We are delighted with the end result.”

The St James website is also optimised for mobile use, which means that it can be easily viewed by parents on a smartphone or tablet. With tablets now driving more web traffic than smart phones, and over a third of all browsing taking place on the move1, schools need to have a website which responds to more than the traditional desktop computer.

The increasing use of mobile over desktop is also having a big impact on social media - and as more schools get to grips with this, they will need to ensure that their content is mobile ready.

Most independent schools are aware of the importance of social media, not only as a broadcast tool but as a way of increasing their web presence and bolstering their brand. An effective Twitter account, for example, will increase a school’s visibility 1

Adobe Digital Index

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and boost the school website in Google rankings. Many parents will now expect their child’s school to use social media channels, and prospective parents may view as ‘out-dated’ schools that don’t. And while schools shouldn’t devote too much of their time to this, they should definitely seek to open and maintain at least one account. ISA school Hipperholme Grammar in Halifax has an active Twitter account which is regularly updated, and used to communicate with both current and future parents. Head Jack Williams feels that schools shouldn’t be afraid of taking the plunge with social media: “It takes very little time and effort to increase the digital footprint of a school and gain a marketing advantage,” Jack explains.

“We have found that Twitter gives us the ability to communicate quickly with current parents. We tweet images to actually show them the activities their children are engaged in – and this has been particularly popular when used on school trips both at home and abroad. Twitter is also an excellent way of getting our message out to prospective parents at the same time.”

Social media is both inexpensive and quick to use, but effective marketing as part of a broader strategy takes time; a luxury which most Head Teachers simply don’t have.

Ideally schools should seek to employ a dedicated person to oversee their marketing activities – even if on a part time basis.

Some smaller schools have successfully employed parents with a marketing

background to carry out the role – perhaps on a voluntary basis or even by offsetting fees to cover the cost. This can work really well, as a parent’s personal investment can translate into convincing advocacy for the school brand.

Crucially, the marketing officer needs to feel part of the senior management structure within the school. This is more than an administrative role, and an effective marketing manager needs to be working to a clear set of objectives based on sound research. Admissions data is key here, and marketing managers should have a good grasp of this, working closely with the Bursar or Admissions Director. They should also have a close and regular dialogue with the Head, and the school’s marketing or brand objectives must be reviewed regularly and form part of the School Development Plan.

Clever marketing is ultimately the responsibility of the whole school – and successful schools recognise this. They value their staff and pupils and this is reflected across the whole school brand.

Their existing parents are their brand ambassadors, and prospective ones want to ‘buy into’ the brand for their children.

ISA’s Mystery Shopping Service is now available as part of ISA’s paid for consultancy services. Contact Angie Shatford for more details: angie.shatford@isaschools.org.uk

ALL ADD UP As a new Head, Tim Lello, Headmaster of Babington House School in Kent, felt unprepared for the rigours of his first finance meeting with governors. Here he recounts how a specialist course – run by ISA partner Angus Cater – helped him get to grips with the basics.

The most important governors are assembled and the ‘Fin Com’ is underway.

My first Finance Committee as a new Head and they are utterly in their element which is just as well because I, most definitely, am not.

They discuss with undisguised relish the finer points of accruals and pre-payments, and actually seem to enjoy debating the different methods by which depreciation can be assessed as part of the capitalisation required to produce an accurate P&L,

obviously at ease with a swirl of words and concepts I barely understand.

What on earth had I done at school?

More to the point, what had I done at university, all three of them that is? What is a cash flow analysis, balance sheet and www.isaschools.org.uk

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WHY HEADS AND FINANCE

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forecast budget? Even the financial aspects of my NPQH -and that’s when this Headship Qualification actually meant something – didn’t prepare me for my first Fin Com meeting.

Isn’t it enough that the school roll is rising and expenditure is levelling out? Or, as one long serving ISA Head advised me: “Get bums on seats and don’t spend too much”. Good advice, but I was planning a Sixth Form for Babington House and the Governors needed to see some financial analysis, including a series of projections and a probability assessment based on how many pupils we would be likely to attract.

The governors, many of whom are highly qualified financial professionals and clearly ‘something in the City’ were rightly demanding a level of expertise from me which I hadn’t quite foreseen and was utterly unprepared to deliver. It’s no good blaming the Bursar and I’m lucky to have an excellent one, because, rather like professional senior Civil Servants advising the Government Minister, the buck stops with me.

Confiding my lack of financial confidence to Neil Roskilly (CEO of ISA) he reassured me by saying that most new Heads feel the same way and suggested I attended Angus Cater’s Financial Management for Heads course. So I found myself rolling up to a beautiful Oxford hotel, pleased to have escaped the ‘tyranny of the urgent’, as Neil so aptly describes the

“There is a pause as I suppress my rising panic, however, far from breaking into a cold sweat, I am able to compose myself and respond with confidence as I talk through my prepared numbers.

Thank you Angus!

The figures meet with broad approval and that’s when it hits me: I am in charge.”

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“Angus is one of those utterly charming, natural teachers with a deep knowledge and passion for the subject, but who clearly means business and for whom you do what you are told.” day to day challenges of Headship. I was ready for a relaxing two days R&R but was in for a rude awakening.

After the first day I collapsed into bed, shattered from hacking a path through a forest of swirling numbers. Despite not having done my homework and not being prepared for the test which I knew was coming in the morning. I thought to myself, how can we impose this relentless routine on our own pupils night after night? The next morning, test somehow completed, I set a reminder on my smartphone to review the homework policy, only to be very politely and very firmly told off about using my phone, which I quickly put away. Angus is one of those utterly charming, natural teachers with a deep knowledge and passion for his subject, but who clearly means business and for whom you do what you are told.

Heads can be quite a rebellious bunch, but not on this course. Rather like the Captain of a yacht circumnavigating the globe, which, by the way, is what Angus does in his spare time, there was only one person in charge.

And so it was, obediently and slowly, encouraged by frequent bottles of wine as prizes for the never ending tests, as well as a reassuringly dictatorial teaching style, that we all got to grips with the principles of running our schools as businesses.

After a while, it was almost fun. I now understand double entry book-keeping. I realise, bizarrely, that you debit the receiving account and credit the giving account (no it’s true, you really do). I understand how to place items from a trial balance into the relevant Profit & Loss account or Balance Sheet. I stand half a chance at creating a cash flow analysis and actually understand the concept of depreciation. But most of all, I now know why it all matters. I understand why each of these previously impenetrable concepts helps me to run the business I’ve been entrusted to manage.

So there I am, sitting in the most recent governor’s Finance Committee meeting, feeling a lot more confident, thanks to Angus’s tutelage. Yes, we have the finances in place to start a new Sixth Form at Babington House in September and my

proposal to the board, thoroughly rehearsed during Angus’s course, goes like a dream. That’s exciting; A Levels being taught at Babington House. Flushed with pride, my mind wanders, thinking about Sixth Form subjects, enhancement programmes, university preparation and a whole host of other exciting decisions to make.

Then, rather abruptly, I’m back in the realities of the Fin Com and the inevitable question is being asked: “So Headmaster, by what percentage should we raise our fees and should the staff receive a pay rise?” There is a pause as I suppress my rising panic, however, far from breaking into a cold sweat, I am able to compose myself and respond with confidence as I talk through my prepared numbers. Thank you Angus! The figures meet with broad approval and that’s when it hits me: I am in charge. My opinion really matters, I mean really matters. It is a sobering thought.

The Governors are looking to me for leadership, not just on educational maters but all matters. Just as a Board might look to the CEO, modern Heads are required to lead on all areas and crucially in the financial management of the business. And the CEO had better be able to add up.

Financial Training for Heads and Deputies – Course Info Now in its second year this popular course is a must for Heads wanting to get to grips with the basics of running a business. The programme is run by ISA Partner, and Chairman of SFS Group, Angus Cater.

The next two-day programme will be held on 5/6 March 2015 at The Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel.

The course fees are £250 per person, with accommodation extra.

To find out more and to book contact Angus Cater: angus.cater@gmail.com or tel 07786273040.

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MENTAL WELL-BEING: THE SCHOOL AGENDA Professor Tanya Byron, consultant clinical psychologist in child and adolescent mental health, was a keynote speaker at this year’s ISA Annual Conference where she revealed that the presentation of clinical levels of anxiety and related mental health difficulties among the adolescent children of aspirational parents has reached an all-time high.1 Dawn Moore, Head of King Alfred School in London, discusses the key role that schools play in supporting families and young people.

Dawn Moore

The growing number of adolescents who now require clinical help to deal with stress, anger and the pressure to live up to demanding expectations was a key theme of Prof Byron’s speech to ISA’s Annual Conference. Many of the cases she described highlighted young people growing up in a risk averse society and exhibiting a profound fear of failure leading to depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse and reduced academic performance.

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Young Minds (2014), the mental health charity for children, young people and their families, also highlights this real and urgent issue: ‘Three children in every classroom has a diagnosable mental health disorder...

One in five young adults show signs of an eating disorder... one in 12 deliberately harm themselves... Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression.’2 At King Alfred School (KAS), a progressive, independent school based in

North London, providing education to boys and girls from ages 4 to 18, we have long held a strong reputation for being a school which considers the emotional well-being of our students to be as important as academic achievement.

Since the school’s inception in 1898, its curriculum and approach has been grounded by research into child development rather than the requirements of examination bodies and this still holds true today.

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Prioritising mental well-being We recognise that a student’s mental wellbeing will have an effect on their cognitive ability and academic performance as well as their social and emotional development. We manage to maintain a consistently healthy approach to studying yet still achieve academic excellence.

Indeed, in our most recent ISI Inspection report, the inspectors found that our arrangements for pastoral care made an excellent contribution to pupils’ personal development and the report noted that pupils achieve a high level of personal development that strongly reflects the school’s aims.

The emotional well-being of children and young people is our priority and each student is considered as an individual as well as a vital part of the community.

Children are encouraged to take ownership of their engagement with the school and their learning from the moment they arrive, and this is done in partnership with their teachers and parents so that developing trust, feeling secure and emotionally contained while taking responsibility for their behaviour and respecting others are the outcomes.

Children and young people’s self -

esteem and their awareness of each other are nurtured very carefully through our individualised and class PSHE programme. Our school community is built around mutual trust, one of founding core values, and to some extent this is fostered through a largely rule-free culture, where boundaries are created with and by the children, even from the age of four.

At KAS, our students learn through play and developmentally appropriate risk taking, and through this quickly develop strong moral codes and an understanding of the nature of challenge and the usefulness of trial and error. We don’t talk about failure; we encourage learning from mistakes as a fundamental life skill.

Children and young people can, and often do, experience a whole range of challenges as they progress developmentally and educationally but we try to ensure that the school environment is stable, secure and containing for them.

Students’ emotional security can be affected by a whole variety of factors and we see divorce, separation, moving house, bereavement, social and friendship issues, emerging sexuality and early onset of puberty as possible triggers for emotional and psychological difficulties.

The support we offer our students who present with emotional, behavioural or psychological difficulties begins in the classroom with the class teacher and support staff. We encourage open and trusting relationships with parents, so that they feel able to share concerns and relevant information without worrying that this would negatively impact on how we view their child and their educational outcomes. In addition, our PSHE programme takes into account age appropriate psychological development and we run parent sessions focussing on what to expect throughout the developmental stages.

At KAS, we have invested in a comprehensive, well resourced counselling services. Through our Head of Counselling and her trained team, we can offer group work in the classroom or one to one sessions. We have an art therapist who can use play to support the younger children’s emotional needs. We can also refer families on for family therapy or other kinds of interventions due to our excellent relationships with a number of outside agencies. A family’s GP may often be the first point of contact and we find they welcome our vigilance and support. www.isaschools.org.uk

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Mental health agenda

Challenges of adolescent life

When you read the inspection reports of most ISC schools, pastoral care and personal development often score highly.

However, as an inspector I am aware that many schools achieve this without having evidence based and well validated systems in place to understand and be both proactive and reactive when it comes to supporting the mental well-being of their students. Indeed, I believe that many schools are in denial about the mental health issues experienced by their students and the knock on consequences this can have on their academic progress, their relationships and the quality of their lives.

Good relationships between staff and students can only go so far. I believe that it should be mandatory for all independent schools to have recourse to trained counsellors, have a PSHE curriculum that is age appropriate in teaching children and young people, the skills and techniques for the management of their mental health and well-being and to normalise the whole mental health agenda within education as we have seen with physical health. Children and young people need to be able to access someone they can trust to be non-judgmental and supportive. Staff need to be trained to recognise when a child needs help beyond their expertise and parents need to be encouraged to express their concerns without fear of judgment.

I believe that ‘Safeguarding Children’ is a very wide brief and that safeguarding their mental well-being is a vital part of a holistic approach to nurturing our youngsters. It is well understood that IQ alone does not guarantee a successful and productive life and that emotional intelligence (EQ) will fundamentally impact on a child and young person’s life chances3.

Amongst the Headteacher community, there continues to be a powerful debate about the role of schools in the promotion of mental health and the prevention and response agenda to these issues. I know there are some who feel that promoting mental well-being and providing access to mental health practitioners goes beyond the remit of a school but the truth is, without adults at home and at school working in partnership, many children and young people are floundering and have no practicable means of support.

The rapid pace of change both socially and economically presents a deep challenge to the internal resources of our students.

Without an education agenda in schools which aims to develop emotional intelligence and resilience from an early age, we are part of a system of neglect of our most vulnerable young people and risk ignoring the fundamental truth that EQ sits at the heart of life success.

In the highly competitive independent school learning and teaching environment, I am aware of a significant rise in the number of children and young people selfharming, developing eating disorders, experiencing clinical depression and tragically, even committing suicide. I have taught PSHE for nearly 30 years now and I am very conscious that even in a school like KAS there has been an increase in the amount of unhealthy pressure and stress that our students are experiencing in an educational environment overly focussed on targets, testing and outcomes determined by results, even in the very young.

University access is so highly competitive; consumerism is at an all-time high with young people seeming to need unlimited funds to entertain themselves, to have iPads and smart phones to remain in 24-hour contact with each other and healthy body imagery is being distorted by media presentation and the easy access to online porn.

The transition into and through adolescence is understood to be challenging physically, mentally, cognitively and socially. However I believe that todays’ generation frequently has to deal with rapid change, ever increasing fragmentation and more multi-faceted issues with access to content and information often before they have the life experience to understand how to process it.

Recent research indicates that some students are using mobile phones for 8 to 10 hours a day and I can’t help but wonder about the quality of such abstract relationships perhaps at the expense of human contact. Indeed, I’m not convinced that the incessant contact via technology which can lead to the exposure of the excruciating details of each other’s lives actually translates into a meaningful friendship, and so despite being the ‘digital immigrants’ our generation has a responsibility to educate and advise our ‘digital natives’.

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A recent study by the Children’s Society has found that children in England are less happy and satisfied with their lives than those in the majority of other European countries and North America. The Good Childhood Report (2014) found that English children came 30th out of 39 countries in Europe and North America in terms of “subjective well-being” – how they rated their own happiness and life satisfaction.

This is despite the foreword to the Government’s Mental Health Strategy (2011) saying: “By promoting good mental health and intervening early, particularly in the crucial childhood and teenage years, we can help to prevent mental illness from developing and mitigate its effects when it does”.

CAMHS provision 50% of mental health difficulties will present in early adolescence and 75% (excluding dementia) will present by the mid-twenties when the frontal cortex of the brain finishes its development. Despite this, Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS) have seen their provision drastically cut and the threshold at which children and young people can now access NHS services is worryingly high at a time when early intervention is even more essential. Indeed only 6% of the overall mental health budget is spent on CAMHS (often referred to as ‘The Cinderella Service’) despite the fact that children and young people make up 25% of the total population. The economic evidence is that for every £1 spent on early mental health intervention we would save the equivalent £84 spent on an adult with chronic mental health difficulties.

Recent news headlines have called for compulsory cooking classes, GCSE Sex Education, compulsory financial education, a national food policy and coding for 5 year olds. This is all positive but what is the point of such investments if our children and young people are not given the opportunity to develop emotional and psychological skills for life?

And if those who are most vulnerable are not given immediate access to the support and intervention they so urgently require, in rapidly growing numbers.

References 1

www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201310/theproblem-rich-kids, Suniya Luthar et al, 2013 2 www.youngminds.org.uk 3 see: www.casel.org

THE WINGS OF HOPE In a new regular feature we look at some of the charities working with ISA Schools, both in the UK and further afield. The Wings of Hope runs social enterprise programmes for UK students and provides free education to children in the developing world. Founder Rajni Sriram explains how they can enrich your curriculum.

The Wings of Hope is a small but proactive children’s charity with a mission to ‘Empower through Education’. Based in London, we provide free education for underprivileged children in India and Malawi. We believe in the adage ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life’. The Wings of Hope runs three projects: one in the UK, one in India and one in Malawi.

India The Wings of Hope supports a school in Chennai, southern India. The school offers high-quality education to around 360 students aged 4-16 years old. There are 17 dedicated teachers who conduct lessons in Maths, Science, English, Tamil and Hindi.

We also support a project called the SAVE Trust (short for Social Action for Value Education). The SAVE Trust has run lots of amazing education projects, the newest of which provides evening tuition classes for children who live in slums around the Chennai area. In August 2014, the trust opened 10 tuition centres in North Chennai, each accommodating the needs of 60 children. So that means that, all in all, 600 children benefit from valuable help with their classes and homework, giving them the tools to work themselves out of poverty.

Malawi In Malawi The Wings of Hope supports the House of Hope in Lilongwe. Here, dedicated help is offered to almost 600 children and young adults aged 3-20, many of whom have been orphaned due to the

HIV/AIDS pandemic. The House of Hope provides a nursery school, after school care and a youth programme to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among the community.

The Wings of Hope Achievement Award We believe that young people have the power and energy to make amazing differences in society. That’s why we run the Wings of Hope Achievement Award (WOHAA), a social enterprise programme for British secondary students. We help students develop their own fundraising programme for the Wings of Hope over a period of six months. At the same time, we provide them with a host of opportunities to help them develop their transferrable skills and get them thinking about their future careers. Everyone who takes part in the programme has access to free events including our unique careers event ‘Speed Mentoring’, and visits to both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Winners are also offered prestigious work experience placements with our corporate sponsors (including Barclays, Edelman, Tata Consultancy and Saatchi & Saatchi) or an expenses paid trip to India.

WOHAA looks great on any CV or UCAS application: a true testament to students’ teamwork, innovation, communication and entrepreneurial skills. WOHAA also counts towards the volunteering section of the Duke of Edinburgh Award at bronze, silver or gold levels and the C.A.S section of the International Baccalaureate.

This year alone, we had over 1,600 students taking part from over 100 different schools. They organised some incredible events including a day-long netball tournament, an English Channel swim, a 24-hour bake-a-thon, a fashion show hosted by Elle Macpherson, fusion dance events, a masquerade dinner dance and even a mountain climb on the stormiest day of the year.

WOHAA Junior Younger students can also benefit from working with us.WOHAA Junior is a vibrant new fundraising opportunity for primary schools across the UK. Through personalised links with children in our Indian and Malawian schools, pupils will be taught from a young age about the transformative power of education.

All participating schools will receive a visit from Wilbur the WOHAA Elephant and a prize once their fundraising is done.

WOHAA is ten This year marks WOHAA’s 10th anniversary, and we are introducing a whole host of new initiatives to mark the occasion.

From now on, all WOHAA semi-finalists will automatically be nominated to win a prestigious Diana Award, giving them the change to gain two awards for the price of one!

We are also introducing a new “schools” award, recognising the achievements of schools whose teams have collectively reached certain fundraising targets. Prizes will include unique framed certificates, the chance to embark on a group challenge, and tea at the House of Lords.

To find out more about working with Wings of Hope visit: www.wohaa.co.uk.

Registered charity 1099685.

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ISA CHARITIES:

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MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATION The Mindfulness in Education movement is growing rapidly in the UK, says Bea Harley, Acting Head of The Dharma Primary School in Brighton. Organisations such as the Mindfulness in Schools Project offer programmes with an emphasis on helping pupils cope with exam stress, and more recently courses for teachers of primary age children.

Over the past year mindfulness has become a hot topic, with books on the subject on best-seller lists, organisations offering courses for teachers, and even big corporations adopting the practice. Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the world’s best known and most respected Zen masters, was recently invited by Google and other major global companies to help them become more compassionate, effective and sustainable, through the practice of mindfulness.

So what exactly is mindfulness? How is the practice taught in schools and adapted for younger children? And what are the benefits within education for teachers and pupils? Mindfulness and meditation are often confused with relaxation techniques, but really the practices are about focused attention on the present moment, leading 32

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to a heightened awareness of one’s self and the world around us. Stilling the mind and connecting with the ‘now’ enables perspective and clarity to arise, which are often muddied by our chattering minds.

Regular mindfulness practice can help us ‘step back’ from situations and act with clarity, rather than simply reacting in the heat of the moment. We are then more able to focus on solutions rather than problems

and to manage conflict and stress more effectively.

Although mindfulness might be a current buzzword in education, here at The Dharma Primary School in Brighton, we have been integrating this approach to learning for 20 years. We’re a small community school open to children from all backgrounds, faiths and abilities and our philosophy is rooted in Buddhist principles. Through the practice of mindfulness, the school aims to cultivate wisdom, reflection and compassion in children and to help them unlock their full potential.

Mindfulness can be practised in many ways, through silent or guided meditation (using a mantra, focusing on the breath or the sounds or objects around us), through focused physical activity such as yoga or

benefitted my children’s education... Six years on, with our eldest son now in Year 5, we really feel this has been the most positive foundation to his education and personal development. Once a shy toddler, he is now a confident, happy-in-his-own-skin, 10-yearold.”

walking, and as part of our daily lives through our interactions with others and the world around us. Any daily activity (even brushing our teeth or walking the dog) is an opportunity to practice mindfulness. I recently undertook the pilot training of Paws b – the Mindfulness in Schools primary course – and have found it a useful adjunct to the mindfulness practices already taught within the school.

Whatever method is chosen to teach mindfulness to children in the first instance one begins by assisting children to focus their attention in the present moment. This can be done by bringing attention to their breathing, by watching a feather fall from a height (this is good for very young children), listening to the sound of a bell or placing a raisin in the mouth and asking them to focus on the texture and shape felt by the tongue.

Teaching children to connect and focus on their breath is beneficial, as our breath is always with us and children learn that their breath is like a friend on whom they can always rely to bring them back to the present moment, to calm themselves and find inner peace. Within our school teachers use a variety of different ways to introduce children to the art of mindfulness, including exercises such as pebble and tangerine meditations, and mindful eating, taken from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book ‘Planting Seeds’, a wonderful resource for teachers and parents interested in teaching mindfulness to children.

The most effective teaching comes from those who have already developed their own practice of mindfulness. A recent visit to our school by monastics from Plum Village (Thich Nhat Hanh) highlighted the importance of embodying the practice and being a role model for pupils. Our children enjoy taking time out to practice mindfulness during the school day and see it as a very positive thing. Here is what some of our Year 5 and 6 pupils have to say: “I like meditation because it makes me more peaceful and gives my head a rest from information.”

“Mindfulness is a bit like learning that you have your own ‘super -power’, your own inner power that is always there if you need it. You can’t levitate or anything but it makes you feel strong.”

“In Spiderman, there’s a woman in a green costume who meditates and it makes her go from being old to young. Meditation is a bit like a sword that cuts through old wrinkled thoughts and makes your brain feel fresh again.”

And parents have also noted the positive impact that the practice of mindfulness has had on their children: “With mindfulness currently in the media spotlight, I’m pleased that since nursery school age this has underpinned and

There is now a growing body of scientific research to support anecdotal evidence of the benefits of mindfulness practice.

Research shows that changes can occur in the brain, particularly in the pre-frontal cortex, which is involved in self-regulation and decision making.

Regular practice can enable children to become better able to handle strong emotions and make more skilful choices.

Core life skills, emotional literacy and personality traits formed during this crucial period help determine how we will function as adults. Just as children learn foreign languages and musical instruments more readily at a young age, they also derive benefits from developing simple mindfulness techniques during their primary years.

Some secondary school teachers who have taught our former pupils have noted their confidence and focus as they develop into young adults. Mindfulness practice can help buffer children against our culture of instant gratification and teaches patience, resourcefulness and selfawareness. Children are then equipped to be successful, not just academically but as rounded human beings, more able to reach their potential and lead fulfilling lives.

For more information about how we integrate mindfulness in the classroom, visit the Mindfulness and School Blog sections of our website, www.dharmaschool.co.uk. Other organisations that may also be useful include Mindfulness in Schools (mindfulnessinschools.org), The Hawn Foundation (thehawnfoundation.org) and Wake Up Schools (wakeupschools.org).

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“Our children enjoy taking time out to practice mindfulness during the school day.”

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EASING TRANSITION BETWEEN KEY STAGES TW0 AND THREE ISA’s Postgraduate Pathways programme offers Heads and teachers the chance to study for an MA or postgraduate diploma, in association with The University of Winchester. Students undertake a schoolbased project and build further credits by attending relevant ISA courses. Sarah Harris, a teacher at GEMS Sherfield School in Hook, is the programme’s first graduate, and was awarded an MA in Education earlier this year. Sarah’s research centres around easing the transition between primary and secondary education, and looks at the role of tutor allocation and peer mentoring programmes.

I started my teaching profession working predominantly with key stages 2 and 3, and as a Year 7 tutor. Each year a brand new cohort of pale and frightened 11 year olds would gather in the sofa room clutching their brand new bags and pencil cases. I found it fascinating to see the transformation of the year group, who by the end of the Autumn term always included a wide range of vivid and lively personalities, and I soon developed an interest in transition between the two key stages. After researching this topic at length, I was surprised at how little empirical research I could find that had been conducted after the 1980s, and it was for the above reasons that I decided to focus my research in this field.

At Sherfield School, we have three main strategies to ease transition. The first 34

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strategy, as in many schools, is the allocation of a tutor. All secondary staff are allocated a tutor group in order to keep groups small. Tutors use morning registration time to deliver SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) through structured age appropriate activities; in year 7 the Autumn term focuses mainly on joining secondary school. Tutors are also expected to contact parents or guardians of their tutees once a week, usually with notices and updates on the tutee, but often just to ‘touch base’.

The second strategy to ease transition is a move up day for prospective year 7 students during the final term in year 6.

Students are able to meet their new tutors and classmates, and go on a tour of the school. Team building activities are a vital

part of this day.

In 2009 we introduced the final strategy; a peer mentoring programme, in which students from year 7 were allocated a year 9 mentor, meeting weekly during registration for the first term of the academic year.

Mentors and mentees were paired or grouped in the light of completed questionnaires identifying their interests.

Each year, slight changes were made to the programme based on the suggestions made by students from the previous year, including the number of mentees allocated to a mentor, and the activities that the mentoring pairs and groups took part in together. In later years peer mentors were also invited to attend move up day, where they completed team building activities with the new students, as well as other activities such as an end of term breakfast,

The research and a team building orienteering trip.

However in 2013-2014, these strategies were not all offered. Unlike many independent schools in the local area, at Sherfield we had adopted the terms “primary” and “secondary” to describe the different phases within the school, but in 2013 the structure was changed to include “pre-preparatory”, “preparatory” and “senior” phases. This meant a change in the transition points within the school, which can now be placed at the end of year 5 and year 8. Due to this change the peer mentor programme was put on hold while the new school structure was established. Students

The research conducted for my dissertation included a review of the above strategies from the perspective of the students.

Students from year 7 to year 11 were each given a questionnaire, in which they were asked to rate the different strategies adopted by the school. They were also asked how supported they felt on the whole when joining year 7. Follow up interviews were then conducted with a random sample of two students from each year group (one male, and one female) selected from a pool of volunteers.

The research had a particular focus on the allocation of a peer mentor, as I was provided with a naturally occurring

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were still allocated a tutor and invited to attend a move up day.

independent group design, consisting of those who had experienced the peer mentor programme, and those who had not. I was also able to compare the experiences of the students between years, which allowed me to review the effectiveness of the programme when organised in different ways.

On the whole, the response from the student questionnaires was overwhelmingly positive with 98% of students claiming to have felt supported or somewhat supported as they moved from key stage two to key stage three. However the rating of the various strategies differed.

Students found the allocation of a tutor the most helpful with 90% of students rating the help they received positively. This was closely followed by attending a move up day with over 80% of positive responses, and finally the allocation of a peer mentor with less than 70% of responses positive.

When the students were asked to discuss the help they received by their tutor, their answers were very similar: “...if you got into trouble, your tutor would be there to help you through it in a way. They’re just there to help you.”

Some students went on to describe other ways that their tutor supported them: “...my tutor helps me with my subjects. And with my organisation. I’m not very good at that.”

Most students spoke positively of the year 7 SEAL activities, with some saying that they wished they had more.

When the students were asked to discuss move up day, again responses were very positive. The majority of the interviewees agreed that meeting their new friends and teachers was the highlight of the day.

In order to fully understand the drop in positivity when reviewing the mentoring programme, the data was analysed in a variety of ways. Initially the responses of students who experienced the mentor programme was compared with those who did not, and it was found that students who experienced the mentor programme felt on average slightly more supported than students who did not; this was shown by a 14% increase in students who claimed to have been “very supported”. However, this difference was not found to be significant.

The responses from the students who were mentored alone and in groups of two or three were then compared: 40% of the students who were mentored alone gave a positive response when asked to rate their level of support, compared to 64% of

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who had input from their mentors, and so it can be argued that input from older students at this stage is also invaluable.

3. A peer mentoring programme, can be extremely helpful for certain students, while equally unhelpful for other students, despite being organised in the same way.

However, a few key points for a successful mentoring programme have been identified: a. Team building activities are vital. These can include team building trips or activities at break times and lunchtimes. b. Mentor selection is very important. As well as being reliable and good role models, mentors need confidence and good interpersonal skills. students who were mentored as a pair, and 80% of students who were mentored as a group of three. While this positive correlation suggests a clear increase in the level of support received when more mentees are present, it is important to note that the number of students who rated the peer mentor programme as “extremely useful” was highest when mentored alone.

This suggests that while being mentored in groups allowed the mentees to feel more comfortable, it stopped the students from forming a close bond with the mentor, as expressed by some of the pupils who were mentored alone.

So why did only 40% of the students who were mentored alone rate the experience positively? This question was answered during the follow up interviews, in which one year 8 girl explained: “ ...I just didn’t bond with my mentor as we were very different.”

Despite attempting to pair the students on their interests, the unfortunate fact was that some students did not bond as well as others which resulted in strained meetings and awkward silences.

In order to investigate whether it is best to pair or group students I asked the interviewees whether their experience could have been improved if they had been mentored in a larger or smaller group. A year 10 boy gave the following response: “In a way it was slightly easier [being mentored as a group] as not only did you have someone to talk to who has been at the school for a while, but you also had someone else who was going through the same thing as you.”

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interesting as it suggests that the presence of an additional year 7 student can enhance the mentoring with the experienced student.

Despite a few negative responses some of the interviewees spoke very highly of their mentor and the experience, particularly those who took part in more activities together: “I really liked when we had the peer mentors and we had that afternoon tea to get to know us, and they also helped us”.

In fact, peer mentoring was rated most positively by the year 8 group who, as the last year to experience the mentor programme, took part in the most team building activities.

Moving forward A number of conclusions can be drawn from this research.

1. The successful allocation of a tutor is an important way of easing transition for students. At Sherfield School, this has meant the introduction of smaller tutor groups; a maximum of 12 students per group, thus enabling tutors to get to know each of their tutees, to make regular contact with parents and guardians, and to support their tutees more effectively with academic matters as well as pastoral ones.

2. Inviting students to attend a move up day is an effective way of easing transition by giving the students the opportunity to meet their new classmates and teachers, and allowing them to become more familiar with the school. The year groups who rated the move up day most positively were those

c. Mentoring groups may well be more effective than mentoring one on one. While students may not be able to form the close bonds felt by some of the mentoring pairs, having more students present helps to reduce the awkwardness felt by some and make the experience more enjoyable for those who lack confidence. It also allows the student to discuss their problems with someone who is also experiencing transition. d. Structured meetings can reduce student stress. When students are left to their own devices meetings tended to be strained. By giving the students tasks and discussion topics, conversation runs more smoothly.

While the input from older students can prove invaluable upon transition between key stages two and three, the organisation of such a programme should be carefully considered. Each year group has its own group dynamic, and the success of the programme is dependent on its ability to adapt to the needs of the group.

Sarah Harris is Art Co-ordinator, Head of Psychology and Head of Year 11 at ISA school GEMS Sherfield in Hook.

To find out more about ISA and The University of Winchester Postgraduate Pathways Programme please visit our website or contact ISA’s Professional Development and Training Officer Alice Jeffries : alice.jeffries@isaschools.org.uk.

SPECALIST

NOT STANDARD As an educational establishment, you are under constant pressure to perform in all areas.

Likewise, you want your suppliers to offer more options and better value too.

That’s why it makes sense to partner with a specialist education broker, able to offer you choice, value for money and great service.

To arrange an insurance review call 0844 963 21 35 or email the team uk.schools@ajg.com Arthur J. Gallagher (GB) is a trading name of Oval Insurance Broking Limited. Oval Insurance Broking Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: 9 South Parade, Wakefield, WF1 1LR. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 1195184. Oval Insurance Broking Limited is a member of the Arthur J. Gallagher group.

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ISA NEWS REVIEW ISC ITT website The Independent Schools Council has launched a new website on training to teach in the independent sector. The ISC ITT site is aimed at both graduates and schools, and offers advice on funding and the various post graduate routes into teaching. ISA Heads will find the section on how to offer on the job training particularly useful. Visit : www.iscteachertraining.co.uk/

Emergency asthma inhalers in schools UK schools are now permitted by law to purchase and hold emergency salbutamol asthma inhalers for pupils. The new regulations, which came into force on 1st October following a Department of Health consultation, allow schools to buy inhalers and spacers from a pharmaceutical supplier in small quantities. Schools that intend to provide emergency inhalers will need to consider amending any relevant policies. Full guidance is available on the Gov.Uk website.

New App for Bereaved Children A new App has been created by a group of bereaved young people working with leading charity Child Bereavement UK. The App, ‘Grief: Support for Young People’, has been developed for 11-25 year olds. It can also be used by friends, teachers, parents and professionals who would like to know how to support bereaved young people. ‘Grief: Support for Young People’ can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store, though is not yet available for Android.

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ISA SPORT PE CONFERENCE

February 2015 will see the launch of the first ever ISA Junior PE Conference. The event, which is open to PE staff at all levels, will focus on the different stages of development in junior sport, and examine the use of creative ideas in inspiring children to enjoy PE. Leading

practitioners, including Caroline Park and Jim Lavin, will deliver sessions on Early Years/Key Stage 1 Sport, Physical Literacy and Teaching Games to 7-11 year olds.

• For details and booking visit the ISA website.

COMPUTING CURRICULUM MAY NOT MEET INDUSTRY NEEDS A study warns that the new computing curriculum may not sufficiently prepare pupils for work in the technology and engineering industries, according to the TES. The report, produced by the London School of Economics and technology charity Nominet Trust, states that students will need to take part in a whole range of extra-curricular computing activities if they want to compete for work.

The research claims that 750,000

“digitally skilled” workers will be needed by 2017, but many students with talent in this area do not pursue computing as a career.

DEAR PARENT OR GUARDIAN...

EXAMINATIONS UPDATE

EXAM CONSULTATION Ofqual has launched a series of consultations on developing new GCSE, A level and AS qualifications for first teaching in September 2016. The latest covers GCSEs in Citizenship Studies, Cooking and

Nutrition, Design and Technology and Drama. A and AS levels in Drama and Theatre are also covered. Teachers wishing to contribute should respond to Ofqual by 19th November.

DECOUPLING OF AS AND A LEVELS Many schools will be considering content for prospectuses and open evenings this term without full information from Awarding Bodies about the examination courses they will run next year.

Some of the future syllabuses for the new qualifications are not yet available and there is uncertainty whether the new de-coupled AS Levels will be genuinely co-teachable with the A Level – the Awarding Bodies have yet to commit to offering AS courses alongside every full A level. Head Teachers want their students to have every advantage when it comes to university applications, but the universities are so far maintaining silence on whether they will continue to use AS results

for selection or not, and what they propose to do, should there be a mass exodus from AS Levels across the maintained and independent sectors.

Universities are unlikely to make standard offers that include AS levels as this could discriminate against schools that don’t offer the full range of AS courses. There is the added complication that some of the new courses are being introduced from 2015, with Maths from 2016, and a final wave of subjects from 2017.

ISA is very interested to hear what sixth form courses you will be running from 2015 and what views you have on this issue.

• Please send your comments to executive.assistant@isaschools.org.uk

Quite a few parents have asked about the new grading system at GCSE and even though not all details are known at this stage, I hope the following helps. The main change is that grades will be replaced with numbers, with 9 being the highest, though there’s scope to add more at the top end as grade inflation takes its usual toll – many are predicting that the top mark with be 15 by 2020. The equivalent to the current C grade is 4.579, so that should be the initial aim for our children.

Under our new homework policy, work will be marked 0-9 with every pupil expected to be at least average. The only exception is in sports science where pupils will still receive either “facing relegation”, “lounging in midtable” or “benefitting from Russian money” as helpful comments. We know that parents take a keen interest in homework and so we have agreed with the demands of the School Council that parents can join their children in detention. As levels have been removed from the national curriculum, we are gradually doing the same, starting naturally in design and technology.

Admittedly, this has made projects a bit more wonky but has certainly added more rigour as Mr Gove quite rightly envisaged. The pupils have shown great ingenuity and Boris in 9C is experimenting with a glue to hold papers, books and ADHD pupils in place. This will be particularly useful in the examination room where we normally use old copies of schemes of work to prop up the tables.

And talking of policies, the government has insisted that we introduce new guidance on actively promoting British values, so the following will now apply: pupils must line up mindlessly for lunch and mutter things like, “typical foreigners” quietly when our overseas boarders jump the queue. Menus will return to traditional British fare such as bangers and mash, bacon butties and chicken tikka masala. All sports teams will need to show the disharmony shown by the England cricket team in dressing rooms Prior (sorry, prior) to games. We will also limit voting for School Council elections to around 25% of the school, as long as that percentage can demonstrate total apathy and disinterest in the democratic process. Those taking part will also be able to register a protest vote and we are currently seeking right-wing and reactionary alternatives down at the local pub, the Nigel Arms. I have also reduced the real-term budgets for fixing the potholes in the drive and for plasters for the school nurse (while insisting that she administers to more patients each month). Finally, staff will dress in national costume for St David’s, St. George’s and St Patrick’s Days, with celebrations for St Andrew’s Day being devolved to the science department, where Ms Sturgeon (biology) and Mr Salmond (physics) are insisting on appropriate arrangements involving haggis and fried mars bars. It is only in these ways that we will build up the portfolio of evidence necessary to satisfy inspectors at their next visit that we are actively promoting British values.

Headmaster

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notes from the frontline

ASK THE EXPERTS NEW LEGISLATION

FOOD ON THE PLATE –

BUT WHAT’S IN IT? School caterers be warned. Legislation scheduled for 13 December this year will make due diligence an absolute necessity, warns Nick Walton.

I am sure we all know someone who is allergic to something; allergens may be in the form of pollen or particular types of pollen, or more seriously in foods.

The most common probably of all of the food allergies is the peanut allergy. There have been tragic cases where food has been contaminated unintentionally with peanut oil and has, as a result, caught the person with the allergy off guard and unable to react in time to the anaphylaxis which results.

Anaphylaxis is the body’s reaction to the allergen in its most extreme form; the response will sometimes lead to a cardiac arrest and death for the sufferer.

We are all aware that food labelling has for some time included a requirement not only to say what is in the product, but also what might be there by accident, peanut or peanut derivatives being probably the most common.

I was recently involved with some food labelling prosecutions and understood very vividly the need for correct food labelling in English for English speaking customers who purchase goods in supermarkets and corner stores. It may appear romantic to have a jar of dried tomatoes labelled in a foreign language and available for sale and purchase, however if the requirements of English law are not followed and the label with the contents is not clearly identified in English, the risks for an allergic reaction for an unsuspecting customer is all too real. Article 15 of the European Food Regulations (Regulation (EU) 1169/2011) (adopted by the UK) clearly states that, ‘Mandatory food information shall appear in the language easily understood by consumers of the member state where the food is marketed’.

13 December – new measures The same piece of European legislation confirms new measures to come into force in the United Kingdom on 13 December, 2014.

The measures require that providers of food advise their customers of the potential for allergens in their offer. The legislation 40

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12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites in concentrations greater than 10ppm.

13. Lupin and its products (chiefly flour or seeds in pastries).

14. Molluscs and their products.

identifies the allergens which should be considered: 1. Cereals containing gluten, namely wheat; rye; barley; oats; spelt; kamut or their hybridised strains and products thereof (except wheat based glucose syrups, wheat based maltodextrins, glucose syrups from barley and cereals used for making alcohol at distillate).

2. Crustaceans (shellfish) and products manufactured from them.

3. Eggs and products manufactured from them.

4. Fish and products manufactured from fish, except fish gelatine used as a carrier for vitamins and isinglass used as a fining agent in beer and wine (for removing particulates).

5. Peanuts and their products.

6. Soya beans and products thereof, except soya bean oil (and its hydrogenated fat).

Derivatives of soya oil, such as Vitamin E and sterols.

7. Milk and its products.

8. Nuts, the whole range of nuts from brazils to macadamia nuts.

9. Celery and its products.

10. Mustard and its products.

11. Sesame seeds and its products.

Your suppliers may provide you with information on all the products they provide to your premises. It may well come in the form of an MSDS type sheet (Material Safety Data Sheet). The sheet will provide all of the potential allergens in the product. Fresh fruit and vegetables are exempt as are potatoes which have not been peeled, carbonated water, vinegar derived from a single product, cheese, butter, fermented milk and cream to which no ingredients have been added other than lactic products, enzymes and cultures essential to the manufacture (yoghurt etc).

The tough part for the end supplier is presenting (or having the ability to be able to present) information about potential allergens at the point where the customer pupil, teacher, staff etc – is ordering the food.

This new area of food legislation is a prime example of where a due diligence approach is vital. Written documentation about your food and the potential for allergens is vital as is the documentation you get from your supplier. Record keeping should be meticulous, as whenever you hear the word legislation there is also going to be an enforcement concordat. With the enforcement of these regulations, noncompliance can attract a fine of up to £5,000.

The advice? Start asking the questions of your suppliers now – if you haven’t already.

The information required is not inconsiderable and adopting ‘best practice’ in respect of its presentation would not only save you significant sleep but will also demonstrate that you know the law and have adopted its requirements. Don’t forget, there is no reason why you have to wait until 13 December 2014 to put this legislation into practice and it gives you the opportunity to try it out and ensure that all the I’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed.

INFORMATION: THE KEY RISK OF OUR AGE

Management and security of information held by organisations is one of the key risk management issues of our age. Specialist risk and insurance solutions provider, Arthur J. Gallagher, explains.

The risk surrounding the management and security of information has been highlighted by a series of cases and investigations by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); the ICO enforces one of the key pieces of legislation surrounding information management, the Data Protection Act. One such case involved a local authority in the north of England which was fined £80,000 for losing the personal data of 286 children with special needs. The council mislaid an unencrypted memory stick containing details of children attending schools within the council’s catchment which included details of medical conditions, teaching requirements, and identifiable information including dates of birth and addresses. Commenting on the case the ICO’s head of enforcement said: “This breach should act as a warning to all organisations that their data protection policies must work in practice, otherwise they are meaningless

and fail to ensure people information is being looked after correctly.”

When you consider the average cost of an information breach is between £65,000 and

Background Arthur J. Gallagher has a dedicated and specialist education team with considerable experience in advising a wide range of education establishments and organisations.

We arrange specialist risk and insurance solutions for schools, putting appropriate and cost-effective insurance protection in place and advising more broadly on managing risk.

The team has carried out work for schools throughout the UK, including state and private schools, as well as academy trust schools including more complex federations, multi academy and umbrella trusts and consortiums.

Our approach is based on a strong service ethic and focused on key risk management values.

From protecting your students, teachers and support staff, to your buildings, assets and reputation, you can rely on Arthur J. Gallagher to provide innovative and cost effective insurance and risk management solutions across every class 1

£115,0001 for an organisation the size of a medium-sized school, and the volumes and nature of information held by those operating within the education sector, it is crucial that the following steps are taken: • Develop and put in place a formal policy around the management and use of data.

• Ensure sufficient and documented training is provided to all staff on how to use and secure data and information.

• Make sure IT systems are up to date and have sufficient levels of built in security and encryption.

• Purchase insurance to protect against legal costs associated with regulatory investigations and prosecutions, should an information or data breach occur.

These measures will contribute to ensuring protection of information is in place and formalises what responses are available if a breach or incident should occur.

of risk that you face. We will help you identify liabilities, quantify risk, enhance protection and mitigate losses across your exposures in a cost effective manner.

Such proven practical and intellectual know-how has made us the insurance broking partner of choice for many schools across the UK. Would you like to talk?

If you have any questions or would like to explore how you can make your insurance work harder for your school, we’re here to help.

Philip Webster, Education Director t. 01924 234028; mobile 07717 802518 e. phil_webster@ajg.com Sally Maidment, Senior Account Executive t. 01992 449428; mobile 07796 616962 e. sally_maidment@ajg.com

Department of Business, Innovation and Skills ‘2014 Information Security Breaches Survey’

The sole purpose of this publication is to provide guidance on the issues covered in this guide. It makes no claims to completeness and does not constitute legal advice with respect to any set of facts. The information it contains is no substitute for specific legal advice. If you have any queries regarding the issues raised, please get in touch with your usual contact or the authors of this publication.

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55, Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909..’

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

ASK THE EXPERTS

ASK THE EXPERTS WEB USAGE

WORKING WITH THE WEB –

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED When your website has been built, it is generally ‘bad form’ to let it rest on its laurels! So how do you ensure that your school’s site earns its place as an interactive and valuable member of the team, a forum for pupils, parents and teachers alike? Larrytech MD Larry Hardcastle answers some frequently asked questions.

How often should school websites be updated?

You should plan to regularly update your site with interesting content related to your school. Writing news articles or blogs describing the ‘goings on’ at your school is not only useful for your stakeholders, but also helps to improve your search engine ranking in Google.

Who should have the ability to put content on the site?

Making sure all members of staff have the ability to contribute is an important facet to take into account, as it helps give a holistic and genuine voice to your school. The standard way to do this is through the use of a Content Management System (CMS).

There are many solutions on the market, both open source and paid for varieties, with popular ones being ‘Wordpress’ and ‘Joomla’.

What are the CMS options?

There are a few key things to consider for determining which CMS is right for your school – security, ease of use, as well as the ability to manage multiple users and administrators, for example. Off the shelf CMS packages may not always be the best fit for schools as they are more susceptible to security attacks due to their widespread adoption. For the same reason, they may also tend to be ‘clunky’ thanks to the number of broad-brush features and plugins built-in – not all of which will be necessary for school purposes. A bespoke CMS will avoid these issues, with the ability to add as few or as many features as fits the school’s needs.

Creative blogging is just one way to keep your web site current and front of mind.

independently of your website. Apps can be built for Apple, Windows and Android devices, with separate versions required for each. The main advantage of an app is that it works offline, not requiring a live internet connection in order to function. However, it can be very costly to produce an app, and keeping it up-to-date can be challenging if it is separate from your main website.

As such, we tend to recommend focusing attention and budget on a responsive website. Responsive websites deliver an applike experience to website visitors by re-sizing your website so that it displays appropriately on all devices, whether that’s a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile.

The key to responsiveness is the simplicity of the process; the website does all the work in adapting itself. From an administrative perspective you need only update your site once, and the change is rolled out across all devices automatically.

What is the difference between a mobile app and a responsive website? And what does a school need?

How can I improve SEO performance?

A mobile app is an ‘application’ that is designed, developed and updated

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of enhancing the performance of

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your website in search results so that your site appears at the top of the list.

The top three sites in the search results would generally be expected to receive around 80% of the clicks on that page, so being at the top really does make a difference!

There have been many changes to the process by which search engines index and prioritise websites. However, our advice here has remained the same for several years – your focus must be on content.

Good quality, original content that is useful and relevant for visitors will always work in your favour. Other factors include the speed of your site, the quality of the code behind the scenes and the frequency at which it is updated.

CONTACT DETAILS If you’re looking to redesign your website or need some web input from a team of experts, contact Larrytech on 01892 888 011 or visit their website http://www.larrytech.com/schools/

SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT IN ISA SCHOOLS

HANNAH TAPLEY, MALVERN ST JAMES SCHOOL, WORCESTERSHIRE 15 year old Hannah Tapley is a National High Jump Champion, and hopes to compete for Team GB in the next Olympics. This is her story.

Hannah Tapley is nothing if not determined, as her mother will testify. At the age of just 13 months and again at 4 years, she was put in full body plaster to correct congenital dislocation of the hip. How amazing then that at 15, she has bounded to high jump success, representing her country twice, and seizing a clutch of championships at regional and national level.

Determination, resilience, fortitude – she has it in spades and her tireless dedication to training, self-improvement and the competitive spirit marks her out as a true professional. No surprise that Hannah is aiming high: her ambition is to compete for Team GB in the next Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

Hannah started showing an interest in sport whilst at Prep school – Hatherop Castle in Gloucestershire – where she started out as a long-distance Cross Country runner. She joined Cirencester Athletics at the age of 9 and entered the Oxfordshire League for Cross Country running. Keen to keep active and explore a wider range of sporting disciplines, in the summer months she participated in a junior athletic training campaign. She found that she was good at jumping, and that realisation set the course for her subsequent athletics career.

Due to a lack of facilities at her local club, Hannah joined Swindon Harriers, running, jumping and starting pole vault. Meanwhile at school, she became active on the schools’ competitions circuit and and entered ISA competitions which gave her a taste for competitive jumping.

At 13, Hannah started at ISA’s Malvern St James Girls’ School, where as a Sports Scholar she benefits from the MSJ Sports Scholar Programme. The School makes exceptional provision for scholars, adapting pupils’ academic timetables to accommodate sports training schedules and fixtures, and providing

each girl with professional support and a professional trainer via the MSJ Sports Mentoring Programme.

Hannah, who already this Autumn Term has taken Bronze in the national Sainsbury’s Games, says, “I’m not naturally organised, but MSJ has helped me plan my schedule better, and be more independent and forwardthinking so that I manage my time efficiently.

This way I can continue my passion for athletics without negatively impacting upon my school work”.

Deborah Tapley, Hannah’s mother, comments, “Malvern St James has gone above and beyond, supporting Hannah with her training, arranging to take her regularly to the Worcester track and helping her to balance her academic studies and sporting commitments.”

Hannah has chosen to board at the school so that she is able to focus on her studies as well as her personal and school team sporting commitments. She has also been able to join Worcester Athletics Club which has a fully qualified High Jump Coach, Deirdre Elmhirst.

Two years ago, Deirdre agreed to meet with Hannah and allow her to trial. Hannah is now part of her High Jump Squad, and Deirdre’s expertise and encouragement have seen Hannah step up to a new level and build on her previous success.

Hannah’s season started with indoor

success in February becoming the National U17 Indoor High Jump Champion. This win is all the more impressive as Hannah is only 15 and this is her first year in the older age group.

Subsequent wins for 2014 include: ISA National Champion, Wiltshire County Champion, Runner-Up Masons Trophy, Silver Medal English Schools, Silver Medal International SIAB, Serveline Midland League Division 3 Record, Midlands County Champion, and at the start of the autumn term, Bronze Medal at the Sainsbury’s School Games. She was asked to attend warm weather training in Ayamonte, Spain through the Easter holidays which has helped prepare her for this season’s achievements.

Throughout this season, Hannah has broken many records and has improved her own personal best, currently standing at 1.74m as well as twice representing England.

In her GCSE year Hannah plans to train throughout the winter so that she can focus solely on her exams in the summer term. She aims to have a new personal best of 1.8m by the end of this season.

Malvern St James Girls’ School Headmistress, Patricia Woodhouse, says of Hannah, “We are so proud of each and every one of her achievements, particularly as we see the year-round hard work and determination that goes into her training. She makes it look so effortless, but no sportswoman achieves at this level without being utterly focused. She is a great ambassador for the school; she has many repeat mentions in the school’s Book of Excellence which commends personal achievement; and she is an inspiration and role model to the school community. I really do think that I will be there in the crowd – in Brazil, in 2016 – watching her make her Olympic debut, and feeling so, so proud”.

Hannah’s ambition remains to jump two metres, and to be the first woman to do this wearing a Team GB vest. www.isaschools.org.uk

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

SPORTING TIMES

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

SPORTS ROUNDUP Last term saw some fantastic ISA sporting events taking place up and down the country. Here is a summary of our main competitions since the last issue.

National Triathlon ISA’s second National Triathlon event took place at Lucton School in Herefordshire in May. Over 200 competitors took part in the event, which was overseen by a British Triathlon Race Official.

Electronic chip timing was used to record the children’s overall and split times.

The first race set off at 11am with every race following at hourly intervals. The oldest age group completed a 400m swim, 10km bike ride and 3km run.

The youngest age group (Tristar Start) completed a 50m swim, 800m bike ride and 600m run.

Despite some heavy downpours throughout the day, the children remained in good spirits and all successfully completed their races. Lucton School were fabulous hosts, providing race marshals, chaperones and cadets as first aiders for the day. A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make this event a huge success after 9 months of planning. Next year’s event will take place on Wednesday 29 April 2015.

RESULTS: Tristar Start Girls: Sophia Donovan, Ruckleigh School Boys: George Jones, Lucton School Tristar 1 Girls: Maya Watt, St Wystan’s Boys: Jack Newman, Highclare School 44

Tristar 2 Girls: Georgia Lees, Holy Trinity Boys: Jack Williams, Lucton School Tristar 3 Girls: Ellie Russell, Adcote School Boys: Ollie Howl, Lucton School Youth Girls: Jodie Beddow, Bedstone College Boys: Abraham Mendes De Costa, St James

National Athletics This year’s National ISA Athletics Competition took place at The Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, with over 840 competitors all striving to win a medal for their Area. There were some exceptional performances on the track and field. Next year’s event will take place on Monday 15 June 2015.

London West Moyin Forsythe - Claires Court 100m, 200m Millie Cook - Sherfield - Shot Midlands Harry Smith - Princethorpe College - 100m, Shot Hannah Tapley - Malvern St James - High Jump North Ellen-May Kearney - Redcourt 600m Fisayo Williamson Taylor - The Grange - 100m, 200m South West Maia Hawkins - Bredon School 1500m James Bridge - The Park - 800m London West were overall Area Champions winning both the girls and boys senior titles.

National Equestrian

RESULTS: East Anglia Daniel Tewogbade - Trinity School - 75m, 150m Zoe Benton - St Nicholas School - 300m, Hurdles London North Onur Akinsoglu - Portland Place - Discus and Shot E. Dunning - The Grove - High Jump London South Harley Norman - Oakhyrst Grange - 600m Finley Bigg - 400m, Long Jump

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This year’s Equestrian event was held in May at Offchurch, Leamington Spa, hosted by Princethorpe College. A number of ISA schools took part with three medalling overall.

Next year’s event will take place on 23/24 May 2015.

RESULTS: 80cm Winners Princethorpe College 90cm Winners Dodderhill School, Droitwich 100cm Winners St Edward’s, Cheltenham

National Tennis ISA’s final event of the academic year took place on Friday 20

June at the University of Leicester. 70 children from 10 ISA Schools competed in the U13 and U15 age groups. Singles competitions were held in the morning followed by doubles in the afternoon. The competitors played 10 minute timed matches in a round robin format followed by knockout matches in the cup and plate competitions.

It was an extremely hot day however the standard of competition was exceptionally high. Well done to all competitors.

Next year’s event will be held at the National Tennis Centre on Monday 18 May 2015.

RESULTS: U13 Singles Girls Cup: Jemma Lancaster, Claires Court School Girls Plate: Anna Worsfold, Claires Court School Boys Cup: Will Shepherd, Thorpe Hall School Boys Plate: Ben Clarke, St James Boys U13 Doubles Girls Cup: Hannah Wood and Mae McCutcheon, St Dominic’s High School Girls Plate: Jemma Lancaster and Anna Worsfold, Claires Court School U15 Singles Girls Cup: Elizabeth Daly, Hull Collegiate Girls Plate: Georgia Harper, Claires Court Boys Cup: Abraham Mendes De Costa, St James Boys Boys Plate: Archie Pugh, Bedstone College U15 Doubles Girls: Elizabeth Daly and Gabriella Zenetti, Hull Collegiate Boys Cups: Abraham Mendes da Costa and Illias Goovaerts, St James Boys Boys Plate: Luke Reid and Harry Johnson, Thorpe Hall

THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

OLYMPIC POOL TO HOST ISA SWIMMING ISA’s National Swimming Gala is moving to an exciting new venue - the 2012 Olympic Pool in London.

The gala will take place on Saturday 24 January 2015 at the London Aquatic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

Neil Roskilly, ISA’s CEO, said “It is through the persistent and determined efforts of the sports team that we have been able to secure this high-profile venue. It will be a fitting setting for our National Swimming Final, which has now become a very high quality, competitive event”.

ISA SPORT SPONSORS

Titan Mouthguards Titan Mouthguards are sponsors of ISA’s 3 National Rugby Tournaments and one of the leading mouthguard brands in the UK. The flexibility that Titan can offer for schools is one of their key selling points, by adapting both the mouthguards they make (designing them in school colours, with crests and names if desired) and adapting their service to best suit the school.

Since sponsoring the ISA’s U14 rugby tournament last year, a number of ISA schools have worked with Titan including Abbey Gate College and Claires Court. The Director of Sport at Abbey Gate College, Dan Rowett, said “From start to finish Titan Mouthguards provided us with a friendly, helpful and professional service. The fitting day went very quickly and all pupils being fitted were made to feel at ease by the team of fitters who joined us at Abbey Gate College. They are of an extremely high

standard, with a number of the boys claiming they are the best-fitting mouthguards they have ever worn.”

As well as a flexible service and a high quality hand-made product, Titan Mouthguards’ prices are also extremely competitive; approximately £12 cheaper than other rival companies and with a £4 cashback incentive for every mouthguard sold through the school.

On being asked about his experience of working with ISA Sport, Titan’s Managing Director Jon Proud said: “Working with ISA has proved to be really valuable for us as a growing business. The Association’s warmth and professionalism has been pivotal in helping us promote the company to private schools across the UK. It is with pride that I am able to confirm that we shall now be sponsoring all of the ISA’s National Rugby Tournaments this year and working with the association further.”

Sweet Chariot Rugby tour specialists Sweet Chariot are the official sponsors of ISA’s Junior PE and School Sport Conference in February 2015, as well as sponsors of 3 National sports events. If you are contemplating taking your sports teams on tour, Sweet Chariot would be delighted to provide advice and a quote for you. Schools might also be interested in Sweet Chariot’s multi sports tournament – The Jersey Games – which takes place every Easter. The event includes educational excursions and supervised social activities.

• To find out more visit www.sweetchariot.co.uk or contact Ian Carrick: Ian.Carrick@sweetchariot.co.uk.

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THE ISA JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

FUN WITH FORENSICS St Margaret’s Prep School in Essex shares the story of its annual Forensic Science Day – hosted with Essex Police.

From humble beginnings as an after school club eight years ago, Forensic Science Day at St. Margaret’s Prep School in Gosfield, Essex, has grown enormously. The annual event for Year 6 pupils now covers two days and is run with the invaluable assistance of Essex Police, former pupils and an army of parents.

Work begins with the children the week before the event, setting the scene and providing background information. This year, the crime revolved around the illegal importation of black market chocolate, given the world shortage of cocoa, and the children studied this trade in Maths and Geography. They also studied a short book entitled “Dr Joseph Bell” by Robert Hume about the surgeon and teacher who gave one of his pupils, Arthur Conan Doyle, the idea of creating the character of Sherlock Holmes.

Day one introduced a Crime Scene Investigator and fingerprint expert who spoke to the children about the role of modern policing, the part science and forensics play in solving crime and routes into the profession. A simulated crime scene followed where the real work began.

“We didn’t even know there was going to be a murder at school until we heard a really loud scream, and then everything got very serious!” said Milla from Year 6.

At the crime scene the pupils discovered the ‘dying’ victim, who was able to issue a vague description before expiring from poisoning, complete with foam from the mouth (a mixture of sherbet and chocolate mousse). The CSI and Fingerprint Expert 46

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swung into action, organising the children into teams to gather (bag and tag) evidence with the assistance of seven parent helpers.

Labs were then run including fingerprint lifting, fingerprint analysis, electrostatic footprint analysis, fibre analysis and fingertip searching whilst ‘working a line’ and plaster casting. The CSI’s van was on hand to provide equipment and to illustrate the wide range of specialist situations CSIs have to process.

On the second day, the teams took part in a further carousel of scientific and ICT based labs, each examining one aspect of the evidence found. These included powder analysis, chromatography, graphology, pH analysis, dental comparisons, statistical height calculations, cryptology, E-fit and a translation lab. At the end of the day, the suspects were gathered and the children gave their feedback to a Sergeant from Essex Police, who weighed the evidence and decided whether an arrest was appropriate.

“I really enjoyed discovering all the different aspects of Forensic Science, and spending time with so many experts was a great experience,” said Alex from Year 6.

“We got to take finger prints and took a mould of a footprint and we all felt like real detectives!”

Follow-up sessions followed, with pupils reflecting on the key learning of the event, and discussing the new skills they have developed. Any follow-up questions were emailed to the CSI for clarification.

St. Margaret’s Principal, Elaine Powling, said: “We are incredibly proud of St. Margaret’s links with Essex Police, and look forward to continuing our relationship and working closely with them. Forensic Science Day is such a wonderful experience for our children, and we thank the experts who are always so pleased to take part and create such an experience for our pupils.”

Chief Constable of Essex Police, Stephen Kavanagh, recently visited St. Margaret’s Prep to award a special Merit Award to Carolyn Moss, Director of Studies, for her dedication to capturing and inspiring young minds. Forensic Science Day has been organised by Mrs Moss for the past seven years and continues to go from strength to strength.

Mrs Moss said: “Forensic Science Day could not run without the wonderful support of Essex Police who have worked with us since the very first year and whose involvement has grown annually. We were delighted to welcome Chief Constable Kavanagh – to see firsthand the wonderful commitment from his officers to this project which has thrilled and inspired so many children.”