Diary of an NQT
CHARITABLE STATUS CHARITABLE STATUS
All guns blazing
THE SUBJECT of health and social care can will be interested to hear their experiences, and I also
sometimes attract less academic pupils, and for one hope that they will come back with a fresh drive.
of my classes this certainly is so. However, I cannot rely on this and I am going
When the school year started, this group all out, devising a scheme of work which will
quickly became one of my favourite involve them creating a health promotion The public benefit requirement
classes – full of nice varied characters campaign aimed at kids their age and
who would work hard to complete tackling issues such as drug and alcohol
tasks. abuse, safe sex, and road safety.
They were learning about PIES. After researching their chosen topic,
Not the pukka ones from down they will produce a leaflet and a two-
The Charity
the chippy, however. The acronym minute advert highlighting the risks
in question is personal, intellectual and dangers of their chosen issue, Commission has
emotional and social factors that how they can be reduced, and what
affect growth and development. national and local agencies are out
indicated that
The unit I deliver evolves around there to help.
all aspects of these. They are an I am hoping this will be a very
integral part of the subject and also engaging and hands-on exercise.
fee-charging
vital to understanding of the needs of They will have pretty much full
health and social care service users – in ownership of their campaign, and as
schools which are charities
essence they form the backbone of the it is aimed at their age group, they
subject. will be creating what they really
should be both offering pupil
However, I feel the class has lost want to see.
interest in this overarching topic, The real hope will be that it is
bursaries and sharing their
and I feel like I have “lost” them. valuable, not only to their subject,
The obvious aftermath of this is but to their peers as well.
the rise of behavioural issues – and If it all goes successfully and
facilities and resources with
I don’t blame them. the end results are good, the idea is
I would be bored learning about that the films and campaigns will be state schools. Independent
these topics, especially when using shown in form time across the school.
text books and written resources with limited All this, as well as integrating some
school head Marion Gibbs
multimedia tools. In fact, I feel like I have personal, learning and thinking skills into the
become jaded in my teaching of this topic as scheme of work, should result in some good
well. It is like there is an ongoing battle which progression at this final stage of the year.
looks at how realistic this is
neither of us actually wants to have.
It’s got to change – for my sanity and for their • This year, our weekly NQT diarist is Charles
learning experience. Aubeeluck, a qualified citizenship teacher who
What is the issue?
As I write this they are all on work experience teaches sociology and health and social care at In 2006, legislation was enacted which required
somewhere, getting to grips with the real world. I Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls in west London. charities to demonstrate explicitly that their aims
and activities were for the public benefit. The
Charity Commission was charged with developing
guidance as to the interpretation of this law. It
Moral support
held a public consultation and has now published
extensive guidance on several areas. Two of their key
principles are that:
• Where benefit is to a section of the public, the
Welcomes from A to Z
opportunity to benefit must not be unreasonably
restricted – by geographical restrictions or by
ability to pay fees.
The new chief
Arriving right in the middle of the busiest period • People in poverty must not be excluded from the
we had encountered, it would have been all too opportunity to benefit.
executive of
easy to forget about a genuine welcome for our new An exemplar report on Alltown School Foundation
colleague, particularly as his role required a great Charity was published by the Charity Commission
deal of individual work away from the rest of the at the end of March 2009. This emphasised that
the Teacher
staff and was reliant on the unique skills of his trade. the fictitious school not only provided means-tested
While our induction processes were formalised and bursaries to “X” pupils representing “Y” per cent of
Support
in-depth, he came to me after two weeks to express gross fees (the original figures indicating some 16
his thanks to two staff members in particular for per cent of pupils and five per cent fees have now
Network, Julian
making him feel welcome. been removed from the published exemplar), but also
His co-workers had gone out of their way to dedicated £X or Y per cent of its annual spending to
Stanley
explain all the little – but fundamentally important teaching links with state schools. Will independent
, takes over the
– details of his workplace: where people normally schools actually be able to fulfil such requirements and
went to eat, where the toilets were on the top floor, will they have to do so? How hard will that be in these
charity’s regular column
how to find the copy room, and even when best to straitened economic times?
catch his colleagues at their least frantic to discuss
and talks, unsurprisingly,
joint issues. Does this affect all independent fee-paying
We had quite a large number of staff members,
schools in the same way?
about new beginnings
and they had sat with him one lunchtime and written
down everyone’s names and positions. Not all independent fee-charging schools are charities:
They’d also told him not to hesitate to call them some are owned by individual proprietors and others are
MY FIRST week at Teacher Support Network if he needed help getting his head round any of financed in different ways. Those which are charities
brings with it my first opportunity to write a column the full catalogue of jargon and codes which our are far from homogenous: they include those with However, this brings additional responsibilities, as
for this wonderful magazine. During the run up organisation deployed. It’s these kind of details in fewer than 100 pupils and those with more than 1,200, we now have to ensure that we meet the public benefit
to me starting at the charity group, reading SecEd a new working environment that can be the most pre-preps, and those catering only for pupils aged 13 test in respect of these wider aims.
helped me maintain a detailed understanding of the elusive and intimidating. to 18 years, day and boarding, schools for those with
world around secondary schools. For this reason, it is crucial that managers and particular learning needs, selective schools, all-ability
Means-tested bursaries
On top of its readability, as abbreviations go its school leaders not only create the formal induction schools, town schools, and country schools. One size Much emphasis is being placed on means-tested
name is much more memorable than the host of procedures required or themselves take an active certainly does not fit all and the resources available to bursaries. At JAGS, our governors have always believed
other acronyms I find myself having to learn in order role in welcoming a new member of staff, but also them vary enormously. that it is totally unjust to offer bursaries with a ceiling of
to survive conversations about British education: work to creating a hospitable atmosphere for those The Charity Commission has recognised this, say 50 or 70 per cent. All our means-tested bursaries are
from AWPU (Age-Weighted Pupil Unit) to MLT beginning their teaching careers or moving to a new specifically stating in its December 2008 guidance: for up to 100 per cent fees, plus free lunches, uniform,
(Management and Leadership Team). school community. “In practice, it may well be the larger charities that travel, trips and extras.
Whether working in a school, a wellbeing charity, As my new organisation knows from its in-depth will have greatest flexibility to be able to offer free or We currently have 104 pupils in our senior school on
a CTC, or the BSA, a new job represents a new and extensive contact with teachers, NQTs and subsidised access. We recognise that smaller charities bursaries; 59 per cent of these have all their fees paid,
challenge. Like any new employee, I’ve become experienced staff in new positions are among the are unlikely to be able to provide the same opportunities with an overall average contribution by the school to
engaged by meeting new colleagues, excited by the most likely to experience the common mental health to benefit as larger charities.” bursary-holders of 89 per cent of fees.
prospect of achieving things with the organisation, problems that teaching can induce – stress, anxiety We are an inner-London school and are surrounded
and invigorated by a totally new environment. and depression.
Relevance to one’s Charitable Objects
by areas of extreme deprivation. We began offering our
However, just like the experiences many of you In order to safeguard the wellbeing of these Even when a school does engage in significant own bursaries in 1998 when the government Assisted
will have shared on your first day as a teacher, I’m teachers, schools leaders – perhaps more than community outreach or offers means-tested bursaries, Places Scheme was closed and have already seen the
also anxious to get things right and make the right managers at any other organisation – must focus this may not count as charitable public benefit. The first four years of such pupils move on successfully to
impression. There’s a lot to explore, from recent their efforts on ensuring the needs and concerns of public benefit has to relate directly the school’s own university.
government initiatives to our own organisation’s new arrivals to the team are addressed. charitable objects. If the school is a charity established How can we afford it? We are very fortunate to have
history. Occasionally, the scale of the task at hand I’ve been made to feel very welcome at Teacher to educate the sons of Methodist ministers, then the a historic endowment from our founder, James Allen,
can seem intimidating. Support Network and am very much looking forward public benefit of that aspect will be tested. and to be a beneficiary of 29 per cent of the annual
I’m joining Teacher Support Network after to contributing to the charity’s efforts to improve the If the school’s objects only specify educating distribution from the Dulwich Estates. We have also run
spending eight years as chief executive of a large wellbeing of teachers across Great Britain. children, then allowing local adults to use the sports a continuous fundraising campaign, but raising funds
community charity, The Cresset, in Peterborough. I hope I can share some of our ideas and work facilities or computer suite is irrelevant. The Charity as a south London girls’ day school is not easy – few
During my time there, we delivered a range of arts, through this column. In the meantime, I’ll be making Commission has suggested revising one’s objects, but of our alumnae are wealthy or well connected and our
educational and commercial services to schools and every train journey armed with the 24-page list of some schools have found that this is not so easy in long tradition of welcoming those who cannot afford
the general public. For the last three years, I’ve also acronyms that my new colleagues have prepared. practice. fees has reduced the pool of potential donors among
been headteacher at the Beth Shalom Sunday School From the top: AT – Attainment Target, BEI – British James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS), where I am current and former parents.
in Cambridge, where I’ve taught for the last eight. Education Index, CA – Classroom Assistant… headmistress, was founded in 1741 and our objects We have set up a community sports club which
It’s a strange feeling being in the role of newbie for many years have been “to provide a practical, uses all our sporting facilities every morning, evening,
myself after welcoming a host of new staff members • Julian Stanley is chief executive of the Teacher liberal and religious education…”, but more recently weekends, and during school holidays – the profits
over the years. I’m reminded of the arrival of Support Network. Visit www.teachersupport.info or they were expanded to reflect our wider engagement which this enterprise has now begun to generate (after
a former finance worker at one of my previous call 08000 562 261 (England), 08000 855088 (Wales). with the community. They now include “ancillary or early years of losses) are also being used to subsidise
workplaces. Moral Support returns in a fortnight. incidental educational or other associated activities for our bursaries. It would be wonderful to become a truly
the benefit of the community”. “needs-blind” school, but it would cost many millions
8 SecEd • May 14 2009
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