Springtime- a new financial year and, eyes gleaming, I can’t wait to get my hands on the budget. Not only do we have next year’s spending to plan for, but there is also a reasonable carry forward to allocate to priority projects- new lap tops, lathes and a white board or two. It’s just like Christmas- but in May. Money drives all initiatives. This is how we make things happen.
Also, we’ve been carrying devolved capital for a couple of years to pay for some smart building projects which will total nearly £750K. So we’ll have new Photography, Media and Dining facilities in the autumn if all goes to plan. It’s a remarkable bang for our buck. And we have a dozen or more administrative changes to make where staff are changing roles, increasing or decreasing hours or filling entirely new posts.
There are complex decisions around each of these issues. To make everything happen, we need to have our Finance Team both physically available and mentally switched on to what we’re trying to achieve. They are ten seconds walk away from my Office and one of the four is always available unless they are on bursar training. I’m in and out of Finance, sometimes hourly.
Financial and strategic decisions are rarely separate. They are also sometimes pretty personal to the school, about staff pay and grades- not the sort of thing you want to discuss with a stranger. So when I was asked recently to think about the benefits of ‘outsourcing’- letting a private company do the work for us, I couldn’t think of any.
Whilst I have no problem, for example, with payroll running the salary cheques each month or the bank holding our accounts, I want to be in control of the decisions. These outsourcing companies do what we tell them because their remit is limited. I would never let my bank manager make decisions for me.
The South Dartmoor Finance Team are totally focussed on the project- our school. Three of them were in our Sixth Form! They are involved in everything we do- a constant source of advice, a check against error and part of the human face of South Dartmoor. But they can also be scarier than any auditor- and they have a direct line to the Chair of Governors who drops in each week. Dare anyone send a non-order invoice? Try using your credit card to buy something at the last minute and see the reaction.
Achieving value for money? It’s in their DNA. A Subject Leader has just been told that Finance can negotiate a 30% reduction on a large text book order, saving us £700. As for cheap rail deals, they could compete with any travel agents. Value added is not just about exam results. This is our money, our school, our students and it matters to us all.
We run our own catering and cleaning operations and have an expert ICT team. All the staff are our employees with a commitment to our values and aspirations. So, for example, our ICT technicians know how to grow our system and respond to site specific problems. Imagine if they were outsourced, the frustration in having to ring a help desk and be put on hold for twenty minutes.
The Finance Team cost just 1.14% of the total budget. To provide the same level of service, a private company would have to lease its employees to us. So could they do that and still make a profit? I can see them eyeing up that carry forward and funding for buildings. It would be Christmas in the spring- but we might find our stockings would be empty.
Footnote:
South Dartmoor Community College has 1650 students on roll, 250 employees (120 teachers) and an annual budget income of £8.02 million.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Deep Signing
‘My response to anyone bringing alcohol onto this site will make any Islamic regime look soft!’ A pause to let the implications sink in. I think Year11 have got the message. As always, we want their last routine day of teaching, that great rite of passage, before the exams blast away the timetable, to be special but also comfortable for everyone.
Our great tradition, a folklore ceremony you’d imagine goes back centuries, is the Signing of the Shirts. I spell out the rules of this game with military precision. First, like Christmas present opening, nothing must happen until the declared hour when lunch begins. Second the entire year group are shepherded to the Sports Hall away from gatecrashers. It’s a party after all.
Felt tips are produced and away they go. It’s simplicity itself. And the remarkable thing is how long it takes and how totally absorbed everyone is. The happy hour is filled with scribbled good wishes that cover every inch of shirts and fill the Year Books. No one is bored or wanting to leave. Staff drop in to add their much coveted signatures and cameras click throughout. Even though it’s a blazing hot sunny day and the doors are open to the seating area outside, few choose to go there. The Sports Hall is where the action is.
If only learning could be so focussed! Guy Claxton could use this to write a lecture demonstrating his principles of ‘resilience and reciprocity’ in action. Hargreaves, architect of ‘Deep Learning’ (seven whole days of that here next year) could feature ‘Deep Signing’ in his next pamphlet.
‘Uniform is a symbol of your pride in your school and aspiration to achieve,’ I’ve told them often. But by the end of the afternoon, they resemble mobile wall graffiti. A passing Martian might wonder what anarchy five years of secondary education has taught them. One of the bus drivers gives me a sorrowful look that suggests I’ve either lost control or gone mad. There’s no telling what the public must think.
As they’ve been such a great group of youngsters, I try to analyse the process. Why does it matter so much to them? Attendance figures on this day are the highest in the year. One absentee - playing professional football already - sends in his shirt to be signed and I watch the care with which the autographs are collected.
Over three quarters stay on in our sixth form so the reality is that most are not actually leaving. But the year group itself is about to fragment, decisive personal choices are being made for the first time in their lives and the comfort zone of compulsory education with guided options is now over. Uniform symbolises the past. Tomorrow they transmogrify into sixth formers-in-waiting with personal freedoms about many things, including what to wear.
So the signature trophy hunting, far from an act of desecration, is actually a way of binding memories, fixing their lives in a moment to be remembered. The hugs, tears and fears are all part of the process: sadness and joy in equal measure.
Well, that’s my story- but I doubt if that bus driver would agree, or even know what I’m talking about. Oh, and the day was incident free, so I didn’t invoke the Islamic option.
Our great tradition, a folklore ceremony you’d imagine goes back centuries, is the Signing of the Shirts. I spell out the rules of this game with military precision. First, like Christmas present opening, nothing must happen until the declared hour when lunch begins. Second the entire year group are shepherded to the Sports Hall away from gatecrashers. It’s a party after all.
Felt tips are produced and away they go. It’s simplicity itself. And the remarkable thing is how long it takes and how totally absorbed everyone is. The happy hour is filled with scribbled good wishes that cover every inch of shirts and fill the Year Books. No one is bored or wanting to leave. Staff drop in to add their much coveted signatures and cameras click throughout. Even though it’s a blazing hot sunny day and the doors are open to the seating area outside, few choose to go there. The Sports Hall is where the action is.
If only learning could be so focussed! Guy Claxton could use this to write a lecture demonstrating his principles of ‘resilience and reciprocity’ in action. Hargreaves, architect of ‘Deep Learning’ (seven whole days of that here next year) could feature ‘Deep Signing’ in his next pamphlet.
‘Uniform is a symbol of your pride in your school and aspiration to achieve,’ I’ve told them often. But by the end of the afternoon, they resemble mobile wall graffiti. A passing Martian might wonder what anarchy five years of secondary education has taught them. One of the bus drivers gives me a sorrowful look that suggests I’ve either lost control or gone mad. There’s no telling what the public must think.
As they’ve been such a great group of youngsters, I try to analyse the process. Why does it matter so much to them? Attendance figures on this day are the highest in the year. One absentee - playing professional football already - sends in his shirt to be signed and I watch the care with which the autographs are collected.
Over three quarters stay on in our sixth form so the reality is that most are not actually leaving. But the year group itself is about to fragment, decisive personal choices are being made for the first time in their lives and the comfort zone of compulsory education with guided options is now over. Uniform symbolises the past. Tomorrow they transmogrify into sixth formers-in-waiting with personal freedoms about many things, including what to wear.
So the signature trophy hunting, far from an act of desecration, is actually a way of binding memories, fixing their lives in a moment to be remembered. The hugs, tears and fears are all part of the process: sadness and joy in equal measure.
Well, that’s my story- but I doubt if that bus driver would agree, or even know what I’m talking about. Oh, and the day was incident free, so I didn’t invoke the Islamic option.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Twenty Twenty Vision
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So how good is your memory? Can you visualise people you have spent only half an hour with- some weeks later? Be honest. Can you remember names, interests, characteristics? I ask because I’m feeling vulnerable.
You see we have an influx of new staff every year. It’s normal for us to make about twenty new teaching appointments in addition to support staff. South Dartmoor is unusual in having an extraordinarily young teaching staff whose energy levels are legendary. The average age of the teachers is around 32! (That makes me above average, but do I want to be on this count?).
We appoint early in the cycle and usually claim the best qualified and highest performing graduates around. They replace the staff who go on to promotions, retirements, maternity leave or even delayed ‘gap’ years. It’s a really healthy and virtuous cycle of development.
So far this year we have made twenty new appointments. And I’m feeling especially pleased because we have another bumper crop of really talented new teachers joining us. There are three in English and Maths, two in: History, Languages, Religious Studies and Science; one in Music, Health and Social Care, Psychology, Drama, Art and Technology. Yes, that makes twenty. And it’s probably not over yet.
So we will begin the new academic year in September with our new Sixth Formers and Year 7s but also a large number of teachers that I won’t recognise. How scary is that!
Each interview for a new post involves about six candidates, especially where we are interviewing for two jobs. If you do the sums, that’s about 120 candidates interviewed over the past few weeks for the twenty or so posts. I don’t even want to think about how many hours of interviews that has involved. My nightmare is always a dream that I have a staff that consists of all those applicants who were so weak we didn’t even interview. It’s the school from hell.
My job now is to go back to those applications and match them up against the photographs of new staff, alongside their profiles. When we ask them to send us a picture and brief comments for the on-line Connection, it’s really my way of reminding myself who everyone is. It’s no wonder I’m feeling hesitant about names and faces. But I do know that we have the best- that’s for sure.
Perhaps the most important role I have is to recruit, motivate and promote good staff. It’s the bedrock of a high achieving school. Fortunately, we are close to good universities training some of the best of the next generation of teachers. They are inspiring to interview. I am genuinely in awe of their skills, talent and university successes. No matter that I have forgotten names and faces. The good news is that for South Dartmoor students, the best is yet to come!
You see we have an influx of new staff every year. It’s normal for us to make about twenty new teaching appointments in addition to support staff. South Dartmoor is unusual in having an extraordinarily young teaching staff whose energy levels are legendary. The average age of the teachers is around 32! (That makes me above average, but do I want to be on this count?).
We appoint early in the cycle and usually claim the best qualified and highest performing graduates around. They replace the staff who go on to promotions, retirements, maternity leave or even delayed ‘gap’ years. It’s a really healthy and virtuous cycle of development.
So far this year we have made twenty new appointments. And I’m feeling especially pleased because we have another bumper crop of really talented new teachers joining us. There are three in English and Maths, two in: History, Languages, Religious Studies and Science; one in Music, Health and Social Care, Psychology, Drama, Art and Technology. Yes, that makes twenty. And it’s probably not over yet.
So we will begin the new academic year in September with our new Sixth Formers and Year 7s but also a large number of teachers that I won’t recognise. How scary is that!
Each interview for a new post involves about six candidates, especially where we are interviewing for two jobs. If you do the sums, that’s about 120 candidates interviewed over the past few weeks for the twenty or so posts. I don’t even want to think about how many hours of interviews that has involved. My nightmare is always a dream that I have a staff that consists of all those applicants who were so weak we didn’t even interview. It’s the school from hell.
My job now is to go back to those applications and match them up against the photographs of new staff, alongside their profiles. When we ask them to send us a picture and brief comments for the on-line Connection, it’s really my way of reminding myself who everyone is. It’s no wonder I’m feeling hesitant about names and faces. But I do know that we have the best- that’s for sure.
Perhaps the most important role I have is to recruit, motivate and promote good staff. It’s the bedrock of a high achieving school. Fortunately, we are close to good universities training some of the best of the next generation of teachers. They are inspiring to interview. I am genuinely in awe of their skills, talent and university successes. No matter that I have forgotten names and faces. The good news is that for South Dartmoor students, the best is yet to come!
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Friday, 2 May 2008
Destiny is Tea Bag Shaped
‘I’m sorry but you were not successful today,’ I tell candidate four over the phone. I pause to sense how the news is taken before offering a few pointers and good wishes. I can remember the disappointment, if only at the thought of having to go through the whole wretched process yet again. Tired of rejections, I threw the application form for my present post in the kitchen bin. The next day I had second thoughts. Just one tea bag splat and I would have been forced to apply elsewhere. Such is destiny. .jpg)
In fact most of the applicants at this time of year are more than appointable. But by June it will be harder to find a Language teacher than a buyer for a Gateshead semi with a view of Northern Rock. So heads race to get their adverts in first, process them with the speed of a microwave ready meal and keep an eye on the competition. If my colleague at Kingsbridge, for example, is interviewing for an English teacher on Tuesday, I’ll do my best to call the applicants on Monday. And I justify it by telling myself I’m saving them from a dull life in the back of beyond.
At least the artificiality of the day is over by the time I make the calls- from the practised handshakes to suits so dark and sharp they can’t have been worn since the graduation ceremonies.
The first to arrive recently was unaware that I happened to be watching from my second floor window. He got out of the red sports car and carefully placed his files and notes on the roof. His girlfriend, driver and perhaps car owner, smoothed his hair and helped him fasten his tie. At that moment a gust of wind sent his notes around the tarmac and the next five minutes were spent in a hasty dance of retrieval. Predictably his interview was just as chaotic.
The teaching presentation causes the most concerns. I explain that it’s just one of the many ways we assess them. If it goes badly they can explain why in the interview. All factors will be taken into account- not just one aspect. We can understand if they can explain. If only schools had the same leeway. ‘Sorry, but results are down because we ran out of time.’
Towards the close of the interview comes the moment when we ask if they have any questions for us. I groan inwardly when they take out their little notebooks and prepare to take another ten minutes grilling us. Warning: ‘Can you account for the dip in your 2006 results?’ is not a great note to finish on.
Selection involves taking a wide range of factors into account from the application and reference through to performance on the day. A governor once confessed to me that he chose by imagining who would make the most interesting dinner companion. It’s not as silly as it sounds.
If only the Department for Creating Statistical Fatigue (DCSF) would use a wide range of measures when ranking schools, instead of one raw figure. That would be good news for the next generation of teachers.
In fact most of the applicants at this time of year are more than appointable. But by June it will be harder to find a Language teacher than a buyer for a Gateshead semi with a view of Northern Rock. So heads race to get their adverts in first, process them with the speed of a microwave ready meal and keep an eye on the competition. If my colleague at Kingsbridge, for example, is interviewing for an English teacher on Tuesday, I’ll do my best to call the applicants on Monday. And I justify it by telling myself I’m saving them from a dull life in the back of beyond.At least the artificiality of the day is over by the time I make the calls- from the practised handshakes to suits so dark and sharp they can’t have been worn since the graduation ceremonies.
The first to arrive recently was unaware that I happened to be watching from my second floor window. He got out of the red sports car and carefully placed his files and notes on the roof. His girlfriend, driver and perhaps car owner, smoothed his hair and helped him fasten his tie. At that moment a gust of wind sent his notes around the tarmac and the next five minutes were spent in a hasty dance of retrieval. Predictably his interview was just as chaotic.
The teaching presentation causes the most concerns. I explain that it’s just one of the many ways we assess them. If it goes badly they can explain why in the interview. All factors will be taken into account- not just one aspect. We can understand if they can explain. If only schools had the same leeway. ‘Sorry, but results are down because we ran out of time.’
Towards the close of the interview comes the moment when we ask if they have any questions for us. I groan inwardly when they take out their little notebooks and prepare to take another ten minutes grilling us. Warning: ‘Can you account for the dip in your 2006 results?’ is not a great note to finish on.
Selection involves taking a wide range of factors into account from the application and reference through to performance on the day. A governor once confessed to me that he chose by imagining who would make the most interesting dinner companion. It’s not as silly as it sounds.
If only the Department for Creating Statistical Fatigue (DCSF) would use a wide range of measures when ranking schools, instead of one raw figure. That would be good news for the next generation of teachers.
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