Under the extended schools agenda, all schools are expected to enhance their community provision and open up their sites to embrace a range of wider community initiatives. Nina Siddle explains how one school in East Yorkshire is developing an innovative garden area, and outlines the key role that school business managers can play in such initiatives read more
THE ADVENT OF ICT across the curriculum is beginning to place a whole range of new resource demands on schools that usually fall to the bursar/business manager to manage. read more
Ruth Bradbury explains why it is vital to create development plans for support staff in schools, and outlines a range of practical measures to make the process more manageable in your own school. read more
Judy Durrant and John Bartholomew of Canterbury Christ Church University describe developments that are leading to real and sustainable improvements in CPD and pupil’s learning. read more
Locally produced food is increasingly popular in schools and may become more important than going organic, writes Angela Youngman read more
Ross Midgley of the Crocus Early Years group offers some practical ideas for managing payments by voucher. read more
Anne Clarke explores the role of the headteacher and asks: ‘Is the notion of a headteacher an out-of-date concept?’ read more
Kris Lines takes the story of a girl who wanted to play mixed football after the age of 12, and explains its implications across the spectrum of school sport.
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New initiatives, including travel plans and school transport advisers, are being introduced. Managers ignore these at their peril, writes Ingrid Sutherland. read more
Schools are having to tighten up their record keeping after an Ofsted survey found confusion surrounding procedures for vetting staff. read more
Risk assessment and needs analysis are key areas of school security. Gill O'Donnell and Brin Best guide you though the systems that need to be in place to ensure that your school is prepared for all eventualities
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Dave Cotton, Force Crime Reduction Officer at West Midlands Police Force, looks at security risks and gives safety advice for schools, staff and pupils. read more
Advice and ideas for securing the school site and buildings, compiled by Dave Cotton, West Midlands Police Force and Nick Bason, Arson Prevention Bureau. read more
Half of all primary schools and a third of all secondary schools are due to be open from 8am to 6pm throughout the year by 2008 read more
The Foundation Stage induction process can be supported by existing staff in your setting, as demonstrated at Nottingham University's Day Nursery read more
Angela Youngman looks at a scheme in Norwich that is raising interest around the country and two other awards that encourage good hygiene and healthy eating. read more
Marketing a nursery is more than advertising and promotion. Marketing covers other activities, including the development of the nursery, market research and what prices should be charged. Whether your nursery is at the planning stage or is an existing business, you will still have to think about marketing. Joanne Taylor talks us through. read more
How much does food affect young children’s behaviour? Mary Whiting reveals some research-based facts and offers some tips
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Nathan Archer, from the children’s house consultancy, guides you through the regulations relating to managing any money that you have raised from outside sources, and reminds you of the legalities surrounding local fundraising. read more
We all have policies; we monitor them, we evaluate them and every year or so we review them. Lynn Cousins suggests a different approach. read more
If you have equipment which is fixed or too large to be put away, what can you do to prevent the threat of damage overnight? Police Sergeant Cotton of West Midlands Police has some advice for you to follow. read more
Schools should be at the centre of professional support for children and heads should champion change, argues Nick Johnson OBE. read more
Changing attitudes is fundamental to achieving full inclusion for disabled pupils, argues Liz Fitzpatrick. Here she discusses the right to equal opportunities for those with disabilities, set out in the Salamanca Statement, as well as how to go about achieving them
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Creating an effective school read more
Sue Moores, headteacher of a secondary school in the Isle of Man, compares the island’s educational system with that of England and concludes that she won’t be moving back here! read more
Headteacher Ian Bauckham attacks some common myths about faith schools and argues that their abolition would seriously reduce parental choice as well as being detrimental to the government’s commitment to raising standards.
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Deputy head Rob Bray considers how his responsibilities have changed over the years as the core function of deputy headship has developed from ‘management’ into ‘leadership’
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Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), suggests that heads – and those appointing them – should consider the myths they need to match. read more
Headteacher Carole Hawkins lays to rest the common perception that independent schools enjoy a privileged and problem-free position in today’s education market
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Healthy meals for children, pristine premises and lovely grounds are within the grasp of every school, argues headteacher Mark Barnett
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This month’s professional update summarises the requirements of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) for the public sector and outlines the steps that schools, colleges and local authorities will need to take to ensure that they comply with new legislative requirements
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In my own school, and I suspect in many others, each summer holiday sees the introduction of more and more ICT equipment. read more
I’ve been on maternity leave for over two months now, and although my hands are more than full most of the time with my beautiful baby daughter, I find myself occasionally considering what might be going on at work in my absence. read more
What are the legal implications of truancy?
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The cashless school will bring a dramatic range of benefits for students, parents and schools. read more
The Certificate of School Business Management is fast becoming an essential qualification for all school finance staff. But what is the course actually like from a delegate's perspective? SFM asked a recent delegate to share her views
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Charitable trusts give more than £350m to education annually. Louise Germaney looks at some of the biggest grant-giving foundations. read more
Gill O'Donnell provides practical advice on looking after these key staff and argues that a proactive approach to health and safety is needed to ensure that they are protected from injury. read more
Many communities are keen to know what is happening in local schools and the profile of your school can be raised and presented in a positive light by successful use of the media. This counters a great deal of the damage done to the public view of education by more generalised central reporting, where sensationalism is the main criterion for publishing/reporting. By Linda Trapnell read more
There is always room for enhancing the curriculum through the creation and development of special events in school that pull teachers, pupils, local businesses and the wider community together, writes Rosemary Cairns read more
Headteacher David Dixon considers the inequalities of the schools admissions system, including negative effects on social cohesion and the ability of some schools to raise achievement and attainment. read more
The BSF scheme relies on successful public-private partnerships. Sharon Jones and Rachel Williams look at how the local authority goes about putting these in place. read more
Amelia Wallington looks at what schools can do to counteract increasing appeals from parents.
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The Education Act 2005: an overview for school staff. read more
The new framework comes into effect this September. It will give schools more freedom — but this comes with tough new duties, says Mark Blois
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Headteachers working together in a National College for School Leadership (NCSL) research project have announced progress in overcoming differences in performance between departments within schools. read more
The security risks faced by schools are many and varied. This breadth of scope is mirrored by the numerous legal issues relating to security. Mark Blois from Browne Jacobson LLP offers an overview of some of the most important issues, followed by some advice on good practice. read more
Some time this term your school will be sent an email which will give a site reference and password for downloading the template of your school profile. read more
A report by Ofsted is largely enthusiastic about the success of a selection of full service extended schools. read more
The DfES has produced an extensive toolkit to support financial management in schools. read more