Funding

Wider Family Learning – how to apply for funding

scameron — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:16:34 +0100

Local councils will have contacted schools at the beginning of May, since the deadline for applications is usually mid June. This e-bulletin edition of Extended Services Update looks at how to complete a typical application form. Despite the length of some WFL application forms, a section can often be completed with just one or two points, so schools shouldn’t feel daunted by the process. Some exemplar answer prompts and suggestions are provided below.

A sample Wider Family Learning application form

Benefiting from Children in Need funding

scameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:13:52 +0000

In 2006 the BBC Children in Need Appeal raised over £33m and, as a result of the way in which the charity is constituted, every penny donated to the charity went directly towards projects helping disadvantaged children in the UK, thereby supporting thousands of youngsters aged 18 and under.

Will BSF build schools fit for the future?

scameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:34:08 +0000

Approaches to learning and teaching are continually evolving. Blackboards and chalk have been replaced with interactive whiteboards, laptops and other personal devices accessing intranet learning platforms. Government initiatives such as Building Schools for the Future (BSF) are helping to ensure that schools are equally modern and up to scratch. But with change moving at such a pace, how can schools be confident that the approaches taken now will still be applicable in years to come?

Preparing financially for the Olympic build-up

scameron — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:18:39 +0000

With the handover of the Olympic flag in Beijing, Britain now becomes the focus of sporting attention for the next four years in the run-up to London 2012. So what exactly does this mean for your school and individual pupils, and what additional funding might be available to promote sport more widely in your school as a result of the Olympics?

Gifted and talented centres: leading the way

scameron — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:07:36 +0000

Yorkshire and Humber was the first region to select schools as ‘gifted and talented centres’ last term. This is the latest initiative designed to strengthen and enhance the work of regional partnerships, acknowledge outstanding practice and facilitate the sharing of expertise.

The selection process in Yorkshire and Humber consisted of two stages:

Using PFI to build at your school

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:20:38 +0000

Anyone who works in schools and colleges will know that much of the country’s infrastructure of education sector buildings is dilapidated after long-term public sector under-investment. Yet the education sector is also the subject of various ambitious improvement schemes, many of them derived from the Every Child Matters agenda.

With a growing awareness that there is a correlation between children’s welfare, academic progress and the school environment, the need for wholesale revitalisation of school buildings has become a priority.

A new fund to increase choice and diversity of provision

scameron — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:41:49 +0000

In June 2007, SFM described the Targeted Capital Fund (TCF), a budget held by the DCSF to which schools could bid. The fund was initiated to provide sums of money for schools working together to develop joint facilities (buildings and IT) and to enhance collaborative activity, consisting of both hard and soft federations of schools working on a joint project. Other groups that could apply were schools in a joint trust and Fresh Start schools. The bidding procedure was very straightforward and sums of up to half a million pounds were available.

SEN delegated funding vs. statements

scameron — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:52:09 +0000

The law on assessment and statementing has changed very little since 1981. Local authorities (LAs) should identify, assess and, where necessary, provide statements for pupils with the most severe learning difficulties.

The theory

A day in the life of an extended schools manager

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:21:01 +0100

Role

Assessment and funding of SEN provision: breaking the link

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:59 +0100

In 2006, the House of Commons Select Committee recommended that ‘the link must be broken between assessment and funding of provision’, having concluded that ‘there is an inbuilt conflict of interest in that it is the duty of the local authority both to assess the needs of the child and to arrange provision to meet those needs, and all within a limited resource.’1 The Committee had reached this view after hearing evidence, mainly from parents’ organisations, that professional reports and statements often prescribed provision on the basis of cost rather than chil

Making music with SEN pupils

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:59 +0100

Are we experiencing something of a musical renaissance in our schools? According to the government, yes! And there are some impressive spending figures to support this view. Twenty years ago the introduction of the Education Reform Act led to instrumental lessons and group musical activities being labelled ‘non-essential’. With the delegation of funding under LMS (local management of schools) schools could choose to buy back these services or spend the money elsewhere.

Planning and funding environmental improvements to your school grounds

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:53 +0100

There had been a growing interest in recent years in the role of environmental education and the importance of encouraging young people to be aware of their role in sustaining their local environment. Linked with this has been the need to encourage children to make the most of outdoor spaces for play and learning. Since 1990 the charity Learning Through Landscapes has been campaigning on behalf of children to improve school grounds.

The Children's Plan: key points for early years

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:52 +0100

The Children’s Plan sets out the government’s strategy for improving the wellbeing, health and opportunities available to children and young people in England.

Funding for music in school

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:51 +0100

Youth Music is a UK-wide charity set up in 1999 to provide high-quality and diverse music-making opportunities for 0- to 18-year-olds. Its focus is on young people living in areas of social and economic need who might otherwise lack opportunity. It has three specific roles: a funder, development agency and advocate.

Its aim is to establish a music-making legacy that fulfils the following objectives:

The Primary Capital Programme

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:50 +0100

This article was published in December 2007

Clapped out old terrapin huts, tiny school halls of little use to a class of 30 let alone a school of 400 and classrooms erected sometime between the Norman conquest and the accession of Queen Victoria. All these could soon be a thing of the past as run-down primary schools all over the country are set for a major facilities revamp.

Building Schools for the Future: Involvement for governors

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:49 +0100

Governors, the oft-repeated mantra goes, play a pivotal role in the ‘strategic management’ of schools in England and Wales.

Developing medium term financial plans

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:46 +0100

Over the past few years, the government has been keen to help schools improve their medium term financial planning. It is proposing to provide more stability in school funding and to align the funding and academic years for schools. In return, schools should be developing 3-5 year strategic financial plans.

Community learning in action

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:42 +0100

Mitchell High School

Building Schools for the Future: the ICT outsourcing route

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:41 +0100

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative is set to transform the education sector by rebuilding or refurbishing all secondary schools and half of all primary schools across England by 2020. It aims to ensure that school students are educated in a 21st century learning environment – an inspirational environment that teachers will be proud to teach in and students will be eager to learn in.

Creative collaboration in fundraising

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:33 +0100

As school leaders we are often placed in a dilemma as to whether an additional source of funding allows us to carry out a genuinely worthwhile project. For example, many school managers have received grants for reasonably large amounts, often through Pathfinder projects, announced this to staff and then realised that the funds are so tightly directed that there is no additional revenue to pursue any other objectives.

How to keep G&T provision at the top of your school's agenda

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:27 +0100

The role of G&T coordinator may change hands regularly: it is often added on to another, wider job specification, or it can be act as a springboard to further promotion. Consistency and continuity is sometimes hard to foster and while new, one-off initiatives are valuable and enjoyed by able pupils, it is regular opportunities and effective systems that make a school justifiably proud of its efforts to genuinely stretch, challenge and support the gifted and talented.

Reaping the benefits of going global

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:27 +0100

The students in our schools are living in exciting times. The world they will live and work in is shrinking almost daily – at least in a metaphorical sense! The big issues that concern them are global, whether it is the impact of tension in other parts of the world on where they live or the latest discussion about global warming.

Welsh education reaches a new milestone

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:26 +0100

School funding
The principal concern governors in Wales have remains the level of school funding. Unlike in England, almost all the funding schools receive comes through the LEA, and the amount is still largely at the discretion of the LEA.

Budgeting for development

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:25 +0100

Since the advent of school development planning, there has been an increasing emphasis on realistic plans, which are costed and feed into the school’s budgeting process. This is an aspect that is emphasised within the Ofsted process, and is a requirement of the new Financial Management Toolkit, yet the exact mechanism is poorly defined. Do you recognise any of these scenarios?

Laying plans for better music provision

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:12 +0100

The Music Manifesto was set up by the government in 2004 when prominent individuals in the music industry and education were brought together to generate ideas for promoting music education.

The impact of extended schools on G&T students

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:12 +0100

We have a long-standing tradition of wide-ranging extra-curricular activities that provide pupils with a wealth of new experiences, challenges and opportunities to develop and demonstrate new talents. This is especially true of G&T pupils who thrive on the additional opportunities and are frequently, as in most schools, the first to sign up for after school activities.

What every school business manager needs to know

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:10 +0100

The role of the school business/ finance manager is a hugely complex and responsible one but – until recently at least – there has been little acknowledgement of the demands of the post, or any framework or guidance to help newly or recently appointed individuals.

Community learning environments: a business manager's perspective

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:09 +0100

As a school situated in a socially deprived area, with students unable to experience wider opportunities, Withernsea Junior School is continually looking for new ways to enrich and promote the enjoyment of its students’ education. More recently, as the extended schools agenda has gathered pace, we have also considered what we might offer to our community.

More encouragement for extended schools

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:05 +0100

Planning and funding extended schools, follows on from the prospectus, Access to services and opportunities for all, issued in June last year.

Appropriate and affordable childcare for all

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:57 +0100

Changes to working patterns and family life have affected the way that we raise our children. Research has shown us that children’s life chances are affected by their early experiences. With these two factors in mind, this government has placed a great emphasis on the early years agenda, introducing policies and systems designed to improve the availability of childcare and early education opportunities. Equal Access?

Providing choice in good faith

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:52 +0100

The white paper predecessor to the new Education and Inspections Bill was launched by the prime minister as a measure that focused on giving parents a stronger say in the way the education system is run. Of course, such a sentiment is nothing new. Writing about a contemporary debate over schools of religious character exactly a century ago, the writer Hilaire Belloc is recorded as saying:

The challenges facing independent schools

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:51 +0100

There is a perception in some areas of the press – and indeed the wider public – that independent schools are wealthy institutions, with acres of land and massive assets which radiate elitism of a type it is popular to mock. As such, they should be viewed with suspicion and possibly envy.

Focus on charitable trusts

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:46 +0100

THERE ARE SEVERAL thousand grant-giving trusts and foundations in the UK. This article will highlight some of the charitable trusts that set up to distribute grants to educational projects across the UK. I will look at some of the current priorities within a number of large national trusts, and will consider what types of educational projects have recently been supported.

Statistics on the UK trust sector

Building schools for the future: how the programme works

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:35 +0100

BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE (BSF) is the Government's strategic programme for capital investment in our secondary schools, which is being rolled out by the Department for Education and Skills. The programme was launched in February 2004.

BSF aims to create state-of-the-art schools with new facilities to improve the educational experience of every child in the country.

MAJOR CHANGES TO EDUCATION

Increased funding two years from Feb 2006

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:23 +0100

The government will continue closing the historic gap between primary and secondary funding by guaranteeing a 4% per pupil rise for primary schools. The DfES has acknowledged particularly that primary schools need additional funds to implement the costs of the final stage of workforce reform. For 2007-08 both sectors have been promised a minimum increase of 3.7%.

PFI: preferring not to be unique

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:19 +0100

It has never been easy working in a post-16 consortium, but it has always been to the advantage of our post-16 students. For many years the three schools in Worksop, North Nottinghamshire have worked together to provide, primarily level 3, A-level courses to the town. Two of the three schools had small sixth forms that on their own would have been unviable. Cooperation meant that all the schools were able to be retained as ‘11-18’ comprehensives.

The PFI roller coaster

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:18 +0100

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a long and tortuous procurement process for new or refurbished schools. There are numerous articles and books on the topic, including the very informative Secondary Heads’ Association (SHA) booklet Managing A PFI Project by Malcolm Noble and Malcolm Trobe. However, although they describe the theory and formal processes involved, they don’t prepare you for the reality of the activity.

PFI: not if, but when!

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:18 +0100

In last month’s Secondary Headship, I described the five-year process that took the the ‘Bassetlaw Vision’ from an idea for ‘regeneration through education’ to a set of drawings on paper from bidders and their architects. The next part of the PFI process starts with the award of a title to the ‘winning’ competitor consortium, which becomes known as ‘preferred bidder’ or ‘PB’ to those in the know.

Making the most of MIS

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:14 +0100

I once met a primary school secretary who had two chairs in her room – nothing unusual about that, of course. One was an ordinary office chair pulled up to the desk at which she added up registers, counted money and sorted through sticking plasters – all the things that school secretaries have traditionally done. The other chair was one of those revolving jobs that typists sit on and it faced a metal table, off to the side, bearing a computer. She called the typist’s chair ‘my computer chair’.