Primary Management - In the Money: Head's Top Tips
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(narrator) Have you ever wondered
how some schools
0002 10:00:02:15 10:00:05:23
manage to landscape their
playgrounds, build swimming pools
0003 10:00:05:23 10:00:08:04
and construct classrooms?
0004 10:00:15:18 10:00:18:05
Would you accept that? Would you?
0005 10:00:18:05 10:00:20:21
(narrator) Andrew Carter
from South Farnham School
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has got something of a reputation
for raising money.
0007 10:00:23:16 10:00:25:10
In his 13 years as head,
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he has raised an astonishing
£1.6 million for his school.
0009 10:00:30:10 10:00:33:14
But he knows it means
a lot of hard work.
0010 10:00:33:14 10:00:36:00
Or, of course,
there's the other alternative,
0011 10:00:36:00 10:00:39:14
expect to come in on Monday and open
an envelope with a cheque in it.
0012 10:00:39:14 10:00:42:11
If you believe in that,
you probably believe in fairies.
0013 10:00:44:07 10:00:46:17
(narrator) Mandy Gard
is balancing the books
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at Plumpton Primary in East Sussex
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and dealing with all the problems
of life in a rural school.
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Our problem, financially, is that
we have a falling school roll.
0017 10:00:55:16 10:00:58:24
Demographically, the number
of children in this area
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are getting fewer each year.
0019 10:01:00:17 10:01:03:01
And we're in competition
with other schools
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for children who are on the borders.
0021 10:01:07:04 10:01:10:19
(narrator) When Bryan Meyer arrived
at South Malling School in Lewes,
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there was a budget deficit
of £40,000.
0023 10:01:13:15 10:01:16:19
He turned the school around
in two years.
0024 10:01:16:19 10:01:22:03
Parents just feel that they want
the school to be a good school.
0025 10:01:22:03 10:01:25:21
And I think once they know
the school is running well
0026 10:01:25:21 10:01:28:18
and they can perceive it to be good,
0027 10:01:28:18 10:01:31:17
they don't need to ask the question
"How do you get there?"
0028 10:01:33:09 10:01:35:08
(narrator) At Silverdale
in Hastings,
0029 10:01:35:08 10:01:38:22
Head Phil Stephenson
has been nicknamed Arthur Daley
0030 10:01:38:22 10:01:42:08
for all the deals he does
on behalf of the school.
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We're not a soft target for people.
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People know
we'll drive a hard bargain.
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Generally we've found
businesses respond to that.
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(narrator) These head teachers
are going to share
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some of their top tips
for financial success,
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starting with Fill Your Classrooms.
0037 10:02:03:10 10:02:09:01
We want parents to bring their
children to Silverdale as a choice.
0038 10:02:09:01 10:02:11:15
I think the school markets itself,
0039 10:02:11:15 10:02:15:04
but as they do their tour of the
school, they're shown everything.
0040 10:02:15:04 10:02:18:04
I show them the school grounds,
the swimming pool,
0041 10:02:18:04 10:02:20:10
talk positively about
our achievements.
0042 10:02:20:10 10:02:22:13
From the point of view
of the school budget,
0043 10:02:22:13 10:02:24:10
that's the biggest single element -
0044 10:02:24:10 10:02:26:20
pupil numbers
is the biggest single element.
0045 10:02:26:20 10:02:31:23
So if our pupil numbers fall
significantly then our budget falls.
0046 10:02:33:06 10:02:37:06
So we managed to get a £5,000 grant
0047 10:02:37:06 10:02:40:20
and we spent that
on setting the nursery up.
0048 10:02:40:20 10:02:43:13
We visited other nurseries
so we knew what we wanted,
0049 10:02:43:13 10:02:45:00
how it would run.
0050 10:02:45:00 10:02:47:18
The very first year
the nursery was set up,
0051 10:02:47:18 10:02:52:06
we had a full reception class
booked into the school
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for the first time for a few years.
0053 10:02:54:15 10:02:59:01
So that was a big investment,
but, once again,
0054 10:02:59:01 10:03:04:00
we think it offered us
great value for money.
0055 10:03:05:08 10:03:09:24
If you have just one parent a year
who decides to come to your school
0056 10:03:09:24 10:03:12:14
because you've got
an after-school care facility,
0057 10:03:12:14 10:03:14:15
you've gained £2,500.
0058 10:03:14:15 10:03:16:12
It's very profitable.
0059 10:03:16:12 10:03:19:23
We formed a company, which is
called South Farnham Services Ltd,
0060 10:03:19:23 10:03:23:21
which is a limited liability
company, and that runs the club.
0061 10:03:23:21 10:03:26:14
We call it a club, it's
an after-school care facility.
0062 10:03:26:14 10:03:29:10
People come, they pay,
between 3:30 and 6:00.
0063 10:03:29:10 10:03:33:07
We run it in service days,
we have done some in holidays.
0064 10:03:33:07 10:03:35:06
We don't do breakfast clubs yet,
0065 10:03:35:06 10:03:38:02
but that's clearly a development
that could happen.
0066 10:03:41:03 10:03:45:09
You can either
look at the three estimates
0067 10:03:45:09 10:03:49:05
and think, "Well, times are hard."
0068 10:03:49:05 10:03:53:17
"Finances are under some strain,
so we'll go for the cheaper one."
0069 10:03:53:17 10:03:57:09
Or, you do what we do,
we might go for the cheaper one,
0070 10:03:57:09 10:04:00:21
but only if it's
through a company we know well,
0071 10:04:00:21 10:04:04:02
and have done work for us and the
work has proved to be of quality.
0072 10:04:04:02 10:04:06:07
I think the important word
is "quality".
0073 10:04:06:07 10:04:09:20
We do, if you like, put people
up against each other and say:
0074 10:04:09:20 10:04:13:06
"We've been offered such and such
a deal - can you match that?"
0075 10:04:13:06 10:04:17:14
Those savings on their own may
only amount to a few hundred pounds,
0076 10:04:17:14 10:04:22:01
but if you put all of those things
together, it's quite sizable sums.
0077 10:04:25:02 10:04:26:24
Jan and I work very closely
together.
0078 10:04:26:24 10:04:29:17
We not only set up
the budget together
0079 10:04:29:17 10:04:33:08
so we understand exactly where
each part of the budget comes from,
0080 10:04:33:08 10:04:35:10
we also monitor
the budget very closely
0081 10:04:35:10 10:04:38:03
so at any point in time
we know exactly where we are.
0082 10:04:38:03 10:04:39:18
When we first met, he said to me:
0083 10:04:39:18 10:04:43:00
"I'm very cavalier with money."
I said, "Well, I'm not."
0084 10:04:43:00 10:04:45:10
So that was quite a good
combination, I think.
0085 10:04:45:10 10:04:47:20
But, no, we do check each other
occasionally.
0086 10:04:47:20 10:04:51:09
But we do very much build
on each other's strengths.
0087 10:04:51:09 10:04:53:11
There used to be a secretary-bursar,
0088 10:04:53:11 10:04:56:10
but the person in that position
left a couple of years ago.
0089 10:04:56:10 10:04:59:13
We saw an opportunity
to actually develop that post,
0090 10:04:59:13 10:05:01:13
because it is a key position.
0091 10:05:01:13 10:05:04:01
I think it's worth
investing the money
0092 10:05:04:01 10:05:06:24
to have somebody
with the expertise to run that.
0093 10:05:06:24 10:05:10:05
Although it's expensive
in terms of my time,
0094 10:05:10:05 10:05:13:11
and I'm not a financial expert
anyway,
0095 10:05:13:11 10:05:15:14
it's certainly worth it
to us as a school.
0096 10:05:18:15 10:05:21:22
Best value? People.
You spend most on your teachers.
0097 10:05:21:22 10:05:25:13
Get the teachers right, that's the
best value absolutely every time.
0098 10:05:25:13 10:05:29:15
There's one thing you should do -
never, ever, ever
0099 10:05:29:15 10:05:31:20
rush over appointing teachers.
0100 10:05:33:05 10:05:36:16
This year we have
our second graduate teacher.
0101 10:05:36:16 10:05:39:09
We've been very lucky.
We had a very good one last year,
0102 10:05:39:09 10:05:42:21
we've got a very good one
again this year.
0103 10:05:42:21 10:05:48:09
The government pays the salary of
the graduate teacher for the year.
0104 10:05:48:09 10:05:50:02
So as far as I'm concerned,
0105 10:05:50:02 10:05:53:08
it's a great way of having
an extra person in the school
0106 10:05:53:08 10:05:57:02
who's got some expertise
and can help our children.
0107 10:05:58:12 10:06:01:23
(Andrew) If a teacher has less days
off because they're happy at work,
0108 10:06:01:23 10:06:03:13
then you're saving money.
0109 10:06:03:13 10:06:05:19
You don't do it to save money,
0110 10:06:05:19 10:06:09:18
but the results of caring
for your staff save you money.
0111 10:06:12:19 10:06:16:24
We try and be as creative as we can
by joining up with local schools.
0112 10:06:16:24 10:06:19:18
For example, sharing a bus
with the school down the road
0113 10:06:19:18 10:06:22:17
when we went to Worthing
to see a Shakespeare production
0114 10:06:22:17 10:06:25:04
meant that both schools
could afford to go.
0115 10:06:25:04 10:06:27:15
Whereas on our own -
we had a year group of 20 -
0116 10:06:27:15 10:06:29:12
we couldn't have afforded the coach.
0117 10:06:29:12 10:06:33:20
But putting 40 children on meant
that it was a feasible project.
0118 10:06:35:14 10:06:39:03
Network learning
is a key issue at the moment,
0119 10:06:39:03 10:06:42:00
and it's something
our LEA is very keen on.
0120 10:06:42:00 10:06:44:14
So if we can put in
projects together,
0121 10:06:44:14 10:06:46:14
then they like to fund those.
0122 10:06:49:15 10:06:53:19
It is the case that the major things
that have transformed this school
0123 10:06:53:19 10:06:56:15
have been funded by parents.
0124 10:06:56:15 10:07:01:24
Parents know that things like
shade for children
0125 10:07:01:24 10:07:03:24
- big project around that -
0126 10:07:03:24 10:07:09:08
computers in classes,
every class having a data projector,
0127 10:07:09:08 10:07:12:22
classes having
interactive whiteboards...
0128 10:07:12:22 10:07:15:01
These are things
we know realistically
0129 10:07:15:01 10:07:17:02
the school cannot afford.
0130 10:07:17:02 10:07:21:05
But our friends association have
always been hugely supportive,
0131 10:07:21:05 10:07:23:09
and that's where
we got that funding from.
0132 10:07:23:09 10:07:28:04
We decide what we're going to buy,
which range from very boring things
0133 10:07:28:04 10:07:30:22
like maths books, paper,
chairs et cetera,
0134 10:07:30:22 10:07:32:22
through to quite exciting things.
0135 10:07:32:22 10:07:35:19
Now we go to the parents association
and say:
0136 10:07:35:19 10:07:38:09
"What is the one
that appeals to you this year?"
0137 10:07:38:09 10:07:40:15
I've worked with PTAs a lot.
0138 10:07:40:15 10:07:42:18
Some are very keen on computers,
0139 10:07:42:18 10:07:46:03
then you find two years later
everybody's sick to death with them,
0140 10:07:46:03 10:07:48:04
they want to buy musical instruments
0141 10:07:48:04 10:07:52:02
or they may want artists
to come and work with the children.
0142 10:07:52:02 10:07:54:06
Whatever it is, they buy it.
0143 10:07:54:06 10:07:58:10
They buy it,
and therefore their money,
0144 10:07:58:10 10:08:02:15
we get the benefit of it
the following year.
0145 10:08:02:15 10:08:04:03
Because the following year,
0146 10:08:04:03 10:08:08:04
if they give us £20,000 of things
we were going to buy this year,
0147 10:08:08:04 10:08:12:11
the following year we have
a £20,000 surplus in our budget.
0148 10:08:12:11 10:08:16:09
Their efforts built the swimming
pool that's still here today.
0149 10:08:16:09 10:08:19:02
And I can't tell you
how many children
0150 10:08:19:02 10:08:21:09
must have learnt how to swim
in that pool.
0151 10:08:21:09 10:08:24:04
And when you live by the sea,
it's a life-saving skill.
0152 10:08:24:04 10:08:27:03
It's a very, very valuable asset
to our school.
0153 10:08:27:03 10:08:29:16
It's one that we use
in our marketing as well.
0154 10:08:32:17 10:08:37:11
We have many lettings in the school
after school, through the evenings.
0155 10:08:37:11 10:08:39:13
The school's used at weekends.
0156 10:08:39:13 10:08:42:00
We don't charge a huge amount
for those lettings,
0157 10:08:42:00 10:08:44:20
so that attracts customers.
0158 10:08:47:18 10:08:49:21
The benefits are huge to us
in doing that.
0159 10:08:49:21 10:08:51:18
Firstly, we get people in
from outside
0160 10:08:51:18 10:08:54:20
who wouldn't normally
have visited South Malling.
0161 10:08:54:20 10:08:56:22
They see the school for what it is,
0162 10:08:56:22 10:09:01:06
and they are on the whole
very impressed with what they see.
0163 10:09:01:06 10:09:04:00
So there's good PR
being established there.
0164 10:09:04:00 10:09:08:07
We've also got our own community
using it for keep-fit classes,
0165 10:09:08:07 10:09:12:01
martial arts, dancing.
All sorts of things go on.
0166 10:09:12:01 10:09:14:24
Hello! We're playing football.
0167 10:09:14:24 10:09:18:09
We make sure we cover our running
costs, and then we make a little.
0168 10:09:20:17 10:09:24:24
Most evenings there will be at least
one or two activities going on -
0169 10:09:24:24 10:09:28:11
the swimming pool being used
or the halls being used.
0170 10:09:28:11 10:09:30:11
So we do let the school out.
0171 10:09:30:11 10:09:33:20
It helps to bring the community
into the school.
0172 10:09:36:22 10:09:38:16
There isn't a lot in the village,
0173 10:09:38:16 10:09:42:12
there aren't any big businesses
or big shops that can sponsor us.
0174 10:09:42:12 10:09:45:08
So we have to try and be
as creative as we can.
0175 10:09:48:09 10:09:51:06
Plumpton College
is an agricultural college
0176 10:09:51:06 10:09:53:16
which is about two miles away
from here.
0177 10:09:53:16 10:09:58:16
We have a link because some of
our parents work at the college,
0178 10:09:58:16 10:10:02:04
and so we've been able
to ask their students
0179 10:10:02:04 10:10:06:14
for advice on our playground
and play area.
0180 10:10:06:14 10:10:09:22
They have also been involved
in actually coming in
0181 10:10:09:22 10:10:13:13
and building structures for
our children and things like that.
0182 10:10:13:13 10:10:16:08
Doesn't cost us anything.
We like that.
0183 10:10:17:17 10:10:19:07
When you go to your community,
0184 10:10:19:07 10:10:22:12
your local businesses, your parents,
the government, and say:
0185 10:10:22:12 10:10:26:02
"I wish to build an ICT suite",
if that's what you want to build,
0186 10:10:26:02 10:10:28:08
"here's the plan,
that's where we'll do it,"
0187 10:10:28:08 10:10:31:16
"we can do this, what can you do?",
you'll get an answer.
0188 10:10:31:16 10:10:34:23
If you go to any community,
any businessman, any government
0189 10:10:34:23 10:10:37:16
and say, "Give us £100,000"
and they say, "What for?",
0190 10:10:37:16 10:10:41:20
you say, "I haven't decided yet,"
the answer will always be no.
0191 10:10:44:21 10:10:47:10
We've got homework on it,
homework suggestions,
0192 10:10:47:10 10:10:50:19
links for parents
so that parents have to use it.
0193 10:10:50:19 10:10:53:10
All our letters go on it.
All that sort of stuff.
0194 10:10:53:10 10:10:57:13
We create a base of people that
are using it on a regular basis.
0195 10:10:57:13 10:11:01:24
Once you have the number of hits on
it - you have to put a counter on -
0196 10:11:01:24 10:11:04:16
you end up then with something
which is marketable,
0197 10:11:04:16 10:11:08:09
because people
always want to advertise
0198 10:11:08:09 10:11:11:11
on areas where people
are going on a regular basis.
0199 10:11:11:11 10:11:15:16
We've a link with an estate agency,
and the estate agency are very keen
0200 10:11:15:16 10:11:19:16
because our school is quite popular
and people want to find out
0201 10:11:19:16 10:11:22:02
where they should buy a house
and so on.
0202 10:11:22:02 10:11:24:16
They pay for the privilege
to be there.
0203 10:11:24:16 10:11:26:17
We see them as business partners.
0204 10:11:29:18 10:11:33:00
Some of them work in the city
0205 10:11:33:00 10:11:37:09
and have a very clear idea
about finance.
0206 10:11:38:06 10:11:41:00
Sometimes, when I'm a bit concerned
0207 10:11:41:00 10:11:45:17
about a piece of
proposed expenditure,
0208 10:11:46:20 10:11:49:17
and I'm thinking, "I'm not
really sure we can afford it,"
0209 10:11:49:17 10:11:52:10
one of them will do
a mental arithmetic calculation
0210 10:11:52:10 10:11:56:14
and say, "Well, you're talking about
0.3 of one per cent of your budget,
0211 10:11:56:14 10:11:58:24
so just do it."
0212 10:11:58:24 10:12:03:08
I think that sense of realism
is invaluable in a school.
0213 10:12:06:10 10:12:09:09
If the school's
not run well financially,
0214 10:12:09:09 10:12:11:19
the following will occur:
0215 10:12:14:21 10:12:17:24
lack of investment
in the right areas,
0216 10:12:18:24 10:12:22:14
curriculum initiatives stagnating,
0217 10:12:23:14 10:12:29:10
staff feeling a lack of development
and investment in the school -
0218 10:12:29:10 10:12:33:21
which could lead to
demoralised staff -
0219 10:12:33:21 10:12:36:17
governors feeling there's
no point in doing anything
0220 10:12:36:17 10:12:41:24
because there's nothing exciting
to be done left at the school,
0221 10:12:43:15 10:12:47:21
children feeling that they're now
back in a place that's drifting
0222 10:12:47:21 10:12:52:21
and becoming tired-looking
0223 10:12:52:21 10:12:55:04
and backward-looking.
0224 10:12:55:04 10:12:58:17
And I think when you have
all those elements coming together,
0225 10:12:58:17 10:13:03:18
you may end up with a school
that has falling standards.
0226 10:13:06:04 10:13:08:23
Everything in this school,
everything you look at,
0227 10:13:08:23 10:13:12:09
everything we do
has a financial implication.
0228 10:13:12:09 10:13:14:17
And it's us
working behind the scenes
0229 10:13:14:17 10:13:16:24
to ensure that the funds
are available.
0230 10:13:16:24 10:13:19:10
Of course, ultimately,
if you don't manage it,
0231 10:13:19:10 10:13:23:04
it isn't money you're not managing,
it's education you're not managing.
0232 10:13:26:24 10:13:30:21
We have money, and we only just have
enough to get through each year.
0233 10:13:30:21 10:13:34:20
So we need to make sure we handle
that resource really carefully,
0234 10:13:34:20 10:13:37:11
because that is the tool,
the power, the lever
0235 10:13:37:11 10:13:40:08
that brings in educational
opportunities for children.
0236 10:13:50:00 10:13:53:17
Visiontext subtitles
by Katherine Appleby
0237 10:13:53:17 10:13:55:17