EE April 11

OUTSIDE IS INWhy the outdoors is great for learning

GETTING OUT OF THE STICKSIs there a viable future for rural primary schools?

BUDGETING FOR CHANGE What curriculum changes mean for school budgets

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supporting business and fi nancial excellence in schools and colleges

EDUCATIONEXECUTIVE

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As we went to press this month came the alarming news that Edinburgh council plans to save 2.4m over the next two years by reducing management costs in

secondary schools, as well as 736,000 by removing the role of bursar managers. This is not just an example of cutting o the collective nose to spite the face, but something much more sinister like cutting o the brain to spite the whole body. Im tempted to think its in fact Edinburgh councillors who have lost their mind.

No youre not seeing things nearly 900,000 has been set aside in Edinburgh to be spent in the next year on voluntary early release deals on o er to secondary school principal teachers, deputy heads and bursar managers and around 180 school business management sta within the citys schools have received letters asking them if they are willing to apply for voluntary redundancy.

While times are undeniably tough for education in the UK, particularly in Scotland where one local authority recently considered shortening the school week to four days to save money, what person thought it was a good idea to remove the nancial nerve centre from schools? Getting rid of a schools senior nancial leader may leave it nancially better o in the very short term (i.e. one less mouth to feed), but in the long-term school business managers add proven value to schools saving the headteacher time and helping them run more cost-e ectively.

Here at EdExec we dont like this news at all and we want to hear your reactions. Perhaps you are a bursar a ected by the cuts or know someone who is? Please get in touch with your stories at [email protected]. After all, if anyone is going to save an education system from nancial ruin, surely its the bursars.

Hope you enjoy our new look magazine, weve rolled primary and secondary EdExec into one issue, along with ICT Matters, in order to reach the entire school business management community as one. Until next time, have a great month.

EDITOR

editors letterAPRIL 2011

Dont shoot your own foot

Education Executive is published byintelligent media solutionssuite 223, business design centre52 upper street, london, N1 0QHtel 020 7288 6833fax 020 7288 6834email [email protected] www.intelligentmedia.co.uk

Follow Education Executive on Twitter at Twitter.com/edexecPrinted in the UK by Buxton Press www.buxtonpress.co.uk

www.edexec.co.uk

EDUCATIONEXECUTIVE

EDITORjulia [email protected]

DEPUTY EDITORmatthew [email protected]

PUBLISHERvicki [email protected]

SALES EXECUTIVEfrancis [email protected]

ACCOUNT MANAGERharrison [email protected]

DIGITAL MANAGERdan [email protected]

DESIGNERelma [email protected]

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTsinead [email protected]

CIRCULATIONS MANAGERnatalia [email protected]

Education Executive is the fi rst business management magazine written exclusively for school business managers and bursars, bringing you the latest issues affecting your role, from fi nance to premises, procurement to HR. EdExec delivers the lowdown on all the hottest topics in education management right here, every month.

Contents

322608

06 Sector newSThe latest school business management news

08 event review ASCL Annual Conference

Business management highlights from the school leader event

10 event review BSEC 2011 What the future holds for building new schools

12 comment Budgeting for change

BESAs Ray Barker on what curriculum changes mean for budgets

14 interview A Chelsea morning

Chelsea Academy defies the odds of an urban environment

sectorthe lowdown on the business management world

18 PrimArY uPdAtePrimary news and views The latest updates and info specifically for primary schools

20 Out of the sticks Is there a viable future for rural primary schools?

24 SecondArY uPdAte Secondary news and views What the future holds for building new schools

26 Exam season How to get your secondary school ready for exam time

schools in focuswhats happening at primary or secondary school near you

38 LeGALDont get school tripped up Hosting responsible school trips

40 FinAnce Joining forces

Advice on becoming an academy or joining an academy trust

Turn to the end for Aprils edition of ICT Matters

management tune up your management skills

28 interview Petty cash The Petty Pool Trust is saved

32 PremiSeS Think outside the box A guide to outdoor learning from gardens to amphitheatres

36 cASe StudY A view from the Hill

Hillview School readies its finances for academy status

how to make your budget go furtherrocure lan

sector

april 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

06

ONE PLAN FOR SEN

In a green paper published last month, Childrens Minister Sarah Teather (pictured) unveiled proposals for the biggest reform of support given to young people with special educational needs (SEN) in 30 years. The paper seeks to include parents in the assessment process and introduce a legal right by 2014 to give them control of funding for the support their child needs as opposed to the current system where schools receive SEN funding and allocate it accordingly. The government would also like to replace SEN statements with a single assessment process and a combined education, health and care plan so that health and social services are included in the package of support, along with education this would run until the child is 25 years old. If the green paper is made law, the government would also replace the existing complicated School Action and School Action Plus system with a simpler new school-based category to help teachers focus on raising attainment. Teacher training and CPD would also be overhauled.

5 April 2011Implementing the pupil premiumCentral london

7 April 2011Capitas national conference: efficiency in schoolsCentral london

24 May 2011National school reform conferenceCentral london

25 May 2011Effective leadership for school reformCentral london

Ive met some incredible teachers over the years who are achieving tremendous results. But is our education system supporting and resourcing them with the right tools to engage the unengaged? Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver on his dream school

SEN WATCH STORY OF THE MONTH

DIARY They said...

Edinburgh council has set aside 860,000 to spend over the next year on voluntary release deals for secondary school principal teachers, deputy heads and bursar managers, according to an Edinburgh Evening News report.

The council is aiming to save 2.4m over the next two years by reducing management costs, which includes removing the role of bursar managers, which its claims will save 736,000.

City leader Jenny Dawe said the council cannot rule out compulsory redundancies, while trade union leaders are continuing to fight the school management cuts, which they say will have a direct impact on the education of children, with the EIS union signaling its intention to ballot for possible strike action.

John Stevenson, president of the Edinburgh branch of Unison, said: If these were essential jobs in schools in the first place then they still are. The work will still have to be done by somebody, and it could put more pressure on teachersSchools do not run themselves and somebody is still going to need to do this work.

Opposition councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group on the council, said: The whole problem is that the budget was set for this before any detailed strategy was agreed.

It has been agreed that over 3m will be taken out of schools in terms of management posts, yet there has been no strategy decided on. It seems completely cart before horse.

Putting aside nearly 1m for voluntary severance is all well and good but there has been no detailed proposals put to the workforce.

EDINBURGH PLANS BURSAR CUTS

Ive met some incredible teachers over the years who are achieving tremendous results. But is our

Sector news is brought to you byFree banking for schools supported by local specialist relationship managers - Lloyds TSB Commercial - well educated banking

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www.edexec.co.uk april 2011

07

Bullying runs rampantA study for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, carried out by Goldsmiths, University of London, found that nearly two in 10 of all school students said that they do not feel physically safe at school. Nearly half of 6-10- and 14-year-olds said they had been bullied at school. Among the primary school children who said they were being bullied, four in 10 said it was happening at least once a week. More than eight in 10 disabled pupils have been bullied at school. Two in three lesbian, gay or transgender secondary school pupils said they had been bullied.

STATS& FACTS

PENSION REFORMSLord Hutton of Furness set out his proposals for comprehensive, long-term structural reform of public service pension schemes in his recent report following a nine-month review. The main recommendation of the report is that existing fi nal salary public service pension schemes should be replaced by new schemes, where an employees pension entitlement is still linked to their salary (a defi ned benefi t scheme) but is related to their career average earnings, with appropriate adjustments in earlier years so that benefi ts maintain their value. School leader unions say they would be prepared to take industrial action to protect pension rights.

STAFF REDUNDANCY The number of school leaders calling the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) advice line to ask about how to make colleagues redundant has risen to its highest number in over a decade, the Guardian reports. More than a third of calls to a 24-hour ASCL helpline now relate to redundancies and ASCLs courses in redundancies are oversubscribed. School leaders at ASCLs general conference last month voiced concerns over the Department for Educations proposal of an English baccalaureate, which would be automatically given to pupils who achieve at least a C in their GCSEs in English, maths, two sciences, history or geography and a language. Senior leaders felt a turn to the English bacc could lead to more redundancies in teaching fi elds that fell outside those subjects.

THE PUBLIC SECTORAlmost two-thirds of public sector fi nance professionals have a positive vision of their organisations future, four months after the governments comprehensive spending review (CSR), a survey has found. The survey, by Version One, highlights that 62% of senior fi nance professionals are feeling confi dent with a quarter of these stating that they are very confi dent. In contrast, 26% of the 158 senior fi nance professionals that responded said they were concerned about what may lay ahead for their organisation with four per cent admitting that they were very concerned. The remaining eight per cent of respondents said it was still too early to comment about their organisations long-term prospects.

Restaurant critic Jay Rayner (centre) with Nico Ducceshi, 9, Sinead Barton, 9, Jude Freeman, 11, and Shaan Kholi, 8, of Telferscot Primary School in Londons Lambeth have a taste of the food they have cooked as they prepare for the national Lets Get Cooking BIG Cookathon

PICTURE STORY

There are more female school leaders. Headteachers

are getting younger, and there are more female school

leaders, according to new fi gures from the Training and

Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

Since 2004, the TDA has seen a 38% increase in

the number of teachers under 45 reaching the top, and

a 35% rise in the number of women becoming

secondary school heads.

What we learned this month

INBRIEF

2 in 10pupils say they do not feel physically safe at school

www.lloydstsb.com/schoolsbanking | 0800 681 6078

sectorEVENT REVIEW08


School leaders were out in force at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference last month, which took place at the impressive Manchester Central Convention Complex. The delegates were treated to a superb range of speakers, including Education Secretary Michael Gove, who was subjected to a grilling from attendees, all keen to get some clarity

on the ongoing school reforms.The ASCL underlined its commitment to school business management by

kicking o the event with an over-subscribed business management update, chaired by immediate past president John Morgan. The session underlined the ever-evolving management landscape and the pace of change under Goves rule.

Morgan emphasised the possibilities that the academies programme could present and stressed the potentially increased role that businesses managers could play. One particularly interesting point was the idea of rewarding outstanding secondary school teachers and changing the way lessons are taught to give these super teachers more students, with lessons being delivered in large numbers before running breakaway sessions. The general feeling was that SBMs will play a larger role in structuring schools, with increasingly tight budgets and a need to do more with less.

There were obvious fears over how the shrinking budgets will impact schools, with a survey of ASCL members showing that some schools were considering making up to a fth of their sta redundant as a result of nancial constraints. This redundancy issue was further discussed in relation to the

English Baccalaureate, which many believe will further force schools to reassess their teaching structure.

The main conference was opened with a trio of songs performed by musicians from Chethams School of Music. This was followed by ASCL president John Fairhurst introducing the topic of thinking leaders, thinking learners. He challenged Gove to consider the delivery of the English Baccalaureate, saying that while the ASCL has long campaigned for one to be introduced, Goves vision is not in line with theirs. The Welsh have one, which is rather good. With adjustments it could be developed as something appropriate for a much wider audience. Perhaps we could call it the Brit Bac, said Fairhurst. On the second day of the conference, many delegates in support of reconsidering the English Baccalaureate wore badges with the logo I failed the English Bac, with the ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman sporting a badge, which highlighted the fact that they themselves would not have quali ed.

Gove took to the stage with a host of questions to answer. While he delivered his speech with his usual aplomb, there were still many questions left unanswered and many delegates were left pondering how he plans to implement the proposals he spoke of with ever-shrinking resources to do it.

There was a plenary session from Sam Ellis and Malcolm Trobe, which looked at strategic nancial planning. One of the big discussion points from this session was the pupil premium grant, which is causing much debate over how it will be rolled out. As Ellis pointed out, the grant can actually be spent on whatever the school wishes, with funds allowed to be carried forward. The session stressed the importance of having a clear nancial goal and understanding of how and where money is spent.

There was much to be learned from the conference. Some of the key topics were the importance of idea sharing and possible clustering between schools, the importance of thorough planning and the need to have con dence in the systems your school currently has in place. These were themes emphasised in Lightmans speech, and something well worth remembering in the face of the many changes that schools have to take on board.

There were fears over how shrinking budgets will impact schools, with some considering making a fth of sta redundant

The ASCL conference provided a great platform for business management issues. MATTHEW JANE went to Manchester to find out more

After theshow

sector10 EvEnt rEviEw

sector

Eyes were on BSEC 2011 as the two-day show kicked off on 23 February, for this building show came at a time when reforms to the education system are causing everything we know about school

building to be put into question. Labours Building Schools for the Future programme, which saw multi-million pound refurbishments of secondary schools, is no longer and at the opposite end of the spectrum the coalition government is talking about free schools being set up above hairdressers or in corner shops. With all the confusion that has ensued surrounding funding for school building projects over the past 12 months, this years event took a return-to-basics approach to its seminars and keynote speeches with the underlying question being: what do schools really need from their buildings to give the pupils within them the best education they can?

In the run-up to the school building event, BSEC research confirmed a widespread uncertainty among UK institutions when it came to educational construction projects. Two-thirds of education workers surveyed felt confused about where to go for information on funding for building projects.

And its no wonder the past two years have seen such a wide disparity between authoritative opinions surrounding what makes a good school. Less than two years ago, it was not uncommon to see 50m spent on a new academy building at as much as 3,000 per square metre, and then there was BSF, the UKs biggest ever school buildings investment programme that fed billions of pounds into secondary schools to turn them into 21st century learning environments.

Come September, we will have free schools, modelled after similarly state-funded independent schools in Sweden and the charter schools in the US (on which American charter school evangelist

BSEC 2011 went ahead without a hitch last month. JULIA DEnnISon brings you the highlights of the show, considering what the future of school building will look like from free schools in shopping centres to building schools post-BSF

The future of new build


The underlying question is: what do schools really need from their building to give the pupils within them the best education they can?

Should be April 2011

Michael J. Connelly confirmed he spends as little as $600 per square metre). Meanwhile, a business plan from the Department for Education has said it would revise school building regulations and change rules to exempt new schools from needing to seek planning permission so that free schools could be built in non-traditional environments. This has been a source of encouragement to journalist and free school founder Toby Young who said in a blog last month in the Telegraph that Education Secretary Michael Gove was right to scrap BSF.

Many people seem to be under the impression that with the cancellation of BSF the government is intending to spend no money on new buildings or refurbishing Englands existing secondary schools, Young wrote. Thats not true. A small amount of capital has been set aside to fund new free schools and academies, the majority of which will be conversions within existing buildings and therefore less than half the price of the average new build under the previous government. For him, achievement may have less to do with a 21st century learning environment than many may think. In fact, theres no evidence that the extravagant, civic monuments that these councils hoped to build had they been given the hundreds of millions pounds they were expecting under the BSF programme would have raised aspirations or transformed life chances, he added.

sector11

www.edexec.co.uk december 2010

With this approach, you would be forgiven for seeing the choice of Young as a keynote speaker at BSEC as slightly controversial, and the sweat was notable on many the architects brow when Connelly quoted such low costs for new schools. In the end, this was a realistic event if you could take one thing away from it, it is that priorities have to be made.

However further research surrounding the show was quick to curtail any thought that the school environment was anything less than crucial for bettering academic results, with BSEC finding that as many as 99% of people working in the education sector believe a well-designed school is important for pupils and their academic results.

Valuable seminars ran at the event with well-respected speakers the likes of Rachel Wolf, Stephen Heppell and Sir Bruce Liddington. Key topics throughout included new procurement routes, the (seemingly diminishing) role of local authorities, alternative funding models, how space can best support the curriculum, providing more for less, how to improve existing stock and adapt existing buildings to create quality education spaces. And it is the repetition of the word existing here that is crucial from upgrading existing locations for free schools to keeping up the 50m academies built under Labour, UK schools have entered an era of refurbishment. When you cant have something new, you may as well better the one youve got.

sector12


budgets

DIARY

With more questions circulating than ansWers

regarding budgets. Ray BaRkeR, director of besa, looks at What the current curriculum

changes mean for schools in terms of budgeting

Budgeting for change

Despite the governments review of the national curriculum launched in January being a regular part of staff room debate, we will not know the new

policies and how they will affect schools budgets for quite some time.

However, through the statements released to date, we can begin to anticipate the changes and what this will mean for funding in schools.

Firstly, it is important to note that BESAs annual research into monies unspent in school budgets by December gave an interesting result there was more than last year. The total figure was 203m, and while only a little up, it is indicative that schools have had somewhat of a brake on spending during this financial year.

For schools, there are good reasons to spend now. The climate in local authorities is such that they will be looking for opportunities to claw-back unspent funds. However, if money is to be spent, it is vital in this climate that schools get best value.

This year the challenges are new and worth considering carefully. Schools have had 13 years during which most policy developments and announcements were made with some money attached, delivered to schools through the Standards Fund or other special grant routings. The overriding perception was that the budget kept being added to with additional, new money. The new money part was virtually never true, in that the Department for Educations own budget for any year always included what would be formula-delegated and what could be announced as special grant.

The change this year is that the department is stating the pot of money that it has available and that it will be delivered to

schools as a delegated budget plus the relevant pupil premium payment no special grants or add-ons, nothing is being held back; all the money is in the pot. The implications have much to do with perception. As long as schools recognise that it is one amount of money with no extras to come; and budget accordingly, there is at least clarity. Our concern, from our research, is that schools cant quite believe yet that the Department is not intending any hands-on managing of budgets and is breaking the link between policy announcements and special funding.

So, for the coming year, schools will have their pot of money and must budget on that basis, with no expectation of any more arriving. There is some evidence that the resources budget was often the last allocation at school budget time and, if the resulting figure looked low, the expectation was that additional special grants, made later in the year could be used to boost it.

That is no longer the case. Realistic budgets for resources must therefore be allocated from the start. For the rationale behind keeping up resources spending, one need look no further than the Publishers Association research showing the direct correlation between increased spending on resources and rising pupil achievement.

sector13


budgets

KeY AReAs OF CHANge

National curriculum changes for literacy, numeracy, Pe/sport and culture means that schools

are expected to allocate an appropriate amount of time and budget to teaching these curriculum

areas.

ICT Funding for ICt in schools is no longer ring-fenced and the government appears to hold the view that now technology is rmly embedded in learning, the funding should come under the standard school budget. However, in todays multimedia environment, it is vital to enrich each students classroom experience to stimulate their learning. schools are expected to, and are advised to still ensure their investment in ICt remains. because so much of students experience is shaped and surrounded by technology, highly interactive activities have truly become the new currency of learning. technology will be an inevitable part of most students careers and therefore it needs to be a part of their learning experience.

Freedom to teach? While freedom comes to schools in terms of the teaching of subjects, such as history and geography, there are clear indications that schools will need to invest in broadening such curriculum areas. the government has already indicated some spend on teaching music. the warning came in comments from Michael gove speaking on the bbC Radio 4s today programme: One of the problems that we have at the moment is that in the history curriculum we only have two names [of historical gures], in the geography curriculum the only country we mention is the uK we dont mention a single other country, continent, river or city. the education secretary has in the past been vocal about the lack of a connected narrative in the teaching of british history. Writing in the telegraph, he lamented the absence in the curriculum of gures such as Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale and Horatio Nelson. such comments are a clear sign to teachers that they will be expected to invest in resources that broaden out the curriculum in these areas.

Religious education gove has con rmed that religious education would remain a statutory requirement at all ages (although parents can choose to stop their children from attending classes), but no programme of study would be prescribed. Once again schools have the forward warning that continued investment in resources to support Re will not be wasted.

PSHe is the one subject area that will be reviewed separately. schools are therefore advised to avoid any new investments in resources to support this curriculum area at the current time.

Language specialism at primary level the core subjects of english, maths, science and Pe apply to both primary and secondary schools. However the recent introduction of the english baccalaureate at secondary level also brings in modern foreign languages (MFL) and humanities. the establishment of these subjects at secondary school level indicates that they should also be taught in primary schools. In general, primary schools do not currently have to invest in specialist language teachers. Resources designed to teach MFL without actual teaching staff needing to know the language are on the market, but what we dont yet know is whether this will be considered to be an acceptable level of teaching.

Phonics there is currently erce debate at primary level on the use of synthetic phonics in the teaching of reading. despite gove giving teachers the freedom to teach how they see t, he is currently stipulating that schools have to teach reading using synthetic phonics with a reading test at six. the majority of teachers, however do not believe in promoting just one approach to reading, and believe blending the use of synthetic phonics with analytic phonics. Primary schools looking to invest in reading support material may be well advised to postpone any investment until further clarity is gained.

We are missing the nal bullet. Can we add it? We dont have to add the last paragraph after the nal bullet though.

BROADER CURRICULUM | FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, WINSTON CHURCHILL AND HORATIO NELSON LACKING IN LESSONS

National curriculum changes numeracy, Pe/sport and culture means that schools

are expected to allocate an appropriate amount of time and budget to teaching these curriculum

areas.

14

As an urban new-build, the challenge for the Chelsea Academy was getting the most out of a tiny footprint. As a result, innovations such as a rooftop football pitch abound. JuliA Dennison reports

shout fromthe rooftop

SCHOOL Chelsea Academy

TYPE 7-11 academy plus a sixth form that starts in September

PUPILS 324 now in Years 7 and 8 (capacity for 1,060 including a sixth form of 250)

SPECIaLISm Sciences

annUaL bUdgET (2010/11) 4m

TEaCHIng STaff 34

SUPPOrT STaff 31

fact box

The newly built Chelsea Academy sits tucked away in an area of southwest london populated by ritzy houses, priceless antique shops, five-star hotels and the

occasional footballers crash pad. its certainly not where youd expect to find a state-maintained school with 40% of its pupils on free school meals. However, while attending this all mod-cons 21st century learning space, the diverse student body is far from underprivileged.

sponsored by the london Diocesan Board for schools (lDBs) in association with The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea Academy has been developed to cater to around 800 pupils in years 7 to 11 and 250 students in the sixth form, all housed within a new five-storey structure interlinked by outdoor roof areas and an open-planned central atrium.

CreAting the perfeCt SChoolDespite only opening in september 2009, the Chelsea Academy can trace its roots back 17 years when the council identified a need for another secondary school in the area due to changing demographics resulting a serious shortage of local secondary school places. it took the local authority all that time to identify a suitable location and go through the legal processes in order to open and the funding presented itself through the academy scheme.

The project became a reality when principal Andy Yarrow was appointed in April 2008 and the rest of the leadership team arrived between January and April 2009 only months before the academy provisionally opened with its first 162 Year 7 students, residing in

temporary, modular accommodation in the car park of a local college.

When finance director Janet Perry started in January of 2009, the list of things to do in preparation for opening the new school was long, and she had nothing but a small office and laptop to get on with it. it was an incredibly busy eight months, she remembers. There were nine people in all working on the project leading up to opening six members of the leadership team and three associate staff who had to knuckle down and work on the recruitment of 39 staff to start on 1 september with 162 students.

Perry worked with a team from the Royal Borough to sort out the temporary accommodation, but apart from that, everything had to be developed from scratch by the academys leadership team. starting a new school meant there was no template. As finance director, it was Perrys job to sort out the practical issues relating to HR, finance and premises. Things you take for


sectorinterview

finance director | Janet perry

15


granted had to be identified and sorted out, she explains. There were 87 policies and procedures requested by the DCsF to write and every document, form and data sheet we wanted had to be created. But Perry wasnt on her own; it was very much a collaborative effort. We all brought with us the tools, experiences and things that worked and didnt work in our previous schools to put together what we hoped would be the perfect school, she explains.

The benefit of being in temporary accommodation was that the academy was able

to use it as a test bed for the final building being built just a short distance away, involving students and staff in decisions surrounding furniture, iT and even the colour scheme. For example, six different types of classroom furniture were trialled in the six temporary classrooms, which students and staff tested and evaluated, informing their decision for the final building. similarly, the academy buildings colour scheme were decided democratically through a student and staff vote.

The aim of including staff and students in our evaluation process was to enable the students and staff to have an influence over and pride in their environment, as well as serving as an educational process for the students, Perry explains. It was

incredibly valuable too and saved what could have been some very serious mistakes.

The Chelsea Academy takes pride in its commitment to the student voice and is something it plans to stand by throughout its future. its one of the key things that we want to be special about our academy, adds Perry.

if the footprint fitSCompleted in August 2010, the academy took two years to construct at a cost of 43m, which doesnt include the expensive land in Chelsea. The project presented one major challenge: constructing a building large enough to accommodate 1,000-plus students on a small former primary school site in gentrified Chelsea. You can imagine the value of the land in this part of the country is enormous, so they had to build very cleverly in order to get everything we wanted from a school on a very tight footprint, remembers Perry.

The value of the land in this part of the country is enormous, so they had to build cleverly in order to get everything we wanted

sectorinterview

16 interview

Creative thinking around the restrictive footprint resulted in underground sports, activity and drama halls and a rooftop games area/football pitch.

The academy has been designed to maximise external spaces, so rooftops on the first, second and third floors have been developed into furnished and landscaped spaces for pupils to socialise and learn.

new beginningSChelsea Academy is only hosting Years 7 and 8 during this academic year; come September, a further year group plus a new sixth form will join its ranks. When edexec visited the school in early 2011, many rooms were still waiting to be put into use and the leadership team, including the newly appointed head of sixth form who has started a year early, was in the process of recruiting staff for 2011/12.

Finding staff is not a problem for Chelsea Academy. The opportunity to work in a brand new school in fantastic buildings with a very visionary principal is one that a lot of staff have been attracted to; we get a huge number of applications for every post, and have been very pleased with the quality of appointments, adds Perry.

Chelsea is keeping to the national pay and conditions framework but being an academy gives the team more flexibility in how much they pay. We really value our staff and have already achieved the Investors in People Gold award, Perry adds.

Having worked for other state-maintained schools in her previous roles, the day-to-day of working for an academy doesnt feel too different for Perry except that shes now also company secretary for the academy trust. The independence of academy status also comes in handy for the students at the Chelsea Academy who are offered the opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities that take place during the school day in addition to six hours of lessons, which means the school operates a longer day than most schools.

Another challenge for the academys leadership team is that it has had to be proactive about

starting a new school has been an exciting challenge, providing a great opportunity to be creative and to set the highest expectations and standards right from the startprincipal andy yarrow

recruiting its sixth form students since it doesnt currently have a Year 11 group that would naturally fill the places. But that hasnt been a problem either. The school is planning for at least 100 places in the sixth form next year, for which it has already received 300 applications and growing.

expensive to build, undoubtedly this academy will cost money to maintain. Does Perry feel an annual budget of 4m (the amount she had for the financial year 2010/11) is enough? Budgets are never enough when you have very ambitious staff who want the best for their students, she quips.

At the moment funding for the sixth form is a concern with government funding cuts for sixth forms throughout the country. Chelsea Academy is also concerned about the future of its extended schools activities offered at the moment

until 6pm every evening, which are attended by two-thirds of its students. its incredibly important in this part of london to be able to offer that opportunity, Perry explains.

in light of this, the school is seeking out sources of funding outside that supplied by central government, such as grants. The school has also started a charity the Chelsea Academy Foundation in a bid to raise funds to support all that it wants to achieve going forward. Benefactors include the singer Bryan Adams, who lives locally and provides student bursaries and funding for musical equipment.

With the official opening of the academy this past november, many school leaders would be keen to put their feet up and pat themselves on the back, but for Chelsea Academy this is only the beginning.


sector

18


New Takeley primaryEssEx CouNTy Council planners have granted approval to plans for a new primary school in Takeley, Essex.

The focus of the new school building, designed by sarah Wigglesworth Architects, will be around the library, in a systematic way that is easy to navigate and fit for a variety of purposes.

Classrooms are clustered around courtyards, which will be used as outdoor learning environments. The design offers a low energy building that mitigates the acoustic characteristics of the site, which is close to stansted Airport, while aiming to be simple and economical to maintain.

school governor Mark Gaby commented: our vision was for a new, sustainable school that will inspire the staff and pupils and encourage and facilitate learning, while offering first-class facilities, resources and learning opportunities for pupils at Takeley.

Wales primary wins formula one challenge

TEAM x-DrEAM, made up of primary school pupils from ysgol y Talwrn in Llangefni, Wales celebrated winning the 2011 Primary Formula one in schools Technology Challenge 2011, held at the Big Bang science Fair at Excel, London.

This primary school version of the prestigious F1 in schools initiative is now in its fourth year and is becoming increasingly popular with both school children and teachers.

With only 36 pupils, ysgol y Talwrn was the smallest to reach the national finals, and after competing for three consecutive years was delighted to finally take the title.

Team x-Dreams team leader, Alaw Williams, said of winning: Its so amazing, were so lucky to be here and didnt expect to win. resource manager

ysgol y Talwrn raises money to become the smallest school to reach the national finals for the Primary Formula one in schools Technology Challenge

Ysgol Y Talwrn llangefni, wales

Mari Hughes said she hoped to carry the teams success forward to secondary school and win again.

As part of the project, the team was tasked with raising funds for the challenge, which included making 63 from selling their homemade blackberry and apple jam and over 1,000 from a sponsored family bike ride.

runners-up included Need 4 speed, a team from ysgol Cae Top, Llangefni, who also won the Jaguar Best Engineered Car award with Team Dynamite from West Park Primary school, Port Talbot, in third place. Team Brent, West Winds Primary school, Newtownards celebrated having the quickest car on the track to win the Fastest Car Award, and collected the Best sponsorship and Marketing Award. The Innovative Thinking award was won by united Paradise from richmond Park Primary school and the tiger-painted faces of st. Chads Tigers from st. Chads CE Primary school helped the team win the Best Team Identity award.

Primary F1 in schools champions Team X-Dream from Ysgol Y Talwrn, llangefni. From leFT To righT team leader alaw williams; design engineer owain roberts; manufacturing engineers harri williams and sara hughes; graphic designer hannah henderson; and resource manager mari hughes

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PrIMAry uPDATEWhats going on in the world of primary school and nursery management

We owe it to the futures of individual children to foster habits of adventurous outdoor activities as early as possible sara Knight of anglia ruskin University, on why nervous nurseries harm kids

They said...

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PrimarY news

schools in focus

young book worms shine throughskye Logan, 11, and Eve Colwell, eight, from Newcastle Church High school were stars for the day after winning a place on the judging panel of the Blue Peter Book Awards, which gives young folks the chance to review the uKs best childrens literature.

Infant school wins mobile classroom riDgewaY inFanT school Derbyshire

rIDGEWAy INFANT sCHooL in Derbyshire beat 300 schools in the uK to win a kitty of ICT goodies worth 6,500.

The 250 pupils at ridgeway Infants school, between the ages of five and seven, are set to benefit considerably from the technology prize, which includes 10 netbooks, an interactive whiteboard and a laptop charging trolley.

Bring your Bear for charitynaTionwiDe

PrIMAry sCHooLs across the uK are being encouraged by Paddington Bear to register to take part in his annual Bring your Bear event this summer to raise vital funds for childrens charity Action Medical research.

To take part, schools choose a day from May onwards when the children bring their teddy bear,

or a favourite soft toy, into class for the day. Each child brings in a pound or two with

their bear to support vital research to help babies and children.

Every school that registers will receive a fundraising kit with the

resources needed to run a Bring your Bear event, including ideas for extra activities.

To register and receive a fundraising kit, visit action.org.uk/bringyourbear.

INBrIEFnews

rise in PriMary literacythe reading comprehension of year 1 primary school children is beyond what is expected for their age, according to an independent study based on reading records of more than 150,220 children. the study shows that primary schools have made impressive gains in improving literacy standards but, as they move toward secondary school stage, reading levels decline year on year. the data was gathered by Professor Keith topping of the University of dundee and revealed that year 1 students at primary school had a very high reading comprehension even on some books of high readability for this year. the same applied to students in years 2 and 3, however by year 4 the average percent correct score for the assessment began to decline.

the average annual spend per primary/middle school according to the department for education

STATS& FACTS

0.99m

Teacher, Melissa Harrison, who entered the competition on behalf of the school at the xMA stand at Januarys BETT show, said: Im absolutely thrilled. I never in a million years expected to win. The children have never had access to netbooks or laptops in school before so this will make a huge difference to them.

she added: The prize will really help to support teaching and learning across all subjects and because the classroom is mobile, all our pupils will be able to benefit.

20 primary analysisschools in focus

While small rural schools face many challenges, there are also a wealth of opportunities and advantages. MattheW Jane finds out more

escape for the country


With the rolling hills, fresh air and the sound of the birds singing in the trees, the country lifestyle can be hard to beat. But for schools, the rural idyll can also bring a host of

challenges. there are additional considerations in terms of the school infrastructure, the finances and the general logistics of running a school in a small, rural setting.

While the benefits of employing a school business manager is well documented, one of the biggest challenges for a rural school is many cannot afford to employ one, which could put them at a disadvantage. In the current climate, we believe headteachers cannot afford not to have access to one, at least on a shared basis, suggests trevor Summerson, head of school business management at the national College. More and more schools are also considering different models of school organisation but headteachers and governing bodies are best placed to determine whats right for their school community as there is no one-size-fits-all.

Colin Ricketts, headteacher at Curdworth Primary School in Warwickshire, which is a small, rural school with 101 pupils, suggests there are a range of particular concerns that parents will have when considering such a school. Some of the worries that parents have when they first come here is that they think, because we are small, that the children might lose out because we havent got the facilities of a larger school.

however, Ricketts argues that the opposite is actually true and that the fact his school is smaller provides children with more opportunities than they might get at a large school. For example, if a child wants to be in the football team, they will be in it. If we have a school play, they will be in it. Because we have the smaller numbers, we are able to get everyone involved, he says.

This situation also allows Ricketts to offer a more personalised approach with the children, parents and staff. We know all the children, their academic and

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22 primary analysis

social needs and even the wider family. Smaller schools are able to educate the whole child rather than them just being another number, he says. We have an open door policy here, so the parents know they can pop in and see me whenever they have a problem, so that concerns dont become issues. It is about being proactive, not reactive.

One of the major challenges facing small rural schools is the issue of reduced funding associated with smaller pupil numbers. If we dont get the numbers of pupils, then it impacts on our budget, explains Ricketts.

risE TO THE CHallEnGEFaced with these challenges of offering quality services and reduced funding opportunities, small rural schools are increasingly considering the option of clustering together to take advantage of the economies of scale this offers.

Clustering can also be used in order to provide business management services. the national College has been running a series of demonstration projects over the past two years that have looked at the use of higher level SBMs in areas such as rural settings. the impact of SBMs is most evident where schools collaborate in clusters to share an SBM, says Summerson. Schools stand to benefit in a number of ways they can buy resources together and benefit from economies of scale or improve value for money by procuring better quality.

Ricketts says his school has a very strong cluster group, eight schools that form the Coleshill Learning Community, which allows them to get better value and a broader range of services. We are getting real value for money through buying in services and procurement through clusters, he explains. Rather than each individual school buying something, we can ask what they can offer us if we buy it in a cluster. We are looking at services like educational psychologists, school sports partnerships and ICt technical support.

JOininG FOrCEsSome of the services needed by rural primary schools could be purchased from local secondary schools, which could work out as mutually beneficial, given the primaries need the services and the secondary school could use the additional revenue it provides. We are looking at alternatives to buying from the local authority and the local comprehensive is a good option, says Ricketts.

One of the services in question is a school business manager. Our local comprehensive has a school business manager that we could buy for one afternoon a fortnight for example, Ricketts says. It is a good option to buy these services on a pay-as-you-go deal.

Services can also be provided through a cluster. Ricketts says there are two options for this, either purchasing a full-time service, or purchasing aspects of the role. We have all put money in the pot to employ a PSa and an extended services coordinator, he says. Our cluster can work across a range of areas. We are involved

in cross-cluster moderation, cross-cluster planning and also sharing CPD, which can be a huge advantage.

With space at a premium in a small rural school, one of the big advantages of cluster working is the opportunity to share resources. We bought a set of 20 african drums in our cluster, says Ricketts. We use them for our annual multicultural fortnight. We couldnt all afford to buy these separately, and also, we dont have the space to store them at our school, so this situation works really well for us.

the arrangement at the Coleshill Learning Community is evolving all the time. We are starting to use specialisms within each of the schools, says Ricketts. It is definitely the way forward and helps with the ideas and knowledge sharing.

Summerson agrees that cluster working is crucial for small rural schools. Creating a school company also offers a straightforward way to formally partner with other organisations on key issues and to procure value-for-money services, he says. Collaborating with an outstanding school could also be a key to the door of working better with or even converting to academy status.

the advice for small rural schools is to pick up the phone and have a word with the school down the road. Who knows, they may be struggling with the same challenges facing your school, and a relationship could drastically change your method of working for the better, opening doors to opportunity and cost savings.

n smaller class sizes could present learners with more opportunities as nobody misses out

n Cluster working could improve purchasing through economies of scale

n services can be purchased as part of a cluster and used on a pay as you go deal

n purchasing services and sharing resources with local secondary schools could be a cost effective model

n items purchased as a group can be stored at a larger school, helping reduce the space constraints on small schools.

TOp Tips

We are looking at alternatives to buying from the local authority and the local comprehensive is a good option


schools in focus

24


School loses sixth formBrynmawr Foundation School wales

A School in Wales has lost a fight in court over the future of its 200-pupil sixth form, the BBc reports.

Blaenau Gwent council proposed shutting the Brynmawr Foundation Schools sixth form to make way for a new college nearby but the school argued that its foundation status meant it was outside council control.

In a legal fight led by headteacher James Retallick, the school accused the Welsh Assembly Government of unlawfully delegating the decision making to the local authority.

however, a high court judge ruled that ministers were right to delegate the decision to Blaenau Gwent council .

The judge said the schools complaints were either not legally sound or brought to court too late.But the school argued the timing of the consultation was unfair because most of its period fell during the summer holidays.

The decision to close the sixth form has not yet been taken but the councils preferred option is to close it by September 2012. The school may now face court costs, which will be decided at a later date.

Academy cuts admin time by 19 weeks

coRnWAllIS AcAdemy, a new-build school specialising in technology and science due to open in September, has installed document management software as an alternative to the manual process of filing and storing student records, hR, finance and payroll documents a process that is already predicted to remove 19 weeks worth of admin time per year for the school.

cornwallis Academy, part of the Future Schools Trust, operates two academies located within the maidstone borough, catering for 2,680 students aged 11-18. The secondary school holds its specialism in science and design technology, while sister school new line learning Academy (featured in last months edexec Secondary) specialises in business, enterprise and vocational studies.

Smart document management minimises administration time as part of a 62m new-build project

cornwalliS academy maidstone

All student records need to be retained for between 6-10 years for compliance purposes and over 80% of the schools documents are paper-based. Prior to implementation, files were stored all across the schools and typical issues of misfiling and loss occurred.

charles ealham, director of new technologies, outlines the main challenge at the school: We aimed to remove the 60 filing cabinets spread throughout the two sites. Storage space at the new site was limited to reduce new build costs so going paperless was an obvious choice, especially in departments where document levels were acute.

Since implementing the document management system from Invu Services, cornwallis has improved the efficiency of its administrative processes, achieving significant savings in time and cost throughout all departments.

cornwallis academy saves admin costs through document management

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SecondARy neWSWhats going on in the world of secondary school and further education

SEND IN YOUR STORIESWe are always looking for local

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the average annual spend per secondary school according to the department for education

STATS& FACTS

5.54m

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Secondary newS

schools in focus

Bryanston undergoes lunch counter revolutionBryanSton dorset

BRyAnSTon In dorset, one of the UKs top independent schools, has invested in a major upgrade of its catering facilities, combining the latest food servery technology and design with a sympathetic refurbishment of its Grade 1-listed buildings historic architectural features.

The old catering facility had five different entries and four different server positions, explains estates bursar Jon mortimer. We could seat just over 300 but it was cramped. mealtimes felt like being in the middle of Waterloo station in rush hour!

Secondary schools spend 293m on supply teachers

non-AcAdemy SecondARy SchoolS in england spent 293m on supply teachers in 2009/10 (over 100,000 per school), research from the TaxPayers Alliance (TPA) has found.

The TPAs analysis of department for education figures also suggests that there is already a pupil premium; schools with over 30% of students on free school meals received an income of over 26% more per pupil.

director matthew Sinclair commented: many parents are very concerned when they see their children being taught by a series of different supply teachers, rather than enjoying a stable learning environment with a regular teacher. At the same time, we have just seen a decade in which Britain has spent more and more on education but slid down international league tables for performance.

Taxpayers deserve to get better value and this

InBRIeFnews

seCondArY oF CHoICeAccording to a survey of 12 english local authorities by the Guardian, around one in six children will have been refused a place in their first choice of secondary school, with as many as 11 applications for every place at the countrys most popular state-funded secondaries. the poll found schools that were severely oversubscribed in previous years were even more so this year. when a school is oversubscribed, priority is given to pupils with special needs or in care. After that, pupils are chosen according to how near they live to the school, whether they have siblings at the school and sometimes which primary school they attended. Parents can list between three and six choices, depending on where they live.

ACAdeMIesthe biggest driver for secondary schools going for academy status is the belief that it will help their school financially, a poll of school leaders has revealed. nearly half of secondary schools polled last month by the Association of school and College Leaders (AsCL) are intending to convert to academy status or have already become converter academies. of the 1,471 respondents, eight per cent have already converted to academy status and 38% said they are in the process or intending to start as soon as eligible. those who remain undecided make up 34% and a minority of 19% have no plans to become an academy. of those seeking to become academies, most were tempted by the idea that it would help the school financially (72%).

Since the restaurant caters for 670 pupils and 400 staff, and theres limited time to serve most of them lunch, things had to change. on the one hand we needed to exploit the latest thinking in terms of traffic flow, on the other we wanted to keep the buildings historic elements and, indeed, restore some that had been lost, mortimer added.

The new facility features counters by e & R moffat and has one entrance, one servery area and seats over 400 in three interconnected dining areas.

The design of the counters is critical to the success of the scheme, said mortimer. They give us enormous flexibility, which is very important because we change the menu regularly and the servery area has to be able to adapt.

n Schools in deprived areas use supply teachers far more frequently n Schools with over 30% of students on free school meals spent an average of over 140,000 each on supply teachers, which the tPa says suggests that the pupils who need stable teaching the most do not get itn many areas that have low attainment are those with the highest funding per pupiln higher deprivation tends to lead to lower academic achievement.

supply in demandreport provides new evidence that suggests the key to improving schools isnt just throwing more money at them, but improving how they are managed. headteachers need to be given more power to run their schools and should be accountable to parents, not bureaucrats in Whitehall.

Simon cook, author of the report, said: This new information on school budgets offers an invaluable insight into how our education system is functioning.

It is clear that schools in more deprived areas are getting a substantial premium in terms of funding, but most arent able to overcome the challenges of working with more deprived children and deliver better results. It is really important that more information like this is released so that we can have a real, informed debate about how we can make public services work.

2626schools in focussecondary analysis

With the stress of the exam season nearly upon us, schools should be considering their exam invigilation cover to ensure tests are carried out safely and correctly. MattheW Jane considers what schools should know

testingtimesapril 2011 www.edexec.co.uk

27secondary analysis


schools in focus

the summer term is a time when secondary school pupils bury themselves in their books, teaching staff work overtime to ensure every student knows their subject inside out, and boxes of test papers are secured under lock and key.

the exam period is a lively one for schools, with a lot of apprehension, nerves, and behind the scenes management to ensure everything goes to plan. For school business managers, this means recruiting teams of exam invigilators to oversee proceedings, which involves carrying out appropriate checks, timetabling, and checking contractual details are correct.

When recruiting exam invigilators, the logistics could be seen as somewhat of a grey area. Yvonne Spencer, partner at law firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards, says there is no specific reference to invigilators in the relevant regulations. They should be regarded as support staff, even though their contracts may be short term, she says. neither the guidance nor regulations relating to safer recruitment distinguish between short term or temporary staff and permanent staff, except in relation to staff supplied by an employment agency. this means that all the regular checks a school does for permanent staff must also be carried out for invigilators.

One of the main checks that need to be undertaken when recruiting someone to work in a school is a CRB. this can be a stumbling block for recruiters, as the nature of an exam invigilators work means there may be long periods of time when they are not working with children or within a school environment. One of the main factors that schools should be aware of is regarding the CRB clearance, says anton Roe from alderwood education. all too often we hear of institutions that assume that because a candidate once had a CRB carried out, they are now cleared and covered to work. Many are unaware that if a candidate has a break of working with children of three months, then a new check is required.

While some may think that an exam invigilator is exempt from certain checks because they are never left alone with a child, it is worth remembering that they may need to escort a pupil on a toilet break or look after them if they are taken ill. Roe suggests that the best principle to adhere to is that if a worker is on the school premises, then they need to be fully vetted.

One method of helping to ensure all the correct checks are carried out is to use a recruitment agency, but even then, some best practice is advised. the school must have contractual arrangements with the agency that require the agency to provide a written notification that it has made all the relevant pre-employment checks and also to provide a copy of the CRB certificate if it contains relevant information, says Spencer. the school must also carry out its own identity check on staff supplied by the agency before allowing them to start work in the school.

conTracTUal reQUireMenTsWhen recruiting, there are inevitably contractual requirements to consider. Chris Cook from Sa Law explains that the employment status of temporary staff should be determined as either work, employee or self-employed from the outset. the distinction is crucial because employees are entitled to more comprehensive legal rights than workers, he says. For example, employees are often entitled to statutory sick pay and maternity leave whereas workers are not. there could also be other serious implications, such as failing to identify an employee, which could have repercussions if there is a failure to deduct tax and national Insurance through a PaYe scheme.

Spencer says that employees are not entitled to a contract of employment until they have been employed for two consecutive months, which could be a consideration when recruiting invigilators. It is always advisable to set out the terms and conditions under which any individual is employed so that both employer and employee understand the expectations of the position, particularly when it will come to an end. this can be done through either a contract of employment or a letter of terms and conditions.

there is guidance for recruiting part-time workers in the form of the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable treatment) Regulations 2000, which contains provisions regarding pro-rata payment.

the contract should set out the period for which the employment will last and ideally the purpose. It should be clear as to the date on which employment will terminate, explains Spencer. I assume that exam invigilators will work for two to three weeks at a time. If so, there is no real need to include notice provisions in the contract. It should, however, state that employment will be terminated with immediate effect in the event of gross misconduct.

GeTTinG THe BesT sTaFFWhile exam invigilators may only be temporary members of the school team, it is nonetheless worthwhile trying to get the best candidate as possible. Many people assume that it is an easy role, where all you do is walk up and down and keep the kids quiet, says Roe. exam invigilation is an area where candidates should not only be fully cleared and vetted, but also trained.

Some useful skills to look for include previous experience of working with children in a school environment, understanding of exam procedures, methodical working practice, and good communication skills.

another important consideration is good planning. If new CRBs are required, allow two months for the return of them, this will ensure that the recruitment is well in advance, all referencing is carried out, and the exam invigilator is fully vetted, says Roe. If you have exam invigilators directly employed, try to ensure that they have some work within the three month period at your institution, this removing the requirement for a new CRB check. Mock exams are an excellent opportunity for this, as well as any cover work or teaching assistant work in the school.

If you ensure that all the systems and planning for the exam is well managed and thoroughly considered, then the end result will be well worth it. Once your pupils are celebrating their exam results come the summer, all the hard work in making sure the process was as smooth and stress-free for them as possible will all seem well worth it.

People to approach for exam invigilation:

n retired teachers

n PGce or Bed students looking for experience

n oversees teachers

n experienced support staff already working in school, such as teaching assistants and cover supervisors

n Parents, who could be sourced through the school newsletter or learning platform.

With thanks to Adam Shulman, Simply Education

a Good soUrce

28


Sitting PettyThe Petty Pool Trust combines a successful college with an outdoor activity centre that ensures its learning disabled students are provided with exciting opportunities. MaTThew Jane met chief executive PeTer evanS to find out more

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Set in 32 acres of stunning Cheshire woodland, the Petty Pool trust is an innovative college and outdoor activity centre that provides outstanding educational opportunities for

students with learning disabilities, with a curriculum designed to equip learners with the skills they need to get into work.

the courses we run are all designed around real-life and setting people up to get a job, explains chief executive of the Petty Pool trust, Peter evans. we equip the students with skills such as travel training, to ensure they can actually get to their place of work. A lot of it is geared around the practical skills they will need in life. if we help find the students a job but if they dont have the skills to make their way there, then we are setting them up to fail.

the college has a superb record for getting its students, aged between 16 and 25, into employment, with 68% of Petty Pool students going into some form of work, be it paid or unpaid, well above the governments benchmark figure of seven per cent for young people with learning disabilities. Our aim is to provide education for employment, and this is an ethos we have worked to for the last five year, says evans.

the college is fortunate to have a wide range of facilities to help provide this real life education, including a garden centre and farm, complete with goats. the college offers a range of qualifications, including City and Guilds and BteC, focusing on a range of practical skills, including animal care, horticulture, conservation, retail and it, hospitality and catering. we sell plants to the public as part of the horticulture course, evans says. it doesnt make us much money, but it is a great teaching tool. Similarly, we have a school shop, which helps give students the skills of organising the money and working the till.

MAJOr trAnSFOrMAtiOnPetty Pool hasnt always been the remarkable success story that it is today, and the institution has had to weather some difficult years along the way. when evans took up his position in 2002, he describes it as being a worn out charity with various issues to resolve. it had gone through its good days, but had really just got too big for one person to manage, he recalls. the trustees were actually going to give the charity away as it was failing. that is when they asked me to come in and try to pull it together.

within four years, evans had turned the fortunes of Petty Pool around and the charity is now financially stable. we are never in the red with the bank, he explains. we have got a plan to keep moving it forward, it is important that we never stay still. we have to be realistic, but everything we do is planned out and we stick to the plan, and fortunately we have always got there. it has been a challenge, but ultimately it has resulted in helping our young people to make a real positive impact on their communities.

Under the current structure, the college is the training arm of the Petty Pool trust, while the outdoor centre is the trading arm, providing an income that can be reinvested in the college. we made it clear from the outset that our main aim is the college, evans says. During the first three years of the transition, our efforts were heavily targeted on getting the finances in order every penny counted.

A Better BrAnDOne of the first things evans did on taking up his role was to rebrand the centre. we used to be called the Mid-Cheshire Sheltered workshop trust, he says. we were still a college and an outdoor activity centre, but i thought the name didnt really describe what we do or tell anybody about us. we chose the name Petty Pool after a large lake on the edge of our grounds.

the positive branding of Petty Pool extends throughout every aspect of the college, and evans is keen that any work instils a positive message on the students. we recently swapped our minibus for some regular people carriers, he says. we wanted some normal transport and not something that said disabilities all over it. we have designed the people carriers with a corporate image and our young people really enjoy going out in them. it helps them to feel like adults within their community, which is very important.

now that the finances are looking more secure, the college has been able to invest in the facilities, with some work done recently on retiling the bathrooms and putting down new floors. Our next major project is to develop a standalone classroom for our farm and tarmac the area around it to make it neat, says evans. it will cost around 80,000, but we are confident that we can do this without going into the red because we have been working on this for the past eight months and everything is well planned.

SCHOOL Petty Pool College

TYPE Special school for 16-25 year olds with learning disabilities

ArEA Cheshire

PUPILS 90

TEACHIng STAff 10 tutors, eight learner mentors and one life skills coordinator

CHIEf ExECUTIvE Peter evans MBe

TIME In rOLE eight years

fact box

tHe GreAt OUtDOOrSPetty Pool Outdoor Centre provides a huge range of exciting opportunities for both college students and outside groups. it is not just open to people with learning disabilities, but also mainstream schools, colleges, youth groups and corporate business team days from across europe. the activities include high ropes, a climbing wall, zip wire, orienteering, canoeing and archery.

the centre also offers residential opportunities, with rooms available for overnight stays. we are very keen to promote equality and diversity, and we have facilities for every level of ability, explains evans. we have got high ropes, but we also have low ropes, so everybody can take part in the exercises. Archery is a popular activity as it is something that everyone can do, even the wheelchair users.

One of the challenges for providing these opportunities to students is the health and safety risk. evans employed an outside consultancy firm to ensure everything was compliant with the relevant laws. the archery is one in particular that gives our

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december 2010 www.edexec.co.uk

health and safety adviser a scare, he quips. But we have put a net up so that the arrows dont pose a threat, and we have instructors for every activity and we are registered with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA).

the centre runs courses for children from Chernobyl, a project that evans is keen to develop as he outlines the benefits of their visits. the children that come here from Chernobyl will live five years longer as a result of breathing english air for one month, he says. that is a proven figure and its quite incredible. i am working with a large company to try and get them involved with supporting us in getting these children over as much as possible.

After the struggles that Petty Pool has endured in the past, the future finally looks bright. the sound financial base gives them a platform to expand on, although evans

accepts this situation has not been brought about singlehandedly. You dont do it on your own, he says. You do it with a fantastic leadership team and some fantastic staff who work to the best of their abilities. Our success shows what can be done when everyone pulls together. the college has an investors in People Gold award as testament to its commitment to staff, and is one of just nine education institutions to have achieved this accolade.

One of our successes is that we are a charity, but we are run like a business, continues evans. we work with compassion and understanding in a friendly environment and it passes on through all the staff. importantly, evans concludes that everybody at the college is a very happy learner, which when combined with the results they achieve makes for a successful and inspirational place to learn and work.

WOrKIng WITH OTHErS

Petty Pools success at finding employment for their students is not only down to the training they receive at the college; it also runs a designated programme called MOre (meaningful opportunities for realistic employment), which has developed key relationships with large organisations, such as Bentley, Halfords, University of Chester and Crewe Alexandra Football Club.

the project began three years ago, and the portfolio of associated companies is constantly expanding. the scheme not only helps give students realistic experiences of work, but also provides benefits to the employers. the college is keen to stress that their students will bring a hard-working ethos; a keenness to learn; and loyalty to the company.

You do it with a fantastic leadership team and some fantastic staff who work to the best of their abilities. Our success shows what can be done when everyone pulls together

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32

With the warmer weather comes the option of taking lessons outside the school building and into the great outdoors. Julia Dennison looks at options for bringing learning outside, from amphitheatres to gardens

swingvote

With springtimes warmer weather finally upon us and new budgets divvied up, theres no time like the present for expanding your school outside.

outdoor learning is proven to be more beneficial to indoor learning in a few ways. It shakes pupils from the boredom of the quotidian and children have been known to retain knowledge theyve learned outside for longer. Young kids have loads of energy, confirms architect Sarah Wigglesworth, so it is important to change the setting in which they learn to keep them interested.

The outdoors can also present some challenges and schools are only too aware of the health and safety implications of bringing children outside. However, concerns over childrens wellbeing should not get in the way of their learning. A recent study of outdoor learning by Sara Knight of Anglia Knight University in her recent book Risk and adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play: Learning from Forest schools goes so far as to say that nervous schools, which air on the side of caution and avoid outdoor experiences for their pupils, could in fact be harming the development of the young children.

A concrete square has few visible risks, and yet children fall or push each other over and accidents

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To avoid the grazes, stings and bumps of childhood would be to avoid learning how to manage ourselves and our environment

The LOTC QuaLiTy Badge

the learning outside the Classroom Quality Badge is a nationally recognised benchmark that is awarded to organisations that have pledged to engage in an ongoing process to sustain good quality learning outside the classroom and have demonstrated that they meet a set of quality indicators. these indicators show the provider:

n has a process in place to assist users to plan the learning experience effectively

n provides accurate information about its offer

n provides activities, experience or resources that meet learner needs

n reviews the experience and acts on feedback

n meets the needs of the users

n and has safety management processes in place to manage risk effectively.

To find out more about the quality badge, visit www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk.

happen, explains Knight. It may even be that some of the accidents are the result of the limitations of the space, a direct correlation with the sterile safety being offered to the children.

Perhaps if they had the challenge of a pile of logs to scramble over, the risks would be focused, could be discussed and managed, and learning could take place. There is a thought that if children have exciting, reasonable risks to undertake they will be less likely to find unreasonable ones for themselves.

The issue of risk-taking in playgrounds was highlighted recently when Malvern Primary School, near liverpool, banned footballs, and parents were told that pupils would only be allowed to bring sponge balls to school.

Knight said: The issue at the school in liverpool would seem to be an unfortunate combination of cramped school playgrounds, where accidents will happen, and nervous teaching staff.

Knight does not believe that it is the health and safety legislation that has gone too far, but the interpretation of the legislation by professionals who lack experience of risk-taking and who are therefore risk averse.

To avoid the grazes, stings and bumps of childhood would be to avoid learning how to manage ourselves and our environment, she

continues. Until teachers are given the tools with which to assess playground risks competently they will continue to over-react in self-defence.

Planning the outsideas a school business manager looking to expand their school into the great outdoors, its important to have the tools in place to do so. The options are as limitless as the space and can include everything from outdoor classrooms, to common areas where pupils can let off steam, sports fields to playgrounds and even school trips (see page 42 for more on this subject).

schools looking for advice would be well-advised to consult with the Council for learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC), which is a charity that champions taking lessons outside. schools with an interest in outdoor learning can apply for the Learning Outside the Classroom

Quality Badge, which makes it easier for teaching professionals to organise lotC activities by helping them to identify organisations providing good quality activities, reducing paperwork and red tape (see box out for details).

When planning a project, its important to see the landscape and architecture as two parts of a whole, according to Wigglesworth, and not view outdoor projects as an after-thought.

one of Wigglesworths recent design projects was a new primary school in Takeley, essex where classrooms were built in a Roman villa-style around courtyards, which provided outdoor areas with a safe, quieter and focused environment for the pupils. she also pointed to the importance of classrooms with thresholds onto the outside, so pupils could experience the best of both worlds, weather permitting.

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to the public through farmers markets. Through the programme, students have developed skills such as research, planning and implementation which are transferrable to other areas of the curriculum.

Sustainability is an important element of learning outdoors and at John F Kennedy Catholic school in Hemel Hempstead, the 11-18 pupils have worked to help develop the school grounds as part of the Year of Food and Farming to maximise opportunities for learning outside the classroom including the creation of an outdoor classroom, development of a school allotment and the construction of a log cabin, which would act as the schools environmental education centre.

PlaygroundsWithout going into too much of a tangent on playgrounds, its important to know the background story. Funding for community playgrounds has been under threat and so it becomes the schools responsibility to ensure their pupils have access to suitable outdoor play areas. It was with this in mind that Emma Kane launched the Save the Playground

if children have reasonable risks to undertake they will be less likely to find unreasonable ones

Tips from the Royal horticultural Society

n Share the vision engage everyone in the school community managers, staff, parents and pupils. Make everyone aware of the potential of a school garden and the benefits your school will gain from using it.

n Find out if any of the skills needed exist in the school community, parents, governors or the friends/PTa. skills such as gardeners, garden designers or builders.

n incorporate the project into the school development plan.

n decide who will project manage the design and build of the garden and who will maintain it later?

n establish a group to move the project forwards.

n Produce an action plan. to do this you will need to consider by when you want the garden completed.

n identify a location for the garden think about:n the distance from the classroomsn water suppliesn storage of equipmentn access to toiletsn accessibility and security.

n Visit other schools that have done similar projects to gain ideas.

n Contact organisations that are experts in this field and which may be able to advise you, including those involved with school grounds maintenance at the la.

n apply for fundingn letters to parents, garden centres, seed companies, supermarkets asking for donations of money, plants, seeds or help.n ask the children to write the letters could be done as a literacy task.n dont forget you need tools. you may require specially adapted tools.

n Find plans of the chosen site, available from the La. establish the orientation (n, s, e and W) and find out whether there are any services underneath the surface of which you should be aware.

n Legal, technical, safety guidelines and school policy documents are required.

n Survey the site walk around it, see what you have there. are there paths or sheds you need to keep? are there any plants that could still be used? What trees do you have? Check to see if any of the trees are protected by preservation orders or are in a conservation area (look at the local councils website or contact the local planning office), or if the deeds of the school mention anything. all these things may affect what you can and cant do with your garden. add any items to your plan.

n decide on the budget... and get planting!

starting a sChool garden

exaMPles of Best PraCtiCeWhen developing your schools outdoor offering, its important to consult not only the senior leadership team, but also the schools staff and, of course, its pupils. it is involving the latter group in the planning that is likely to give you the best end-result.

one champion of the great outdoors and winner of a regional award from ClotC is Moulsecoomb Primary School, in Brighton. Sixty-five per cent of the schools pupils have special educational needs. Because so many children have limited life experiences, the school tries to give them as many valuable opportunities for learning outside the classroom as possible and so over a number of years has augmented its grounds to include an artists hill, geology trail, organic garden, two ponds, a fairy-tale forest, willow structures, orchard, meadow, iron age roundhouse, and saxon house.

if all this sounds a bit ambitious, a good place to start is with a school garden, which can play a part in the curriculum, while allowing children to participate in physical activity, develop social skills, learn about the environment and understand the importance of healthy eating. (See box for advice on starting a school garden.)

another lotC awards regional winner, Durham Community and Fyndoune Community schools students grow bedding and perennial plants for use within the school grounds and for sale

campaign last year addressing the cuts made by the government to the Playbuilder Scheme, which was introduced by the labour government to complement its Play

Strategy in 2008. The scheme invested 235m and aimed to provide up to 3,500 new and refurbished playgrounds for children across England.

She told the BBC that the Playbuilder scheme, introduced by the previous government, was a unique example of Big Society; uniting communities to secure funding. she also highlighted the importance of playgrounds in the fight against childhood obesity.

After tirelessly campaigning, securing coverage in national and local press, the government announced that 66% of funding would be retained

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EE April 11