Category Archives: Efficiency

Most agree: schools should have a constant ongoing plan to improve the efficiency of the school

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In fact, it is more than “most” who agree.  In research undertaken by the School of Educational Administration and Management, 82% of school managers and administrators agree that schools should have a constant ongoing plan to improve the efficiency of the school.

While a small minority continue with the view that efficiency is either not an issue that should bother schools at all or that efficiency savings can be introduced when something is noticed, most now share the mainstream view of organisations across the UK – we have to think about efficiency all the time.

Thus it now seems that efficiency is very much a part of the concern of most schools, and the dominant view is that that efficiency savings can’t be made just by noticing something that “doesn’t look right”.  The problem is tha twe all get used to the way things are and so don’t see inefficiencies, or simply dismiss the chance of doing anything about them, because “that is the way things are.”

The results of this survey have now put them on the School Business, Management and Administration Week website.  The analysis of the survey results is here as part of the new School Business Management and Administration Week website.

If you have any thoughts about the site, particularly if you feel there is anything else that should be there, do let me know.  Remember the idea of the School Business Management and Administration Week is that we have a website that is aimed at administrators and management equally.  This is on the basis that the most efficient organisations have the closest liaison between management and administration.

I am also hoping that you, and your colleagues elsewhere in the school, will take particular note of the final item within the research – how work enters the school office and how the volume of that work is controlled.

Many school offices reported to the SEAM in earlier surveys that they are suffering from constant overload of work, and this final point is indeed relevant.

Thanks very much to everyone who participated in the research.  My hope is that it really will have an impact.

Tony Attwood

Chair, the School of Educational Administration and Management.

 

The School of Educational Administration and Management was set up with government funding through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership initiative with the support of the Dept of Trade and Industry, and the School of Education, Northampton University, to research and promote efficiency savings in schools.  More details of the SEAM’s work can be found on our website.

The benefits of recording lessons are plain to see. But are there any legal complications?

The arrival of the Lessonbox system through which teachers can record, both in pictures and sound, all that happens in a lesson has meant that many more lessons can be recorded than ever before.

Indeed the recording of these lessons so that teachers may observe best practice and study in depth their own teaching process is clearly a very, very helpful process. To all intents and purposes it offers the biggest breakthrough ever in continuing professional development.

Many schools are now moving over to this unique system, which is described in full on our website, and the benefits to CPD are, of course, overwhelming.

However, it is a legitimate question to ask where the school stands in relation to this sort of recording – which is done entirely to help develop the quality of teaching and learning – in terms of laws relating to the recording of the activities of young people.

To understand the situation more fully Lessonbox has met and taken guidance from the ICO on the data protection issues raised with the use of Lessonbox systems.

In summary the ICO recognises the positive applications of Lessonbox under the teacher’s control for the purpose of training, reflective practice, etc.  It accepts that there is a place for teachers to use Lessonbox to support their continuing professional development, and they acknowledge that teachers will find it useful to look back at lessons as part of their reflective practice.

Restrictions on use only relate to situations in which Lessonbox is set up to be an equivalent of a CCTV surveillance device – when obviously separate rules apply.

Lessonbox can be used as part of the school’s approach to addressing problem behaviour and low level disruption, as long as the use is proportionate.  Details of all the ICO’s findings and views on using Lessonbox both to record lessons and for disciplinary and other purposes can be found on our website.

Lessonbox uses wireless technology to record multiple lessons, and once recording is complete you have the choice of saving and reviewing the footage in school or, if subscribed, using the Lessonbox Cloud video platform to share, add comments, and attach related documents.

What’s more, because the recording equipment is portable it can be used by any teacher in any room or building, and there’s nothing to stop it being used to record a number of lessons by different teachers each day.

If you would like to download the ICO and Policy white papers or to discuss how Lessonbox can work in your school, please visit our website or call 0845 519 3660. If you have any specific questions, please do email info@lessonbox.co.uk

Andrew Jenkins

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:

How 140,000 teachers saved time this week

What is the quickest way of setting, tracking, collecting, and providing feedback for homework?

The key word here is “quickest” – for there are many homework systems around that might well keep the overall homework process organised, but still demand the same amount of time and attention as before.

The most effective and quickest approach involves running an online homework calendar where you and your colleagues can enter homework details on the system, and your students (and their parents) can access the details at any time from any location.

What’s more, in running an online homework calendar with Show My Homework, relevant attachments and documents can be added for your students to download – so that they can have everything at their fingertips no matter where they are.

Instead of scribbling homework down in a diary, your students can log on to a website via any mobile device and view the homework, including the due dates for the assignments that their teachers have posted.

Over 140,000 teachers use it on a weekly basis to set, track, collect, and provide feedback for homework, meaning that Show My Homework has become the definitive product for homework management – helping teachers to save time and improve teaching and learning.

Show My Homework has also been made available to schools in Ireland and other English speaking countries across the world and is now used in over 1000 schools globally by more than 1.3 million students.

The founder of Show My Homework recently commented: “The idea is simple – As homework setting and completing so often eats into family time, we want to provide teachers with the right tools to ensure that it’s always worthwhile. Done the right way, homework has a huge impact on learning outcomes, but it’s not about the quantity, it’s about making it easier for teachers to focus on quality.”

For further information about how to track homework and save time, you can book your free Senior Leader school demo here.

Alternatively you can call us on 020 7197 9550 for more information or email louise@showmyhomework.co.uk

Schools are saving money by using eco-friendly technology

Eco-friendly technology that will reduce your school’s carbon footprint and running costs.

The attitude that “for something to be eco-friendly it must be expensive” has become somewhat out-dated – particularly when we consider the advances in eco-friendly technologies over the last decade or so.

In fact, in the modern world eco-friendly technologies are typically much more cost-effective. And eco-friendly charging trolleys for the laptops, Chromebooks, iPads or tablets in your school are no exception to this.

The Power Management system, which is built in to the ABS charging trolleys supplied by NUWCO, features an energy-saving timer module which will help to reduce both your school’s carbon footprint and your school’s running costs.

And to further save your school money, the timer can be set to charge your school’s devices at the time when electricity is at its cheapest, including in the evenings and at the weekends.

What’s more, in the event of a computer or the mains having an electrical fault, the Power Management System and the charging trolley’s plastic shell will ensure that the fault is isolated at once.

Our plastic charging trolley, which is 100% recyclable, also has the added benefit of it being 70% lighter than a traditional metal charging trolley which will of course make the process of moving the trolley around much easier.

To review all the details and see the pictures please visit our site at www.nuwco.com.

Just choose the device that you think is right for you, click on that trolley, and you will be able to see a full description, including the dimensions. You will also be able to download the product specification and device compatibility sheet – in fact, everything you need to know.

If you have any questions please do call 01628 666 775 or email me at sales@nuwco.com

Ashley Hutton

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.

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