is awarded by HM Treasury. At the moment we don’t believe there is sufficient funding to meet the needs of all pupils. So ASCL, along with many other sector organisations, is working with the DfE to build evidence to support the case for more money in education.
Making best use of the money Your curriculum will always be at the heart of the school’s strategic financial plan. With so many schools having to find increasingly innovative ways of stretching their budgets to meet the needs of their pupils it can be helpful to take a step back and focus on a few key questions that will inform your strategy discussions and build financial resilience: n What does the curriculum that we must deliver look like?
CASE STUDY: COMMUNITY SUPPORT
‘We have a very creative curriculum with a distinct learning journey based on visiting different “lands”. We are also a Forest School and our rich, diverse curriculum is served via a variety of trips, enrichment opportunities and visitors to the school. However, recently we have had to work
much harder to find the money to maintain what we do, and in 2017-2018 we endeavoured to close the gap on a £20,000 deficit. Measures included a reduction in leadership time and I took on the role of SENDCo to reduce costs. We also requested donations from parents. The support of our local community is
invaluable. Our school has a dedicated Community Partnership Group, which exchanges knowledge and skills to enrich learning and simultaneously benefit the community. Exploring new income streams – especially grant opportunities – has also become a central focus for the group. We also have a supportive, effective
Resources Governing Body Committee, and our School Business Manager is very good at strategically managing the budget. And we have a dedicated Fundraising Governor and Grants Team committed to pursuing grants and networking opportunities. Finally, we are lucky to have an extremely proactive and passionate PTA, which last year raised £17,000!’ Sarah Palmer, Head, Camelsdale Primary School, Haslemere, Surrey (219 pupils)
18 AUTUMN 2018 FundEd
‘There is no one model for an outstanding curriculum because a school’s context matters’
n What does the curriculum that we want to deliver look like? n What does the curriculum that we can afford look like? The answers to these three
questions will be determined by the number of pupils in your school and their characteristics, so being able to make confident and realistic pupil number projections, as well as considering the needs of the local community, are key elements in successful financial planning. Constructive strategic planning
discussions will generate multiple scenarios, so it makes sense to test each one against a simple set of requirements. For each option, consider how well it would deliver: n An affordable and sustainable curriculum – in other words, how many teachers would you need? n Sufficient and necessary whole school staff and resources – this would include support staff, learning support, administrative and finance staff, cleaning and catering, as well as IT hardware and software, and curriculum resources such as text books and schemes of work. n Safe and well-maintained buildings.
What shape is your curriculum? Your curriculum is the learning you want to put before your pupils and the story you want to tell everyone about your school. It represents the totality of a pupil’s daily experience – lessons, events and routines beyond and outside the typical school day. The school curriculum is different to the national curriculum and there is no one model for an outstanding curriculum because a school’s context matters. Principled curriculum leadership
means designing and having pride and confidence in a curriculum designed to meet pupils’ needs and aspirations rather than performance measures. It also means ensuring the curriculum is not narrow for any key stage group of pupils and that, where possible, the quality of curriculum delivery is the same
for all groups of pupils. Most importantly, it is about a vision for the curriculum that goes beyond the need for accountability; being able to recognise that the curriculum is not synonymous with qualifications or test syllabi. A school’s senior leaders should
ask themselves: ‘What – and who – is our curriculum for? What is distinctive about our curriculum for our context? How is our curriculum helping to deliver social justice? And where in my curriculum are our principles exemplified?’.
Designing a curriculum When designing a curriculum there are a number of key factors to consider: How can I best support disadvantaged pupils? How can I ensure all pupils have the best chance to be successful in their lives? And how do I ensure my school performs at its best? However, all these points must be viewed through the lens of realistic budgetary constraints, recruitment and retention of teachers and the latest accountability measures. The curriculum is the vehicle
through which you will provide the personal, social and academic outcomes and educational experiences that you want for
IMAGES: STUDIOBARCELONA; MICROVONE; ONYXPRJ; IRINA_STRELNIKOVA/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
