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 7. 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.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the latest scheduled budget before the general election. Of most interest to schools are likely to be the taxation changes as follows:
The main rate of national insurance contributions (NICs) will be cut from 10% to 8% from 6 April 2024 - a move which the Government says will benefit 27 million workers. This follows a cut from 12% to 10% in January.
The Government will reduce the class 4 self-employed NICs rate from 9% to 6% and it has announced it will also abolish class 2 self-employed NICs.
In addition, the VAT registration threshold for small businesses will increase to £90,000 from 1 April 2024.
Just before Christmas, the Government published their draft non-statutory guidance for schools on gender questioning children (England only). It is open for consultation until 12 March 2024.
The guidance is underpinned by five principles being:
1. Schools and colleges have statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.
2. Schools and colleges should be respectful and tolerant places where bullying is never tolerated.
3. Parents should not be excluded from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to ‘socially transition’.
4. Schools and colleges have specific legal duties that are framed by a child’s biological sex.
5. There is no general duty to allow a child to ‘social transition’.
Where a child makes a request to ‘socially transition’, the guidance sets out steps schools should follow when considering requests including making parents aware. The guidance proposes a ‘cautious approach’ to these requests.
The guidance then provides more detailed advice on access to single sex spaces, names and uniforms for schools considering social transitioning requests: Very briefly:
- Registration of sex: as per law, the school’s admissions register should have biological sex.
- Changing names: Admissions register records legal name; however, you can put a different entry under informal “known as” name.
- Pronouns: Primary school children “should not have” different pronouns; for older pupils schools can decline requests for different pronouns and only accept if they conclude “the benefit to the child outweighs impact on school community”. Even then guidance says pupils/teachers not compelled to use new pronouns, while also saying “bullying of any child must not be tolerated”.
- Single sex spaces (changing rooms, toilets, boarding accommodation): “Schools must always protect single-sex spaces”, therefore if school agrees to a child socially transitioning alternative provision should be provided.
- Uniform: Generally gender questioning pupils should adhere to uniform policies for their sex.
- Sport: Focus remains on separate girl and boys teams for older pupils, socially transitioning children should take part in teams of the same biological sex given differences in physical strength.
- Single sex schools: Guidance says, “Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other biological sex, regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender. A school cannot, however, refuse to admit a child of the same biological sex on the basis that they are questioning their gender”.
Schools are encouraged to make their own views known on this issue.
Source: ISC
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.
The Schools Allergy Code which we launched with the Allergy Team and Benedict Blythe Foundation has been promoted by the Department for Education in their sector bulletin as they reminded schools of their legal obligation to protect pupils with allergies on Friday.
We are delighted the Code is getting so much attention and the media interest we mentioned last week has continued with a feature on the BBC’s Morning Live and on Good Morning Britain. We would urge all schools to pay attention to this safety to life issue and to download the Code and sign up to the Schools Allergy Register.
To find out more about the Code and the Register you can attend a free webinar on Monday 11 March at 10.30am hosted by the Allergy Team - sign up here. Don’t worry if you can’t make the live event as everyone who registers will be sent a recording.
You can also listen to ISBA’s Bursarcast interview with Sarah Knight.
The Government certainly thinks so. It has updated its non-statutory guidance on flexible working in schools and recommends that leaders ‘consider embedding strategic, whole-school approaches to flexible working’ to retain experienced staff, recruit from a broader pool of teachers, support wellbeing and improve work-life balance. Although the guidance refers to schools, it's equally relevant to colleges.
There's no doubt that something needs to change to address the widespread unhappiness amongst teachers and leaders revealed in the latest Teacher Wellbeing Survey which we summarised here. Teachers are leaving the profession and there aren't enough trainee teachers to replace them.
But is flexible working the answer and how easy is it to implement in the education sector?
Let's look at the evidence. In January 2023 the Government published a research report which explored the costs and benefits of flexible working in schools. Its findings were based on 40 in-depth interviews with school leaders all of whom worked in schools where flexible working was used in some form.
The results were positive: the benefits of flexible working were generally seen to outweigh the costs. Leaders said that their primary focus was to make sure that arrangements didn't impact ‘pupil experience’ or cause practical problems in the running of their schools. Cost was not a significant factor and often wasn’t accurately measured.
The DfE defined flexible working arrangements as teachers or leaders working in any of the following ways:
- Part-time or job share.
- Occasional ad hoc personal days outside of school holidays, or ad hoc start or finish times.
- PPA time off-site.
- Time off in lieu of working additional hours.
- Home or remote working off site.
- Phased retirement.
- Annualised hours.
- Staggered hours.
- Compressed hours.
Part-time working and job shares were the most popular forms of flexible working; phased retirement and staggered or compressed hour were much less common. And, in general, flexible working arrangements were less common among members of the senior leadership team than among teachers.
Did schools actively promote flexible working?
Generally, no. Flexible working was seen as something that created an administrative burden. Leaders accepted that they could overcome these issues, but many had “no desire to proactively incur them”. There were exceptions to this view. One school incorporated flexible working into their wellbeing policy, which they actively promoted. The headteacher reported that this had a positive impact on morale and believed it was useful tool in recruiting new, high quality staff and was particularly appealing to younger, highly motivated staff.
What were the benefits of flexible working?
85% said that it had a positive impact on overall wellbeing and 82% said that it helped to retain staff who might overwise leave. Schools felt that granting flexible working requests was one of a limited number of tools they had at their disposal to help with staff retention: “We have tight pay scales, it's a challenging job, so offering flexibility is one lever we have to help keep good people”. Some also recognised that retaining staff helped to build a stable culture in their workplaces.
Other benefits were improved productivity (74%), reduced absence (58%) and the ability to attract a greater number of candidates (58%).
Schools also said that accepting requests for flexible working made teachers feel valued and helped to improve morale. This was particularly true of ad hoc requests which helped to alleviate pressure points in the work-life balance of staff.
What does the guidance say about flexible working?
The guidance sets out the current legal position with regard to dealing with requests for flexible working (and will be updated again to reflect changes coming into force in April). It contains nothing controversial and probably won't tell you anything you don't already know about the law.
However, it goes on to address some of the concerns leaders may have about granting requests such as parental attitudes, increased costs (particularly in respect of job sharing), pupil attainment, performance and timetabling. It gives sensible advice about these issues, although it's not as detailed as it could have been. It also signposts the support schools and colleges can access to help teachers who have taken a break return to work.
The guidance also briefly considers workload and makes the point that employees wanting to work flexibly may find managing their workload ‘more challenging’. It recommends that they speak to their manager about how their workload can be managed alongside a reduction in working hours and provides links to the school workload reduction toolkit.
Radical flexible working arrangements
Some schools and colleges are adopting more radical options to help improve the work/life balance of their staff such as reducing workloads across the board. Dixons Academies recently announced it was compressing 10 days of teaching into nine, allowing remote working during non-contact time and offering personal days during term-time. We know that some colleges are trialling similar arrangements.
In 2022 the Government launched a six-month trial of the four-day working week (which covered a range of different working arrangements but, on average, resulted in working four fewer hours each week). Some employers closed on day five, others adopted working patterns which overlapped to ensure continuity. Whilst it didn't include any schools or colleges, feedback was overwhelmingly positive and 92% of employers decided to continue with the trial. Adopting this type of arrangement isn't easy in the education sector, but nor is it impossible.
How to make a success of flexible working
There are many ways to support staff who want to work flexibly.
- What message does your approach to flexible working send to staff? Do you actively promote your policy or do you only think about flexibility when someone makes a formal request?
- If you want to take a more pro-active approach, get buy in from the senior leadership team. They need to consider flexibility when making relevant decisions, including those about student groupings and PPA time.
- Think about small changes that you can make that don't require staff to make formal applications under the statutory scheme such as allowing staff to take some time off during the working day to attend their own children's school events (such as sports day or nativity plays) or to attend routine medical appointments. This sort of flexibility is really valued by staff. You will need to create guidelines as you won't be able to grant multiple requests for time off on the same day. How will you decide which request to grant? First come, first served is unfair in this context, but having a rota might work so that staff who took time off one year, wouldn't have priority the next etc. If you are going to introduce a new policy around this consult your staff. Find out what they think will make a difference and engage them in the process.
- Give staff some agency around flexibility. Can they approach other members of staff to cover them before asking for permission to take time off? How do staff make the time up? How quickly should they do so?
- Treat people fairly. If you accommodate a request, don't overload another member of staff with work. Staff that don't want flexible working still need a work life balance and won't thank you if they end up picking up the slack for colleagues who have changed their working hours.
- Accept that you won't get it right for everyone! Be transparent and, if you can't accept a request, explain the reason. Is there a compromise position? Can you offer a short trial period to see if it could work?
- Talk to other schools/MATs or colleges in your area who are already embracing flexible working or pioneering new approaches. What pinch points have they experienced and how did they overcome these? What can you learn from their experiences?
- Make sure your policy is fit for purpose. The statutory flexible working regime is changing in April so it's a good time to review it to ensure that it is legally compliant and covers other ad hoc arrangements too.
Source: Irwin Mitchell
Please note the ISBA advice and guidance email address has now changed to: adviceatISBA@theisba.org.uk
I am looking at the best way to employ external (ex-members of staff) for invigilating. Obviously they are only required for the May-June period. Do we do a DBS and pay for them to use the Update Service, or can we do their DBS and then put them on a zero hours contract and not have to use the Update Service?
We are often asked the question and the three-month rule applies.
So if you haven’t been in touch with the ex-member of staff within the three months then full checks are required. The online check is really useful for this eventuality.
Some schools call such staff in to school every two to three months (e.g. at inset) to avoid this requirement – often on the basis of update training: safeguarding, H&S etc.
Para 233 in KCSiE refers: “There is no requirement for a school to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate or carry out checks for events that may have occurred outside the UK if, during a period which ended not more than three months before the person’s appointment, the applicant has worked, in a school in England, in a post … which brought the person regularly into contact with children”
Note that as for Para 235 in KCSiE “Schools and colleges must still carry out all other relevant pre-appointment checks (as listed at paragraph 232), including where the individual is engaging in regulated activity with children, a separate children’s barred list check..”.
We have received a large pledge of a donation to our bursary campaign. This is not our largest ever donation but the largest in my time and I am looking for guidance on source of funds / anti-money laundering please.
Please see ISBA’s anti-money laundering (AML) guidance and model policy and the FAQs from ISBA’s joint AML workshop with the Home Office.
There is also a relevant article in this term’s edition of the Bursar’s Review, page 44: Source of Funds.
Our current practice is to have a new employee sign a contract only once pre-employment checks are complete, which in many circumstances may mean someone may wait many months (if we make an offer in January for example for a September start).
Is this correct practice, or can I issue a final contract (even with a conditional offer letter), before all checks are back?
It is our advice that a contract should be send with the conditional offer letter. Please see Teacher's Contract of Employment, page 24 – the Conditional Offer of Appointment: “…I enclose two copies of your contract of employment, together with a medical questionnaire…”
The Safer Recruitment Pack is also a good reference (Section 16):
I am delighted to confirm that subject to the appropriate checks, the School wishes to offer you employment as a [position] with effect from [date]. The salary for this post is [£amount]. All other terms are in accordance with the enclosed contract of employment.
The school should not sign the contract until you are satisfied that the conditional terms have been met.
If you missed our recent cyber security update for bursars and SLTs, the webinar can be watched here.
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 and find out more about the ICC as a venue by listening to our latest podcast.
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.
- 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.
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:
- Getting to know the ICC Wales with Danielle Bounds
- 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:
- 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
Summer term regional group meetings will take place as follows:
- 19 April at 2pm – 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