Category Archives: Administration

Schools spent over £200m on supply cover due to staff absences

What is the single most effective way to make your school’s cashflow forecasting easier with regard to expenditure on supply cover?

According to the LA and school expenditure report, last financial year schools spent over £200m on supply cover due to staff absences. However, we must also consider that supply cover isn’t just dear, but is also incredibly difficult to forecast, not least because staff absences are often short-notice and unexpected.

It is with this in mind that SchoolsUK offers a 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover – which not only enables you to claim back the huge costs of supply cover, but which also offers the additional benefit of making cashflow forecasting much easier as you pay a recurring fee each month. Giving you complete budget certainty!

What’s more, Staff Absence isn’t all that is covered under this policy. Our 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover also includes cover for Staff Wellbeing, Occupational Health, Maternity and HR & Management. Thus it is likely that with our insurance you will be able to release funds into your budget for services that you are already paying for.

Scroll down to see a summary of what’s included in the policy or simply fill in this form to get an Instant Staff Absence Quote and join the 800+ UK schools that already have 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover. Alternatively, please do call us on 0113 2161144 or email sales@schoolsuk.com

What’s covered in the policy?
1) Staff Absence Insurance: Stress Cover, Paternity Cover, Adoption Leave Cover, Jury Service, Compassionate Leave, Stranded Cover, Carer Cover…

2) Staff Wellbeing: eye tests and replacement glasses, extensive Employees Assistance Programme, cash back on therapies, 24 hour GP helpline, diagnostic scans, Personal Accident Cover up to £100,000, Critical Incident Support, booklets for staff and a Wellbeing App download.

3) Occupational Health: occupational health reports, face to face consultations, nurses visit, counselling services, pre-employment screening and a full referral service (at no additional charge).

4) Maternity Cover: our Standard Cover will provide up to £3,500 per claim however we’ve also created a freestanding policy that allows you to select the level of coverage that you need from zero to over £15,000.

5) HR & Employment: unlimited telephone and email support, advice for HR and Employment Law issues, attendance at hearings and appeals where dismissal is a possibility, regular updates on changes to the law, free places for the Head and School Business Managers at our Education and Employment Law seminars, the equivalent of one days’ attendance on site each year from an HR specialists or employment lawyer.

What is the most effective way of increasing the effectiveness of your school’s noticeboard?

Once upon a time the noticeboard was one of the few ways that a school could effectively communicate with parents. Whilst today there are numerous other possible channels of communication, there are some simple measures that you can take to ensure that the school notice board captures the attention of parents while waiting at the school gates or, indeed, passing by.

Firstly, to ensure that your notices don’t get missed by parents, pin them no higher than approx. a third down from the top of the board because (it has been proven) that the eye never seems to start at the top.

Secondly, ask an interesting open question that might genuinely interest the parent. For example, let’s say that the notice is about the implementation of a new homework policy. By heading the notice with a question, such as, How can you ensure that homework time is a stress-free time?, parents’ interest will be piqued, encouraging them to read on.

These are just two ways to resurrect the school’s noticeboard so that parents take notice, and I’m sure that quick Google search will reveal many more.

Indeed, if your school is thinking about buying a new school noticeboard, Greenbarnes has a range of styles which you can see on our website.

Alternatively, please do call us on 01280 701093 and we’ll be pleased to discuss our boards, send you a brochure, and give any advice and guidance that you may require.

What is the most effective way of coping with the continual change that is now an inevitable part of school administration?

If ever a job has changed in the last 10 years it is that of the bursar and school business manager.

Even the title of the job has been varied, for as one correspondent to the School of Education Administration and Management put it recently, “My pay slip calls me the ‘Administrator’, it says ‘Bursar’ on the door to my room and the head introduces me to visitors as the School Business Manager.”

In a world where even the job title can be variable throughout the day, what chance is there for the bursar (or SBM or Chief Administrator) to cope with the ever changing nature of the school?

The fact is that change is everywhere. The government makes change its watch-word.  Independence from LA control puts more pressure on school administrations, and quite often the boundaries as to who actually has the final sign off on new procedures becomes rather confused.

As a result, stress rises and a sense of progressive improvement is replaced by a sense of making do. With few people seeming to know how schools are supposed to react to something as huge as the raising of the compulsory education leaving age over the next few years, it is not surprising that there is often a sense of the school not quite knowing what is coming next.

However, it is only by recognising change as an inevitable part of running the school’s administrative systems and by accepting that the drive towards efficiency and effectiveness is part of the bursar’s job that these various parts of the school process can be brought back into balance.

Hence the new edition of the Bursar’s Survival Guide.

The aim of this comprehensive report is to develop school improvements and efficiencies through changes in administrative procedures.  Such action inevitably enhances the personal standing of the bursar and those in the bursar’s department and reduces stress levels throughout the school’s administration.

The report opens with a single example idea, one idea that takes only a few minutes to implement but which could reduce the school’s non-salary expenditure by 10% at a stroke, without changing the quality of the goods and services provided.

After that the volume considers 57 separate topics that affect the role of the bursar and the bursar’s department in the school, and analyses each one in a way that is (in most cases, if not all) different from the way in which standard text books on bursaring and financial control approach the topic.

Quite simply The Bursar’s Survival Guide will help to ensure a smoothly run bursar’s office generating excellent results in all aspects of its work in the years to come.

You can see some sample pages at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/bursar/T1795.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1795EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 885 9

Prices

  • Photocopiable book £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Book plus CD £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1795EMN

What is the simplest and most effective way of ensuring that your school develops and improves, every month, every year?

It is a simple but nonetheless valid observation. No organisation – and more particularly no school – improves by itself. Schools get better because someone (or more often some people) put energy into improving the school.

But is that it?  A round of improvement, an inspectors’ report, and then “steady-as-she-goes”?

Of course, that is one way of working, but there is a problem.  Because any organisation that is then left alone will slowly start to become inefficient.   Processes will change, corners will be cut, issues will be missed.

This is not a criticism of teachers or schools – it is simply the ways things are. The only way around this is constant improvement.

Now this approach, which has become increasingly common in business in the past ten years, is something that many teachers and managers resist.   The old phrase, “Why can’t you just leave me alone to get on with the teaching?” can readily be heard in response.

And yet, as the schools that use this approach have found, such an approach puts no strain on the school, and the result can be extraordinary.

Better still, the ever improving school is most certainly not in a state of constant revolution.  Rather the schools that adopt this approach work carefully from department to department, instituting changes step by step, and not moving on to the next department until the previous department is once again settled and secure.

In short, we are talking about a mechanism for bringing change into a school with the full co-operation and agreement of each department in turn.  An approach which runs continuously without in any way disrupting the working on the school on a daily basis.

It is an approach that recognises that there may be some resistance to change, but has built within it ways of overcoming that resistance.

And better still, there is no chance of the school, having improved, resting on its laurels. It continues and it grows, for as long as the leadership of the school want the process to continue.

The entire process is described in The Ever Improving School, a report commissioned and produced by the School of Educational Administration and Management – a body set up with government funding and the support of the Faculty of Education at the University of Northampton.

The Ever Improving School is available in copiable form (as a printed volume or on CD) so that it can be distributed to all interested members of staff.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 852 1   Order code: T1843emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1843.pdf

  • Photocopiable book, £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the book and the CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Kindle book: £9.99
  • Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

SchoolCal is an easy to use communication platform that enables schools to connect with parents, governors, teachers and support staff.

With unlimited contacts, messages and reminders we think you’ll love SchoolCal almost as much as your governors, parents and staff will.

We are so confident you can try SchoolCal for free for 30 days, no opt outs, obligations or catches just a chance to see if it’s for you plus be in with a chance to win an annual subscription and tablet.

Set up your trial account www.school-cal.co.uk/schoolcal30

3 ways SchoolCal is redefining engagement across the whole school

1. Supporting two-way engagement across the whole sector by providing a safe, accessible and personalised experience for everyone.

2. Reducing the cost of communications, allowing more conversations to take place with the right people and focus more resources into the classroom.

3. Providing a platform that people can enjoy using, seen as the go to place for school conversations and to be a product organisations can be proud to share with all their stakeholders.

Involved in more than one school? You will love our Multi-School feature, if you are a MAT or a Headteacher in one school with a child in another all of your schools are brought together into one newsfeed that can be viewed separately or as one.

SchoolCal has been designed from the ground up with the specific goal of being a platform that you will be proud to share with anyone connected to your school that represents your vision, ethos and goals.

Set up your trial account www.school-cal.co.uk/schoolcal30

Experts (who by and large have never worked in a school) love to say that we should be more efficient in our use of time.

But really, is that practical in a school?  Much of the time we are overtaken by events, meaning we have little chance of planning a carefully laid course towards a better use of each day.

And yet, when one focuses on one’s own use of time, there is often one simple change that can be made and which has an immediate impact.

All one needs to do is take one time-consuming area of work and deal with it once and for all, freeing up time that either can be spent on another activity or indeed on recovering from the trials and tribulations of the working day.

The solution I’ve worked on involves school policies. We know they have to be checked against the latest legislation and government guidance, updated, monitored, and re-worked as circumstances change. But why not let someone else do it?

To see the benefit that could come from this, imagine a scenario in which you have instant access to a fully prepared policy on each and every issue within the school, all on a single website. You could then download it and have it up and running in your school – all within minutes.

But, you might think, what happens if there is a new issue that is only just beginning to impact upon schools?  How would one get access to a policy for that?

The answer in this case is simple: if the policy doesn’t exist already, it will be created to your order.  And as legislation and expectations change, so the policies are always updated without you having to re-write anything at all!

Fortunately, this scenario is not a fantasy. There is a website that hundreds of schools across the UK use in this way.  It is called Policies for Schools. It has over 280 school policies, and you can see all the policies that are available and some sample school policy documents by visiting our website.

So if you wish to subscribe to our service, or would like more information, please:

5 Tips to Improve School to Parent Communication

Is your current parent communication strategy as effective as it should be? Can you identify which parents are least engaged? Are parents getting more involved as a result of your communications?

Parental engagement is in the spotlight; we look at 5 tips that can give your school to parent communications a boost

1. Share the big and little stories.

Parents want to know that their child’s school has the ambition and drive to achieve their vision. Sharing plans, ideas and projects on a regular basis will help parents understand what your school is aiming for and what role they can play in that journey.

Sharing the day to day news, successes and achievements will not only help parents feel closer to their child’s education but it will also provide discussion topics for parents to speak to their child about when they come home from school.

2. Two-way communication.

Communication between parents and schools should be two-way. Collaborating with parents by asking for feedback, ideas and comments will lead to improved engagement.

Asking for views from parents will confirm the important role they play in supporting their child throughout school life. The current Ofsted framework also sets out that inspectors should ask for evidence that the views of parents are sought after.

3. Accessible and consistent.

Using one platform for school communications that is accessible across multiple devices at any time will not only make it easier for parents to get the whole picture but will also make that platform the go-to place for trusted school information.

4. Go beyond the school gates.

Sometimes the biggest impact on pupils can be the decisions taken outside of the school gates by local or central government policy makers. Sharing Sector news such as Pupil Premium updates and changes to Ofsted inspection criteria on a regular basis will help parents understand the expectations on your school and how national or local policy can directly impact their child.

5. Monitor Results.

How many parents are you reaching? Which parents are least engaged with your communications? Are parents getting more involved and expressing their views? A good whole school communication platform should be able to give you these answers and subsequently enable schools to identify those parents that are the hardest to reach. This allows for more informed decisions to be made on how best to engage with that group further.

SchoolCal is unique in the market place by providing a web, mobile and application based platform designed specifically for schools.  Schedule unlimited messages, emails and dates to be sent to specific groups, individuals or everyone.

To find out more or to book an online demo at a time to suit you please visit http://www.school-cal.co.uk/features/ or call 0161 266 1028.

5 Tips to Improve School to Parent Communication

Is your current parent communication strategy as effective as it should be? Can you identify which parents are least engaged? Are parents getting more involved as a result of your communications?

Parental engagement is in the spotlight; we look at 5 tips that can give your school to parent communications a boost

1. Share the big and little stories.

Parents want to know that their child’s school has the ambition and drive to achieve their vision. Sharing plans, ideas and projects on a regular basis will help parents understand what your school is aiming for and what role they can play in that journey.

Sharing the day to day news, successes and achievements will not only help parents feel closer to their child’s education but it will also provide discussion topics for parents to speak to their child about when they come home from school.

2. Two-way communication.

Communication between parents and schools should be two-way. Collaborating with parents by asking for feedback, ideas and comments will lead to improved engagement.

Asking for views from parents will confirm the important role they play in supporting their child throughout school life. The current Ofsted framework also sets out that inspectors should ask for evidence that the views of parents are sought after.

3. Accessible and consistent.

Using one platform for school communications that is accessible across multiple devices at any time will not only make it easier for parents to get the whole picture but will also make that platform the go-to place for trusted school information.

4. Go beyond the school gates.

Sometimes the biggest impact on pupils can be the decisions taken outside of the school gates by local or central government policy makers. Sharing Sector news such as Pupil Premium updates and changes to Ofsted inspection criteria on a regular basis will help parents understand the expectations on your school and how national or local policy can directly impact their child.

5. Monitor Results.

How many parents are you reaching? Which parents are least engaged with your communications? Are parents getting more involved and expressing their views? A good whole school communication platform should be able to give you these answers and subsequently enable schools to identify those parents that are the hardest to reach. This allows for more informed decisions to be made on how best to engage with that group further.

SchoolCal is unique in the market place by providing a web, mobile and application based platform designed specifically for schools.  Schedule unlimited messages, emails and dates to be sent to specific groups, individuals or everyone.

To find out more or to book an online demo at a time to suit you please visit http://www.school-cal.co.uk/features/ or call 0161 266 1028.

It’ll stop them losing it

When it comes to students losing their keys or cards, how can your school save time and money on organising a replacement?

The answer lies not with organising a replacement, but instead with preventing your students from losing their locker key, lunch card, or registration card, for example, in the first place.

And an increasing number of secondary schools are finding that issuing their students with lanyards (so they can keep everything together and on them at all times) is an effective way of reducing the incidence of students losing such important items.

Saving schools a significant amount of time and money on organising replacements.

Image Logo regularly supplies secondary schools with lanyards for their students that have on them the school’s branding (including its name and contact details). This ensures that, if a student does actually manage to lose it, there’s a reasonable chance that it will be returned to the school.

We have a choice of lanyards in our range, including:

Ribbon Lanyards

Top Lanyards

And 10mm Lanyards.

You can find more information about our lanyards at the website links above. If you require any other information or have any questions please do email sales@image-logo.co.uk or call 01323 745710.

Delivery normally takes 15-20 working days from artwork approval, but just in case time is tight we do have a wide range of Express items which could be turned around in 5 days (from artwork approval).

What’s more, if you are looking at getting any other branded items for your school, Image Logo UK Ltd has a wide range of different products available, all of which can be marked up with any details of the school that you wish. You can see the whole range on our e-book.

Nicole Carter
www.image-logo.co.uk

17 super secondary schools

How does your secondary school plan
to meet local demand?

The BBC has reported that councils will have to generate a predicted 80,000 additional secondary school places in order to accommodate the increase in the number of pupils who will be graduating from primary schools over the next four years.

It has been decided that rather than building new secondary schools, some 17 existing secondary schools will be expanded and transformed into what will be known as “super-sized” secondary schools – which should be a more financially viable option for councils.

Naturally, there are some concerns about whether the same standards of behaviour and academic attainment can be maintained following the expansion.

However, School Minister Nick Gibb doesn’t believe this to be a cause for concern and is quoted in TES as saying, “If you look at Shanghai, their schools are very large and they produce some very high standards of education.”  Shanghai High has more than 3000 students and is considered as one of Shanghai’s top state schools.

Regarding the benefits of super-sized schools, Head teacher Tony Alexander said: “We are able to provide a broad curriculum that other schools could not afford. And we have a wide range of children with different qualities and attributes, which can only be good.”

Whether your school has plans to be super-sized or not, it is likely that some expansion will be necessary in order to meet local demand. This can bring the added benefit of being able to choose the design of your new classroom so that it represents your school’s values.

For example, if being eco-friendly and providing pupils with plenty of learning outside the classroom opportunities is valued by your school, you may want to have a classroom built which represents these values, such as those from The Learning Escape.

The Learning Escape’s classrooms are bathed in natural sunlight, warm in the winter, cool in the summer and are able to withstand whatever extremes of weather climate change throws at them.

They are designed to be eco-friendly, not least with the option to have sun pipes, living sedum roofs, solar water systems and solar power systems installed.

To see the Learning Escape classrooms that schools have designed and that we have built recently, just click here.

Or to discuss any aspect of your project or to book a free survey, just call us on 0800 917 7726. You can find more information on our website.

What’s more, there are leasing options available to your school and you can find more information about financing here.

Link to the BBC’s article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34486006