academy magazine

cademyVolume 1 Number 1 Autumn 2011

Whats going on in academies and free schools

Autumn 2011 | Academy magazine 3

contentsVolume1 Number1 Autumn 2011

7 | FROM THE EDITOR9 | FASNA: 20 NOT OUT Gareth Cornwall12 | AT LAST - A NATIONAL FUNDING FORMULA? George Phipson14 | NOT THE TIME TO BE SILENT, Barry Featherstone15 | A PUPILS VIEW, Saina Penrake16 | RAISING HOPE, The Rt Rev Peter Hullah20 | BALANCING THE BOOKS, Ian Buss22 | STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, Dr Al Mistrano26 | OUTREACH PAYS OFF, Derek Peaple28 | WED BECOME INVISIBLE TO OUR LA, Kevin Eveleigh29 | BUSINESS AS USUAL, Helen Hyde30 | MUCH IN COMMON AND MUCH TO SHARE, Marion Gibbs34 | A NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY, Patricia Sowter36 | JUST PICK UP THE PHONE, Neil Roskilly38 | WHEN TALKING TO THE PUPILS, Susan Heaton Wright40 | COMPLACENCY: YOULL GET LEFT BEHIND, Jenny Cornell, Rose Welshman44 | WHY POSITIVE PR MATTERS, Amanda Metcalf Wells47 | FINDING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE, Richard Gould49 | INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE YEARS CURRICULUM LAUNCHED50 | CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDRAISING, Neil Finlayson and Jane Hellings55 | THE ELECTRONIC FOOTPRINT, Henar Dyson59 | CONTROLLING RISK IN ACADEMIES61 | NEWS FROM FASNA

20

34

40 Cover photograph: Michael Gove at the opening of the Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy (p34)Many thanks to William Farr Church of England Comprehensive School and Cuckoo Hall Academies Trust for the use of photographs throughout the magazine.

Fiscal independence

Fiscal independence: Taking responsibility for your finances

It is very easy to integrate feeder schools and increase the value that the software brings

As more and more schools move to become academies, the excitement of controlling their financial destiny is tempered by new responsibilities and a step into the unknown. There are cultural and legal implications, as well as financial reporting which has to be delivered. Add to these new processes such as paying suppliers electronically by BACs and partial VAT accounting; and the future can seem a little daunting. Academies have however been around since 2003 and during that time several key suppliers have emerged.

One such supplier is leading accounting software provider PS Financials Plc. Richard Pierce co-founded PS Financials over a decade ago and spotted an opportunity in the Academy sector We knew that many schools would be faced with moving from basic financial administration, to effectively running the finances of a small company or charity. We were able to create accountancy software specifically for academies. Indeed the software has been so successful that it is now used by more than one third of all academies nationwide. Ivybridge Community College in Devon is one such example. With over 2,200 pupils from 14 primary feeder schools, the college recently converted. Jamie Vincent is their Finance Officer. Wed heard good things about PS Financials from other academy users and, after looking at a range of products, Marcus Passmore (our IT Manager) and I chose PSF the deciding factor was that

PS Financials was the best solution for an academy that had aspirations to expand. The key for Ivybridge was access to PS Financials consultants, who hold accountancy qualifications and have worked in the finance departments of academies. Vincent continues PS Financials is tailored specifically for the education market and they have a proven track record, so we felt a lot more confident about their ability to deliver. Added to this is a standard chart of accounts tailored to the specific needs of academies making PS Financials a solid all round solution. The software is also flexible enough to grow with the academy. In May 2011, Ivybridge added a local feeder primary school with 133 children to its finance centre, the system has already expanded without the need for any more finance staff. Vincent finishes It is very easy to integrate feeder schools and increase the value that the software brings.

Advertising feature

Choosing the right accountancy software for your academy can seem daunting, says Shilan Raja.

the deciding factor was that PS Financials was the best solution for an academy that had aspirations to expand

nl iasciF

ecndenepedn

erutaefgnisiterdvA

p

g

kaTTacsiF

pseg rnikpendilac

y ftilibisnoecnendep

r fiuor yoy f:e

secnanr fi

s

d a srepmes ti

orntof coe amocebe aros mA

kaTTanisoohC

hkhp ieitilbiisnopsew rey nd ber

tsel daicnanr fiiehg tnillnt emeticxe eh, tseimedace ao e tvos mloohce srod mne a

pseg rniknattanuocct ahgiige r rhg t thnng t

ho age adacer a devooe ccreid PrahciRedivore prawtfoseilppuh scue snO

s ey ni

nt o

y ftilibisnor auor yoe f forawtfftoofy sccy sn

dhn d aettopd sno a

s laicnaniS Fd Pednuoffo-o. cls PlaicnaniS Fr Pe

g nitnuoccg anidaes lr i

r fiuor yoy fam deen say cmmy cedacr a

filnatlusnos claicnaniS FP

e wgdirbyybvr Ioy f foee khTaripsd aat hahy tmedacaee bhs tas wlaicnaniS FP

secnanr fin Ralihs Say, sgg, snngiintnua

d hd loo hh, wst

o s tseccs aae w.dnapxo es tnoitan r aon f fooitulot sse

s.ajaajn R

edacAae crutuffuitrad pnas ereilppuscorw pen

e do bs tahs fil ales wa

utlue crap ietd a sna

n eer bevewoe hvas heimg.nintuae dlttim a leen s

d tn; agnintuoccT aAAT al V VAais CAy By bllacinortcels e

g niays ph acus sessee seho td td. Aderevilee d

cihg wnitropel raicnans fionitacilpml iaged lnl aar

reh. Tnwonkne uho tntp i

ahl tuffusseccuo ssoe shd teednIcfiicepe srawtfos

o ce tlbe aree wWWe wamf a ss oecnanfi

, tnoitaatrtsinimdanivoh mtid wecaf

t mahw tene kWhn ty itinutroppo

e hd t

h c, se r

y d besw uos nt it in ees bae hrawtfo

.seimedacr aoy f follacy cnatnuocce ataero c

. yy. tirahr cny oapmol cle hg tninnuy rlevitceffo e, t

l aicnanc fiisam borg fne d bluos wloohcny sat m

r otcemy sedace Ah

erolias ttnuoccf at orahcs a ss iiho td tedd A.reviledht tuobt anedfinoe cromo w, sdrocek rcarn tevora pnt aekran moitacude ehtpd serolias t islaicnaniFot cnecni. Vseimedacf aoee dcnane fihn td iekrowoitacfiilauy qcnatnuocca

e ho td ted radnats a s

o y ttilibr aieht ot a llee f feo w

e vavy hehd tnr oy f follacfiicep

S Ps eunitnos tnemtrape

e vad hns ano

el karevesnid snuora

edacA

integrt is veI

. degreme evas hreilppuy st taat thg tnirud dn3 a00e 2cn

n eer bevewoe hvas heim

r schools ate feedeintegrry easy to t is ve

ors flaicnaniS FPed heWe. recffiOe Vima. Jdetrenvoch, tsloohcr sedeeffe

0 p02,r 2evh otiWn ioven De igelloCbyybv. Iediwnoitanhe tnn oahe tromahl tuffusseccuo ss

e mi

s resmy uedacr aehtm ot uobs agnihd tood gra

e cnanir Fiehs tt inecnie Vy ltnecee rgelloe ch

y ramir4 pm 1ors flipu0 p. elpmaxh ecue sns on i

y tinummoe Cgdirs eimedacl alf ad orih

y d besw uos nt it i

ny mr aod f foeee nht tuut tohtiwls aam hetsye sh, tertnntec

n terdlih3 c3h 1til woohcsl acod a ledde agdirbyvImyedace ahh ttiw woro gto flsls ae irawtfoe shTuol rld ailos a slaicnaniFmedacf as odeec nfiicepserolias ttnuoccf at orahc

e cnane firony md ednapxy edaerl

e cnans fito in ty ramir predeeffel

, 110y 2an M. Imyh guone elibxeo fl

.noituutlod snuS g Pnikas meim

e ho td te

that the softwarand incrintegr

e bringsthat the softwarease the value ncr e

r schools ate feedeintegr

e dh tFSe Psohce (romssas PucraMg anikoor letf, adna

t ahs tar wotcag fnidicee dd I n) arr) aeganaT Mr Iuoe (

, stcudorf pe ognat a rg a

awtfftoe sht tahe tulae vhts aloohcr sedeee ftargetniIs ehsint finecni. Vffff. Vats

.sgnire brae saercnd ins a

o y tsay eres vt i


Comment

John Catt Educational Ltd is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association and the Independent Publishers Guild.

From the Editor

Seize the day

Welcome to Academy - the voice of self-governing, independent state schools, a forum for debateand ideas. Its purpose is to celebrate success, monitor individual and collaborative developments,share initiatives and examples of good practice, provide information and comment.

We invite all schools to contribute to Academy, to show how they have developed the new freedoms that come with newautonomy for the benefit of their whole school communities. Looking back on what has happened since the election of May 2010, change has taken place at an extraordinary pace,

with over 1000 schools now converted to academy status and many more in the process of doing so. Promised legislationhas rapidly reversed previous restrictions and confirmed the new educational environment. New introductions include thePupil (and Military) Premium; EBacc; transfer of the Top Slice (LACSEG) to schools; use of reasonable force to restrain.Revisions, some extensive, are being made to Ofsted; admissions; league tables; the secondary curriculum and diplomas.SIPs, SEFs, the GTC, SSNB, the Schools Food Trust, BECTA, Teachers TV, BSF and QCDA have all been abolished, togetherwith the proposals for the school report card. Further action on the fast-track removal of incompetent staff, governance,health and safety regulation and VAT liability is awaited. We also await the effects of the demise of the YPLA and itsreplacement by the Executive Funding Agency. In addition the whole remit of academy status gives schools significantlygreater flexibility with admissions, employment, pupil welfare and finance. For those who embraced the ideas of self-determination from Local Authority bureaucracy, the past 25 years have been

a long, hard road toward greater independence and self-governance for state schools. Although progress in the past 18months has been remarkably rapid there is still much to do to achieve full autonomy. Perhaps the most important and crucial of these is to secure and embed clear, transparent and light touch funding

directly from central government, independent of any involvement of Local Authorities and through a robust and permanentNational Funding Formula. We need a formula that will finally bring fairness to a system of financial distribution that foryears has been recognised as inequitable yet has consistently failed to be challenged. The present consultation andGovernment proposals now give those who seek fair funding a significant opportunity to broker the long sought-afterchanges. But, as George Phipson points out in his article on the National Funding Formula, there remains concern thatGovernment retains a role for Local Authorities and School Forums in the distribution of funding. Much is still to be decidedand there is everything to play for. If supporters of full autonomy are to actively and positively influence the outcome intheir favour they should all take note of Barry Featherstones advice that Now is not the time to be silent! and be preparedto make their views known to those who make and determine policy. Make sure you [email protected] before the fast-approaching deadlines.

Carpe Diem!

Paul Strong, editor of Academy, retired in August as Head Teacher of William Farr Church ofEngland Comprehensive School, Lincoln, after 25 years. During that time he actively embracedopportunities for autonomy through LMS, Grant Maintained and Foundation Status. In January2011 William Farr became an academy. He can be contacted at [email protected]

Editor

Paul Strong

Steering group

Tom Clark (Executive Chairman, FASNA)Jonathan Evans (JCEL)Derek Bingham (JCEL)Alex Sharratt (JCEL)Martin Latham (Robinswood Primary)Mike Griffiths (Samworth Church Academy)Neil Calvert (The Long Eaton School)Patricia Sowter (Cuckoo Hall Academy)

Published by John Catt Educational Ltd, 12 DebenMill Business Centre, Old Maltings Approach, Melton,Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1BL. Tel: (01394) 389850 Fax: (01394) 386893

Opinions expressed in Academy are not necessarilyendorsed by FASNA; likewise advertisements areprinted in good faith. Their inclusion does not implyendorsement by FASNA.

Editorial contributions should be sent [email protected]. Submissions for theSpring edition should arrive no later than 30thNovember 2011.

Academy is published three times a year, in Spring,Summer and Autumn. 25 for a two-yearsubscription, post paid; discounts for bulk orders areavailable.

Subscriptions: Christine Evans, [email protected]: Madeleine Anderson,[email protected]

Printed by Lavenham Press, Arbons House, 47 WaterStreet, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN

Copyright wholly owned by John Catt Educationalwww.academymag.co.uk


A history of FASNA

The Foundation, Aided Schools andAcademies National Association(FASNA) can trace its origins back

to 1992 when the Association of HeadTeachers of Grant Maintained Schools(AHGMS) was formed. Subsequentmergers with AFVAS, AHFAS andFAVASA1 led to the emergence of FASNAin 2004.

Back in 1992, the organisation waslaunched by a group of Grant MaintainedSchool head teachers who shared a firmbelief in the power of self-determinationto free schools from the Local Authorityand deliver the highest standards for theirpupils unencumbered by unnecessarybureaucracy and restrictive practices.Their belief was not ideological in origin -it was founded in pragmatism and basedon real evidence of the difference tostandards that freedom from LocalAuthority control had made in theirschools. They believed thatindependence did not need to equalisolation. Their initial intention was tosecure the freedoms they had, to supportlike-minded schools in making the mostof those freedoms, including in obtainingvalue-for money, and to press for greaterfreedoms, allied to clear accountability.

The organisation still reflects thoseintentions. The modern FASNA has astrong and vibrant membership,continues to offer practical advice andsupport to those seeking to maximise thebenefits of autonomy and to championautonomy with accountability. Since1992, FASNA has helped to transform theeducational landscape. Today, theunderstanding that head teachers arebetter placed than bureaucrats to assessthe needs of their pupils is commonlyshared. Today, the value of diversity andself-determination in shaping

outstanding educational provision andthe importance of clear accountabilitywithin this is widely accepted. None ofthese facets of how we understandeducation today would have been asclearly understood without FASNA.

When you visit FASNAs head officethere are not many clues to this richhistory. There are no photographs of thepoliticians and advisers that haveaddressed FASNA conferences, thoughevery one of them has in the last 20 years.There is no written history capturing thepolicy shaping advice and guidance thatFASNA has given to successive

governments, though FASNAs work ledto concrete change and major reform ineducation policy. The offices reflect thecharacter of the organisation: purposeful,productive, without pomp, pretension orany sense of self importance. In talking tothe key players in FASNA over the last 20years, people like Tom Clark, Joan Binder,Helen Hyde and George Phipson, thereare three unifying characteristics ondisplay passion, commitment anddetermination. They display a passion forthe cause of school autonomy based on afirm belief in the difference it makes and a

total commitment to creating the bestconditions in which all young people canbe educated.

Alongside this, they demonstrate anabsolute determination to ensure thatschool leaders have the freedom to shapethe best provision possible.

Notable in this determination, is anelement of defiance, an unwillingnessover time to give in and bow to the manyvoices that argued for maintaining a statusquo which failed too many children fortoo long.

At many points the leaders of FASNAmight have looked at the odds stacked

against school autonomy ever emerging asa reality. In 1997, when New Labour actedto abolish Grant Maintained Schools, itlooked like the brief period of freedomenjoyed by schools was over. FASNAlobbied, engaged, highlighted the benefitsand refused to give up. Where othersprotested, FASNA persisted. In the 1998School Standards and Frameworks Act, tothe surprise of many, the creation offoundation status allowed a level ofindependence to be retained in thesystem. The determination FASNAshowed paid off.

FASNA: 20 not outGareth Cornwall reviews progress so far

The offices reflect thecharacter of the organisation:purposeful, productive, withoutpomp, pretension or any sense ofself importance.

>

10 Academy magazine | Autumn 2011

A history of FASNA

freedoms that are available to their school. In 2010, when the coalition government

was formed, FASNA once again played arole in helping to inform policy throughinsight. As a strictly apolitical organisation,FASNA has always kept channels open topoliticians from the three major parties.Through an understanding of thedirection of travel from coalition policymakers, FASNA was able to providesupport rapidly to schools seeking toconvert to the new academy status. AsFASNA approaches its 20-year anniversaryin 2012, the passion, commitment anddetermination that has characterised itover time is still strong. The currentgovernment has introduced another levelof self-determination for schools butbarriers still remain in creating a trulyautonomous system. The need for FASNAis perhaps stronger than ever in helping toshow that autonomy works for schools.

More and more schools are choosinggreater freedom. The support and adviceFASNA provides in helping these schoolsto maximise the benefits of autonomycontinue to be in much demand.

What might education look like in afurther 20 years time? Can schoolsharness the power of autonomy to drivestandards forward further and ensureevery child fulfils their potential? Its atough challenge. The record shows thatFASNA is not an organisation to give upon this challenge.

Gareth Cornwall is Director, The Decision Point

1. AFVAS - Association of Foundation and

Voluntary Aided Schools. AHFAS - Association of

Headteachers of Foundation and Aided Schools;

FAVASA - Foundation and Voluntary Aided

Schools Association.

Through the New Labour years,FASNA continued to use the power ofadvocacy and the real knowledge of howschools worked and what mattered inshaping outstanding education, to informthe development of policy. FASNA briefedTony Blair and his cabinet on the benefitsof schools autonomy, liaised with AndrewAdonis and advised ministers from DavidBlunkett to Ed Balls in informing policydevelopment. The emergence of trust andfoundation schools across the countrywas supported both in policy terms andpractically by FASNA. To its members,FASNA is a valuable source ofinformation, insight and support.

Through its national conferences,workshops, briefings, and response tomember questions and queries, FASNAscore commitment to autonomy manifestsitself in practical ways in which its memberscan get the most for their pupils from the

FASNA have put school funding and autonomy under the microscrope for the last 20 years.


Funding

If you, like FASNA, have been pushing for a National FundingFormula (NFF) for years then it is vital that you read on... Weall know what we mean by a NFF a formula that would set a

school budget for every school. This funding would come directlyto the schools without any top-slicing by Local Authorities. Thoseof us serving on the DfE advisory group (known as SFIG) havespent much of the last year inching towards NFF to the point whereon 19th July 2011 the DfE published A Consultation on SchoolFunding Reform: Proposals for a Fairer System with a closing dateof Tuesday, 11th October.

The consultation is frank about admitting that the currentsystem for funding schools has many problems and that thesystem results in similar schools in different areas receiving verydifferent levels of funding. The promise is that similar schoolsserving pupils with similar needs should be funded in broadlysimilar ways, no matter where they are, which is what NFF is allabout.

By paragraph eight, the paper is setting out what the newnational formula will include an amount per pupil, additionalamounts for deprivation, for small school protection and for higherarea costs. However, by paragraphs 12 and 13, alarm bells start toring...

Under option a) we would calculate a national budget for everyschool using a national formula, and then give Local Authoritiesthe total local budget for all schools in their area. This would enableschools to see the funding attributed to their school through thenational formula.

Under option b) we would not calculate budgets for everyschool, but simply calculate a budget for the local area based onthe pupils that are educated within the area.

In case you were in any doubt, paragraph 15 rubs salt in thewounds. We are not proposing to introduce a national formula forindividual schools with no local flexibility. So we appear to be backto where we are now, with Local Authorities receiving 100% of thenational funding intended for schools (the Dedicated SchoolsGrant) and then having local flexibility to distribute the funding

as they, and their School Forum, see fit.So Question 1 of this consultation paper is the choice between:

Would you prefer the formula to be based on:a) a national budget for every school; orb) the pupils in each Local Authority area?

The only way to maintain a momentum towards a proper NFFis to make absolutely certain that Option A is adopted and thenwork to constrain the local flexibility of Local Authorities.

The one benefit of Option A route is that it will give every schoola baseline budget from which to judge how much your LA has top-sliced your baseline NFF budget for either retaining funds centrallyor to provide additional funds to other schools. If, for example, avery limited top-slice were used to recognise the additional cost ofbeing a split-site school that might be acceptable, but even theconsultation paper suggests that some constraining of LA flexibilitymay be needed where their primary/secondary funding ratio issubstantially away from the national norm of 1.27. If Option A isin place then decisions such as these can be related back to the sizeof top-slicing of the NFF budget needed to pay for such decisions.

The paper sets much store by proposals to beef-up the powersof School Forums to constrain local flexibilities or allow veryspecific local circumstances. Unfortunately, with 152 LAs there isvery considerable variation in the effectiveness of School Forums.If they are to have an enhanced power then it is very importantthat FASNA schools act together to ensure high calibrerepresentation on your local School Forum.

The consultation paper shows valuable in-depth work toclarify the responsibilities that reside with different players,ranging from:

to delegate to all schools and academies; to only delegate to academies; to retain centrally and thus the funding needed for theseresponsibilitiesFrom an academy perspective, this holds out the prospect of a

LACSEG based on a national formula. The paper does not howevergo as far as a specific NFF for academies and the mantra that

At last - a National Funding Formula?George Phipson hears alarm bells about Government plans


Funding

academy funding must be based on the local LA distribution isretained. The paper does not address the West Lothian questionof how academy funding can match local funding if all, saysecondary schools, are academies.

An area of importance is the section on the funding to supporthigh-cost SEN provision mostly delivered in maintained specialschools but also through inclusion in mainstream schools orthrough independent providers. If you have a specific interest inthis then Section 6 of the paper will be of interest and again thissector has to work alongside the private, voluntary and independentprovision. Further changes are proposed for the EYSFF but you maywant to respond if you feel that Early Years needs a period withoutdramatic changes to the funding.

The consultation has a whole section looking at the PupilPremium. This is paid to schools direct, applying a nationalframework of eligibility free school meals. One proposed changeis to extend eligibility by including a pupil if they have ever beenon FSM or more precisely the options are either Ever 3 ( in thelast three years) or Ever 6 (in the last six years). The aim is to makethe Pupil Premium funding more predictable. Two worries about

the Pupil Premium are these. With plans to pass more and moremoney to schools via the Pupil Premium then that means anincreased dependence on FSM, which on the ground in schoolsdoes not carry huge credibility. And linked to this, FSM is not agraded criteria; some element of an index of deprivation would bea fairer criteria.

However, the Pupil Premium, like SSG before it, is a part of ourquest to have funding coming direct to schools based on a nationalcriteria by a proper NFF. The lack of a strong commitment to afull NFF by the government is disappointing. At least thoughQuestion 1, Option A does leave the door part open towards NFF.

Perhaps when funding is less tight, government may hold itsnerve and introduce a full NFF approach to school funding.

George Phipson CBEis an educational consultant

Perhaps when funding is less tight, government may hold its nerve and introduce a full NFF approach to school funding.


Consultations and policy

At the end of the summer term a plethora of consultationscame out from the Department, all wanting responses in thenext few weeks. The start of term is a busy time and eyes are

fixed on a smooth start. Then we get into routine and Departmentpublications and requests get pushed down the list of priorities.Yet many of the consultations published, like that on the NationalFunding Formula, have far-reaching implications.

We must be proactive and we must not miss the opportunity torespond, particularly to those topics with which we have issues andthose which directly affect the progress of autonomy and self-government. We cannot afford to be silent. Schools, Head Teachersand governors have a responsibility and should take everyopportunity to respond. You can access those consultationsthrough the recommended link Consultations on the home pageof the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk

There you will find a summary of issues and links to thedocuments together with the opportunity to respond.

Current consultations relate to the following topics:1. Implementation of the 2010-11 Review of EducationCapital (The James Review): due in by 11th October.

2. A Consultation on School Funding Reform (The NationalFunding Formula): Proposals for a Fairer System: due in by11th October.

3. Proposed changes to the teacher disciplinary and inductionregulations following the abolition of the General TeachingCouncil for England: due in by 12th October.

4. Consultation on Proposed Increases to Contributions forMembers of the Teachers Pension Scheme: due in by 20thOctober.

5. Changes to the Care to Learn Childcare Support Scheme:due in by Friday 28 October 2011 .

6. Changes to the Care to Learn Childcare Support Scheme:due in by 28th October.

7. Review of Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE)Education: due in by 30th November.

8. Proposed changes to the newly qualified teacher (NQT)induction regulations for England: due Thursday 1stDecember 2011.

9. Auxiliary Aids for Children with Disabilities: due inMonday 5th December 2011.

Some of these issues may not seem relevant but there are someproposals here that have significant implications for you andcannot be left unchallenged by default. Silence is so often taken asacquiescence!

We cannot afford to be silent. Just a few minutes on a responsereally can make a difference. Dont leave it to someone else.

Barry Featherstone is an educationalconsultant and can be contacted at

[email protected]

Not the time to be silentBarry Featherstone advocates personalresponsibility in making sure governmentconsultations receive proper attention

We must be proactive and we must not missthe opportunity to respond


A pupils view

Ive never had a first day back at schoolwhen we didnt have to wear schooluniform. In fact, we didnt have to do

ANY work at all. We all went on a fieldtrip instead. At 7.30am wow, I had to getup at 6am that morning three coachescollected us all from the school gates andtook us to Priory Farm in Surrey.

Each of our forms there are about 24of us in each form split up to head off totwo barns. Then we went off with ourform tutor to do fun activities, such as theobstacle course, a campfire challenge, araft building challenge, a treasure findingchallenge and a sandstorm tent challenge.

All five of the activities were really fun,especially the sandstorm tent challenge.Half of our form was split up into twodifferent teams and then we would tryand beat the other team. The aim was tomake a successful tent with wood, stringand a big plastic cover to put on top of thetent. When wed made the tent, we had toget inside and then try and close up theholes, as the staff were going to spray uswith water! It was really funny, becauseour team had loads of holes so everyonewas screaming so much and going crazy.

I think it was a fantastic idea to havethe first day as just a lovely school trip, sowe could all get to know each other, meetold friends, have fun and also get to knowour form tutors in an informal setting.Well done Mr Naismith for organisingsuch a brilliant field trip.

I was so excited from the moment Igot up the following morning. I was

excited to meet my new friends and spendanother day with them. The first thing wedid was sit down in forms and then gooutside for the school photo.

Once the pictures were finished,everyone went back inside to practisewith Mr Watkins, my form tutor, singingfor the ceremony, the next day. We thensplit up into forms and practised Abbasongs to perform in a singingcompetition at St Pauls Church inHammersmith. At the end of the day,many parents came to watch us allperform. If Im honest I dont think wedid all that well but everyone cheeredand clapped for us.

Friday my third day at school wasthe sports day and opening ceremony. Wesat down in the hall in front of the stagewhere three chairs awaited threeimportant people. Parents and pressarrived at about 9.30am. I was surprisedhow many photographers and camerapeople were there.

Headmaster Mr Packer, Toby Youngand Boris Johnson arrived on the stage.Mr Packer gave a short introduction andthen Toby Young stood up and told thestory how he and 50 other people turnedthe school from an idea into a reality. Allthe adults were laughing when he madejokes. I dont think most of my yearunderstood the humour because it wasabout politics.

When we came to do our song, it wentvery well and at the end we got a biground of applause. We sat down again

and Boris Johnson gave his speech hewas witty, too and he officially openedthe school by drawing a little blue curtainover a plaque.

Everyones cameras were clicking awayand everyone stood up to applaud. Presscrowded round us and everyone got up toget in the picture. It was very squishy andafterwards pupils went to shake Borisshand. Then we had break-time theadults had some coffee and tea and Borisand Toby Young got interviewed again.

The parents went soon after that and itwas time to line up in our forms. When Iwas in the line, BBC reporters came overto us with a camera and a furrymicrophone to ask us questions about theceremony. Soon we were all on the coachon our way to a sports ground to playhockey and netball, boys, rugby andhockey.

My team drew two and lost twomatches. It wasnt a great start but I wasdetermined to win the netball. We triedour hardest, but sadly lost one and drewthree. Everyone had tried their hardestand that was all that mattered. It was somuch fun, though, and Im really excitedfor the next time we do somethingsimilar

Saina Penrake writes ablog about the West

London Free School atwww.wlfs.org

I was surprised at how manyphotographers were there...Year 7 pupil Saina Penrake writes about her firstthree days at the new West London Free School


Leadership

The lessons were really good butsome of the students didnt seem askeen as we are to get to university.

This comment was spoken by aNorthampton Academy sixth form boywho was benefitting from an open doorat a helpful independent school, designedto help prepare for A levels. He is one ofthe new generation of students in theeastern district of Northampton who havedecided to stay on post-16.

His academy has given him theopportunity to do this as GCSE resultshave risen from under 30% to over 72%5A* to C and from under 14% 5 A* to Cincluding Maths and English to 46% inthe six years the academy took on thestudents and staff from a failing school.He and his friends all have part-time jobs.

Raising hopePeter Hullah draws on his leadershipexperience to raise aspirations atNorthampton Academy

They will have to work at university tofind the next stage and there is much talkabout the quality of courses available lateron. He will be blazing a trail to leaveNorthamptonshire: his friends arebeginning to look further afield and oneof his colleagues will become the firststudent from the academy catchment areato gain a place at Cambridge and she isgoing to read natural sciences.

In 2005 when I talked to students atthe predecessor school, they asked for onething: Make the lessons better. In theearly days, few teachers applied to advertsand the existing staff varied considerablyin quality and drive. Principals who aretransforming failing schools will tell you ittakes nerve to remove underperformingteachers knowing that there may not be

an immediate replacement. The thoughtof an expensive stop-gap measure ofsupply teachers looms and behaviourissues continue to dominate.

Breaking the cycle of underperformancerequires sustained leadership. The firstpriority is to recruit and retain teacherswho are motivated by a moral purpose tomake a difference. Unlike an independentschool, where the established DNA of alearning community acts as a magnet, theacademy teacher needs to have a vocationto teach and a willingness to be unshakenby challenges. We recruited fromgraduates and trained them. We talked toanyone interested in teaching and wespent time fostering a vocation to teachamong our support staff. Locally as anacademy and nationally as a growing


Leadership

group, we invested in the future and weinvested in training.

As an independent school Head I wasaware that there were concerns about thesupply of quality teachers coming into theprofession. There is now, more than everbefore, an opportunity for independentschools and academies to work togetherwith local universities to prepare teacherswho can work in both sectors. Thedevelopment through coaching andmentoring of the gifted teacher who isflexible in terms of place of work and agerange of students should be a key prioritywhen local Heads meet together. Heads ofacademies and independent schools need

to meet regularly to talk pedagogy andassessment as there is a largely untappedresource of wisdom there.

We have, over time, recruited fromoverseas and these enthusiastic youngpeople have helped turn the tide.However our success stories have beenachieved through the development ofmiddle leaders, through talent-spottingand training, who form hubs of goodclassroom practice. Their example,nurtured through contact with othersacross the United Learning Trusts familyof 21 academies, draws other teachers.

Our classrooms have become open tocolleagues observing lessons and giving

feedback: this was not the case five yearsago. Our teachers are equipped withassessment data and can personaliselearning in a forensic manner: this wasnot the case five years ago. And there is anincreasing sense of challenge and pace inthe classroom, not in the hectic pre-GCSEpanic classes but embedded furtherdown. Every year group has access togood permanent teachers: this was notthe case five years ago. The time is ripe forthe opening of middle leader trainingacross independent schools andacademies. This should be local, focussedand practical, allowing for flexibility andinterchange. The Future Leaders scheme

Pupils at Northampton Academy benefit from an increasing sense of challenge and pace in the classroom.


Leadership

is in its infancy and should be supportedwidely across the independent sector, as itwill be quality school leadership, womenand men with broad experience andresolve, which will make a distinctivedifference.

At Northampton Academy, we havehad a very small number of teachers whohave crossed the floor and come to teachwith us but they are a rare breed. We havenot made joint appointments across thesectors although the doors are open for

such initiatives. However, we have made ajoint teaching/research appointment withthe Royal College of Music and this hasbeen seminal in transforming our creativearts programme. Not only do we give lipservice to the arts being one of theattractive programme areas whichstimulates attendance; we have evidenceto support the impact of partnershipworking in raising levels of engagementand attainment.

The members of our small local

governing body have shown us how highquality independent education,exceptional financial skills and a passionto root out underachievement cometogether to produce results. The characterand passion of a group of committedgovernors has helped us move at pace.There are few if any local authorityschools which have such a team workingwith them and governors together withthe values of the United Learning Trustinspire us to find the Best in Everyone.Our governors have led us to allies andthrough this raft of support we havegained confidence to change the culturefor our students.

I have been privileged to be able todraw on my experience of teaching at arange of leading independent schools andof being a Head of an HMC school.Working largely with volunteers in anEpiscopal role gave me additionalleadership opportunities. However, theserich experiences needed furtherdeveloping and refining when I movedinto academy leadership. Externalscrutiny, more like the search light of thestock market, certainly focuses the mind.Transparency, public accountability,together with awareness that rapid changeis needed to root out underperformance,marks out successful academy leadership.It was a far sighted sponsoring body thatenabled me to train further throughattending a course at the HarvardBusiness School. I acquired a further skillset; however the learning never stops.

In the United Learning Trust, we like tothink that we share our view of the powerof independence in education with thebest schools in the land. We are workingfor the same end the development ofyour people in a culture where we takeresponsibility for the use of funds whichcan be best allocated for their flourishing.Like independent schools we have nomiddle man. We relate directly to centralgovernment, bypassing the LocalAuthority and like independent schoolswe have to work with the students whowish to come to us.

Personally I am proud that our team at


Leadership

Northampton Academy has created anoversubscribed school of choice, whileretaining an admissions criterion based onpostcode rather than any form of selectionby ability or faith base. If only we hadbetter students, we could do a better jobused to be the mantra of the predecessorschool. This is now rarely heard as we havebecome more skilled in devisingappropriate robust courses for studentswhich attract them to attend and engagewith school. In this area we share groundwith independent schools; however incurriculum choices more could be done todevelop the common ground.

Our parents initially had lowexpectations for the academy. Largely theproduct of a failing system they stayedaway and left education to happen at thestreet corner or in the shopping centre.This is changing and we like to think thatthe education of our parents, showingthat we mean what we say in wanting toraise the aspirations of their children willmake a difference. We do have a missionto transform the world and we do knowthat to do this means we have to focus ongrabbing a grade for every student andshowing them the power of qualificationsand a character of employability in themarket place.

The young man whom I quoted at thebeginning is now at NottinghamUniversity. He is flourishing and his worldview is expanding. He knows that his brieftaster of a different world at anindependent school helped him but healso knows that it was something verypersonal and very fundamental whichmotivated him to become the first in hissingle parent family to go to university.

Working together to discover and develophis talent and the talents of his friends iswhere deep school partnership workingcould have the best long-term effect.

It will take courage in leadership todevelop a new family of schools andacademies which share similar passionsand are courageous to use resources,

human and financial, to ensure that allyoung people have the opportunity toflourish at school. Our own group theUnited Learning Trust Academies,working with the independent schools inour family charity, the United ChurchSchools Trust is finding new ways ofgroup working,underpinned by a sharedmoral purpose, which may become atemplate for others. The sectors havemuch to learn from each other and thetime is now.

The Rt Rev Peter Hullahis Group ExecutiveDirector, Ethos and

Values, at the UnitedChurch Schools Trust

The young man whom Iquoted at the beginning isnow at Nottingham University.He is flourishing and hisworld view is expanding. Heknows that his brief taster ofa different world at anindependent school helpedhim but he also knows that itwas something very personaland very fundamental whichmotivated him to become thefirst in his single parentfamily to go to university.


Finance

With over 1200 schools applying foracademy conversion since June2010, the financial benefits of the

switch are becoming apparent to those thatare now open.

Ossett Academy and Sixth Form Collegeconverted on 1st February, 2011. It wasalready part of Education OssettCommunity Trust, a comprehensivespecialist Technology and Sports Collegeand a National Support School (NSS).

While the motive for becoming anacademy was not purely financial theschool had already gone some way towardsindependence, taking a number of servicesin-house it did represent a significantboost.

For the first year as an academy, OssettsLocal Authority Central Spend EquivalentGrant (LACSEG) was calculated at nearly1million.

Although not entirely new funding theLACSEG is calculated to replace centralisedservices previously delivered by the LocalAuthority this was still funding which theschool now had direct responsibility forspending.

With the schools reliance on the LocalAuthority already declining, the structurein place was already geared to being moreself-sufficient and adept at securing servicesat competitive levels.

Assistant principal Tracy Jackson said:As an NSS, we felt that we had the capacityand robust structures and systems tobecome independent, particularly as wehave a large number of in-house servicesalready established such as premisesdevelopment, payroll and HR.

Being self-sufficient in most areas ofschool life meant that this transition waseasier for us and we knew where efficiencies

lay. This enabled us to maximise that firstLACSEG.

We have seen benefits in additionalfunding which has allowed us to protectstudent-to-staff ratios. It has also providedan ability to deliver more support andenrichment to our students both at OssettAcademy and within our Trust. Otherschools within the Trust are nowconverting to academy status.

The fact that Ossett Academy has beenable to take on new staff in new roles whilesome schools are making teachersredundant is one area where Tracy believesOssett made the right decision.

She explained: We have been able toinvest quite heavily in support staff, such aslearning mentors and educational welfare

support.Prior to being an academy we could bid

for funding for educational welfare 25,000 would get us two days a week. Incharge of our own budget we have beenable to get a full time member of staff forthat, one who can also support the nineother schools within the trust whennecessary.

We have also been able to underwritethe cost of certain projects within the trust sharing resources such as an educationalpsychologist. I think sharing, becoming acommunity of schools which can help eachother, is the key to success after conversion.

We know that the 1 million LACSEGwill not always be at that level and we arelooking to the future, setting up a

Balancing the booksOssett Academy is a prime example of usingrestructured finances to your advantage, says Ian Buss

Ian Buss: With the schools reliance on the Local Authority already declining, thestructure in place was already geared to being more self-sufficient and adept atsecuring services at competitive levels.


Finance

sustainable financial structure.Despite the position that Ossett found

itself in as part of a Trust, the school wasvery aware of the need for properconsultation regarding academy conversionand invited feedback from students, staff,parents, other schools and the localcommunity.

This was achieved via the website, lettersand the Virtual Teaching and LearningEnvironment (VTLE) system, which theschool has made accessible to parents.Meetings were also held with all parties.

Tracy adds that the only concerns werefrom staff worried that the terms and

conditions of employment would changeand these were quickly dispelled during theconsultation.

Hard work was the next ingredient,including locking herself away for two dayseach week and regularly working 14-hourdays.

Ossetts experience of academyconversion is a great example of where theschool had worked the restructuredfinances of its new status to its advantage.

Conversion is not an easy decision forsome schools and may not even be the rightoption at the moment. It is those that reallytake the step of being a standalone business

and understand that increased financialresponsibility can create opportunities toinnovate which really begin to see thebenefits that restructuring school financescan bring. As more primary schools seek toexplore ways that they can convertsuccessfully sharing resources will becomea key ingredient in maximising value.

Ian Buss is Head ofEducation at Lloyds TSB

Commercial

Tracy Jackson, assistant principal at Ossett Academy: Sharing is the key to success after conversion.


Multi-academy trusts

Imagine a rural middle school with 425lovely 9-13 year-old children, largegrounds and generally kind staff who

care for the welfare of children. Imaginethat this school, due to it being so lovely,doesnt take into account the bulk of thechanges in education since the election ofthe first Labour government not a greatdeal of attention to differentiation and AfLin the classroom; little use of data in themanagement of the school and whenplanning lessons; English and mathsdepartments not working together tomaximize headline figures; little systematicmonitoring of teaching and internalgrading of teaching.

This was the school I joined as Head atthe start of last academic year. EtonburySchool is a brilliant place to work which isprobably why many of the pushes ineducation passed it by, until the localcommunity realized that the two otherschools in the area were offering morecontemporary classroom and leadershippractices. Within a year, Etonbury lost 30students from their ordinary roll andcontinued to partially fill the roll for thefollowing three years. Such was the schoolthat I joined as Head last academic year.

The challenges I faced were not theWaterloo Road, inner London/choose yourfavourite notoriously rough urban centertype of issues. I walked into the school andfound children who loved learning andhaving innocent fun. I did, however, find along-serving staff who, due to their relativeisolation, didnt have the ideas necessary tomove forward as quickly as we needed in

Strength in numbersEtonbury Middle School has thrived since joining amulti-academy trust. Just dont tell the parents, saysHeadteacher Dr Al Mistrano



order to survive the Ofsted focus on data,leadership and use of assessment tosupport learning. With the average tenureat the school being 11 years and the schoolshistory being generally inwardly focused,the seeds of change were not as plentiful asthey need to be. On top of this, the schoolwas facing a potential 100,000 shortfallwith crumbling buildings dating from theearly 1950s at a time when the LocalAuthority was scaling back expenditure atan alarming rate.

I look back now at the distance wevetravelled and Im quite pleased with theprogress. I regularly receive letters andcomments about how the school haschanged so remarkably so quickly. Indeed,one parent blessed me and said that thechanges have been truly miraculous. Weveachieved the highest English results weveever achieved which rival our localOutstanding partner in the Trust and ourSIP has judged our Key Stage 3 results asvery good. While its great to receiveplaudits from parents, colleagues and

governors, the honest side of me knowswith complete certainty that ourdevelopment in the last 12 months hasbeen down to our membership ofBedfordshire East Schools Trust andBedfordshire East Multi-Academy Trustand a determined governing body fullysupportive of the tight relationships thatcome with multi-academy trusts. The Trustenabled me to inject new staff into theschool, benefit from huge economies of

scale, stamp a positive reputation on theschool within the community andcontribute to the communityinfrastructure all within the space of 12months.

For years the school struggled tomaintain a stable staff and relied on supplyagencies. The long-term illnesses that comewith an older staff and last-minuteresignations significant challenges for asmall school to manage became far less

The Trust enabled me toinject new staff into the school,benefit from huge economies ofscale...

Etonbury Middle School, where children love learning and having innocent fun.



problematic when in the multi-academytrust as we were able to shuffle staff acrosssites to fill parts of the timetable withquality first teaching rather than hireunsatisfactory supply teachers at apremium cost. Similarly, we have been ableto infuse within the staff the new ideas andenergy that we desperately needed.

At leadership level the joint staffingarrangement has been particularlysuccessful. By sharing outstanding leadersacross the Trust weve been able to establishOutstanding management systems and thecan-do approach to change that the schooldesperately needed. Of course, whilebenefitting from these fire-lighters ofchange, we have also been able to advertisethese changes in order to have thereputation of the Outstanding schoolsupport our somewhat tarnished reputation.At present we have joint middle leaders inhumanities, science and MFL and jointsenior leaders in director of specialism,SEN and in the pastoral provision and arewatching our leadership practices developat an impressive rate. The impacts of theseare feeding through in examination resultsas well as in SIP reports and lessonobservations.

Along with the improvements inteaching, leadership practices andreputations, the joint staffing model makesfor much more efficient use of resources. Aschool with just over 400 students canstruggle to recruit and afford full-time topquality leaders. Across two or more schools,however, gold star services can be createdalongside first class systems-leadership.This includes support services as well asclassroom practitioners.

For example, schools the size ofEtonbury often rely on people withoutindustry standard expertise in IT tomaintain IT and data services. To deal withtechnical need in the past, the school addedfive hours to the science technicians weekto support the IT infrastructure andanother five hours to the SENadministrator in order to service the datasystems. As a part of the multi-academytrust, however, weve been able to benefitfrom systems analysts and IT specialists

who previously worked in London andwho now work for the Trust to create firstclass systems at my small rural school.

Weve also been able to benefit from aproperty management service that hasallowed for the school to be transformedfrom a dangerous site with rusty playequipment, lumps of asbestos-riddledconcrete falling from the fascia and anappalling patchwork of multi-colouredwindow frames with peeling paint into aplace where students can play safely and

have pride in their physical environment.Its important to point out, however,

that this relationship between anOutstanding school and one that oncefaced significant struggles could be seen aseither a take-over or a one way relationship.In our case, we have not found this to be asignificant issue. While we do gain a greatdeal from the Outstanding school, they alsogain a great deal from us. Rather thanexporting to other schools successfulmiddle and senior leaders for promoted

Pupils can play safely and havepride in their physical environment



posts and professional development, wehave become a local challenge allowing forleadership development for colleagueswithout the need for them to leave theemployment of the Outstanding school.

Finally, the multi-academy trust servesto support parent choice in the localcommunity without the negative impactson a school that falls in popularity or hitshard times. Rather than those childrenunable to gain a place at the Outstandingschool feeling that theyve got a bad deal,they know that they are part of animpressive institution with Outstandingpractices developing across two sites.

Etonbury is no longer the sink schooland gone is the sense amongst staff that theOutstanding school is nicking kids in therecruitment game: instead we have jointinvestment in both schools to the benefit ofthe children. The children might continueto choose to go to the Outstanding school,but the funding drain is now tempered byjoint investment thus allowing forsubstantial school improvement regardlessof what would otherwise have beensignificant disadvantage.

Becoming part of the multi-academytrust has allowed for Etonbury to makesignificant improvements at an alarmingrate as documented by our SIP and theparents and Id certainly recommend thestructure to anyone in my position. Justdont tell too many parents about this: I likethe letters of thanks from those who thinkits all down to the new Head.

Etonbury is no longer the sink school andgone is the sense amongst staff that theOutstanding school is nicking kids in therecruitment game: instead we have jointinvestment in both schools to the benefit of thechildren


Outreach partnerships

Park House School and Sports College is a mixed 11-18 schoolof 1250 students and eighty teachers which successfullyconverted to academy status on May 1st 2011. In 2011, the

school achieved record-breaking results at both GCSE and A level,with ALPs value-added performance placing it in the top 10% ofschools nationally.

The school has been a leading member of the London 2012 GetSet education network since 2009, promoting the Olympic andParalympic Values. Park House also fosters links internationally toschools in South Africa, Mongolia and Iraq.

The school became involved in the IBM Schools OutreachProgramme when Ruth Miller of IBM became a mentor for theschool two years ago. Ruth introduced the programme initially toinvite engagement from A level physics students as part of a driveto raise awareness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics) opportunities, particularly amongst female students.

However, I quickly recognised the wider value of theprogramme in relation to the schools existing student leadershipdevelopment programmes. Working with IBM, we put a strategyin place to ensure that engagement and involvement was extendedbeyond the initial subject, gender and sixth form focus suggested.

Early daysWithin a few weeks of contact the first wave of events wasorganised within the academic year and risk assessments for visitsand transport arrangements were undertaken.

Some events were run at Park House School and just requiredorganisation of rooms, refreshments and facilities. Other eventswere organised mainly by IBM at the IBM Hursley research centre

near Winchester. A vibrant hub for innovation, IBM Hursleyproved an inspirational workplace for the students to visit and seeIBM developers, programmers and inventors in action.

Next stop: the workplaceIn its first phase the programme was successful and our focus onthe future employability of the students increased. As a result, weworked closely together with IBM to extend the programme toinclude sixth form work activities and a Big Interview Day forstudents in Year 10.

The programme was actively promoted to sixth form studentsas a means of differentiating themselves and to gain skills for useat university and work. Awareness was raised through assemblies,the personal development tutorial programme and careerseducation programme at the school. In the second year of delivery,students from the first events acted as advocates of the programmeto their peers.

The volume of student interest was increased by continuousreminders from key subject staff about the benefits of theprogramme, supported by the careers co-ordinator and Head ofsixth form. We also had excellent support from parents which wasan important factor. Ruth Miller of IBM has also become aCommunity Governor and now works closely with our seniorleadership team and the careers advisor to develop a programmeof events suitable for various year groups with a focus on businessand technology.

ResultsThe students who participated in the programme have reportedincreased and high visibility of technical and manufacturingindustries. We have noted a stimulation of interest in physics inparticular, with growing numbers of students choosing the subjectat A level.

This year, two female sixth-form students, Annabel and Sadie,have joined IBM. One is currently a gap-year student and the otherhas started as an apprentice. Three Park House students taking partin the programme achieved Oxbridge places.

All participating students have reported that the programmehas refined their presentational skills and confidence in aninterview context and enhanced their initial UCAS applications.

Outreach pays offHeadteacher Derek Peaple shares his experience ofworking with IBM to promote STEM at Park HouseSchool and Sports College

We have noted astimulation of interest inphysics in particular


Outreach partnerships

The IBM Schools Outreach programme has added anadditional dimension to our student leadership and personaldevelopment programmes. We have experienced considerablesynergy between this and other related programmes at Park House,which has added significant value to their overall impact.

Top tips if youre considering a similar activity1. Consider if the programme is an opportunity for your

students to enhance and develop their skills. If yes, thenensure the programme is experienced as complementing thecurriculum and other personal development programmeswhich may be in place.

2. Identify key staff with the capacity to ensure regular contactwith the company and time to promote the programme.Involve students as key advocates of the programme insubsequent years of delivery.

3. Offer the programme to students who match the company youare running the programme with. For our collaboration withIBM, we targeted high achievers in maths and the sciences.

4. Prepare events thoroughly for maximum reach and impact: Start preparing six weeks prior. Secure an appropriate venue for interviews. Meet with students to provide overview. Provide background information on the company andwebsite address so that the students can conduct research. Practise filling out applications forms in tutorial time.Compare good and bad and answers to the questions. Allow the students to come up with questions and answersin preparation for the interview process and self awarenessactivities. Role play interview questions. Collect completed application forms at least two weeks in

advance of event pass to the company staff to allow fortheir preparation time. Prepare certificates to recognise the students with on the day.

Sarah Williams-Gardener Director of GovernmentAffairs and Schools Outreach Programme Sponsor,IBM UKThe IBM Schools' Outreach programme was launched to raiseawareness of career possibilities within the corporate IT sector. Weare heartened to see from the recent GCSE and A level results thatmany more students are studying STEM subjects and hope thatthis trend continues.

IBM, which this year celebrates its centenary, has built its successon innovation. For innovation to flourish we need to continue totap into a bright, young and diverse pool of talent. Programmessuch as Schools Outreach enable us to support the teaching staffand open our doors to the workforce of the future.

Annabel Owsley, Business Associate, IBM UKFoundation programmeAt the end of year 12, I was one of 16 Park House Formers to attenda weeks work experience at IBM. This inspired me to apply to theirfoundation scheme, a year before university, of paid workexperience.

The application and assessment process was far less scary thanI had thought it would be. I felt well prepared from the practiceand mock interviews I had been through at school. I was delightedwhen I received the phone call later offering me a job.

Since August I have worked in the graduate recruitment teamat IBM Hursley. I will have the chance to experience placements inother departments within IBM alongside regular business training.I am really looking forward to my year out and would encourageother students to consider it.

Sadie Hawkins, IBM ApprenticeAt Park House, I participated in work experience and severalWomen in Technology days hosted by IBM. During this time wewere given various talks, demonstrations and tours by inspirationalIBM employees. This insight confirmed my desire to pursue acareer in business.

I applied to the IBM apprenticeship scheme in September 2010.The application process was challenging. However, a few weeks later,to my delight, I was offered a place on the scheme and deferred untilAugust 2011, allowing me to complete my A levels.

Since starting at IBM Ive experienced a whirlwind of adventureincluding intense training, live demonstrations and a number ofbusiness event days. I look forward to completing my two-yearapprenticeship and staying with the company for many years tocome. The connection between Park House and IBM has allowedfor great opportunities for me. Im grateful to all those involvedfor their support and keen to remain in touch with Park House inthe future.

Derek Peaple (right) with Cherie Blair (centre) at the 2011Opportunity Now awards.


Why we converted

As a Headteacher I began to becomeconcerned that as an Outstandingschool I was becoming invisible to

my Local Authority. I couldnt rememberthe last time Id seen an LA officer on mysite and Preferential Courses were allabout schools who struggle: the sameschools every year, for many years.

I understood that LAs have to have thatfocus on standards but my school was nota posh school; in fact we just makeaverage intake on DCSI. I began towonder when we would be a priority.

We then had a massive over-enrolmentproblem: each year it seemed that our LAcouldnt win appeals anymore and wewere enrolling well beyond the capacityfor our building and had grown 30% injust four years. I thought: Well, now wellbe a priority and for the first time inmany years made a very strong case for anadditional classroom. It was refusedoutright.

I had nowhere to put the children andhad lost every space we had to offer. Webuilt our own classrooms. The only helpmy LA would offer was a loan to put usinto debt.

When we needed to be a LA prioritymore than any other time in our historywe were not. We built two big classroomsat half the LA quote and in half the time,managing planning permission tocompletion.

We now couldnt afford several of ourLA Buy Backs and were forced to findalternatives and become even moreautonomous. In the meantime I hadlearnt that our local secondaries wererunning at huge overspends. When we

had, like most primaries, scrimped andsaved to ensure we were never so much asa penny overspent.

So, when academy status was placedbefore my governors it was a definite nobrainer. We had proven we could manageour crises best and had an LA we couldno longer afford. We had developed thebusiness skills and autonomy withoutchoice and now figured that 120,000(10%) of our money given to ourauthority by our catchment tax payerseach year might never be seen by ourcommunity again without anyaccountability.

In times of austerity we could do farmore for our children by distributing thatfunding directly to the children whoseparents paid it in the first place.

Heads who havent looked into it thinkits magic money or extra money, but itsactually their childrens money and withthe best of intention, we were in a betterposition to prioritise it.

What improvements has itmade?Cynics might say Its all about themoney. In terms of improving resources,improving intervention strategies forchildren who need them an adding staffto reduce class sizes, yes it is. Try doingthat without money.

First off, it has ensured job security inhard times. I can predict my budgethappily three years ahead and prioritisewith known ground rules.

It has meant a couple of local peoplebeing employed at the school ratherthan at County Hall. Rather than the

feared privatisation it is far morelocalisation that takes place. We have been able to renegotiatethose LA services that were good; LAsoffer some excellent packages and wecould cherry-pick effectively. We employ our own local gardenerand have a grass-cutting tractor thatwill save thousands on landscapeservices and be immediatelyresponsive to our needs on site. We were able to increase theproportion of PPA that is covered byteachers, not TAs, by allowing anexcellent teacher to return frommaternity for three days a week. We were able to employ an additionalteacher into the line-up to create pureyear-group classes and reduce classsizes to that fantasy average of 26pupils. We purchased our own music tuitionlocally and bought 4000 of cellosmade in Newark and quadrupled ourinstrumental provision. We alsopurchased a piano player fororchestra. We bought in a couple of extra sportsproviders for sports we had no skillsin for after-school clubs, completing afantastic after-school offer. We doubled classroom resources foreach teacher and went to theEducation Show to see what wasoffered as best practice these days. We purchased some excellent outdoorplay equipment from a local firm toenhance outdoor play in our earlyyears garden and bought two bigmature trees for shade.

Wed become invisible to our LAHeadteacher Kevin Eveleigh explains why BarnbyRoad converted to academy status last year


Why we converted

We have invested in Read to Write toimprove on disappointing writingresults for next year. We increased the one-to-oneintervention provision for maths atYear Six and got our first-ever 100%two levels progress or more. We made sure we had a sensible carryforward to cover inevitablereductions in LACSEG over the nextthree years. We purchased a powerful trackingand target setting package that suitsall our needs. We are in the process of purchasing aminibus to help reduce the cost of

visits to our parents in a catchmentthat is not wealthy. We have replaced all our ageing ICTequipment. We are employing a local man whodoes podcasting and animation workfor boys who need to write. We have provided (at our ownexpense) 20 days of support for alocal school struggling to make thebenchmark. They did it with theirhighest ever maths results.

Yes, it has made a huge difference to staff,children and community.

The Local Authority supported thetransition. They were excellent and

pragmatic in offering us visits from alltheir departments. Those meetings wereall of good quality and allowed us toseparate the wheat from the chaff. As aresult we still buy back several keyservices.

Good lawyers make LA/LEA transitioneffective and keep your LA active withinthe process.

Just because we didnt feel we were apriority to our LA didnt mean they werea poor authority. Far from it, and ourrelationship today is still very positive.They want to know which services aretheir best and they want to work withyou.

Watford Grammar School forGirls is fast approaching its firstanniversary as an academy. The

journey to academy status began beforethe 2010 election but moved frompossibility to reality 15 months agofollowing the election of the CoalitionGovernment. The regained autonomyand freedom are exciting and havepermeated all areas of school life. Ournew systems and procedures are now wellembedded and the Academy TrustCompany organisational structure isfirmly in place. As a very early converter,we learned some important lessonsduring the conversion process and wehave also been able to support and guideseveral schools, as well as the DfE itself, to

develop and grow the academy initiative.For the majority of the school

community there has been little change.The school day remains the same, thelessons taught and the structure of thecurriculum are certainly the same, staffterms and conditions remain as before,and most of the members the governingbody and senior leadership team remainunchanged.

The Academy Trust Company isessentially a company limited byguarantee and as such has members(similar to shareholders) presiding overthe company with a set of directors taskedwith strategic managementresponsibilities. In our case the membersare a mix of trustees and governors and

our board of directors is made up of allthe previous governors retaining the sameindividual responsibilities. The Head isthe chief executive.

The school enjoys direct funding bythe Department for Education via theYoung Peoples Learning Agency (YPLA).We now receive the portion of fundingpreviously retained by the localauthority, known as the Local AuthorityCentral Spend Equivalent Grant(LACSEG) directly into the schoolaccount, enabling us to streamline theservices we use and to ensure quality aswell as value for money. This has workedto our advantage because we engagedwith few local authority services as amaintained VA school and can now

One year on from conversion:business as usual at Watford Grammar School for Girls The school is thriving in their new-found autonomy

SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM


Why we converted

choose how best to use this fundingallocation.

The autonomy afforded to us throughacademy status means we can now makestrategic decisions regarding employment,finance, resourcing, capital, andcurriculum development. Indeed we havedeveloped more creative collaborationswithout reference to the Local Authority.We are able to be more flexible andresponsive to these changing times. Wecan now seize opportunities and bepioneers in our field.

Despite the opinions of the sceptics,day-to-day functions resumed as normalin September 2010; teaching and learningtakes place as before; all the legalrequirements have been satisfied.Funding from the YPLA has been timely

and efficient and despite concerns that thefinancial bureaucracy for academieswould be an overwhelming burden, inreality this has not been the case.

So its business as usual at WatfordGrammar School for Girls (notice: nochange of name). Currently, we aredeveloping a number of new systems: newaccounting procedures are becomingestablished; we are leasing equipmentinstead of buying in every case; we aredeveloping and looking for newprocurement opportunities. However wesee all this as simply part of our drive forcontinuous improvement.

This conversion was successfullyachieved in the three months betweenMay and August 2010 and we are proofthat this time frame is realistic.

We believe we now have the capacity todeal with the ongoing changes whilstmanaging day-to-day operationseffectively. In fact, we believe we also nowhave the freedom and capability to beginexploring new opportunities for theschool through collaboration, businessinnovation and curriculum design. Weare already developing interestingcollaboration and partnership models toimprove value for money and efficiencyamongst schools with a common purposeand operational synergy.

We have been able to address concernsdirectly with our stakeholders by outliningclearly our motivation for the change andwe have been able to promote the benefitsto the wider educational community. Asmore schools convert to academy status,the benefits will become increasingly self-evident. We believe that autonomy withclear accountability can and does lead toimproved outcomes for students and staff.

Helen Hyde isHeadmistress of Watford

Grammar School forGirls; Stephen Moralesis the business director

As more schools convert toacademy status, the benefits willbecome increasingly self-evident

1-4 two-year subscriptions @ 25.00 each ...................................................................... ..............................................



20 or more two-year subscriptions @ 18.48 each ...................................................................... ..............................................

Cheques should be made payable to John Catt Educational Limited and sent to: John Catt Educational, 12 Deben Mill Business

Centre, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1BL

Cheque for .................................... enclosed Signed ................................................................................ Date ..........................

Name ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................(Block Capitals please)

Address ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................... Postcode ................................................

No. of subscriptions required Total amount

Academymagazine is published three times a year, in Autumn, Spring and Summer. Rates quoted are inclusive of UK postage


Partnerships

Much publicity has been given to the governments desirefor independent schools to sponsor academy schools.However, this is not the only sort of relationship which

can exist between two. State schools vary in many ways, such as size, age-range, location

and aims, and the independent sector is equally diverse.Government ministers have often spoken of their desire to implantsome of the independent sectors DNA into academies. Howeverthe only thing which all independent schools have in common isthat they are independent and free from state control over theireducational provision, recruitment and finances. They are equallydiverse in size, age range, location and aims as state sector schools.

Some are financially well-endowed and have been able to make asubstantial contribution establishing new academies, some havegiven sponsorship in-kind, such as expertise and resources, andsome have even turned themselves into academies. Others believethat they do not have either the appropriate expertise or resourcesto become involved.

Those who have set up academies have usually chosen to do soin more deprived areas at a distance from themselves. However,within our cities we have a considerable number of independentschools; some of these are working in partnership with their localacademies as well as with other state-maintained schools. Thishappens in the London Borough of Southwark. Indeed, at present

Southwarks secondary provisioncomprises nothing other than 10academies and five voluntary aidedschools.

In 2003, Tim Brighouse, theCommissioner for London Schools,challenged a number of Londonsecondary Headteachers from bothsectors to work together in partnership toraise standards for all children in Londonschools. From this, the Southwark SchoolsLearning Partnership (SSLP) was formed,with Dr Irene Bishop, Head of St Saviours& St Olaves CE School, and MarionGibbs, Head of James Allens Girls School,as its co-directors.

The first members were threeindependent schools (Alleyns, DulwichCollege and James Allens Girls School)and six state schools (Archbishop MichaelRamsey TC, Geoffrey Chaucer TC,Kingsdale, St Saviours & St Olaves CE,Walworth and Waverley School).

The state school membership has

Much in common and much to shareThe Southwark Schools Learning Partnership showshow state, academy and independent schools canwork together for the greater good


Partnerships

changed over the years, but now in 2011 we have 10 partnerschools, the original three independents plus St Saviours & StOlaves CE, St Michaels RC and St Thomas the Apostle Collegeand four academies the Charter School, Globe Academy(formerly Geoffrey Chaucer), Kingsdale and Walworth Academy.Until its temporary closure this autumn, St Michaels and AllAngels Academy (formerly Archbishop Michael Ramsey) was alsoa member.

The underlying philosophy of our partnership is that we all havethings that we can learn from one another. We want to share goodpractice and explore innovative ideas together to benefit our staffand our students. It is too easy for specialist staff to become isolatedfrom others working in their own area; the era of the local teacherscentre has long gone. As for our students, we need to break downthe barriers which exist in some parts of the borough and to helpyoung people learn to work together rather than operating as rivalteams.

What do we actually do? For six years we ran a Pupil Voiceproject, originally as a learning enquiry and then focusing more

on classroom practice and exactly what helps students to learn well.The later stages of this project were led by a member of staff fromWalworth Academy and each year we met for successful studentconferences in the executive suite of The New Den, home ofMillwall Football Club.

We have held two joint concerts at Southwark Cathedral, oneinstrumental, with an orchestra and samba band, and one choral,with gospel music. At both, students from all the schools playedand sang together, benefiting from being in a larger group oftalented young people and enjoying working together. Studentshave also come together for a debating workshop, silly sports days,an eco-conference, drama days, CSI investigations, team-buildingand enterprise workshops, language conferences, universitypresentations and community action, to name but a few.

Some events are specifically organised by us for the SSLP, but ifone school is organising an activity for their own students,especially in minority subjects, if there is space, we invite ourpartners.

Links between staff are a vital strand of the SSLP and these are

Pupils in the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership break down the barriers.


Partnerships

forged with a great spirit of collegiality and mutual respect. Theprofessional development opportunities are boundless and havethe advantage of being related to real life in the classroom inSouthwark. When they meet to discuss professional andpedagogical topics or visit one anothers classrooms SSLP teachersfind that they have much in common and much to share. NQTshave spent time observing and working in schools in the othersector and derived much benefit from it.

Until quite recently, most Southwark state schools had no sixthform, and the academies, along with our other state school partnershave utilised the expertise of the experienced sixth form staffwithin the independent schools.

There is a natural link between academies and independentschools, both have greater freedom and autonomy than other

schools and can explore how best to use these together. Someacademies cater for ages 4-18 years, so do many independentschools, who can share their expertise. It seems likely that withinthe next few years the vast majority of state secondary schools andseveral hundred primary schools will become academies. Truepartnerships between independent schools and academies can onlybenefit both parties.

Marion Gibbs is Headmistress of JamesAllens Girls School in, London, Co-Director

of SSLP, and a member of the GirlsSchools Association.

There is a natural link between academies and independent schools.


Case study

Ijoined Cuckoo Hall Primary School inEdmonton, North London in 2001. Theschool had been in special measures andwas struggling. I encountered lowexpectations for childrens learning andbehaviour and consequently standards andachievement were very low. There was veryhigh mobility resulting in a falling pupilroll. Not surprisingly this was due todissatisfaction from parents whounderstandably looked for alternativeschools for their children. For me the key principles for success wereto:

Implement strong focused leadershipand robust systems that providedaccurate information on where theschool is and where it should gonext. Ensure a relentless focus onexcellent teaching that is consistentacross the whole school.

Promote very high expectations forALL childrens learning and behaviour. Implement a stimulating and widereaching curriculum, that includes astrong focus on English andmathematics.

Promote strong partnerships andcommunication with parents.

Cuckoo Hall has now had two successiveOutstanding Ofsted reports, we are anexpanding school and over-subscribed(currently 840 pupils), standards andachievement are well above nationalexpectations and we are recognized as oneof the best-performing schools nationally.This is despite having very high levels ofdisadvantage.

Some of the barriers have NOT been thechildren, staff parents or governors. From

A never-ending journeyPatricia Sowter describes how Cuckoo Hall PrimarySchool rose from struggling to Outstanding


Case study

the start I encountered a lack of supportfrom the Local Authority to improve thedisgraceful run-down site and buildings. Icame up against opposition from LAadvisers who objected to young childrenbeing taught the essential basic skills, andan overall lack of knowledge from LA staffto support both pupil and teacherperformance. There was continuousbureaucracy and interference where notneeded.

I joined FASNA in 2006 and was relievedto meet Headteachers such as myself, whospoke out against the type of control andbureaucracy that could hold schools back.I knew that the only way forward was towork with staff and governors to define ourown future and take control of our owndestiny. We understood that parents fromdisadvantaged backgrounds also haveaspirations for their children and we knewthat too many schools in challenging areasare failing these children.

We forged ahead and became aFoundation School in 2008, a Trust in 2009and as soon as the opportunity arose wewere one of the first outstanding Primacyschools to become an academy inSeptember 2010.

I havent looked back since. Havingacademy freedoms has not fundamentallychanged Cuckoo Hall because I exerted

autonomy as far as possible in order to raisestandards. What has made a difference isthe knowledge that we are not subject toLocal Authority control.

At the end of last year I submitted aproposal to open a two form of entry FreeSchool on an adjacent derelict site that hadbeen vacated two years previously by afailing secondary school. I had been gettingnowhere with the LA in respect of theirplans for this site that was an eyesore toCuckoo Hall and the local community.

Opening a two form of entry primaryschool on this site made perfect sense. Notonly is there a critical shortage of schoolplaces in the area but also a severe lack ofgood quality education. I thereforesubmitted a strong business case to open anew school that was approved by theSecretary of State.

Woodpecker Hall Primary Academyopened its doors to 120 pupils thisSeptember 2011. Feedback from the localcommunity and parents has beenoverwhelmingly supportive. Parents haveopenly voiced their concern at not beingable to obtain good schools for theirchildren and are relieved at being offeredplaces at a new school that will be led andmanaged by Cuckoo Hall Academies Trust(CHAT) which will oversee the governanceand organization of both schools (and anyfuture schools). The Secretary of State,Michael Gove, attended the opening ofWoodpecker Hall and showed genuineappreciation that we will be offeringexcellent education to more children in anarea of London that faces many challenges.

Patricia Sowter CBE isExecutive Principal

at Cuckoo HallAcademies Trust

An artists impression of Woodpecker Hall


Partnerships

The essence of independence,according to Aleister Crowley, hasbeen to think and act according tostandards from within, not without.Newly established academies are comingto realise that without the shackles ofLocal Authority control, they not onlyhave a greater voice in their own destiny,but they can focus once more on thevalues that make them tick. To me, this isthe defining difference betweenmaintained schools and those in theindependent sector. Many independent

schools, whatever their history, operatewith explicit values that are not foistedfrom above, but come from deep inside.With the 2010 Academies Act, moreschools are now able to focus on thepowerful values-driven principles thatcan reinvigorate their practice.

A deep exploration of values can ofcourse be unnerving and this app

academy magazine

Documents