Independent Executive November

INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE NOV/DEC 2011

UTIVE

The benefit of independents sponsoring state schools

Abroad spectrum

How to attract international students to your school

Cashing in on status

Do headteachers get paid too much or not enough?

EDEXEC

NOV/DEC 2011

SCHOOL SPONSORSHIP | INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS | HEADTEACHER PAY

BRIDGING THE GAP

SECTOR

EXEC

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News The latest news from the world of independent schools

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Analysis Bridging the gap What’s the benefit for a private school in sponsorship?

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Interview A new approach A word with Will Phelan, new head of Stamford School MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT

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Development Abroad spectrum How to attract potentially lucrative international students

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Alumni networking Cause celebrity How to rope in the help of your more famous alums

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Independent Executive, brought to you

by EdExec, is a bi-monthly magazine that supports business and financial excellence in the modern UK independent school – whether it be fee-paying, an academy or a free school.

Every issue features a host of original editorial content aimed at bursars, headteachers, finance directors and development officers and focused on issues to do with the financial and administrative management of a school.

EDITOR julia.dennison@intelligentmedia.co.uk

PROCURE AND PLAN 26

Advice Treading the boards Quick tips on augmenting performance spaces on a budget

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Top tips How to spruce up your menu Quick things you can do to make your school meals more appealing MANAGEMENT

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HR Cashing in on status Do headteachers get paid too much?

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Legal Crossing the line How close is too close in teacher/ pupil relationships?

DEPUTY EDITOR matthew.jane@intelligentmedia.co.uk REPORTER jonathan.hills@intelligentmedia.co.uk PUBLISHER vicki.baloch@intelligentmedia.co.uk

ICT MATTERS 36

Event preview Always a good BETT Why you should put January’s technology show in your diary

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Case study Head in the cloud The Free School Norwich heads to the cloud for data storage

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Techno Geek Finding your voice First in a two-part series on finding your school’s online voice

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46

Interview No holds barred St Chris is radical to its core – no uniforms; no meat; no nonsense

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Diary In the rear-view mirror A retired prep school head tells his story after 25 years at the chalk face

Welcome

T

he line drawn between fee paying independent schools and their state-funded counterparts is beginning to fade. Following the Upper Tribunal’s ruling on what private schools need to do to be eligible for charitable status, we’re left with a nebulous result: schools should give “more than a token benefit” to the poor. What this means is open for interpretation.

One certainty is that with the reduced role of the local authority in state education, the government is encouraging maintained schools to seek support from all kinds of places, including fee-paying private schools (see p8). In a bid to reduce the attainment gap between rich and poor, the coalition government is asking private schools to work with their local state schools. This was highlighted when, much to many the listening headteachers’ chagrin, Cameron told the Conservative party conference in September that “the apartheid between our private and state schools is one of the biggest wasted opportunities in our country today”. For those private schools already reaching out to their publicly funded counterparts, it was an unfair accusation, causing an outcry from educators saying that the rapport between fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools has never been better.

This may be true, but the government wants it to be even better. After a meeting with the PM, the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) wrote to England’s leading independent schools asking them to consider sponsoring struggling primary schools.

Of course, the reason people choose independent schools is for their independence, and for many, it’s a sanctuary for bright pupils to excel in the company of others of similar aptitude in smaller classes. A balance, therefore, must be struck. However, with the Charity Commission ruling, independent schools seeking charity status may pause to consider that much longer on just what they can do for less well-off pupils.

EDITOR

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top storY

priVAte sCHOOLs Urged tO spOnsOr strUggLing stAte COUnterpArts the hmc persuades some of england’s independent schools to sponsor poorer state primary schools following a meeting with the prime minister

The Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) has written to some of England’s leading independent schools asking them to consider sponsoring struggling primary schools in an attempt to tackle the achievement gap between rich and poor pupils.

The decision to write to independent schools in the HMC, which represents 252 schools in the UK and Northern Ireland, follows a meeting between the HMC’s leading members and Prime Minister David Cameron.

General secretary of the HMC, William Richardson said: “A number of HMC schools are already partnered with academies and the recent meeting with the prime minister and Michael Gove explored the government’s aspiration that this work could be extended.

“One response to this, which was already in train, is involving HMC in coordinating interest among members who might wish to sponsor a primary

academy. We will be undertaking that work during the coming year in order to support these schools for whom this form of working with academies meets their needs pretty well.”

Private schools have been encouraged to work with struggling state schools in the past, with some independents actually setting up schools in the state sector.

However, the move for private schools to work with primary state schools has not been very common in the past, and likely comes with the government’s drive to persuade more primary schools to become academies.

A spokesperson from the Department for Education said: “The government is keen to see more partnerships between maintained and independent schools.

“Ministers are very aware of the benefits for both pupils and staff that can arise from such arrangements, and are determined to narrow the gap between the poorest and richest children.”

private schools claim victory in Charity Commission battle The Charity Commission will have to rewrite its guidelines on what private schools in England and Wales have to do to become a charity, after the Upper Tribunal rules there is more to public benefit than just helping the poor.

Since 2006, private schools have had to prove their wider public benefit to keep their charitable status, which gives them tax benefits, and just having bursaries for poorer children was deemed not enough.

The Independent Schools Council challenged the Charity Commission’s guidance for putting too much emphasis on how much independent schools offered bursaries to poor pupils.

While the ruling by the Upper Tribunal confirmed certain parts of the Charity Commission’s guidance were “erroneous” and should be rewritten, it said private schools as charities should give “more than a token benefit” to poorer children.

The tribunal ruled that private school charity trustees should have more of a say in how they meet public benefit obligations and that not all of the benefits a school provides to others besides pupils need to be for the poor.

The ruling reads: “We see no reason why the provision of scholarships or bursaries to students who can pay some, but not all, of the fees should not be seen as for the public benefit.

“Provided that the operation of the school is seen overall as being for the public benefit, with an appropriate level of benefit for the poor, a subsidy to the not-so-well-off is to be taken account of in the public benefit.”

While the ISC claims the ruling as a victory, the Charity Commission also welcomed the ruling, stating: “We accept, of course the Tribunal’s conclusion that some parts of our guidance do not explain the law clearly enough. We will amend the relevant parts of our public benefit guidance in the light of the tribunal’s decision.”

Matthew Burgess, ISC’s general counsel, told the BBC: “The ruling liberates schools to innovate and be creative in their charitable provision. The commission’s former approach, now discredited by the tribunal, had the effect of reducing the public benefit of independent schools to a crude calculation of fees and bursaries.”

However, solicitor Paul Ridge of Bindmans law firm told the news website the ruling means schools will have to “look again” at their approach to charitable status. “The difficulty with the decision is that the court will not draw a firm line as to what a school should and should not do,” he said. “The court points out that one per cent of funds allocated for poor pupils would simply not be sufficient. It suggests that 10% would be enough. Where the line is to be drawn remains unclear.” independent executive | nov/dec 2011 05

independent news

OAKHAM SCHOOL OPENS £4m SCIENCE FACULTY

Money problems shut struggling independent

Oakham School in Rutland is in the final phase of creating a £4m faculty of science.

Construction and civil engineering company Stepnell began work in the summer of 2010 on the school’s ambitious programme to bring biology, chemistry, physics and sports science departments together in one building with new laboratories and an auditorium.

The two-storey extension will link the existing biology and chemistry buildings.

Oakham is one of the country’s leading co-educational independent schools, which advanced its science teaching with the opening of four new biology labs in May, marking completion of the first phase of the new Mehra Science Faculty.

The school’s headmaster, Nigel Lashbrook, believes the new facility will inspire future generations of pupils to become scientists and engineers. “Against a nationwide background of declining numbers, the sciences are all thriving at Oakham,” he said.

“Over half our pupils study one or more sciences at A-level or as part of the International Baccalaureate. We have more students progressing to science-based degree courses than to any other subject. The faculty’s central mission will be to inspire the scientists of the future and for the first time, we will have biology, chemistry, physics and sports science departments all together in one building. Not only is this highly symbolic of the importance attached to science at Oakham, but it will bring about greater collaboration between the departments and a richer educational experience for our pupils.”

The latest phase of work to be completed is a new presentation laboratory. Builders are now working on the sports science and physics laboratories with completion of the overall scheme expected in December.

“Working in a live school environment, close communication with the school staff has been essential to the smooth running of the construction programme,” said project manager Phil Smith. “Our priority throughout has been to minimise any potential disruption through careful planning.”

Ambersfield School Nacton, near Ipswich

Heads reproach Cameron for apartheid comment Heads of state and private schools have criticised Prime Minister David Cameron for comments he made about the poor relationships between the two sectors of education in this country.

Cameron told the Conservative party conference in September “the apartheid between our private and state schools is one of the biggest wasted opportunities in our country today”.

Headteachers from both private and state sectors have denounced the comments as inaccurate, upholding the rapport between feepaying and non-fee-paying schools to be better than it has ever been.

Stephen Winkley, head of Rossall School, an independent school in Lancashire, stated: “Cameron’s comments show that he has not 06 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

really understood what it feels like to be in the education system. There isn’t that much between us all. The current government has got into interfering mode rather quicker than we had hoped for.”

Speaking to fellow MPs and Conservative party members, the PM told private schools that the means by which they could “tear down” the barriers was for them to set up – or sponsor – state academies.

However, the response from school leaders is that private and state schools are already working well together and that there is not a single ubiquitous model for the partnership.

In September, Cameron and Education Secretary Michael Gove invited 10 public school headteachers to Downing Street, asking them to be involved in academies.

Suffolk’s Amberfield School went into liquidation and closed last month due to ‘unsustainable financial losses’ blamed on a recent drop in pupil numbers that led to reported debts of £1m.

Amberfield, near Ipswich, was an independent day school for girls 2-16 and boys 2-7. It had 157 pupils when it closed (compared to 233 in 2009).

On announcing the closure, chairman of governors, Alistair Lang said: “This is a very sad day which I know will be a body blow to our pupils, parents and staff. Amberfield is a small school which has been a real strength for its many pupils over the years.

But its small size and its particular style in this difficult economic climate has made it increasingly difficult to keep afloat. Despite a great deal of effort behind the scenes in recent weeks we have reluctantly accepted we have no option but to close the school.”

Parents campaigned to save the feepaying school from closure when they heard the news. Mark Brown, who had a daughter at Amberfield, told the BBC that despite his being aware of falling pupil numbers, he felt the closing down came “completely out of the blue”. “The parents have pledged a phenomenal amount of money, probably between £50,000 and £100,000 and, in the short term, we need £200,000 to get the bank off our back and, if we do that, we can keep it open until Christmas,” he said.

“If we had known this a month ago, it would have been considerably easier to raise those funds in time.”

Lang told the BBC: “We didn’t recruit enough pupils in the summer and opened the school in September in good faith, but there is no good time to close the school.

“We’ve spent many hours trying to find investors, buyers, ways of extending the life of the school and it was a horrible decision to make.”

Governors and staff, led by headmistress Linda Ingram, will work to get the pupils into new schools as soon as possible.

Ingram said at the time of closure: “My heart goes out to all our wonderful pupils and staff – this really is a sad day for us all.

We are determined to do everything we can to ensure the transition of our pupils and our staff to new schools and jobs as quickly and easily as possible.”

We are looking for local school news.

If you have a story to share, please get in touch on editor@edexec.co.uk

independent news

in pictures

Blinds easy enough to be fitted by school staff

fifteen-year-old ella mooney, of the maynard school in exeter, launched her own brand of granola – ‘ella’s Great Granola’ – at the dartmouth food festival last month. the budding entrepreneur first introduced her granola in may this year to her fellow students,selling the snack at break times to test out its popularity before she launched it in the ‘real world’. this was met with great success, and ella decided to set up her own business during the summer holidays

the cost of installing window blinds in schools and colleges can be quite high, since installers invariably need to travel to and from the site. the smaller the number of blinds, the higher the fitting cost per unit. one way that facilities managers and school bursars can make economies, and stretch their budgets, is to arrange for installation of blinds using their own personnel, and this is where KAmpus blinds are proving successful.

KAmpus blinds have been designed for easy installation by school staff. clear fitting instructions are provided and there is a helpline in case of difficulty.

KAmpus blinds have a distinctive, pink KAmpus-loK safety feature, which ensures the blinds cannot fall out of their brackets, even with misuse. the crank handle is removable, and avoids the breakages and ligature risk associated with chains and cords.

KAmpus blinds also carry a fiveyear guarantee.

sen school Achieves 100% pArent sAtisfAction Camphill School Aberdeen has received a 100% satisfaction rating from parents as part of its reassessment for Autism Accreditation. The long-established school, which inspired the Camphill Movement (see box out), is one of only 14 schools in Scotland to have achieved this standard.

Examining the school’s specialist services for pupils with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, the expert review panel found Camphill School Aberdeen had met all of its 16 review standards and exceeded the requirements in four.

The assessors noted the way the school works with and supports parents as one of its particular strengths. Against this background, 84% of parents reported that they were “very happy”, with the remainder being “happy” or “satisfied”.

The assessors also praised the way Camphill School Aberdeen combines education, therapy and care in a “seamless” manner, recognising “the importance of addressing physical and mental wellbeing and happiness”.

School coordinator Laurence Alfred commented: “Camphill School Aberdeen’s strategy for supporting and teaching

children who have a range of support needs, including autism and Asperger’s syndrome, has been developed over the 70 years since the school first opened its doors... The fact that we have achieved such a strong endorsement of our services demonstrates that the Camphill approach is very relevant in meeting the needs of today’s young people who have additional support needs.

We are constantly striving to improve our services and, to that end, we put a strong emphasis on raising the standards of care.”

CAMpHiLL MOVeMent founded in 1939, the camphill movement was the brainchild of Austrian paediatrician Karl König who believed that every human being possessed a healthy inner personality that was independent of their physical characteristics, including mental disabilities. the Aberdeen school was set up to recognise, nurture and educate this essential self

teL: 0845 382 2000 e-MAiLs: info@aluzion.co.uk weBsite: www.aluzion.co.uk

Headteachers double their wages Headteacher salaries at independent schools have as much as doubled in just three years, with almost half of heads receiving a raise of over £20,000 in that time period, The Daily Telegraph has revealed.

Information taken from the Charities Commission has found that nearly half of headteachers moved up three or more salary bands and three heads took pay of more than £50,000, while parents have met with rising fees. (See p30 for the full story)

diArY 23-24 november internAtionAl And privAte schools educAtion forum (ipsef) Westminster conference centre, london

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 07

sector > School sponsorship

Independent schools have been urged to sponsor state schools to help tackle the achievement gap. Graham Jarvis looks at sponsorship and the benefits it can have on the sponsor 08 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

sector > School sponsorship

T

he Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) recently wrote to its members to encourage them to sponsor failing state primary schools with the aim of reducing the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils. This seems like quite a noble ambition. Yet only 12 of the UK’s leading independent schools were involved in the scheme before the HMC’s annual meeting in September. However, a further 23 HMCmember schools are said to have expressed an interest in sponsoring a state primary school. This represents less than 10% of the organisation’s adherents of more than 250 leading independent schools.

To be fair, and although the roots of such an idea can be traced back to Lord Andrew Adonis as schools minister under the last Labour government, from the HMC’s point of view, the scheme is still in its infancy. This hasn’t prevented the coalition government’s schools minister, Rt. Hon Nick Gibb MP, from attacking the learning gap between rich and poor pupils; nor has it stopped Lord Adonis, as the original architect of the academies programme, from suggesting that the independent schools are failing in their duty to run them.

“I think the majority of good private schools should be sponsoring academies and should be actively engaged in the opportunities which the academies present,” he told Attain magazine – the publication of the Independent Association of Prep Schools.

He also claimed that the independent schools are “too timid to rise to the challenge of managing a state school directly”.

Although the criticism is not so vocal, these sentiments express those of the coalition government to a certain extent. Yet the government could be accused of sending out mixed messages as Education Secretary Michael Gove spoke welcomingly in May at Wellington Academy about the contribution that independent schools can play in supporting and sponsoring academies. Prime Minister David Cameron also welcomed a number of representatives from the independent schools sector in September to express his support.

It’s no surprise a DfE spokesperson said: “Independent schools have an important role to play as sponsors of academy projects, and ministers are keen to develop a large pool of sponsors that will bring a diverse range of experience and skills that can help to deliver a sustained transformation in schools with a long history of underperformance.”

Some 30 private schools like Dulwich College, Wellington College, Canford School, Merchant Taylors School, Marlborough College and Bryanston School have signed up to sponsor or co-sponsor a state counterpart as partners of academies.

Education is no football Expressing a personal view, Stephen Davidson, headmaster of Bradford Grammar, says he’s had enough of politicians playing political football with education. “The political élite are out of touch with reality,” he argues. He says he prefers to support Lord Chris Patten’s view “that city grammar

schools are the greatest enablers of social mobility that this country has ever known”.

Given these divisions, it begs the question why leading independent schools should dare to want to sponsor a failing primary school or academy, and in doing so risk reputational damage.

Kenneth Durham, chairman of the HMC, is undeterred. He thinks it’s a good idea for leading independent schools like his own, the University College School, to support state schools in their local communities whether they are failing or succeeding.

He claims “it widens our knowledge and experience and it’s good for the teachers and the students involved”. He stresses that the benefits aren’t one way as both the state and independent schools can equally benefit from this kind of collaboration by sharing teaching expertise and facilities.

“It is philanthropic to remedy an obvious educational achievement gap,” adds David Levin, headmaster at City of London School.

He says the gap between rich and poor pupils widens exponentially between the ages of three and 10. “After this it’s virtually impossible to close the disparity that exists between them,” he warns, before explaining that for this reason the HMC is mainly focused on encouraging its members to sponsor state primary schools. He very much supports the initiative as the chairman of Primary School Academies.

Where pupils gain Levin says his school is already involved with “a great deal of outreach work from which our boys gain a huge amount of experience”. This includes supporting a homework club in Lambeth, London, in collaboration with the Coin Street housing co-operatives. It caters for the children who are accommodated by the housing association and permits them to use the school’s IT, art and swimming pool facilities.

Year 10 City of London pupils help the cooperative’s children with their maths and English homework, as well as playing sport and games with them.

Anthony Seldon, master at Wellington College, says that through these kinds of activities his own pupils will “mix with others from different social backgrounds and have their understanding broadened and deepened, and the state school children benefit similarly too”. He countenances the view that teachers from both school types can learn much from each other.

Independent schools can also help to raise the aspirations of the less privileged pupils to enable them to achieve more in their education, and widen the opportunities for them that life can offer.

Seldon doesn’t think this kind of project will totally eliminate the achievement gap, and this opinion is supported by Richard Knott, deputy head of Canford School, and its chair of governors. His school sponsors the Bourne Academy, but he says “it won’t go far in closing the achievement gap because if every independent school was paired up with a state equivalent, this would still leave 90% of state schools unpaired, and yet important changes can emerge from lots of small alterations”. independent executive | Nov/dec 2011 09

sector > School SponSorShip

soMe haVe doubts Davidson is not so sure it’s such a good idea. “Many of us are already doing great by working with local primary schools that are perceived as failing, but sponsoring them is not necessarily the right way for everybody,” he argues. This is because he doesn’t feel that independent schools have the expertise to turn around a failing primary school from the state sector as a cultural and experience gap exists between them.

He also fears that it would distract his own teachers from focusing on delivering a high level of education and support to his own school’s pupils, and as a result this could lead to a dilution of the experience offered to them. He insists that bright boys and girls should be allowed to study with equally bright pupils of their own age, from all kinds of familial backgrounds. As the head of a selective school, he wants the freedom to educate the brightest children, decide what he wants to teach and have the ability to choose how to do it. This is something he is keen to defend and protect.

Fee-paying parents who send their children to independent schools might also object to supporting someone else’s child, and he believes that other parents would be keen to point out that Bradford Grammar has 1,100 boys and girls and that if the capitation was £6,000 per year, they are saving the government about £6m per annum.

However, he adds that the school has a social conscience and it gives out 135 bursaries per year to children from less well-off families – so there are already some pupils’ families that don’t have to pay anything towards their education at the school.

“What we see is that there is no gap because we are socially diverse as we have boys and girls from every social, religious and ethnic background,” he explains before pointing out that one of the “scandals” is that if an underprivileged child goes to an independent school and qualifies for free meals, that child is not permitted to have them under the government’s current guidelines. He emphasises that at Bradford Grammar, apart from that “there is no achievement gap between rich and poor because we are selecting on the basis of potential and ability”. alternatiVes and loGistics Levin commends King Solomon Academy, which opened as a new school in 2007. It’s a member of the ARK Schools network and has no partnership with an independent school. The school nevertheless highlights that there are alternative models for the raising of educational standards, which can work just as effectively towards reducing the achievement gap. By operating with a small school model pupils have gained some fantastic results. “We have had outstanding results at Key Stage 1 with 90% of our pupils achieving this, and 70% of them have English as a second language,” says primary headteacher Vanessa Willms.

The establishment of a new academy is not something that can be achieved overnight. Classroom accommodation, location, HR, governance and finance are issues to consider. For example, do 10 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

Independent schools will bring a diverse range of experience and skills that can help to deliver a sustained transformation in schools with a long history of underperformance you train and keep existing staff in an underperforming school or do you go out of your way to hire new staff? The problem is that the best teachers won’t always be available at short notice, and this leaves you with newly qualified teachers or teachers who could be accused of being part of the reasons why a school has failed.

Willms highlights that, if an independent school wishes to sponser a state school, it’s important to gain the support of parents, pupils and governors. Without any buy-in, a scheme like the one proposed by HMC won’t work. She says that it’s also important to have the support of the local education authority in order to gain control of the local school, and both the state and independent school need to carefully analyse their mutual interests and needs.

Independent schools need to show some humility too; they don’t have the experience of running a different type of school, and charging in like a bull to change the make-up of any state school may not be welcomed.

Both sides need to work closely together to develop a clear and common vision to ensure that high levels of educational attainment and pupil aspiration can be achieved. biGGest challenGe: finance The biggest challenge is perhaps finance. “State schools are getting less money than they did previously, and so they are having to make some uncomfortable compromises,” Willms adds, also explaining that schools might not

have the budget to hire as many or the quality of teaching staff they desire to employ; or the ability to buy the facilities they’d like to have.

Levin also points out that only £128m of government money was allocated to support inner city schools in deprived areas, and so any additional finance, time and commitment that an independent school or a network like ARK can provide could prove invaluable when it comes to the pursuit of reducing the achievement gap.

The cynic might still suggest that independent schools are really only interested in protecting their charitable status by being involved in such a sponsorship scheme, but the ones involved in the research for this article underline that the benefits are more about the sharing of expertise, time and resources than anything else. They are also keen to point out that not all of pupils from independent schools fit the stereotype that infers they come from rich families. Many don’t at all.

With the atmosphere for what could lead to co-operation and understanding between the two types of educational sectors being tainted by political argy bargy, it’s no wonder that not all of the independent schools are jumping forward to sponsor a state primary. They are right to consider other alternatives before diving into any proposed scheme. It’s also important to celebrate what they are attaining and have already achieved together, no matter how they elect to collaborate. n

opening ceremony at the Bourne Academy last September. headmistress Jackie Steel and richard Knott on the left with ribbon cutting by conor Burns, Mp for Bournemouth West

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sector > Interview

Something to Stamford Stamford School, an independent 11-18 boys’ school, has appointed a new head in the shape of Will Phelan. Julia Dennison interviews him seven weeks into his role to find out his approach to leadership

12 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

sector > Interview

D

espite Stamford School’s 475-year history educating boys, what sets it apart from other 11-18 single-sex public schools is its modern approach. When I visit the school, nestled in the heart of picturesque Lincolnshire (likened to the Cotswolds of the east), Will Phelan, its new headteacher, is only seven weeks into his job. Already he has high hopes about the future direction of the school, eager to share his approach to running a traditional independent school of 700 pupils in the 21st century.

Stamford School forms part of the Stamford Endowed Schools, also comprising the Stamford Junior School, a co-educational establishment for pupils aged two to 11; and Stamford High School, catering for girls aged 11-18; while sixth form is carried out jointly between Stamford School and Stamford High School. The group shares a senior leadership team overseen by the principal, while the two upper schools share resources, trips and some classes, offering their students a single sex education at their more vulnerable early teen years, with a gradual introduction into coeducation to prepare them for university.

“We have what is called a diamond structure,” explains Phelan of what he sees as one of the school’s unique selling points.

“We have joint education in the junior school; then all-boys and all-girls schools between 11 and 16; and then they have a completely coeducational experience at sixth form – the boys do two of their subjects here and two at the girls’ school and vice versa.”

A man among boys Phelan moved to the Stamford area in August, three days before he started work at the school. “It feels like I’ve been here quite a while already,” he muses, though in reality, it’s been less than two months – albeit a busy almost-two-months. He’s already had the Independent Schools Inspectorate in for an inspection, and is awaiting the results, though he can reveal it was “very positive”.

It’s no surprise Phelan’s tenure is off to a good start, since he has a strong background in running similar all-boys private schools.

He spent the last three years as senior deputy headmaster at Warwick School, an independent day and boarding school for boys aged seven to 18. Prior to that, he was the head of sixth form at Abingdon School, an Oxfordshire boys’ school, for three years, preceded by a 10-year leadership role at High Wycombe’s Royal Grammar School, a selective state school for boys aged 11-18.

State vs. private Thinking back to his move from the state to the independent sector, there were a few notable differences in Phelan’s experience.

While he doesn’t feel like he has necessarily more money to spend in the private sector, it’s more a case of giving a “more polished performance”. “You’re not constantly scraping around to find money to do this or that [in a private school]; you can send your staff on inset days; you can make sure they have enough resources in the classroom; you can make sure you’re not making too many amends to the fabric of your school; you get into a process whereby you are trying to independent executive | nov/dec 2011 13

sector > Interview

Relationships in the school mean that it’s very easy to get on – the boys don’t want to let the teachers down and the teachers want to do their best for the boys, so it’s easy to progress offer the best educational provision possible to make your staff and children’s jobs easier,” he explains. “That’s not to say we don’t cost-save or look at economies of scale, of course we do – we look to make sure we are always cost-effective – but when you’re in a state school it feels like you’re very much on a budget and sometimes trying to work below that budget, whereas here it feels like everyone has the right budget.”

The main deficiencies he experienced working in a state grammar school were less access to extracurricular activities and larger class sizes. “Even at a good grammar school, you found it difficult to do a lot of extracurricular work,” he remembers. “The RGS was fantastic at rugby and sport, but you were always very reliant on the good will of the people working at the school to give up their extra time, whereas here, there’s very much an ethos where everybody pulls together and there’s a lot more of what I describe as ‘school mastering’ going on.”

This emphasis on extracurricular activities at Stamford School is of great benefit to the school – and the larger federation (this term’s production of Les Misérables, for example, involves pupils from all three of the Stamford Endowed Schools). “Because so much extracurricular work happens, the relationships in the school mean that it’s very easy to get on – boys don’t want to let the teachers down and the teachers want to do their best for the boys and it means it’s easy to get on and progress,” says Phelan.

With this in mind, Saturday morning school was replaced with optional activities, including allotments, bee-keeping, and fivea-side football. “For what you get here, our boys come out at the end of their schooling very well-rounded,” he says.

Whelan also found classes larger in the state system. For example, a Year 7 class at Royal Grammar School would comprise around 32 pupils on average, whereas Stamford classes have a maximum of 24 boys, and often fewer still. “I’m a great believer that class size does have an impact on achievement,” says Phelan.

At 704 pupils, however, Stamford School is the most popular it’s ever been (something Phelan attributes to the hard work of his predecessor Stuart Burns and the fact the school is “good value”), though there is still capacity to grow a bit more. However, Phelan is mindful of not growing too much so as to put pressure on the school’s facilities.

“We have to make sure we don’t dilute what we’re offering,” he says. Boarding, for example, is full (around 10% of Stamford’s boys are boarders).

14 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

sector > Interview

Trip adviser Student trips are very important at Stamford School. This stems from a philosophy Phelan shares with the institution of wanting Old Stamfordians to not just live in the world, but to go out and change it too. With this in mind, the middle school (Year 10 and 11) took a leadership trip to Alaska over the summer and the school is planning an adventure trip to Patagonia next summer, alongside annual geography trips to the west coast of the United States and Switzerland.

The students also do a lot of adventure training around the country – over 100 boys have received the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award; the schools have one of the biggest Combined Cadet Force contingents in the country with 400 boys and girls cadets.

Phelan likens the necessity of top private schools to send their pupils on more and more trips to an “arms race”: “There is certainly a feeling that schools want to offer all of these experiences,” he says. Of course, this has to be balanced with what parents can afford, as children will always want to do them, but parents may not always have the resources “I think it’s important to be mindful in the current [financial] climate that there’s not a bottomless pit for ski trips or trips all over the place,” says Phelan.

“But getting the balance right and making sure that we build a good syllabus that’s inside and outside of the classroom is really important.” One thing he can say is travel has become cheaper and more accessible in recent years, making more of these trips possible. “Fifteen years ago we went on a rugby tour to Ipswich, whereas our boys have just come back from New Zealand on their rugby tour,” he adds.

On another subject, while technology seems to play a lead role in nearly every education establishment in this century, Phelan has a considered approach to gadgets like iPads and feels that ICT should be brought in in the right way. “I don’t think until we have examinations that are on iPads that we should be doing a lot of work on them,” he says. “I think iPads are great – and I would like nothing more than in 10 years’ time to have all our textbooks on iPads and kids working on iPads, but I’m very against doing too much work on computers because boys are still examined through writing, so that to me, with the way the examination system is set up, it’s a very different skill if your’e word-processing something to if you’re writing something [by hand].”

A helping hand Stamford offers a number of scholarships and means-tested bursaries to pupils who can’t afford the fees. One controversial topic at the school is that of county scholarships. Ever since 1975, Lincolnshire County Council purchased places at the Stamford Endowed Schools on the basis that Stamford had no grammar school (unlike the county’s other towns), but the scholarship scheme was terminated in 2006 and the 25 annual scholarship places at Stamford have been phased out. The school still has ‘county scholars’ enrolled, however, whose tenure at the school will

continue to be paid for by the county.

“The determination of the governing body is to try and maintain the same mix of pupils in our school and that we wouldn’t want people who would once have been county scholars not to be able to come here,” says Phelan. “We’re working quite hard on providing our own programme of scholarship and bursaries to maintain our much-valued social inclusivity.”

As I leave him, Phelan is putting his nose back to the grindstone and continuing his induction by meeting as many of the pupils and parents as possible. He’s also been having half-hour meetings with every member of staff. His main focus is on what needs to be improved – while not changing things for change’s sake. Mostly he just wants to see the boys do as well as they can.

“I don’t believe in the term ‘boys will be boys’,” he concludes. “I’ve worked in four schools now where boys work incredibly hard. The world isn’t built on intelligence; the world is built on graft.” Phelan himself is no stranger to graft, so if his mantra is anything to live by, Stamford School is in good hands. 

School Stamford School Pupils 704 Staff 65 Type 11-18 independent boys school Headteacher Will Phelan Background Phelan’s career working at all-boys schools began at the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe for 10 years.

He was then head of the sixth form at Abingdon School for three years, senior deputy head at Warwick School for another three years, and finally headteacher of Stamford School from this term Federation Stamford Endowed Schools

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 15

marketing and development > guidance

16 independent executive | Nov/dec 2011

marketing and development > guidance

Attracting potentially lucrative foreign students can be a huge and sustainable asset to the running of your school.

Jonathan Hills takes a look at the process of attracting them, as well as the potential legal and visa challenges

F

oreign students brought over £475m to the UK economy in 2010, according to the Independent Schools Council, so it’s easy to see why recruiting them is something more and more private schools want to do to increase their revenue.

In addition, with new pressure upon the independent sector with regards to charitable status and the consequent increase in bursaries, many private schools may need to find additional funding elsewhere.

The benefits that come with foreign students are manifold: they forge links with other countries, open up doors to foreign investment in development projects and add to your school’s international fame.

Education consultant Anthony Millard, former headmaster and ex-chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association, recommends thinking about existing students before you reach out to new ones. “The first concern must be how international students fit within a school’s core values, and secondly its strategic plan,” he says. “The assimilation of international students must be balanced with the needs of home students.”

There is no better way to bridge this gap than by using alumni to form the basis of future student recruitment.

Make sure you are working with successful foreign alumni to export your brand to their native country, as they are likely to have connections there and there can often be no one better to mediate the relationship between your school and potential foreign students than them.

Niall Browne, senior schools consultant at Gabbitas, agrees that schools should use their alumni networks as much as possible to expand their foreign student recruitment abroad. “When organising an alumni dinner or reception, encourage your old boys and girls to invite friends and family at which, of course, there will be a presentation about the school to attract new pupils,” he says, advising schools to use their alumni abroad to “test the water” for the level of interest they are likely to receive from a particular country. It is common to find a school with a large number of pupils from one country, city or region as word often gets back to the community, which becomes more familiar with your particular institution and builds the liklihood for them to send students in future. independent executive | Nov/Dec 2011 17

marketing and development > guidance

He stresses the importance of taking advantage of school trips abroad to promote your school by coinciding recruitment trips with a planned rugby tour, choir expedition or school activities holidays. As he puts it, “the children can often sell the school in a way that headmasters and directors of marketing will never be able to do, and offer a huge shop window of what the school does.” Students of your school convey a direct example to prospective parents of what they will be spending their money on, and give an indication as to what their child may become if they attended your school.

Other ways of promoting your school include using simple and inexpensive measures, such as translating your school webpage into relevant foreign languages and developing an international student web portal, increasing your school’s accessibility and displaying your school to a wider audience.

An essential part of marketing any school is targeting parents. This is no different to when you’re selling the idea of a traditional British education to foreign students and their families.

Foreign students and the law Schools must avoid the legal pitfalls associated with recruiting foreign students, including visa regulations, which can be rather complex and fickle.

In order for a student from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) to study at a school in the UK, they need to have the appropriate visa. Students who come to the UK with their parents, who may be working in the UK, will be able to study at a school in the UK on a dependent visa, which the school will not need to assist with. However, a majority of international students need to apply for a Tier 4 visa under a points-based system.

There are two Tier 4 visas available, the first of which is the general student visa for all those wishing to come to the UK for post-16 studies. The second however, is the child student visa for those aged between four and 17 who want to come to the UK for their education. “Where students are 16 or 17 they have the choice of using either route,” explains Yvonne Spencer of Veale Wasbrough Vizards solicitors. “However as the child student route is less regulated, it is usually advisable to use this route where possible.”

Furthermore, all foreign students require a guardian to allow them to study within the UK, so make sure that your school conveys this to the parents or guardians of the prospective student as a prerequisite.

The rules change fairly often, and often with little notice. Only this year, there have been three new versions of the UKBA guidance released. It is important that a school’s parent contract and admission documents reflect the school’s position on international students.

In order to continue to be able to sponsor students from April 2011, all education institutions must apply to be highly trusted sponsors (HTS) – luckily independent schools were automatically accorded HTS status from 21 April. However, as it stands, schools will need to apply again for HTS in 12 months, and 18 independent executive | Nov/dec 2011

The first concern must be how international students fit within a school’s core values, and secondly its strategic plan this time will be required to pay around £410 for the privilege.

To sponsor an international student, schools have to issue the student with a Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), a unique number that corresponds to the particular student, allowing them to submit a Tier 4 visa application. The student will then need to prove they have adequate funds and meet various other requirements to attend your school.

However, from July, students of designated low-risk nationalities (for example, students from Australia, Brunei, Canada, USA, New Zealand) who are attending courses at HTSs will not routinely need to provide the specified evidence for funds or qualifications.

This change provides an opportunity for the expansion for markets within the developed world and reduces the cost and difficulty of recruiting certain foreign students. Many of the above countries require very little (if any) adaptation to the English system and pastoral support costs will therefore be significantly reduced.

Foreign agents The use of an agency, firm or consultancy is always a deliberated subject, as one needs to balance the ability of consultants to portray the image of your school abroad with the inconvenience of reaching some areas in person.

Millard advises schools to be “very circumspect” with agents, as the best marketing, as always, will be by word of mouth. “The head must be prepared to be the spearhead in international education,” he adds.

Sometimes it is not commercially viable for school reps to travel abroad, and so a consultancy is of great benefit to save the schools time and money. Browne advises schools to be naturally protective over their identity, stating that schools should use “reputable, trustworthy consultancies with whom the schools have a rapport” and an established relationship.

Recruiting foreign students opens up huge opportunities for a school but there are many intricate legal restrictions to consider. Taking a careful and informed decision is the best method, along with utilising existing foreign contacts and alumni to spread the word.

Use a consultancy firm to hit those hardto-reach places but only if you have a clear and established relationship with the firm and they know your message well.

Most importantly, take your students out on to the market floor to show prospective parents exactly what you are selling.  With thanks to Veale Wasbrough Vizards for its legal advice

Fact Box • • •

£475m: The value to the UK economy of fees paid from overseas sources in 2010 10,900: The number of non-British pupils in the UK with parents living overseas in 2010/11 36%: The precentage of these students from Hong Kong and China (nearly one-third were from Europe)

marketing and development > Guidance

Alluring the alums Launching an alumni network can bring fame and funding to your school and establish a community of past pupils. Jonathan Hills speaks to a development director at a leading public school to find out how to go about creating and maintaining one

S

chools are among the most important institutions in life. The connection one has with their educator is not something that can be replicated or replaced. A school, the experience had within your walls is a key part of every one of your past pupils’ history, and something which can be utilised with great benefit to your school.

Utilising alumni can bring many benefits to a school.

Firstly, ex-pupils are often more likely to send their children to the same school they went to than they are to be won over by good marketing or league tables at another. Alumni provide a steady, self-perpetuating stream of prospective pupils for your school thanks to procreation and a bit of nostalgia.

Secondly, those ex-students who go on to be particularly successful financially can be cultivated into reliable and generous benefactors, something on which your school may come to rely for marketing or development projects.

Thirdly, there is scope to utilise alumni to increase public awareness of your school. This, of course, depends on whether any of your past students have managed to secure a position in the limelight, however, if you manage to get famous alumni on board with your marketing activities, it can really put your school on the map.

Investing in a future Setting up an alumni network is not something that can be sidled into the school agenda at the last moment, nor is it something to be instigated for immediate benefit – it is something that can take a significant amount of time to plan and mature – at least several years and possibly even decades.

If you haven’t already done so, one immediate change you can make is to ensure your alumni have a collective identity – that is, give your old students a name to refer themselves as, like Eton has its Etonians and Harrow its Harrovians.

20 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

After establishing your alumni brand, you can initiate other elements of an alumni network, such as a website, a tie and, most importantly, an annual or biannual newsletter or publication.

The newsletter is a simple and easy way of informing your alumni of what is going in in the school, how the school has changed since they attended and is a means by which they can contact the school and see what their contemporaries are up to. Using the newsletter, your school can start to organise events, meetings and social gatherings all in the name of networking and fundraising for the benefit of your school.

As the Old Uppinghamians (OU) network reaches its 100th birthday, Patrick Mulvihill, development director at Uppingham School, speaks about the benefits that an alumni network can bring to a school. “In terms of an income stream to the school and having a full school, an integrated and dedicated alumni network is pretty important,” he says.

Around 10% of Uppingham School’s current pupils are children of OUs – who Mulvihill says are the “ambassadors who go out there and convince others to send their children into the school”.

Indeed, pupil uptake is probably the most immediate benefit you can expect to see for setting up an alumni network; parents bring their children to be educated at their old school thanks in part to the relations the s chool has maintained with them as alumni, or sometimes based on the advice of an alumnus of the school who they may have attended university or work with.

Mulvihill talks about the ‘school for life’ scheme at Uppingham, which was set up two years ago to provide support for its pupils throughout their entire lives; not just recommendations of which university to go to while they are at the school, but careers guidance once they have left university. “It can be professional networking or it can be intellectual support,” he says.

marketing and development > Guidance

The main gate at Uppingham School

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 21

marketing and development > Guidance

Special Networking An alumni network represents a symbiotic relationship between ex-students and their school, with benefits being mutual and the interaction being one of longevity.

“We see it as a service from our end as well,” says Mulvihill explaining the long-term benefits of increasing his school’s reputation. “There’s no point just setting up a network and then saying: ‘Ok, now where is your money?’” It won’t work unless you are providing a quality service.

Social networking is now a must for schools building a network of ex-pupils. LinkedIn and Facebook add a new and more accessible dimension to alumni relations.

Mulvihill helped set up a Facebook page relating to school events and famous alumni, proving social networking is a means by which a school can still benefit from the existence of celebrated alums without having to involve them directly. Links relating to the famous alumni can be posted on the school’s wall, tracking their various ventures, projects and releases and even featuring posts relating to their gigs, books, films and television programmes – anything that enriches the legacy of the school. On Uppingham School’s Facebook page, there is even a bespoke Monopoly set for sale.

Money talks The most obvious benefit to having a strong alumni network is undoubtedly financial. Alumni who believe that they are part of a society often donate on the basis of philanthropy and may want to purport the idea that they are a school benefactor.

Offering your alumni a permanent place in your school’s history will increase contributions and bequests from alumni and add to the schools coffers to pay for maintenance, staffing or new projects.

Mulvihill explains how far alumni contributions can stretch, referring to various “additional projects” at Uppingham that could not have been completed if it were not for alumni donations. “In 2005 we built the new music school, which was funded by 50% contributions, and had a new studio theatre built onto the [larger] theatre, likewise 50% from donations, as well as a new sports centre, which again, was half funded by donations,” he says.

Using famous alumni, especially with the present-day cult of celebrity allows for schools to attribute the success of their former pupils to the quality of the school and the student experience.

Mulvihill works with a team to liaise with and reach out to successful alumni. “If you do enough research on the person you are trying to reach then you are bound to come across someone who knows them or can help you contact them,” he says. This can often be even more effective than contacting them directly, especially if you can reach them through a former favourite teacher or expupil who is a more active alumnus.

Mulvihill dissuades against using a third party to track down old students, as he feels it detracts from the personable appeal of a school’s alumni network. “We have never had to use an agent to get to anyone, it’s not the point,” he states, emphasising the benefit of a personal approach.

Nearly every school has alumni who are of mentionable fame or wealth and who may be able to contribute to its renown or capital. Launching an alumni network can raise a school from obscurity, establish a community and potentially bring in huge amounts of revenue for future development projects. It may take several years, but once the network has been established the scope for utilising alumni for the school becomes a real possibility. Furthermore, you never know – you may just uncover an eminent or wealthy benefactor.  22 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

Top to bottom: Uppingham School’s central quad; the rugby team; and development director Patrick Mulvihill

Flexibility is key when managing your savings

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To find out more call 03000 123 222 or visit www.cafonline.org/savings This marketing communication is issued by CAF Financial Solutions Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA. Company registration number 2771873 (England and Wales). *The deposit taker for CAF Platinum is CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ. Company registration number 1837656 (England and Wales). Both CAF Bank Ltd and CAF Financial Solutions Ltd are subsidiaries of the Charities Aid Foundation (registered charity number 268369) and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FRN 204451 and 189450 respectively). Telephone calls may be recorded for training and/or security purposes. **Scottish Widows Bank is the provider of the CAF 90 Day Notice Account. Scottish Widows Bank plc. Registered Office: PO Box 12757, 67 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 8YJ. Registered in Scotland no. 154554. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority FRN 201601. Confirmation can be obtained by visiting the Financial Services Authority website at: www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/register

vendor profile

Double Entry or Double Dutch?

Changes in legal status mean converted academies have new financial requirements to meet. With its wealth of experience working with schools – RM Education has just the solution to help these fledgling educational establishments find their fiscal feet

W

ith autonomy comes accountability, and as academies stand on their own for the first time, there is a raft of responsibilities that come with it. Fee-paying schools will be well-versed in the legal and financial responsibilities that come with being an independent company, but their cousins in the state sector will be in need of a helping hand, particularly as budgets tighten and the £25,000 conversion payment can only go so far.

With all this in mind, RM Education understands that school management is tougher than ever. The company wants to work together with fee-paying independent schools and academies to put the services in place which best enhance productivity and performance.

RM Education has been delivering products and services to education for over 35 years, so it understands the sector (indeed, many of its employees are ex-teachers and many more are currently governors of schools and colleges). To ensure the best services on the market are delivered in the right way, the company combines this unrivalled experience in the educational sector with unmatched ICT expertise.

As the role of managing a school as a business becomes increasingly challenging, RM Education has found its financial accounting package – Integris Accounts – to be particularly useful, specifically to newly converted academies and free schools.

change, for example with academy conversion. It allows the school to start small and add more features as it needs them – perfect for the forward-thinking independent school.

In today’s world, more people need access to financial information than ever before. That’s why Integris Accounts is designed not just for those in the school with financial expertise, but for users all around the organisation. However a school uses the system, it will find simple menus, a flexible interface and a whole host of intuitive features designed to make your life easier.

Essential support Integris Accounts, the financial accounting package from RM Education, makes numbers simple and easy to manage. Designed with schools in mind, it allows a school’s finance officer or bursar to easily gather together facts and figures and quickly distribute this information to governors and trustees in flexible, user-friendly formats.

Being modular, Integris Accounts features a key number of functions, or ‘building blocks’ that can be extended as a school’s needs

• Income and expenditure return (in certain circumstances)

24 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

fact box An academy’s year-end reports must include a: • Full governors’ report • Statement of financial activities (SOFA) return • Balance sheet • Cash-flow statement • Statement of Accounting Policies • Other notes to the financial statements • Statement of total recognised gains and losses (in certain circumstances) • Independent auditors report RM Education will ensure all statutory requirements are met.

vendor profile

tHe cHanGinG cHalKface of education As academies convert, the list of things its bursar needs to do may seem endless. With a change in legal status to exempt charitable companies, there are new financial requirements to meet. Academies are funded by grants from, and are therefore accountable to, the Department for Education via the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA). To continue receiving these funds, each academy trust must submit audited annual accounts to the DfE by the end of December. These must include a full governors’ report; a statement of financial activities (SOFA) return; a balance sheet; a cash-flow statement; a statement of accounting policies and other notes to the financial statements.

In certain circumstances an income and expenditure return and a statement of total recognised gains and losses may be included. These must all be audited by external auditors. These also have to be filed with Companies House by the end of May. For business managers in a newly converted academy, submitting these year-end reports can be a source of stress and confusion. “For some school business managers it will be a big change,” confirms Jane Gibson, RM Education’s Finance Product Consultant. “Our approach is to work with the academies offering them any support they need. This can be a considerable undertaking, there’s an awful lot that they’ve got to do. What they need is something simple and easy to work with.”

Integris Accounts will ensure the academy is fully compliant with DfE reporting requirements – it is a full double-entry finance system that offers all the General Annual Grant (GAG) and VAT returns at the push of a button, along with trial balance, income and expenditure and a balance sheet.

fine for the accountant and the external auditors, both of whom have looked at it themselves and found it easy to navigate.” She would therefore recommend the software to other school business managers – “especially at such a much-reduced price compared with the other software packages that we were looking at”. Stephenson has found RM Education’s ability to create bespoke software for her school a great help as well. “RM Education tailors it to an academy-specific need,” she says. “So if you need a report in a certain format, chances are other academies would need that, so they’re willing to work with you to produce those.” With the academy process hard enough without the headache of organising year-end reports. RM Education, with its Integris Accounts software, has been the much-needed lifeline for finance officers like Stephenson up and down England, and with the DfE introducing new reports, such as the Abbreviated Accounts Return (AAR), schools can rely on RM Education to respond quickly and to keep them updated with any change in statutory requirements’ n

find out More How much time and money could you save?

See www.rmeducation.com/accounts or call for more details 0800 0197 981

I’ve never used doubleentry financial software before, but RM Education tailors it to an academyspecific need Integris Accounts is easy to use, but sophisticated enough to get the job done. It allows the finance officer or bursar to easily gather facts and figures from ledgers, cash books, and much more; quickly sharing this information in a flexible and user-friendly format, allowing more valuable time thinking about the best use of budgets, not trying to work out what your budget is. “Integris Accounts has the necessary detail to provide the reports, but on the surface it’s got the simplicity to hide that detail,” says Jane Gibson. RM Education can also tailor the software to suit the school, whether it is a small primary in need of a lot of guidance or a larger secondary with plenty of staff to get on with it. inteGris accounts in action Archbishop Holgate’s School is a newly converted Church of England academy in York. After converting to academy status in April, the school’s bursar, Beti Stephenson, wanted a doubleentry financial software package to help her with these year-end reports. She eventually chose Integris Accounts and had it installed in mid-August, after it was recommended by a colleague at the City of York Council, because of its simplicity and value for money. “I’ve never used double-entry financial software before, so I had no preconceived ideas about what it would be like,” remembers Stephenson.

“But what it has produced is absolutely

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 25

procure and plan > theatres

Treading the boards The glamour of the theatre can be an exciting proposition for students, but for schools, providing theatre spaces can be a logistical headache.

Matthew Jane considers some of the options for providing production spaces with limited funds and space

W

hether students have a desire to see their name in lights, control an elaborate pyrotechnics sequence, or invent themselves as the next Peter Jackson, the school theatre has long been a launch pad for a host of talent and helped generations of young people to realise their artistic dreams. But the theatre can also give schools a unique asset, helping to generate opportunities inside the classroom as well as spreading further into the community. Designing a space that allows for maximum educational and financial development involves careful planning and appreciation of the essential components of what makes good theatre.

One of the concerns for schools that can impede the development of theatre spaces is a lack of suitable space. When every workable area has to be fully utilised and timetabled, there is often no spare inch to give over to other activities. However, innovations in furniture can offer schools more flexible options that can allow for theatres and school halls to become multi-use spaces.

Peter Ruthven-Hall, a partner with Theatreplan consultants, suggests schools consider how they will create their theatre spaces and what they will do to create their stage and audience seating for performances.

There are many options available, such as heavy platforms and stackable chairs or retractable seating units.

26 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

procure and plan > theatres

“Seating systems can offer flexibility, but the decision about what sort of flexibility is important: telescopic seating offers convenience but just two permutations – roll it out or in,” he explains. “A kit of parts – chairs and platforms – can be used in a variety of ways but must be safely linked together and therefore are more labour intensive in change-overs.”

There are other options for delivering an auditorium feeling in school halls that are even more straightforward and cost-effective, such as simply having different heights of chairs, with large chairs with footrests at the back, low-level chairs at the front, and normal seating in the middle. This could be a perfect solution for smaller spaces, though would have substantial restrictions in larger school halls.

Whatever furniture options are chosen, it is important to have a plan for what to do with it when there are no school productions. If theatre furniture is stored, consider what impact this will have on the other storage facilities in the school hall, especially if the space is also going to be used for dining or sports.

Also, when utilising spaces such as school halls for productions, it is important to think about the logistics of delivering a theatre production.

For example, there should be suitable spaces for the actors and actresses to get changed in privacy that will also accommodate fast costume changes when necessary.

INVEST IN THE EQUIPMENT There is a potentially endless list of items that could be used in a school theatre space to improve the experience of a production and to give pupils even more learning opportunities. One such area is stage lighting or audio equipment, which can be a huge asset, but will need to be properly budgeted and the best equipment will need to be researched. That said, there are constant innovations in this area that are making equipment cheaper, smaller and easier to use. For example, Ruthven-Hall explains that advances in “optical design and lamp technology mean that a 575W unit cannot produce the equivalent light output to a 1000W unit of the old design”. Importantly, while the initial unit cost is being brought down, so too is the cost for replacement bulbs.

Investing in suitable technology in the theatre can also help schools generate cash with the space. Once a lighting rig and audio system has been installed, schools will be better placed to host events, such as discos, private parties and functions, all of which can be money spinners. It is also possible to go even further and install additional items, like smoke and haze machines, which will help

add to the effect of a production.

Having behind-the-scenes equipment in place can also allow schools to offer educational and practical experiences to students and help involve pupils who may not be as inclined to be part of a school show. This can also help to ensure every school production is sold out as parents will be much more inclined to watch a school production if their child is involved, even if it is through helping with the lighting and sound effects.

Once a lighting rig and audio system has been installed, schools will be better placed to host events, which can be potential money spinners MOVING OUT A popular option for many schools that have limited space has been to develop outside areas that can be utilised for school productions and drama classes. Amphitheatres can help give productions an improved sense of reality, providing natural settings to productions. Westfield Arts College, which is a school for children with moderate learning difficulties, with around a third having an additional diagnosis of ASD (autistic spectrum disorder), found that a project to build an outdoor production area had profound effects on the children’s learning experience, allowing them to express themselves in new ways. Finance and business manager Jenny Savage says the school has been able to have visiting theatre companies deliver lessons on the site, as well as allowing children to put on their own shows.

“The outdoor classroom has allowed the children to engage with their learning environment and as a result, their development has been enhanced,” explains Savage. “We have seen the disengaged children are really interested in something. They are willingly going over to the outdoor area and showing an interest in it.”

With so many options for theatres, schools have endless possibility to offer students theatrical experiences without having to worry about where they will be performed and how to ensure they are fully inclusive experiences. After all, as we learned in the last article, having the next Daniel Craig or Keira Knightley as one of your alumni could also have serious benefits in the long term.  independent executive | nov/dec 2011 27

procure and plan > catering

Top tips

Sprucing up a tired menu Putting food on the table needn’t be a chore.

Jonathan Hills takes a look at what you can do to make a flamboyant, attractive and altogether more enlightening menu for your school and its students

28 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

procure and plan > catering

1

GO MULTICULTURAL World cuisine provides a superb opportunity to expand your menu, educate your pupils and accommodate students from different cultures. Yinka ewuola from eagle solutions services recommends augmenting the learning experience by labeling food in its native language.

2

GET OUTSIDE during the spring and summer, consider organising outside eating, either as a communal practice, or as a casual event where students can have a wander in the grounds and eat together in the sun. pearce suggests increasing the number of “grab and go“ options on your menu to facilitate this.

3

ASK FOR FEEDBACK allow your students to give their opinion on the food you serve to ensure you are meeting their wants and needs. parents can also participate in such a survey. if you decide to implement any of the changes suggested, flout it – let the parents and pupils know you have listened to their advice and acted on it. Jo pearce, research nutritionist at the school Food trust, suggests finding out pupils’ favourite dishes and asking them for “top family recipes”, adapting the most popular for your menu.

5

THEME YOUR FOOD attributing your food to a theme or event, such as serving champ for st. patrick’s day, dodo (fried plantain) in Black History month or daal saag for diwali, can introduce cultural education to mealtimes. Weller recommends the whole school gets involved to learn where foods are sourced and how they are prepared, something he refers to as a “field-toplate” ethos. derick martin of innovate services says students are more comfortable trying food from different parts of the globe and themed days can be a great way to encourage this.

4

GET THEM INTO THE KITCHEN introducing your students to the school kitchen is another fantastic means to teach them how food gets on to their plate. david Weller of alliance in partnership recalls introducing students to a newly refurbished kitchen at one school: “We invited everyone from the school to have a quick tour around the new facilities and one of the team gave a presentation on our new partnership with the school and what to expect from the meal service.”

6

MIX IT UP introduce a level of unconventionality to your menu. serving foods to children that sound uncommon, intriguing or downright bizarre can often prove to be a huge success and can also be used to recycle leftover food while keeping things fresh and original – kedgeree is a great example of an alternative dish that is great for absorbing yesterday’s leftovers. “Fruits in mains – like lemon chicken – or vegetable in desserts – like courgette cake or chocolate and beetroot cake – is an easy and quick way to try something new and make it interesting,” adds ewuola.

8

7

BREAK WITH TRADITIONS For a pupil at school, there are few things more tedious than knowing precisely what is coming every lunch and teatime. ensure that you are always shifting your menu around with the days of the week to prevent boredom and keep mealtimes of interest. of course fish and chips on Friday and sunday roasts are still to be expected, but lasagna every tuesday can really grind down student morale. pearce recommends a ‘design-a-dish competition’ – challenging pupils to come up with their own new recipe, with the winner going on your menu.

INSPIRATIONAL THINKING there are overabundances of raw ingredients and unexplored dishes from across the globe that, despite being very cheap and easy to prepare, have yet to be fully integrated into school menus. sweet potato, celeriac and beetroot are good examples of tasty, healthy food that many young people may not be acquainted with. also dishes such as paella and risotto rarely appear on the school menu despite being suited to communal eating, all it requires is a bit of thought from the chef. as martin puts it: “to introduce a bit of excitement school, chefs can look for inspiration just about anywhere.”

10

GET BACK DOWN TO EARTH one of the most poignant ways to get students engaged in the process of food cultivation, preparation and origin is by getting them to grow the food themselves. converting a small portion of the playing pitch or a slither of the housemasters garden can allow the students to get stuck into growing food, which will taste all the better for it. ewuola recommends using produce that the school produces on site. “Having them involved in all processes from growing to harvesting is a way of really capturing students’ imagination,” she says. n

9

SPICE IT UP probably the simplest and cheapest method to improve your menu is through spices, condiments and sauces. much of the quality of food is in the appearance and this is especially true for young people. a spec of nutmeg in custard, sprinkling of parsley on the mashed potato or rosemary on the roast lamb makes a very welcome addition to a standard menu and something so small and inexpensive can really transform a dish. there is more to cooking than salt and pepper.

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 29

Management > HR

Notes on a

scale The media balked at private school heads’ whose salaries more than doubled recently, despite a recession that has parents scrimping to cover fees.

When a headship can hold more responsibility than a company director, Julia Dennison asks: are headteachers paid too much or not enough?

30 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

management > HR

W

hen times are tough, the scrutiny falls on those at the top of the food chain – specifically, their pay. One glance at the Daily Mail on the day I write this reveals a story berating the ‘fat cat’ bosses at Britain’s top 100 companies for having awarded themselves pay rises of 49% this year while pay rises for average workers have not even increased with the rate of inflation. Union leaders couldn’t resist the temptation to brand them “elite greedy pigs”. While it’s difficult to find column inches in praise of these business leaders, there is an argument that these larger pay packets could be justified and well-deserved, not only because they have to lead some of Britain’s largest companies, but also because they have to put up with the flack it brings with it.

Headteacher salaries at independent schools were similarly slammed by the media of late, with The Daily Telegraph highlighting that almost half had received a raise of over £20,000 in the last three years, while some heads’ pay even doubled.

Information taken from the Charities Commission found that nearly half of headteachers moved up three or more salary bands and three heads took pay of more than £50,000, all while parents have been forced to meet the cost of rising fees.

Twenty-four headteachers are now earning over £150,000 compared with just five in 2007, and the number of senior teachers earning more than £60,000 has increased

from 372 to 759 in the same time period.

Pay for state sector headteachers and school leaders is capped at £110,000 but for those working for independents, academies and in London, there is potential to earn more.

Bernice McCabe, headmistress of North London Collegiate School, remains one of the best paid teachers in the country, according to the findings, as school accounts show her remuneration package rose from £120-129,000 in 2007 to £240-250,000 in 2010, including £62,000 of accommodation and services, while according to the newspaper, Tony Little, the headmaster of Eton College since 2002, has been rewarded with a pay increase from £170-180,000 to £200-210,000 during his time as headmaster. The public school defended its headmaster’s £20,000 raise on the basis that competition against the state sector, in particular city academies, is driving up the salaries for high performing teachers. It stated that headteachers’ pay is linked to pupil attainment and exam results and therefore heads can enjoy reward much like company chief executives. “Eton College seeks to employ the very best teachers and has a remuneration structure designed to attract and retain them,” the school’s bursar, Janet Walker told the Daily Telegraph.

‘Unfair accusations’ Newspapers need readers and have never been shy of sensationalist headlines.

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 31

Management > HR

Because of this, says Neil Roskilly, CEO of the Independent Schools Association, the public is often misled on independent school headteachers’ salaries. “While there are some high profile schools that pay beyond what might be expected in the maintained sector, the vast majority of independent schools are small and simply do not have the resources to pay exorbitant salaries,” he explains.

David Hanson, chief executive of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) agreed, commenting: “Eton College does not represent the vast majority of independent schools and the salaries listed are not representative of most schools either.”

While the requirements of IAPS membership are that heads and staff should be paid at least equal to those in state education, many do not get paid more than this, says Hanson, “because working in world class schools like ours is already seen as an enjoyable and fulfilling career”.

Of the 1,200 top independents that hold membership of the Independent Schools’ Council, and the 1,000 additional private schools that are not part of a recognised heads’ association, only a small proportion pay more than heads would receive in state schools and many pay a good deal less.

“This may come as quite a surprise to many people, but simply reflects the fact that most are unaware of the sector beyond the few high profile schools that often grab the headlines,” says Roskilly.

Indeed, it is unfair to brand many smaller independent schools as cashrich organisations set on bleeding their parents dry: Many of them strive to make their fees as affordable as possible, while working hard to maintain the quality of the children’s education. “Rather than pupil fees that top £30,000 per year, independent school fees start at under £1,500 per term,” says Roskilly, who adds that there’s little

correlation between fees and quality, “as inspection reports show that many small independents outperform their bigger and better-known rivals”.

Financial trouble In this financially unstable climate, there are many independents struggling to stay afloat, confirmed by high-profile closures such as Amberfield School, an independent coeducational day school near Ipswich that closed its doors for good last month due to ‘unsustainable financial losses’ and

currently paid even less than a teacher in the state sector who has gone through the same threshold. “All this for a 50-plus hour week and all the stress and pressure that goes with the job,” he adds. “Statements that assume we are all the same just annoy me. I’d get more per hour doing private coaching.”

Broad brushstrokes It’s clear that painting independent school headteachers with such a broad brush is unfair. However, the fact remains that some headteachers have been more fortunate than others, something that is often justified by the immense work they do for the school and its community – with responsibility not all that different from the directors of the UK’s leading companies. That being said, however justifiable, these pay raises are not sitting well for some within a context of economic downturn, subsequent cuts and pay-freezes – as well as a rise in private school fees across the board forcing millions of parents to raid savings, sell cars and cancel family holidays to pay them. A school that chooses to pay its head above and beyond the pay scales set for state schools – whether it be a private school or an academy – may need to be prepared to defend its decision when faced with criticism. One solution is ensuring the head is seen as an active member of the school community, with parental communication a priority. Tools like blogs, tweets and e-mail broadcasts are great ways to show he or she is doing the stellar job they’re paid to do. Of course, not all great heads feel the need to shout about what they’re doing; many choose to focus their energy on improving the education of the children instead. In reality, people don’t tend to go into education for the money (unlike some City bosses). The majority of Britain’s independent school leaders are working above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their pupils get the best start they can – whether or not the bonus comes in.

Statements that assume we are all the same just annoy me. I’d get more per hour doing private coaching

32 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

reported debts of £1m. On announcing the closure, chairman of governors, Alistair Lang blamed it on the school’s “small size and its particular style”, which in this difficult economic climate made it increasingly difficult to keep afloat, despite a great deal of effort behind the scenes to keep it open (see news story on page six).

One headteacher of a four-to-16 independent school (who wishes to remain anonymous) tells Independent Executive he’s tired of headteachers getting a hard time. “The idea that independent school headteachers are paid too much is a sweeping generalisation,” he says. “Some will be, as some state school heads are, but some small, struggling schools are making cutbacks in all areas including pay.” He has been a head for six years and his salary falls into the L7 pay band (£43,521) with “no perks” but a pension. In the summer break, all staff at his independent school were forced to take a 10% pay cut, so he is

These are the children Enjoying their creative lesson With brushes, paper and paints Ordered from Viking By their favourite teacher Call us today on 0844 412 0000 or shop online www.vikingschools.co.uk

All the inspiration your school needs

management > legal

Crossing the line

Sometimes a relationship between pupil and teacher can blur the professional line, particularly at boarding schools where they are around each other 24/7. derek thompson considers how close is too close, and explores whether pupils should be friends with their teachers on Facebook

34 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

management > legal

A

s every good teacher knows, the word education has its origins in the Latin educatus (‘to bring up or rear’) and educere (‘to bring out or lead out’).

Teaching, therefore, is about much more than imparting knowledge and preparing for examinations; it is central to a child’s healthy psychological and emotional development. Pupils have always looked to teachers as role models, which in turn places both legal and moral responsibilities upon the teacher. But how can one recognise the danger areas and guard against an inappropriate relationship – or even the perception of one taking place?

Let us take, as a starting point, the first of the eight principles in the General Teaching Council (GTC) for England’s code of conduct: ‘Put the well-being, development and progress of children and young people first.’ To achieve this, there are three primary areas of consideration: the child, the teacher and the school.

The welfare of the child A child does not have the emotional maturity to fully appreciate the consequences of crossing the teacher/ pupil boundary. They may not comprehend where the boundary lies or know that their expectations are inappropriate.

It is therefore imperative that the teaching staff as a whole, and the school itself, creates and maintains a safe and transparent culture of care, to prevent pupils putting themselves and teachers at risk.

The welfare of the teacher There are several situations where teachers may be put at risk, including: • If a teacher is alone with a pupil • If a pupil has developed an infatuation with the teacher • If a pupil appears in need of affection/ reassurance • When using mobile and electronic communications.

The welfare and good standing of the school Best practice would incorporate the following elements: • Safeguarding induction for new staff to the school, including teaching assistants and supply teachers, so that they recognise signs and indicators, and know what to do • Regular refresher training on safeguarding for all staff • Clear and timely communication of relevant updated policies and guidelines • Having a trained and designated safeguarding lead and deputy within the school staff, and also a lead on the board of governors • Having a clear process for both teachers and pupils to confidentially report any instances of perceived improper behaviour between teachers and pupils • Having a means whereby teachers can ask for help and guidance if they need it • Communicating the existence of all of the above to staff, pupils, parents and governors.

Abuse of Trust While sexual abuse is clearly defined in law, emotional abuse is harder to quantify.

Inappropriate interactions that do not progress to sexual activity will still, whether intentional or not, create emotional abuse and cause damage to a young person.

To quote from the ‘Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults who work with Children and Young People in Education Settings’: ‘A relationship between an adult and a child or young person is not a relationship between equals. There is potential for exploitation and harm of vulnerable young people. Adults therefore have a responsibility to ensure that an unequal balance of power is not used for personal advantage or gratification.

‘Where a person aged 18 or over is in a specified position of trust with a child under 18, it is an offence for that person to engage in sexual activity within or in the presence of that child, or to cause or incite that child to engage in or watch sexual activity.’

There is a whole raft of legalisation and regulation, which collectively (with policies and guidelines) makes up the professional framework. Among these are: • Children Act 2004 (in particular, sections 10 and 11) • Education Act 2002 (in particular, sections 157 and 175) • Sexual Offences Act 2003 (in particular, sections 16-19).

For good nurture and education, implant good constitutions Plato

Consequences In 2007, a teacher received a two-year supervision order and signed the sex offenders’ register, after passionately kissing a 17-year-old pupil. He is now disqualified from working with children.

In 2009, a teacher in London was jailed for 15 months for an inappropriate relationship with a pupil. She also had to sign the sex offenders’ register and is banned from teaching for life.

In 2010, the GTC’s Professional Conduct Committee found a teacher in Sheffield guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct”. His relationship with a pupil had been only conducted over email and there was no evidence of any meetings out of school or sexual activity.

In 2011, a Welsh teacher was suspended for the rest of the year, for exchanging inappropriate MySpace messages with a pupil.

Social media Although there is no central Independent Schools Council guideline document on the use of social media, every school has a responsibility to ensure it has its own

clear and unambiguous policy on the use of sites such as Facebook by staff within and outside the school environment.

While there may be pressure on staff from pupils to be added as Facebook friends, especially once a teacher’s profile has been identified, accepting this friendship may be misinterpreted as reciprocated feelings or a desire to have a closer association. Again, it is not necessarily the intent of the action, but the perception of the intent that creates the issue.

Some schools have tacked the issue by expressly banning teachers from adding pupils as friends on social media sites and make this policy clear to pupils as well as to teachers. Others take things a step further and place an outright ban on access using school computer equipment.

Such a stance, which may be justified on the grounds of confidentiality, safeguarding and productive use of time in school, can easily be put into effect by an IT technician.Teachers need to bear in mind that: • The school has a right to monitor emails, telephone usage and internet activity • The school has a right to access employees’ personal email and computer files, as part of an investigation • All staff have an obligation to maintain confidentiality.

Conclusion Safeguarding is a complex issue that, ultimately, comes back to the welfare of the pupils, the welfare of the teachers and the welfare of the school as a whole. With a transparent and cohesive culture of care in place, the risks to teachers and pupils alike are kept to an absolute minimum. Where concerns are raised, appropriate action can be taken swiftly to investigate and, where proven, apply appropriate sanctions in line with professional standards and the law. 

Resources • •

• •

• •

Working Together to Safeguard Children workingtogetheronline.co.uk Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults who Work with Children and Young People in Education Settings childrenengland.org.uk/upload/ Guidance%20.pdf Education Act 2002 legislation.gov.uk/ukpga Parliamentary Briefing Education Bill January 2011 nspcc.org.uk/Inform/ policyandpublicaffairs/ westminster/briefings/education_ bill_wdf80536.pdf General Teaching Council for England gtce.org.uk Sexual Offences Act 2003 cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sexual_ offences_act.

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 35

ict matters > bett show

ALWAYS A GOOD BETT

36 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

ict matters > bett show

the bett show 2012 takes place in the new year, giving independent school leaders the perfect opportunity to review the latest innovations for the classroom. matthew Jane asks some leading ict experts why it is worth independent schools visiting the show

t

he bett show is the world’s largest educational ict event and brings together the latest innovations and technological solutions under the one roof at London’s olympia. it offers a fantastic opportunity for school leaders to witness first-hand the impact of technology in the classroom, back office and throughout the curriculum. As the introduction of free schools and academies has thrust the spotlight on the value of traditional independents, the need to have cutting edge technology that will equip learners with appropriate skills has never been greater.

As technology is increasingly employed by schools as a means of enhancing the pupil experience, appraising the benefits of ict has never been more important. “with the rise of academies and free schools who are pushing the bar higher and higher, these state schools are fast becoming a real competitor to the independent school sector,” says stuart hughes from investec education. “this means that independent schools need to be at the forefront of any technology advances that can increase pupils learning experiences ensuring their student roll is unaffected–there is no better place than bett to keep ahead of the competition.”

Attending trade events such as bett give school leaders and ict managers the chance to get their hands on the latest big trends in technology and interrogate manufacturers and schools that are already using equipment, which can be a huge benefit when deciding on the best solutions to invest in. “independent school leaders will naturally want to invest

wisely in ict, ensuring maximum return on investment (Roi),” says chris Lovesey from netsupport. “bett therefore offers the ideal forum for leaders to see at first-hand the range of solutions on offer to help them manage and support their it infrastructure, enabling them to make independent decisions, not ones that are driven by the agendas of the faculty or external pressures. pressure from within the school or outside influences can often lead to misguided investment decisions. it is vital to see at first-hand how a solution can help manage and reduce costs.”

Researching the best solutions is vital, especially as independent schools have full accountability for both investments and their returns. “it’s even more important that every decision that they make is well researched,” says Jodie Yeadon, from RM education. “bett is the ideal tradeshow for anyone considering a significant ict spend; it’s one of the largest exhibitions for schools and is focussed purely around ict developments.”

HeLP is at HaND Yeadon says manufacturers can help independent schools prioritise their limited investments on the solutions that will have the most impact on their school's strategic priorities. “we will be showcasing competitive broadband and managed service solutions; and a variety of finance options which can help schools achieve more with less. we support senior leaders in realising their leadership and strategic goals with solutions that not only help to fully utilise data in order to enhance learning outcomes, but can help to engage parents too. And we’ll also advise network managers on independent executive | nov/dec 2011 37

ict matters > bett show

the latest infrastructure, networking and cloud solutions,” she says.

The fact is that the independent school sector as a whole is already embracing technology, and considering how to improve upon this is an essential part of constantly augmenting the pupil experience. “BETT is the perfect place to give wardens and bursars the information they need to keep abreast of the latest trends in technology as well as future trends to come,” says Jane Robertson from Westcoastcloud. “BETT is convenient and content rich, so independent schools can find the suppliers they are interested, in all under one roof. They can learn about the latest ways in which they

BETT offers the ideal forum for leaders to see firsthand the range of solutions on offer can use IT to increase their pupils’ individual and collective abilities in the classroom and how to manage their schools internal and external communications.”

There is also an important role for ICT to play within boarding schools. “In particular in the way that teachers keep in touch with their pupils’ parents, so staying informed about how technology impacts on their duty of care is also something BETT can help with,” says Robertson.

The issue of parental communication is further emphasised by the need for independent schools to be increasingly accountable to government and other stakeholders. “Academies, in particular, have control over their budgets, so they can decide the appropriate funds to allocate to parental communications,” suggests Stephen Clarke from Contact Group.

“A visit to BETT will offer independent school leaders the chance to speak to educational experts about which technology can best help them and to experience demonstrations of a range of services. Schools switching to academies should also take the opportunity to review how they are operating as a business and reassess their suppliers and parental communication strategies. They should consider the full range of communications channels and devices in all instances to secure buy-in from parents.”

Schools are increasingly faced with the need to provide high quality education while constantly balancing the books.

The best way to ensure money is not wasted is to invest in the most effective solutions for your individual school. Being able to experience the latest technology and directly comparing products and providers will give independent school leaders the perfect platform to assess their requirements and ensure they make the best investment for their school.  38 independent executive | Nov/Dec 2011

why should school leaders visit bETT?

“Regardless of the financial hardships the education sector faces, the fact remains that IT access and literacy education is a non-negotiable educational requirement. Having the right technology at the right price helps deliver this – plus it gives schools a competitive edge. Students are inspired and enabled to learn by the use of up to date technology which ultimately delivers improved league table results – the key to income generation.”

Paul Gullet, NComputing “BETT is a fantastic opportunity for independent school leaders to keep abreast of the latest information and systems and to witness best practice in action. They can see the most innovative products to cater for individual school needs from companies large and small.”

Mohamad Djahanbakhsh, Serco Learning “BETT provides an excellent showcase for a comprehensive range of learning and teaching facilities to help them become an outstanding educational establishment of choice. More than ever before, return on investment and justification will be under review and independent schools need to appreciate where they will find true value for money and which tools will deliver the best learning experience.”

Neil Hartigan, NEC “BETT gives independent schools a great opportunity to understand and benefit from the excellent work that is being done in many state schools to raise standards of teaching and learning. Keeping abreast of the latest developments and trends in the use of technology in education will be essential to ensuring private schools can continue to attract students and stay ahead of the competition.”

Julie Booth, Capita SIMS Independent “Mobile technologies are pervasive. It is our belief that the independent sector is ideally placed to take advantage of the seed change I believe the industry is likely to go through over the coming years. Informal mobile learning is already happening on a daily basis with students having access to social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as a plethora of communication tools. Grasping this and using the existing infrastructure is key to the future of ICT in schools.”

Stuart Abrahams, Groupcall “Just like their counterparts in state education, school leaders from the independent sector are looking for best value solutions for their schools.

Northgate will be demonstrating its innovative ICT solutions, such as cloudbased services, specialist managed services and the range of consultancy services that focus on driving down the operational costs of ICT. It’s a must for leaders keen to provide their schools with the very best and most cost effective solution for their school."

Chris Wiseman, Northgate Managed Services "Independent schools and academies – and their governors – by law have direct responsibilities to deliver a safe environment for both children and staff. This responsibility extends to their online activity both during school hours and when undertaking work on school computers out of hours. Visiting BETT will enable schools to understand their liabilities and give them the information and tools with which to address them. In addition the education IT community should be looking to deliver flexible classroom-based control of web content back to teachers without compromising the integrity and security of the school’s network and increasing their workload."

Simon Wilcox, Smoothwall "In order to increase student numbers, schools need to show that they are offering the best of everything, including cutting edge technology. Independent schools and academies need to make sure they are at the forefront of such technology trends and the BETT Show is the perfect place for them to be inspired and see what technology has to offer. Also, by implementing the next technological advancements in their schools, it means they can capitalise on operational efficiencies and the cost of running their schools."

Vicky Myers, Frogtrade

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The Free School Norwich takes a new approach to education through the cloud.

Matthew Jane speaks to principal designate Tania Sidney-Roberts

40 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

ICT MATTERS > cASe StudY

HEAD in the CLOUDS

S

eptember saw a new wave of education environments established across the country as the ďŹ rst free schools opened their doors. these new schools, which can be established by teachers, parents, or other approved parties, are given almost total freedom over where they are established, what they teach and how they structure their daily routine. one area that free schools need to consider is their ict provision, with parents and children demanding technology on a par with their longerestablished peers. one free school that is pioneering an innovative approach to learning, and in turn utilising technology that supports its ethos, is the Free School norwich. the school is the brainchild of teacher and new principal designate tania Sidney-Roberts and will

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 41

A cloud offers the whole school community the opportunity to interact with the school at any time of day or night, from anywhere in the world provide an extensive curriculum to 96 pupils between the ages of four and 11, expected to reach 168 pupils in a few years’ time. the school employs a creative teaching schedule and will be open six days a week, 51 weeks of the year, with an extended school service that includes breakfast, holiday- and afterschool-care, which will enable parents to continue working full-time while playing a close role in different activities. this extended curriculum, which also places a large emphasis on communitybased learning and experiences, also poses a challenge for providing effective ict services. For example, the school has active support from over 30 local organisations, such as theatres and food suppliers, many of whom will support the curriculum by staging classes at their own venues.

Faced with these unique challenges, the school has opted to move its ict onto the cloud. Sidney-Roberts believes the cloud is “the way forward” for education, and believes there will be significant benefits for staff, pupils, parents, and governors. “A cloud offers the whole school community the opportunity to interact with the school at any time of day or night, from anywhere in the world,” she says. “the school is never closed if it has a cloud. A cloud also enables a school to extend the learning environment beyond the school building, through handheld devices which act as windows into the cloud. “children can use any of the school's learning software anywhere at any time – on the beach in Australia if they want to. parents can see curriculum plans, their child's progress, news updates, their child's work, school documents, book meals, pay bills, order uniforms – anything they would normally only be able to do if they visited the school building itself,” says Sidney-Roberts, 42 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

who adds that, given the busy working schedules of parents these days, they will reap the benefits of the cloud facilities. the cloud system allows parents to access timetables and homework tasks at any time from any computer or device. it also means the school can continue educating virtually, even when the physical building is closed, such as during spells of bad weather.

POSITIVE IMPACTS establishing a cloud system was relatively straightforward at the Free School norwich, given that it was a brand new system being set up from scratch in a brand new school. “it was a simple process,” says Sidney-Roberts.“the school opened in early September and the cloud went live the week before.”

While it may have been easy to set up, the implications on teaching and learning have been profound and improved the work processes for all parties involved. “teachers can plan lessons wherever they wish to, using all of the school's software and it facilities as they need,” explains SidneyRoberts, adding that parents and pupils can use the software and facilities that they have in school at home. the cloud has also enhanced the general learning experience of pupils. “the children love using the handheld devices and take them in their stride,” says Sidney-Roberts.

“Sen pupils benefit particularly, as they can use the learning software in all lessons to help them achieve their potential. Homework can be set through the cloud and teachers can monitor homework through the cloud.

Generally speaking, the cloud has liberated teachers, parents and pupils and given them greater freedom and control over the learning which takes place in the school.”

BRIGHT FUTURES While the Free School norwich is still in its infancy, the future already looks promising and the initial signs are good. With a pioneering model of education provision that fits with the schedules of modern working parents, the school is enjoying the flexibility and unique opportunities that this presents. Sidney-Roberts believes the cloud system is the only viable solution that works with the original approach. “My advice to other schools would be to get a cloud,” she says. “Schools with server-based it systems are prone to all sorts of technical problems, limiting what learning and teaching activities can take place in the school.

“Server-based it systems also limit the use of the school's it resources and system to the school building,” continues SidneyRoberts. “the cloud represents freedom.

With a cloud the whole school community is free of server-based technical problems, free to work when they like and where they like, with excellent, reliable learning resources in a fully interactive forum.” n

SCHOOL tHe FRee ScHooL noRWicH AGE pRiMARY, 4-11 PUPILS 96 NAME tAniA SidneY-RoBeRtS JOB TITLE pRincipAL deSiGnAte

Techno Geek

ict matters > techno geek

Finding your voice online In the first of a two part series, Techno Geek asks ‘How do you find your online voice?’ o your school has a website, maybe a blog, and is tweeting away like an aria of canaries.

Then comes the moment of cold realisation. What do we write about, and how do we keep it interesting?

It can be tough to know how to go about updating your online presence and ultimately making it a worthwhile enterprise. It’s no good putting your time and effort into writing a blog without people reading it.

Part of making any foray into ‘online conversation’ successful, be it for your school or as yourself on the www, is to find your ‘online voice’. It’s the key to building successful bridges in the internet world.

There are a couple of different ways to approach this, and it’s important to find a way of doing it that you, and indeed the school, are comfortable with. I would recommend not taking the Charlie Sheen, ‘all guns blazing’ approach. Its good to be honest and genuine, but there is a line, as in any situation, that Mr Sheen lost sight of a long time ago.

So here is my handy and by no means definitive guide to finding your ‘online voice’.

S

Research what other people are doing and emulate it It may sound obvious but the best way to get into developing a voice online is to see how other people are doing it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all. By seeing how people handle themselves in different spheres, be it twitter, on a blog or whatever, it will give you an idea about what you like and what you don’t and how you would like to go about it.

A person or an organisation One question you’re going to come across fairly quickly is: “How are we going to

do this? Should we blog or tweet as a collective or as an individual person?” I think the natural instinct is to think that we should blog as ‘the school’, which in many cases is entirely appropriate. There is also a strong argument for nominating one person to represent the school as the online personality, as it enables you to engage in a real way, and people know whom they’re talking to.

Be honest and genuine It’s important to think about how you want to be seen online, and a good way to think about your online doings is to think of it as a very large conversation. In a conversation people can tell when you’re being genuine and when you’re not. Even when people are being negative about you, respond in a positive manner. People respond well when they think they’re talking to people, they don’t when they think thery’re talking to a faceless online entity.

Respond and be interactive Once you have found your voice, don’t just shout out at people; remember this is an online conversation. You need to listen to people’s feedback and respond in an appropriate manner. By engaging with people online it not only helps you develop your voice, but also helps build your online reputation, which is ultimately what this is all about. For example, rather than just talking about what you’re doing, ask what others are doing and show genuine interest in it.

Pitfalls There are always pitfalls with having an online presence and next time I’m going to be looking at what we need to look out for.

I may even have a guest to give you some expert advice! 

NEC nabs projector prize at AV Awards Follow us @ i_exec for the latest news updates and insight into the issues that affect the role of the business manager.

44 independent executive | sept/oct 2011

NEC Display Solutions has been recognised as the Projection and Display Manufacturer of the year at the 2011 AV Awards. A preferred supplier of ICT equipment for education, NEC outshone other shortlisted companies demonstrating its commitment to, and pursuit of, the future development of the AV industry alongside evidence of technical innovation and creative solutions. With Ultra Short Throw, 3D and Interactive Projection solutions; super High Bright Stacking Projector solutions and intelligent Digital Signage networks - NEC offers a comprehensive portfolio of Display Products and Solutions. www.education-nec.com | 08701 201160

Inspired minds > Interview

School of progress St Christopher School has been radical since its founding – serving vegetarian food, doing without uniforms and letting pupils call teachers by their first names. Julia Dennison visits the progressive school to speak to its head, Richard Palmer

“W

hat is a garden city?”, I ask the taxi driver as we leave Letchworth Garden City station. On the approach to St Christopher School, via Britain’s first roundabout, he’s still scratching his head: it’s clearly something he’s never thought about, but driving past leafy avenues, manicured lawns and tree-lined central reservations, I’m beginning to get a good idea.

Indeed, this world’s first garden city was founded in 1903 by Ebenezer Howard and designed to incorporate elements of the country alongside city life. This method of urban planning surrounds self-contained communities with ‘greenbelts’, or parks, creating an equilibrium between man and nature. (Taxi driver, in the unlikely event you’re reading this, now you know.)

St Christopher School, which was founded a little over a decade later – in 1915 – by theosophist Dr Armstrong Smith, shares some of the idealistic and progressive roots of its surrounding garden city, as well as its Arts and Crafts architecture. The independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged three to 18 has been nondenominational from its start, encouraging pupils of all faiths to mix together and ‘learn a respect and tolerance for beliefs other than their own’. With this in mind, ‘St Chris’ adapted an entirely vegetarian diet for its pupils, so all faiths could eat the same food. There has never been a formal school uniform and the pupils address the teachers by their first names. A strong system of self-governance has been encouraged at the school since its start through a pupil council. Forms are called ‘companies’ and each company’s tutor is called an ‘adviser’. Every company elects councillors, who meet three times a term to vote on new rules and policies – which can be proposed by anybody and vetoed by the head. Current head, Richard Palmer prides himself in never having used this power.

A man for the job Palmer was a natural choice for the headship, taking the role five years ago, after working on and off for the school for the last 28 years.

46 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

inspired minds > Interview

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 47

Inspired minds > Interview

School St Christopher School Type 3-18 independent, coeducational boarding and day school Pupils 510 (40 of which are boarders) Staff 200 Headteacher Richard Palmer Background Richard Palmer came to the school in the 1980s as part of a gap year. He joined the permanent staff as a teacher and head of a boarding house in 1989. He left in the mid-90s to work at other schools, only to return to St Chris in 2004 as head of the junior school. He became head and chief executive in 2007.

48 independent executive | nov/dec 2011

inspired minds > Interview

He first came to the school as part of his gap year in the 1980s to set up some workshops, and was inspired by its ethos. He joined the staff in 1989, after finishing his degree and working for a charity that set up the world’s first email system. He taught A-level craft, design and technology, science and ICT, as well as being a boarding house tutor and warden of a sixth form boarding house before leaving in the mid-90s, only to return in 2004 as head of the junior school. He became head and chief executive in 2007 and has been praised for returning the school to its original ideals – recognising the importance of a good balance of work and play, encouraging the student council to thrive and reopening two boarding schools, which had been closed under the previous head, as well as the school’s Montessori building, which, incidentally, is the house where Sir Lawrence Olivier was born.

An independent ethos There is no school quite like St Christopher’s, and its pupils and staff appreciate this – but it’s not right for everyone, insists Palmer: “Children who need to be regimented and spoon-fed just don’t get it.” Walking around the campus, it just feels different. Palmer likens the school’s atmosphere to be somewhere “between a small village and a university campus”, and indeed, there is a feeling of mutual trust between the pupils and staff that manifests itself in an air of independence and poise in the demeanour of its pupils – each of whom greet Palmer with a ‘Hi, Richard’ as they pass us.

If it got to a point where I didn’t know every pupil, then the school would be too big Of course he knows them all by name too, as at 510 pupils across the whole school, class sizes remain a small 15 to 16 people. Six per cent of the school’s income is ring-fenced for financial assistance and Palmer has recently introduced weekly boarding as an option for the school’s 40 pupil boarders. The sixth form boarding house prepares them well for university, as it’s off campus and they can cook their own meals. Palmer is happy with the pupil numbers as they stand. “We don’t want to expand,” he says. “The size is very important to the nature of the school and if it got to a point where I didn’t know every pupil, then it would be too big.” St Chris’s open days are still very popular – as I speak to him he’s expecting 200 to 300 people to attend one the following weekend.

The curriculum is fairly standard (besides a Montessori for the under-fives). The junior school is taught in topics – for example, Egypt – and all subjects are taught with this in mind. The senior school is taught in five onehour periods a day, with 10 minute breaks in between.

Because one of the first heads was a Quaker, some of his traditions have been maintained at the school, which starts each morning with a silence and intersperses these silences throughout the day, including at lunch.

A 21st century leader Palmer leads the school’s progressive ethos into the 21st century, hosting a weekly headteacher’s blog on the website and tweeting around eight times a day. He has also changed the website so its content can be managed in-house. “Up until 10 years ago, you’d never hear from the head of a school,” he says. But he now communicates so much with parents, he’s done away with the head’s annual address, since people just didn’t need it anymore.

“The vast majority of our communication with parents is electronic; we hardly do any hard mailings,” says Palmer.

“They’re all into our Twitter feed [and] linked to our Facebook page, so they get constant information.” Social media also helps St Chris stay in touch with its alumni group – or Old Scholars – particularly when planning its annual reunion weekends.

Technology also plays a leading role at the school. The school is wirelessly networked and podcasts are a popular format for submitting assignments on the school’s virtual learning platform. Palmer embraces his pupils as digital natives, encouraging them to bring their own technology to the classroom, including smartphones. “You’ve got two options – either you can bury your head in the sand or you can embrace them,” he says of these gadgets, very much in favour of the latter option. “Every kid here has a Blackberry or an iPhone and every single one of them has more processing power than my school had when I was at school.” He uses phones as a tool to teach pupils to be considerate with their technology – like turning it off while in the classroom and not filming people without their permission. “That’s nothing to do with school,” he adds, “that’s just to do with life.”

Student power Palmer never underestimates the power of the student council, which has been in place since the school's founding. Any motions passed by the council are opened for discussion with the entire senior school, in a meeting chaired by the head boy and girl. If the motion is voted through, it becomes rule, unless it is vetoed by the head (a power used only five times in the last 25 years). “We teach the children how to reach consensus through prolonged discussion,” says Palmer. “The reason I don’t use a veto is that when they are drafting their motions, they do it so they’re not going to put me in a difficult position.”

One recent motion from the student body was to replace the green slip for older pupils, the school’s way of rewarding good behaviour, with an email home to parents. This was overturned because the council of pupils thought it would be too time-consuming for teachers.

Another motion, mostly from pupils who commute from London, was to get rid of the 10-minute break between classes so they could finish school earlier (though because it was to do with the length of the day, it could only be a recommendation and not a motion). It got through, but was overturned after a Year 8 pupil spoke out in defence of the relaxed atmosphere of the school, which might be lost if its students have to run from class to class.

The students are involved in curriculum planning as well: they audit the teachers through anonymous online surveys. During a curriculum review last year, one nearly unanimous suggestion was for cookery to be taught and a centre for teaching it to be built. “Because it required a major financial outlay – nearly £250,000 – it had to be a recommendation. The recommendation was accepted by governors and was built in the summer,” says Palmer, who teaches some of the cookery course himself.

Future projects for the school include a new history centre, with work due to begin in April. St Chris is lucky to have enough money in its coffers for upgrades like this, never needing to borrow money and rarely needing to fundraise. “The business is run on an even or surplus basis, and we also depreciate properly in terms of the buildings and the assets, in order that we have got the money to keep this 35-acre estate going,” says Palmer, though he admits: “It is costly to keep going.”

Education, for Palmer, is “not rocket science”: “You need good facilities and you need good people.”

He believes it is easier than many people like to think, particularly when they’re as nice a group as those at St Chris. “Kids are naturally aspirational,” says Palmer.

“They want to do well and they want to be interested.”

Of course, it’s hard to not stay interested when there is so much going for this school, its campus and the restorative green of its surrounding garden city. 

independent executive | nov/dec 2011 49

INSPIRED MINDS > DIARY

THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD? YOU BET IT WAS! Mike Abraham recently retired as a prep school head. He tells his story after 25 years at the chalk face

I

am sitting in the BBC suite in Port of Spain, Trinidad, between Sir Ian Botham and David Gower. It’s lunchtime and we are mid-commentary on the England cricket match. England is, of course, well in the lead, we are eating cucumber sandwiches and drinking beer… That was always the dream, (in fact it still is) but real life took charge when I was still in my teens and relentlessly steered me in the direction of teaching, not entirely my calling at that time, more an easy door to open.

Before I could blink, I was a prep school teacher, and before I could blink for a second time, a headmaster. How could that be? I was barely a grown-up, still ready to kick a football in the playground at break time, still moaning about the corned beef and cabbage pie, still struggling to find a tie to match my shirt. Perhaps, I wondered, my naivety was the secret of my success; no one had noticed that I had sneaked as a sixth-former into the headmaster’s office, sat down at the big desk and stayed there.

And yet, my responsibilities appeared endless and there seemed to be no one to turn to except myself. However much I tried to deflect decisions, allocate responsibilities or just hide under the covers, it all ended up at my door. My first headship was in a cathedral boarding school and so I was at the mercy of matrons, choristers, clergy and laundry. I unblocked toilets, organised birthday parties, consoled crying staff, made pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, changed wet beds in the middle of the night and played a million games of table tennis with the

50 INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE | NOV/DEC 2011

boarders, cheerfully losing every match. Oh, and I taught.

My family eventually put its disenchanted foot down and I moved to a day school, where the pressures would not dominate their every waking hour as well as mine. My new school was an empty shell of a building, with a team of builders and only one member of staff (me) and only one pupil (my son). Within four months, I would need a fully staffed, fully equipped, fully curriculumed, fully functioning school – and a few more pupils. My first appointment was a deputy head – life-saving Linda – who funnelled my scattergun ideas into a plan, and then executed the plan, almost to perfection. We began the first term with 100 pupils, 70 chairs, eight trusting and trusted staff and a bucketful of enthusiasm. Job done!

In these fiscally-challenged times, leadership of a prep school demands new skills which must be learned at the chalk face. We must manage our costs and income with the expertise of George Osborne, but with more obvious success. We must also be salesmen, counsellors, social workers, travel agents, Glee experts, IT specialists and doctors. Marketeers, plumbers, dieticians, comedians, marriage guidance experts and suppliers of hair bobbles.

So what have I left out? I am no longer a head, but am now involved in the recruitment of heads and so the question is: What special quality belongs to the best candidate? I know the answer; I know exactly what I am looking for. I need all of the above, but I especially need an inspiring, visionary leader. And that’s quite hard to find. n

MIKE ABRAHAM WAS A HEADMASTER OF VARIOUS PREP SCHOOLS FOR 25 YEARS BUT IS NOW A RECRUITMENT DIRECTOR FOR TES PRIME

As prep school leaders, we must also be counsellors, social workers, travel agents, Glee experts, IT specialists and suppliers of hair bobbles

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