V - Victory is V for Victory ( A to Z Tips) to recovery
There has been much talk about the future of independent schools and the fight of some for survival. Whilst writing this piece, it was announced that St Thomas Garnet’s Catholic Independent School, Bournemouth, will close at the end of the academic year. It is not the first school to lose the battle and sadly it will not be the last. Talks are underway with a number of schools looking to merge, federate or sell to an investor in an effort to secure their future and we expect the numbers to increase as the full impact of COVID-19 becomes evident.
This year’s VE Day celebrations were a poignant reminder of lives lost, battles fought, and won, and a generation who simply refused to give up. It was Prime Minister Winston Churchill who, in 1941, made famous the V for Victory hand gesture, a defining image of defiance during the bloody conflict. Today, whilst the gesture is more commonly acknowledged as meaning 'peace', the recent challenges across the world are testing our stoicism and now, more than ever, we feel we can better appreciate the sense of loss, of hardship, and of the bravery that won the day. Whilst our fight for independent school survival is a commercial one, we too need to be bold, stand as one for the sake of the young lives and parents that depend on those businesses.
It is reported that there are around 2,600 independent schools in the UK. They educate around 615,000 children, some 7 per cent of all British children and 18 per cent of pupils over the age of 16. The ISC annual Census carried out in January 2020 reflects the findings of 1,374 schools in the UK covering some 537,315 pupils. The good news is that prior to the outbreak, pupil numbers had exceeded the previous pre-recession high and were at their highest level since records began in 1974. Over a quarter of new pupils to ISC schools joined from the state-funded sector. However, the majority of ISC schools have fewer than 300 pupils, the typical size is just under 190 pupils and therein lies the problem. Whilst small may be considered beautiful, it is also costly and often comes with the added responsibility of extensive grounds and high maintenance buildings, and a margin that is constantly being squeezed. In January, there were 29,446 overseas pupils, 28,650 of which have parents living overseas: 5.5% of all pupils. The loss of overseas pupils will doubtless add to the fragility of some schools.
The ISC schools census also reports a total number of 58,233 full-time equivalent teachers employed, 87,338 pupils identified as having special educational needs and/or a disability, around £15 million raised for charities, 969 schools organised volunteering opportunities for staff and/or pupils, and 1,169 schools in partnership with state schools, varying from academy sponsorship, to seconding teaching staff, to serving as governors at state schools. When you apply these figures to the revenue created for the UK (Oxford Economics published a report in May 2019 to say that private schools generate ‘total quantifiable taxpayer savings’ of £3.5 billion per year – that’s the calculation of what it would costs the state to educate the students instead), it is clear that this is a sector worth fighting for.
In the words of John Osteen, ‘you cannot expect victory and plan for defeat’, so now is the time to get your victory game on.
Whether you are reviewing your strategic direction, looking for ways to enhance and support your Senior Leadership Team, setting your school team fresh objectives, seeking a new member of the leadership team, getting yourself inspection ready, or simply planning a return to full opening, Headspace Academics are on hand to help.
Simply contact Dannielle Hutchings via support@headspaceacademics.com and she will happily call to discuss how we can support you.
ISC annual Census infographic 2020
https://www.isc.co.uk/media/6679/isc_census_2020.pdf
Report
https://www.isc.co.uk/media/5479/isc_census_2019_report.pdf