04 Jun Schools as charities: legal and regulatory update Fri
07 Jun The New Art of Headship Tue
11 Jun Introduction to VAT for schools Tue
18 Jun Questions that Heads should be asking their team about VAT policy and detail Tue
18 Jun So you want to be a bursar? Tue
25 Jun Holiday Pay Update Fri
28 Jun Gender Questioning Pupils - unpacking the guidance, law and best practice Fri
28 Jun VAT on school fees update More Upcoming Events
Welcome to ISBA’s Weekly Bulletin 6. These bulletins will be sent to ISBA members regularly with the very latest on operational and regulatory issues impacting independent schools. If you have a question you would like us to answer in this bulletin please email us or call us on 01256 330369.
If you missed our last bulletin it is available here.
Note from editor: this does not apply in Scotland. Since last autumn, there has been an increase in measles cases across England. Measles is a preventable disease. It spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated, including in nurseries and schools. The best protection against measles for children and adults is to have both doses of the MMR vaccine. It is never too late to have these vaccinations.
The DfE is hosting a webinar on the increase in measles cases, with speakers from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England (NHSE).
The webinar will cover information on measles, an overview of current epidemiology, the importance of the MMR vaccination and how to get it, as well as how to manage cases and outbreaks in educational settings.
The live webinar will take place on Monday 4 March at 4pm – 5pm. Education settings can sign up to the webinar using this Eventbrite link.
For those that cannot attend on the day, the webinar will be recorded.
Links to guidance
To manage measles cases in your setting, you should follow the existing guidance on managing outbreaks and incidents:
- Managing specific infectious diseases: Measles
- Managing outbreaks and incidents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Health protection in children and young people settings, including education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The NHS has the following advice for parents on measles:
DfE has also published an Education Hub blog with guidance on measles and the MMR vaccine for parents, nurseries and schools.
Source: DfE
We are delighted that the UK’s first code of practice, aimed at keeping pupils with allergies safer at school, which was launched by ISBA, the Benedict Blythe Foundation and the Allergy Team has been receiving extensive news coverage this week. You might have watched Sarah Knight from the Allergy Team on BBC Breakfast, heard her on BBC 5 Live or Times Radio, or read about the Schools Allergy Code in one of 250+ written articles. We expect the DfE to announce that it is adopting the code of practice for maintained schools on Friday.
The Benedict Blythe Foundation is an organisation founded in memory of five-year old Benedict Blythe who died following an allergic reaction at school, and it campaigns for inclusive and safe schools for pupils with allergies. Watch this short video clip to find out more.
The Schools Allergy Code is a code of practice to help keep pupils with allergy safe. It covers awareness, emergency response protocol, training and policies. The Code and its associated checklist are free resources, and all schools are urged to adhere to the criteria laid out in the Code.
ISBA is urging all schools to adopt the Code and to join the Schools Allergy Register - a list of schools assessed as meeting the criteria laid out in the Code who also receive a trust mark. You can listen to the Times Radio clip or email the Allergy Team directly at schools@theallergyteam.com
John Murphie, COO of ISBA, said: “The Schools Allergy Code is a game-changer for safety in schools. We would urge all schools to adopt it and join the Register. Allergy is an often overlooked area of safeguarding and we need to give parents, pupils and staff greater confidence that schools really understand allergy and know how to reduce risk.”
The Schools Allergy Register
Schools who want to demonstrate their commitment to good allergy management can apply to join a Register held by the Allergy Team. These schools will be assessed and awarded a trust mark if they meet the criteria set out in the Code. Families will be able to search for schools on the Register and have confidence that these schools meet the standards of allergy management set out in the Code. More information can be found here.
Sarah Knight, Founder of the Allergy Team, said: “Knowing that a school meets the criteria set out in the Schools Allergy Code will give parents huge confidence when choosing a school for a child with allergies. To join the Register and display the trust mark, schools will be assessed, this ensures they don’t just pay lip-service to the Code but put it into practice, with buy-in from the whole school community.”
ISBA has worked with the Allergy Team to publish a useful template allergy policy for ISBA member schools.
Note from editor: this does not apply in Scotland. The DfE has announced: “the Mandatory Reporting Duty for Child Sexual Abuse (CSA MRD) will soon be incorporated as an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill as set out in the press notice available at ‘Tougher laws to protect children from sexual abuse’.
“The full details of the actual duty will be shared in the coming weeks along with the joint Call for Evidence and Consultation Response, which is expected to be published in March, and we will provide a further update at that point.
“We want to be clear that the purpose of the CSA MRD is to better protect children, not to unnecessarily criminalise those with responsibility for them. The criminal penalty will only apply where someone deliberately tries to cover up child sexual abuse by preventing reports being made. Minister Johnston, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, here at DfE attended the Fulham Cross Academy visit with Minister Farris and was very clear that schools play an important role in keeping children safe and that strong safeguarding was at the heart of what schools do in conjunction with a wide range of circumstances”.
Thank you to all members who have completed the ISBA VAT survey. The information provided has given us a good baseline but we need more returns! The value of this survey is, in its completed state, that it will be used to give accurate, up-to-date, verifiable information to government departments on the effect of the proposed policy. It is the only study that will be used in this way and thus has a value to the independent schools’ sector as a whole.
If you would like the survey link re-sent to you please email: office@theisba.org.uk
A copy of the survey questions can be found here.
Thank you in advance for your input.
ISBA has worked with Harrison Clark Rickerbys to produce a template terms of reference and agreement for a school works council.
Schools may wish to establish a workplace group or forum through which important matters can be discussed. ISBA’s document for members provides a simple template for a school to use where it wishes to establish the terms of reference for an internal, informal staff consultative group, for example a works council or staff forum. This document should be used as a starting point and will need to be tailored and adapted depending on the intended scope of the works council and the issues to be discussed. Schools should seek legal advice when tailoring the template, or if they have any specific queries or concerns.
The template is not intended to be used where a school formally recognises a trade union or where the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (the ICE Regulations) apply. It is suitable for use in setting the terms of reference for an informal works council or staff forum and should not be used where a school has received a formal request from staff to begin negotiating an information and consultation agreement or the school has given notice to the workforce that it intends to negotiate an agreement under the ICE Regulations. Where such a formal request has been received or such notice has been given, schools are subject to several legal duties and timeframes and should seek specific legal advice.
Please note the ISBA advice and guidance email address has now changed to: adviceatISBA@theisba.org.uk
Can a teacher take blocks of shared parental leave?
Yes. Teachers on maternity leave are entitled to request up to three blocks of shared parental leave, these requests cannot be refused, assuming that the teacher is eligible to SPL and gives the required notice. This link is an example of the advice available to teachers.
Is it possible to advise on whether the NHS has the authority to demand all of the information requested; may a school, for example, choose to only provide the class list and pupil information? My school has various military personnel in the parental body and would therefore not wish to voluntarily share parental information. Particularly as the consent forms are distributed to parents by the school, not the NHS.
While the Government / statutory agencies do generally have wide powers in a public health context we are not aware of any specific provision that would give the NHS the legal right to require all of the information requested from the independent school sector. We think, if there are the kinds of concerns around the confidentiality of parent contact information (e.g. for the reasons you cite), it would be reasonable for the school to ask the NHS to show / explain the necessity of that information (i.e. over and above the class list) and the lawful basis for providing it. That then gives the school the added protection of having pressed the point with the NHS and received the necessary assurances / justification should it need to explain its approach.
We have made an offer for next year and parents have raised an issue before accepting. They have notified us that a court order is in place which says Mum will pay the fees in years 7 and 8 and Dad from year 9 onwards.
Assuming both parents sign the contract, if one parent defaults at some point, are we still able to claim from the other as jointly and severally liable under the contract?
Under the ISBA model parent contract unless and until the school expressly agrees otherwise (for example by signing a ‘relief from payment obligation’ letter with the non-paying parent) the parents are jointly and severally liable. As per the updated clarificatory wording in the latest version of the model parent contract, court orders do not bind the school. So if the parents both sign, then they remain jointly and severally liable which means that if one parent defaults, as well as the normal termination options, the school can sue either or both for the debt.
I would expect the school to be very clear about this with the parents in this sort of scenario because they can (understandably) think that the court order extinguishes their liability to the school which is not the case. Instead, if one parent defaults in breach of what they have been told to do by the courts, then the other parent should – if they wish for their child to stay in school – beg or borrow to pay the fees and then recover them from the other parents via the family courts. The school shouldn’t be caught in the middle or left without payment in such a scenario.
With regards to school inspections and H&S compliance, the ISI has provided a useful table covering aspects of H&S, training and the provision of information. If you have not yet discovered the ISI Self Evaluation Guidance document, you may wish to consider using this: Regulatory audit – records of training, health and safety checks, provision of information.
ISBA Annual Conference 2024 – Book Your Place Now
Bursars and their teams can book day delegate tickets at ISBA’s upcoming annual conference from 20 – 22 May 2024 at the ICC, Wales. We've discounted the price for any second or subsequent day delegate bookings for colleagues from the same school.
The conference offers a selection of professional development sessions for support staff to choose from, hosted by expert speakers who will share tips and advice on the latest issues affecting the independent school sector from financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, the new inspections framework, digital strategy, sustainability, HR (neurodiversity in the workplace, discrimination, flexible working and wellbeing), safeguarding, marketing and communications (and much more!). See the full programme. If you have an issue you’ve been grappling with for some time or one that has just popped up in your in-tray, this event will help.
You’ll also get to visit our largest exhibition yet of suppliers to the sector, network with peers opportunities plus get an opportunity to relax at our annual dinner hosted by popular comedian Marcus Brigstocke on Wednesday 22 May. We look forward to seeing you there.
Webinars
Details of the webinars in our professional development programme for the spring term are listed below and are available to book here. More webinars will be added to the spring term programme so please watch this space for more details each week.
If you missed any from the autumn term all of our free of charge webinars are recorded and are available to view in the multimedia section of the ISBA reference library.
- 1 March 2024 from 11.00 – 12.00 - Sustainable Education: A New Model This webinar will explore how, in the drive to net-zero, educators are facing two key challenges: how to de-carbonise their estates, and how to create an educational setting and approach which embeds environmental citizenship amongst students.
- 8 March 2024 from 11.00-12.00: Data Protection Insights - An Update for Independent Schools
An update on data protection in independent schools from Becky Hall at Naomi Korn Associates.
- 19 March 2024 from 11.00-12.00 - Managing Health & Safety for School Lettings
An update on health & safety law for lettings – criminal and civil, and the factors to consider in managing health & safety for school lettings. The session will also include key information to request from the hirer and key information to provide to the hirer.
- 22 March 2024 from 14.00-15.00: Outsourcing Your Catering
Following on from our previous webinar, 'The benefits of in-house catering', Claire Long from Thomas Franks will offer her view on the benefits of outsourcing.
- 19 April 2024 from 11.00 -12.00: Pensions Update
Richard Soldan, Luke Hothersall and Andy Thompson from LCP will offer insight into the significant increase in the TPS contribution rate from 1 April referencing their experiences of projects that the LCP team are helping schools to undertake now, to mitigate those cost increases.
- 19 April 2024 from 14.00 – 15.00: So, You May Become Your School’s Sustainability Lead?
allmanhall address the key things you'll need to know and do if you're to take the lead on sustainability at your school.
- 26 April 2024 from 11.00 - 12.00 -Treasury Management
Rathbones will explain a range of options available to manage and invest school income and cash holdings.
- 7 June 2024 from 11.00-12.00: The New Art of Headship
Russell Speirs will share the findings of RSAcademics’ recent Art of Headship Report, looking specifically at the changing nature of leadership in UK independent schools and what this means for bursars.
- 28 June 2024 from 14.00-15.00: Gender Questioning Pupils - Unpacking the Guidance, Law and Best Practice
James Garside from VWV will offer his insight into the current legal frameworks on gender questioning pupils and how to apply them in practice. The session will explore the [final] DfE guidance, law and current thinking to support and assist independent schools in navigating an area of legal and practical complexity.
So you Want to be a Bursar?
- Sessions 1 and 2 on Tuesday 18 June at 11.00 - 12.15 and 16.00 – 17.15
- Sessions 3 and 4 on Thursday 20 June at 11.00 - 12 noon and 16.00 – 17.00
This course is for those looking to become a bursar who are not currently working in the independent school sector as well as support staff in independent schools who have considerable administrative management experience and are looking to progress their career.
Online safer recruitment course
ISBA’s online Safer Recruitment course is available exclusively for our members, priced at £60 per person. Booking details are here and those attending may attend the self-paced course which lasts for approximately two to three hours depending on knowledge. The online course will benefit those new to recruiting, individuals selected to conduct interviews and require revision or a three yearly update.
The online course is designed to ensure school staff are able to safely recruit new staff and comply with safeguarding regulations, Keeping Children Safe in Education and of course, most importantly, ensuring that young people learn in a safe environment. The course includes a range of commissioned videos from experts in the safeguarding field, including legal expert David Smellie from Farrer & Co.
You will get a CPD certificate on completion of the course, and the content is suitable for all staff and governors involved in the recruitment and interview process.
BSA and ISBA are pleased to offer delegates the opportunity to hear from expert speakers from independent consultancies as well as BSA and ISBA schools, who aim to inform and inspire new ways of thinking around common challenges and issues facing boarding schools. There will be a focus on the interrelationship between the bursar’s operational role and the head of boarding’s pastoral role, with delegates having the opportunity to better understand the pressures and challenges of their respective roles in boarding schools.
Training topics will include:
- How best to attract and retain boarding pupils.
- Best practice in recruiting and retaining boarding school staff (teaching and non-teaching).
- Maximising the commercial return on different classes of school assets.
- Responding to the pressures facing boarding schools in the coming years.
- Managing a boarding school budget
- Future planning for your school’s physical estate
- Immigration and visa applications
See the full programme and book your place.
We’d like to remind colleagues about the ISBA business directory in the ISBA reference library which allows schools to search for specialist suppliers across the UK quickly and easily. The directory offers suppliers to the sector the chance to demonstrate the commitment they have to quality service to independent schools and to highlight any special offers or discounts they may have for ISBA member schools. The directory is fully searchable by business type, region or by location of the supplier. We do hope you find an opportunity to make use of the directory and that it will help you find the right solutions for your school.
ISBA has weekly podcasts designed to be easy ‘on-the-go’ listening via Spotify, Buzzsprout, Apple and the multimedia section of the ISBA website. Recent episodes have included:
- Questions answered about gender questioning guidance
- VAT survey, mobile phone guidance, Protect Duty consultation and member questions
- Martyn’s Law and what it means for schools
- Government consultations, cyber security guidance and member questions
- Copyright, budgets and energy updates with Rex Sartain
- Introduction and updates from Rob Pizii, ISBA’s new head of advice and guidance
- A Different Vision of Bursaring with Kathy Denton
- DfE, ISC, HSE and Other Updates and Employment Law Changes Featuring Jenny Arrowsmith
Spring term regional group meetings will take place as follows:
- 1 March at 9.30am - East Midlands face-to-face meeting, Loughborough Schools Foundation
- 6 March at 10am – EABA face-to-face meeting, Madingley Hall
- 7 March at 9.30am - North East face-to-face meeting, the Mount School, York
- 11 March at 11.30am - Severn & Avon face-to-face meeting, Westonbirt School
- 12 March at 9.30am - West Midlands face-to-face meeting, Concord College
- 13 March at 9am – Scottish region, Marsh Facility, 5 George Square, Glasgow
- 14 March at 9.30am – Solent, virtual meeting
- 19 April at time TBC – Kent, face-to-face meeting, Frewen College
- 24 April at 10am – Southern, face-to-face meeting, Windlesham House
- 13 June at 10am – Solent, face-to-face meeting, Princes Mead
- 19 June at 10am – EABA, face-to-face meeting, Homerton College