School business leader: ‘Schools must spend smart’
Hard-pressed teachers will be forced to take extra time off sick unless the Government injects more money into cash-strapped schools. The warning comes from a senior school business leader who says overworked teachers are suffering from mental health issues and are at breaking point. Mrs Tracey Gray, director of support at Walbottle Campus in Newcastle upon Tyne, said budgets had been slashed putting even more pressure on the wellbeing of staff: “As School Business Leaders we are tasked with ensuring that we can support Head Teachers in preparing and presenting a sustainable three-year budget,” she said. “Set against this challenge is the reduction in real terms of 8% of school funding despite the Department for Education saying there is more money than ever within education [naturally there are also more children]. “Each year it becomes a case of making choices around curriculum, class sizes, pastoral support, learning support and a range of other services we are asked to provide, particularly as the funding pot for social care is also under severe pressure. “This is resulting in additional pressure on our teachers – who are already at breaking point. “We already have statistics which show that mental health is a significant factor linked to staff absence and further real term reductions will only add to this.” Shock figures reveal a staggering 57% of teachers have considered leaving the education sector within the past two years because of health pressures. Mrs Gray added: “Our staff are a precious resource who need our support and care. “Additional funding is needed now to ensure we keep them and provide our students with the best possible education and outcomes to give them the future careers they deserve.” Her appeal comes after more than 3 million households received a letter last week as disillusioned headteachers directly called on parents to join them in lobbying MPs and the government for more money to help schools after budget cuts. The letter adds: “These issues… are common features across our education system. Levels of concern are widespread.” Teachers nationwide are rallying together to address the government’s lack of action. Rose Wilcox, the School Business Manager at St George’s Primary, lambasted the government for their lack of support: “The amount of money given to schools for each child has not changed from 2011 – 2017. This is simply not good enough. Schools need help now. “The reduction in staff, both teaching and non-teaching, means less support for vulnerable pupils, and leaves less staff available to carry out small group work for pupils who are not thriving. “In the worst cases parents are actually being asked to pay towards books and resources. How long will the Government allow this iniquitous injustice to our children continue?” Andy Brown OBE, a headteacher from Cleveland who was the Chair of the DfE Primary Headteacher’s Reference Group and held the post of National Leader of Education from 2007 – 2018, added that school funding has withered while the government fixates on Brexit: “Funding for our schools is becoming a major issue. Teachers rightly received a pay increase, but this was only partially funded. “Some of our schools have had to make redundancies. The government has been fully focused on Brexit and our schools have been forgotten.” However, Lord Agnew, the academies minister, believes that the first step to solving the crises is to find and eliminate wasteful spending. One initiative looking to help cash-strapped schools save money that has already received the public support of Lord Agnew is Education Mutual. Education Mutual has been set up by schools, for schools and looks to give educators the flexibility to design their own staff absence cover to match each school’s exact needs. Founding director, Mrs Gray, explains: “Schools across the country are losing a notable proportion of their school budget every year to private business profits. This is a huge waste of money.” “In contrast, the mutual keeps as much of the budget as possible within the education system with any surplus money left over at the end of the year going back to its members in the form of a benefit. “Not only does this help to recycle the educational pound but it also means more resources are available to look after the health and well-being of staff.” She added: “80% of member’s contributions to Education Mutual go directly towards the payment of claims (with the other 20% covering running costs). Compare this to private insurance companies, where (on average) only 58% of your school’s annual fee is spent on the payment of claims, with the remaining 42% going towards a combination of sales commission, running costs, taxes, and of course, profit.” Education Mutual is different from other staff absence cover providers because it’s owned by its members – schools, colleges, nurseries and other education providers. This means that all of the money that schools contribute to the mutual goes solely towards the payment of claims, covering running costs, and nothing else. Mrs Gray argues this approach to be advantageous to schools and encourages other schools to join the ‘Mutual Revolution’: “Every school should join the mutual so we can all regain control over our school budgets, work together to better support staff well-being, and keep our money where it is most needed – within the education system.” Mrs Gray, who chaired the Board of Trustees for the Institute of School Business Leadership, also believes that the model helps prevents long-term staff absence and said: “This means health problems can be dealt with quickly, before escalating, and that long-term staff absences can often be averted as a result. Our care delivery includes physiotherapy and muscular skeletal services, mental health services (including face-to-face counselling), and a surgical assistance programme. Together, these services are able to address the most frequent causes of staff absences.” For more information on school business management see educationmutual.co.uk
Energys Group say MATs will cut £190,000 off energy bills
Energys Group won a competitive tender, worth over £1.7million, to manufacture, supply and install LED lighting to 12 Academies for two Academy Trusts. The Ormiston Academies Trust and Brooke Weston Trust are sponsors of primary and secondary academies. As educational trusts, their aims are for all young people to have access to the highest academic, social and practical skills required to achieve their full potential, whether going on to study at a leading university or entering the world of work. The opportunity With Brooke Weston and Ormiston Trusts spending over £2.7 million a year on energy and needing to spend over £1 million on lighting replacement over the next 5 years, both Trusts urgently needed to put in place energy efficiency programmes which would achieve a number of priorities: reduce the trusts’ energy bills; address the challenge of lighting conditions; reduce the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions from the trusts’ estates and deliver a procurement model and benchmark data which would allow the project to be replicated by other Multi-Academy Trusts. The academies within each trust which were part of the project all had old, inefficient lighting throughout their properties, mainly consisting of T8 fluorescent fittings without lighting controls, and also had poor Emergency lighting provision; this needed to be upgraded as part of the scheme, to be fully compliant with BS5266.1. The entire upgrade programme was funded by the Department for Education MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) Loans Pilot Project and was designed to maximize the benefits of new, energy-efficient lighting and ensure the Academies were fully compliant with emergency lighting regulations. The approach Structured framework Energy saving upgrades in public sector buildings are frequently only achievable with the assistance of Government funding. The key funding available for educational establishments is the Salix scheme. In May 2017, the Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a MAT Loans Pilot project, to analyse whether interlinking MATs could enable collaborative working to achieve long-term benefits for their estates. The project saw EO Consulting bring together the two trusts on a project to investigate the long-term strategic difference this approach had on their estates. Energys Group was successful with its tender bid, awarded in June 2017 through the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) framework, to manufacture, supply and install over 15,000 LED light fittings to 12 Academies in the Group, awarded on a mix of price, technical specification, quality and ability to deliver on a very tight timescale. Tight deadlines & no disruption Following the award of the tender each site had a full lighting survey carried out, and proposals were submitted over a two week period to the end of June 2017. A full programme of works upgrading the LED Lighting was commenced in July and completed by November 2017. Where possible, the work was carried out in the summer break or during out of hours in term-time, resulting in no disruption to the operation of the Academies. Proven efficiency A range of Energys Group’s New Vision LED Panels, linear LED, downlights, wall-lights, floodlights, high bays and streetlights was installed. Over 15,000 light fittings were upgraded to LED across the project. The majority of fittings incorporated individual occupancy and daylight harvesting sensors to maximize the potential energy savings. A 10-year warranty was provided on all fittings. Massive energy savings across the 12 Academies are being delivered, amounting to 1.7 million kWh per annum, and equating to £190,000 per annum savings, based on a rate of a minimum of 10.5p per kWh. Useful lessons The pilot project has provided invaluable lessons for the Trusts themselves, EO Consulting and Energys Group across a wide-range of outcomes, including delivering greater energy savings than initially forecast, longer-term warranties, and provided proof that frameworks make the process cost-effective, repeatable and scalable. Matt Isherwood, Brooke Weston Trust’s estates director, said: “This is the first project of its kind where two Academy Trusts have joined forces to submit a joint funding and installation bid, enabling us to get better deals from suppliers as we had more buying power when compared to a single trust. “The project has been so successful that it could be replicated across other multi-academy trusts and we outlined the process, benefits and savings at the Trust Network Conference in April, attended by delegates from more than 100 multi-academy trusts.” Commenting on the project, Kevin Cox Managing Director, Energys Group said, “This was a major, multi-site project for us; one with very tight deadlines and exacting specifications in order to fulfil the requirements of the individual Academies and those of the funding body. The team did a superb job and many of the lessons learned will stand us in good stead for future multi-site, multi-Academy projects.” For more information, see the Energys Group website here.
Cutting back on the budget – is renewable energy the answer?
Mark Stevenson, Managing Director of Bright Spark Energy, advises how schools can cut back on their budget by using renewable energy options. He explains how making tiny efficiency changes as well as exploring funding options can provide schools with the tools to save money… School budgets are on everyone’s minds. With budgets being squeezed, the pressure to find solutions that can help schools save money and reduce the pressure on school leaders and teachers grows. Small, proactive changes can actually be a great way for schools to save money, while larger investments can be a vital part of a longer-term sustainability strategy. Here I explore some important environmental changes, big and small, that schools can look at implementing, including how they would work within schools, the benefits that they bring and the different funding and providers that are available to assist schools with larger investments. The smaller changes Schools are often very environmentally conscious, especially when it comes to things such as green spaces and encouraging children to explore and respect the nature around them. Small changes made every day in the classroom can quickly add up and result in real savings. For example, if teachers turn off the lights, PCs and projectors in their classroom between lessons and at the end of the day, this can save a substantial amount of money! This small action can be turned into an activity for the classroom, too. Pupils could be assigned the role of ‘light marshalls’ who have the responsibility to turn the lights off when classrooms are not used. Another option is to get pupils to monitor the classroom temperature as part of a lesson, enabling children to learn about science, finances and responsibility while also saving the school money! Turning down the temperature in the classrooms a few degrees will save a lot over a long winter. Another investment would be LED Lighting. LED Lighting is often labelled “the future of lighting”, due to the very small amount of energy it uses and its ability to last a very long time, not to mention the positive impact to the quality of teaching and learning spaces. LED lighting uses up to 75% less energy and lasts up to 10x longer than traditional types of lighting. Switching the lighting has obvious benefits, funding models are available so there is upfront capital cost and it has the potential for long-term financial savings. Larger investments For schools that are thinking long-term, larger investments – such as switching to renewable energy options – can save the school money while also providing other substantial benefits to the environment and the classroom! Solar Photovolatics, also known as solar PV for short, is a piece of technology that features heavily in our lives, with homes as well as businesses and schools using solar PV to heat their home. It has been often been viewed as an alternative to traditional methods like fossil fuels. In its simplest terms, it is a technology that allows for daylight to be converted into electrical power. The Government highlighted within a 2012 report the benefits that solar PV can provide, including the ability to reduce Co2 emissions, reduce electricity bills and generate a financial surplus for schools once they have installed solar PV systems. One school that we worked closely with, Beccles Primary Academy in Suffolk, actually managed to use their solar energy to power lunches! The Academy had upgraded their kitchens to use electric ovens but the electricity bills soared. Our team designed a solar installation to be the most efficient when the ovens were on, so the solar power is cooking the school dinners at the moment. Installed in November, it has been estimated that the solar power will generate 53% of the Academy’s electricity requirements onsite, reducing their reliance on grid-bought electricity. Funding options It’s all well and good speaking about long-term investments, such as switching to solar panel energy, but if schools are aiming to cut back on expenditure, it can be difficult to find the initial investment despite the obvious benefits it could bring. However, there are funding options available that aim to help schools invest in renewable energy, while also protecting their finances and providing long-term protection against faulty or damaged equipment. For example, Bright Sparks funding partner, Less Is More Capital provides schools with funding in order to generate a surplus, which can then be reinvested back into learning. Renewable energy can increase your investment threefold The funding scheme estimates that for every £1 that is put into schools’ renewable energy options it will generate £3-4 from renewable energy innovations that can then be reinvested back into the schools, for example to provide new materials for learners. Funding such as this often comes with better warranty timescales, with the Less Is More Capital and its partners offering warranty for 13 years, providing security should the equipment be faulty or get damaged. Other organisations tend to skim on warranties, which could then leave schools with little option but to either spend additional money to replace damages or use faulty equipment. Final thoughts Small everyday steps can help schools to cut back on their expenditure and when used creatively they can be integrated into fun, educational activities for the classroom. Although the larger, longer-term investments such as solar PV may be costly to begin with, they can also bring great benefits to the school, to the bank balance and to the environment. Finally, it is important to remember that there is funding available for schools to ease this process. Providing financial security is important, so that schools can reap the financial and environmental benefits for years to come.