Sep 9, 2019
On episode 10, Tim Warneford is in Alton, Hampshire, talking to Janice Finnimore, Schools Business Manager for Eggers Secondary School, about the challenges and lessons learned from being an early converter to a stand-alone academy and why Janice feels that being a stand-alone academy can offer a lot of benefit.
On this episode we cover:
The challenges of being part of an early converter to an academy
The lessons learnt from decisions made
Exploring the freedoms of converting to an academy
Additional funding initially being available
Benefiting from economies of scale in the local authority
Now feeling more confident about challenging services they buy into
Working on the maintained side and academy side
Learning a lot of things the hard way
But making some wise decisions
Juggling many plates now with the school being a business
Business managers most often being women
Being a close knit community doing lots of networking
Emerging of the security of the local authority umbrella
Engaging an independent health and safety manager
Engaging an independent fire risk assessor
Worrying findings in fire safety (that were not in consideration of the LEA)
Condition Improvement Funding (CIF)
Enjoying freedoms such as being flexible on the curriculum and changing the timings of the school day
Constraints, however, with the depth of the audits they are now exposed to
Audits going from once every three years to themed audits
Responsible officer visits and thorough checks on finances once a term
Having had successes with CIF funding
However a frustration being needing inject a contribution
Business managers allocating a lot of time to bid writing
Being very comfortable being a stand alone academy
Not aspiring to expand in the short-term
Having to make some very tough budget decisions
Reducing staffing through natural wastage
Such cuts impacting on staff morale and wellbeing
Seeing MATs as mini-local authorities
Newest acquisition being an astro-turf pitch
Raising around £25,000 year from letting a trampoline group use the sports hall
Very much seeing themselves as a community school
The local cadets using the hard courts free of charge
Launching a crowd-funding page for drama studio refurbishment
Funding a brand new refectory
The biggest obstacles in schools being lack of funding
The DFE feeling they are putting more money into schools but this is not the case in reality
Being very proud of the successful CIF bids
Appreciating the economy of scale that a MAT can provide but that MATs will be careful about which schools come on board