BESA


The body representing school suppliers in the UK recent


held its annual Secondary Focus Groups to glean the sector’s views and concerns. Ray Barker reports


T


HIS YEAR in particular, the findings of the Secondary Focus Group hosted by the British Educational Suppliers Association have given us an interesting picture of teachers’ opinions in these changing times. The aim of the study was to


consider the impact of changes to secondary schools over the first year of the coalition government. The previous focus group in 2010 took place just a few days after the election and therefore the changes noted were quite marked. The first and possibly most unexpected finding was


the surprising optimism around funding. Secondary schools felt that they are assured of how they are to be funded. While, to a certain extent this was dependent on data provided by the schools themselves related to funding streams such as the Pupil Premium and national funding formula, it meant that they were now able to calculate what they were going to receive so some planning could be undertaken. It was the schools who had already converted to


academy status who felt the most assured of their funding because it now came directly from the Department for Education (DfE), without their local authority taking an amount for mandatory services. The focus group felt they were in a stronger


position than primary schools if they chose to opt out of local authority control. The view was that many primary schools could not afford to opt out of their local authority’s services because they were not in a position to provide these external services themselves.


Moral support: TSN New year, new debt?


As the cost of ‘back to school’ is revealed once


again, Julian Stanley asks if teachers are also feeling the financial strain at this time of year


IT IS September, which means two things: a new school year and the annual debate on how much going “back to school” costs. A new study by the charity Family Action has revealed that for some families the basic costs of preparing for the start of term accounted for up to 40 per cent of their monthly income. The charity’s grant department receives requests


from disadvantaged families to help with the cost of uniforms, which the study reveals could account for up to two-fifths of a family’s income in August. Yet, is it just families who feel the financial


pressure at this time of year? What about teachers? With the recession, budget cuts and changes to public sector pensions being the focus of many headlines, is money another of the many concerns facing the profession as they head back to the classroom? Even a cursory glance of Teacher Support


Network’s service use statistics would suggest that this time of year is difficult for teachers too. While for most months of the year, work and career are the primary issues for callers to the charity, in August, calls relating to money and finance far out-number calls on other issues. Last month, money and finance were the primary


issues for 37.5 per cent of calls, compared to the next most common topic: work and career, which made up just 21 per cent. In July, these figures were almost inverted with 34.7 per cent of callers stating work and career as their primary issues for calling,


compared to 27.8 per cent looking for money or financial advice. Likewise in 2010, money and finance were the top issues in August, while work and career were top for most other months of the year. The actions taken on these calls over this period


also suggest that money is tight for some teachers. Last month, the majority of callers (27.5 per cent) were directed to our grant services, compared to the previous month where most callers (31.6 per cent) were coached. What these statistics don’t tell us, however, is


why teachers seem to need extra support before they head back to school. A study of the reasons why teachers apply for grants may help us to understand. Of the emergency grants that we issued last


month, most were given out as priority payments for rent, mortgage or utility payments. Other reasons included repairs, essential expenses and even bankruptcy fees. We also know from the letters, emails and calls


that we receive from the people that we have helped that these payments are a lifeline for those usually facing challenging, and often tragic, circumstances, but emergency payments are not the solution. The important thing is that teachers know what to


do when they find themselves in financial difficulty. Here are some golden rules to help you manage your debt: • Stop borrowing – don’t try to ignore debts. Get in touch with your creditors straight away and explain your difficulties.


• Tackle priority debts first – i.e. rent, mortgage etc. • Work out reasonable offers to pay creditors. • Always keep copies of letters you send and receive, as well as any financial statements.


• Know your rights. To help you, Teacher Support Network has a


launched a brand new money factsheet dedicated to advice on budgeting and debt management, and continues to offer money advice through its support lines.


• Julian Stanley is chief executive of the Teacher Support Network. Visit www.teachersupport.info or call 08000 562 561 (England), 08000 855088 (Wales). Moral support returns in two weeks.


As we will come to later, this was seen as a business opportunity for secondary schools. And it was academy status that was the dominant


issue throughout the focus groups. Some schools had already converted, while others were still weighing up the advantages and disadvantages. A few in the group spoke of schools in their area who felt they could not afford to make the move to academy status. It was the “satisfactory” schools who saw a problem if


they did not opt out of local authority control. Their view was that if the majority of schools moved away from local authority control, the authority’s funding stream would reduce dramatically and therefore local authorities would no longer have the ability to support other schools. However, the schools’ view was that academy status


supported their budget because they had the freedom to restructure more easily and as they saw fit for their particular situation. They noted that overstaffing had


always been a problem as it placed a huge strain on their budgets. Having the autonomy to employ the correct number of staff with the skills needed for the school’s specific requirements brought significant funding efficiencies. Similarly, schools who had adopted academy status


were no longer restricted by the local authority’s rules and regulations and were now able to use different models for services such as leasing, out-sourcing, and even being a test centre for resources. Schools felt that the local authorities had “done


themselves no favours” over their handling of academy status. The confident ones who know they offer a good quality of services had been in favour of all their schools becoming academies as this would at least give them a role in bought-back services but others were concerned for their future. As touched on previously, secondary schools saw


Book reviews


Brilliant Secondary School Teacher: What you need to know to be a truly outstanding teacher By David Torn and Peter Bennett Publisher: Pearson Price: £12.99 ISBN: 978-0-273-73564-9 Visit: www.pearson-books.com


SecEd columnist David Torn and his colleague Peter Bennett encourage teachers to excel in the classroom in this handbook. The advice aims to help teachers build a rapport with students, manage challenging behaviour and focus on future steps in their career, among many other areas. The book includes chapters on what makes an outstanding teacher,


the role of the form tutor, and how best to manage yourself and others. Both authors have considerable experience in the business. As well


as being an established SecEd columnist, David Torn has more than 14 years’ experience as a secondary school teacher and is currently an advanced skills teacher and professional tutor at St Edward’s School in Havering. Peter Bennett has worked in secondary schools for more than 27


years, during that time he has taught nine different subjects and is currently assistant headteacher at St Edward’s School in Havering.


At the Chalkface: Great Moments in Education By Ian Whitwham Publisher: SecEd / Hopscotch Books Price: £9.99 ISBN: 978-1-90539-099-1 Visit: www.hopscotchbooks.com


Another popular SecEd columnist is former inner city school teacher Ian Whitwham, whose often humourous and often poignant musings on education have been a must-read part of SecEd since we launched way back in 2003. Ian’s At The Chalkface column (see page 16 for his latest offering) has proved


so popular that SecEd has produced a compilation of his best, most funny and most poignant writings. The book is a perfect tonic for those tough Monday afternoons and will provide moral support for teachers


across the land.


Bad Education: The Guardian Columns By Phil Beadle Publisher: Crown House Publishing Price: £12.99 ISBN: 978-184590683-2 Visit: www.crownhousepublishing.com


After seven years of writing on a weekly basis in The Guardian, former teacher and Teaching Award winner Phil Beadle has released a collection of his articles, bringing a critical eye to educational matters. Topics in the book include education secretary Michael Gove, naturally, as well as Ofsted, ICT, the attack on political correctness, and even chewing gum.


A year on...


the move away from local authority control as a business opportunity, bringing the freedom to act more entrepreneurially. As funding for certain areas disappears, including extended services, schools were considering a number of commercial opportunities, such as setting up a school company to rent out their sports hall and offering after-school clubs. The majority of these services would be offered


to other schools with fewer resources or expertise, particularly primary schools. Secondary schools felt that the primary schools were looking to secondary schools for help. However, it is interesting to note that in the


equivalent primary school focus groups, delegates stated that while they valued the support offered, they felt that this was an attempt by secondaries to try and control the smaller primaries in their region and to take funds from them. Whatever the feelings, difficult economic times


made this collaboration between schools necessary. Sharing resources, collective buying and ensuring that a wider curriculum could be offered were just a few of the reasons that supported primary and secondary collaboration. Schools also recognised that their need to operate as a


business was increasingly prevalent. They had to market themselves as the best school in the area to remain an attractive proposition to parents and students. A fully subscribed school was seen as vital. Of course the quality of teaching, range of courses offered and results were vital to achieve this, but it was recognised that refurbishment played an important part in their reputation. Up to 80 per cent cuts in capital funding meant that


this objective was a problem for many with one school stating that they were now £400,000 worse off. Areas where schools still felt clarity was required


included assessment and how they were to be measured in light of the new curriculum and English Baccalaureate. Fear came from the massive destabilisation of a


system “that had worked” due to the recent and sudden changes. The EBacc was going to be a major focus in changing both the future curriculum offered in schools and the assessment of this. Headteachers were having to move from managing


their school’s budgets to managing their own “business”. A steep transformation has happened in a very short time and while many of the changes were welcomed, concerns are inevitable.


SecEd


• Ray Barker is the director of the British Educational Suppliers Association. Visit www.besa.org.uk


14


SecEd • September 15 2011


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