Partnerships
School business manager Clare Skinner
I make a point of checking for grant opportunities every week. When I identify anything my school is eligible for, I email the relevant head of department or faculty leader with the details. I explain that I can complete the admin section and I highlight which section they would need to complete. We sometimes chat through the application criteria and the projects they have in mind, in case they are not sure what to write. When the application is ready, I ask the
headteacher to sign off on it before I submit it. I monitor the progress of our application and, if successful, I look out for the money landing in the bank. As soon as it does, I advise the relevant colleague and they start the project. Here are some successes from both my
current and previous secondary schools: n Working with students, the curriculum deputy head and the SEN team: We obtained a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery to develop a smallholding on the school grounds. This was to offer a vocational qualification to students less academically able than others and to support behaviour management in the school. The funding was used to fence in the area safely, buy houses and hutches for animals and to maintain the smallholding for the first year, while the school built the ongoing costs into the budget n Working with a member of the maths department: We were granted £456 from the Institute of Mathematics to fund participation in the UKMT primary school challenge for Year 5 pupils. The funding was used to purchase the resources, rewards, certificates and refreshments for the event. Our sixth form students used the event as an opportunity to take on a
leadership role for 36 pupils from some of our feeder schools (who would eventually attend KNGS). We didn’t have the funds to run it from school budgets, so the grant meant we could add extra value to our students and those at other local settings, boosting our reputation in the local community n Working with the head of music: We were awarded a grant of £720 by Universal Music UK to purchase an electric guitar and fusion drum kit for the school. The equipment was not affordable within the school budget, but it has enhanced the music department resources and increased access to different musical instruments for our students n Working with our catering company: We wanted to replace a roof over the main school kitchen as it was leaking badly. There was asbestos in the ceiling void, which was at risk of
being disturbed due to the leaks. We had all of the technical information and evidence required for a CIF bid to the ESFA and I then approached our catering consultancy company to support the bid. Their letter was included in the bid, highlighting the impact of the leaking roof on catering and the potential impact on the provision of catering to students. We received just over £188,000 and replaced the roof over an area of the school including the kitchen.
‘We obtained a grant of £10,000 to develop a smallholding on the school grounds’
FundEd SPRING 2024 23
IMAGES: PONOMARIOVA_MARIA; JEMASTOCK; VICTOR METELSKIY/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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