Challenges Facing Prep Schools

Prep schools face an array of challenges - but these can also represent opportunities for schools. John Tranmer, Chairman-Elect of the IAPS, offers his perspective on how the sector will overcome and thrive despite them.

It is often said that challenges are opportunities in disguise; if that is the case, then many independent schools must feel, in common with Gordon Brown, as if they are surrounded by well concealed opportunities! One of the perils of writing an article that will not appear for several weeks is that you can be overtaken by events. At Easter, when I started to draft this article, the economic outlook was turbulent but the political situation looked stable; what a difference a few weeks has made. I am sure that Gordon Brown would now welcome a few genuine opportunities rather than the constant challenges that beset him at the moment, and there will be more than a few independent school heads who have similar feelings at the moment. Clearly, the challenges will be different, but no less real and pressing.

Nobody can offer easy panaceas for the current problems and difficulties but I hope that by describing some of them, it may be possible to suggest those that are potential opportunities and those that may remain intractable challenges to be endured. Looking first at the political situation, rather unexpectedly Ed Balls remains (at the time of writing) education secretary, the seventh incumbent in less than a decade. Perhaps we should welcome this brief if untypical example of continuity and, I suggest, it means that the prevailing approach from the government to independent schools is likely to remain one of indifference tinged with a modicum of hostility. There is, for example, little chance of any recognition, let alone support, for the beleaguered independent sector despite the fact that, collectively, private schools contribute significantly to the British economy and save the taxpayer in excess of £3 billion each year. With an election inevitable within a year, and the strong possibility of a Conservative government, do we have any reason to be optimistic? Before answering, let us look at what Michael Gove and others have been saying recently. I believe the majority of heads in both the independent and maintained sectors will welcome the proposal to scrap the SATs tests at 11, but will reserve judgement until the proposals for assessment early in Year 7 are clarified. Certainly testing by secondary schools is commonplace in the independent sector, usually before entry at 11, 12 or 13. However, what a Conservative government might do to ensure moderation and accountability, and whether or not steps will be taken to prevent new forms of league tables remains to be seen.

The clearest statement of current Conservative thinking on education is to be found in their policy guide 'Raising the bar, closing the gap'. In the document, there is praise for the Swedish model where 'money follows the pupil so that parents can send their child to any school of their choosing'. Those of us who are old enough to remember Keith Joseph may feel that there is more than a whiff of 'educational vouchers' here and indeed, in Sweden, parents are free to choose for the funding to go to private as well as state schools. Sadly, the Conservatives have already clarified their statement, making it clear that the proposal would only apply to the state sector. There is also praise in the Conservative document for education in the Netherlands where, apparently, 'parents can set up a new school to meet local needs if they are dissatisfied with what is currently on offer'. Having commented favourably on the Swedish and Dutch models, the document notes that 'as a result, educational standards in these countries are among the highest in the world'. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, the Conservatives seem determined to adopt many of the features they find so appealing in Sweden and the Netherlands. There is a promise to provide over 220,000 new school places and to allow not-for-profit organisations to set up new schools in the public sector with access to equivalent public funding. Of course, it is right that any opposition party should give education a high priority and look at alternative models but it is extremely sad to note that there is no reference at all to the independent sector in 'Raising the bar, closing the gap'. More worrying still are sweeping generalisations that sound ominously New Labouresque, such as, 'Schools should exist to reverse inequality, to advance social mobility'! Gone are the days when schools were expected to provide a good education; they must now be the drivers of social change. Those who despair at the dilution of academic rigour at universities will also find little comfort in the Conservative document. Having noted that the number of young people going to university is approaching Labour's arbitrary target of 50%, the document comments 'we hope it will go further'. More courses in media studies and surfing to look forward to then, and even more graduates fit to do little more than man call centres or stack shelves in supermarkets!

By now, it will be obvious that I do not hold out much hope for improvements to education under a Conservative government if their current policy statements form the basis of serious plans when in office. Of course, a cynic might argue that their current statements are carefully crafted to offend as few of the electorate as possible. Realistically, if they do form the next government, the Conservatives will be dealing with an ailing economy, massive public debt and a plethora of other pressing issues that will leave little time or money, and few options for radical change in the education sector. Independent schools will, as before, have to continue to focus on their own core issues of maintaining quality, widening access as far as possible without public funding and promoting dialogue and partnership in a very one-sided relationship.

Having described the political situation, I should next turn to the economic context. The recession continues but, as many heads have noted, we seem to be in a 'phoney war' situation. The last ISC census noted a very slight overall increase, approximately 0.6%, in the numbers in affiliated schools but those figures were based on the position last Autumn. Understandably, many heads are cagey about giving details of their intake for this September (2009), but anecdotal evidence suggests many schools will have slightly fewer pupils. Perhaps most worryingly, many heads are predicting that September 2010 will be even tougher. Personally, I feel we are in danger of talking ourselves into a self-fulfilling prophecy and, after circulating a questionnaire to IAPS schools at the end of the summer term, I hope to be able to give an up-to-date, realistic and positive picture of our sector at the IAPS conference in September. I am not under-estimating the difficulties that many schools face; as head of a smaller school I am well aware of the sort of issues currently occupying many of them. However, I also have great confidence in the skills, determination and flexibility of the heads and governors who lead private schools. If Sir Alan (now Lord) Sugar was ever to need different examples of entrepreneurship for The Apprentice, he should send Nick or Margaret to some of the independent schools that are thriving despite the recession. Are there any common features to such schools? I believe the answer is probably, 'yes', and I would point to the following:

  • Schools where the governors not only put their trust in the head but also give him/her real support;
  • Schools that are putting more time, effort and money into marketing and PR;
  • Schools that are budgeting carefully, negotiating hard with every supplier and making full use of their resources and facilities;
  • Schools that are looking creatively at opportunities to co-operate, federalise and possibly even merge.

I also believe schools are entitled to expect support and advice from their professional associations, and for most prep schools that means IAPS and ISC. As Chairman-elect of IAPS, I am pleased that the association has already produced helpful documents such as the 'Mergers and Acquisitions' document and the 'Top Tips' for coping with the recession. Another initiative that has benefited members of IAPS is the creation of a helpline on inspection and compliance issues. This is an excellent example of innovation focussed on meeting the most pressing needs of heads and their schools. Working closely with David Hanson and the team at headquarters in Leamington Spa, I intend to ensure that this type of support for members remains the top priority throughout my year as Chairman. In responding to members' needs, IAPS is rapidly becoming a sort of 'one-stop shop', able to provide all the advice and services that prep school heads need.

 

Another initiative taken very recently by IAPS is the appointment of a press and communications officer. This appointment recognises the importance of promoting IAPS as the leading professional association for private schools and as a kitemark of quality. We are striving towards a situation where any parent who is looking for the best school for a young child will automatically search out the IAPS schools because they know it is the hallmark of excellence. Of course, one press and communications officer alone cannot achieve that; there is much that the membership in general can do to help the process. It still amazes me that there are quite a lot of IAPS schools where the parents do not understand the significance of their head being a member. We need to ensure that all our current parents know why IAPS membership matters. Beyond that, we can begin to look at further developments, such as joint advertising. I am pleased to say that three members in Leeds will shortly undertake joint advertising with IAPS, and what it signifies, at the centre of the message. I hope that other heads and schools will look at opportunities to work together for their collective benefit.

Many heads are also worried about the bureaucratic burden created by ever-increasing regulations and the government's knee-jerk reaction to events. ContactPoint and the Independent Safeguarding Authority are two prime examples of impositions that will place additional costs and burdens on schools. Their origins lie in the laudable intention to improve child protection but, sadly, such schemes are often ill-conceived and ineffective. However, schools will need to be ready to cope with the extra burdens and, once again, IAPS and ISC can play a major role in providing support and guidance.

Disappointingly the English Charity Commission rulings which have just been released covering five independent schools seem to imply that schools can only pass their supposed 'public benefit' test by offering means-tested bursaries (or their hardship equivalent) at 100% of fees. Moreover, despite the Commission's reluctance to provide clarification, it looks likely that there is a minimum threshold of 5% (i.e. that the school must either have or offer bursaries/hardship support for 'poor' pupils equivalent to 5% of gross income).

Opinions offered in recent letters to The Times from two QCs suggest that the Commission's interpretation of Charity Law is flawed. This, and the highly political nature of the Commission's leadership under long-standing Labour party member Dame Suzi Leather, leaves the possibility of a challenge to the recent rulings. Even before the rulings, IAPS and the other associations had agreed, in principle, to support a challenge if the Commission's rulings failed to take into account the totality of public benefit provided by independent schools with charitable status. This would probably involve one school challenging the Commission with financial support from all the others (a one-off sum of 50p per pupil has been mooted).

Unless and until such a challenge occurs, schools will need to reassess their public benefit in light of the rulings. It is unfortunate that many IAPS schools will find it difficult to meet the likely threshold because they do not have wealthy foundations to draw on and are usually operating on tight margins - particularly so in the current recession. However, one crumb of comfort might be derived from the fact that the Commission is unlikely to be able to review in depth more than a handful of schools each year. In the interim, schools should take great care to represent themselves dynamically when completing their annual return for the Charity Commission.

The next few years are almost certain to be difficult for the independent sector in general, and for smaller schools in particular. However, with good planning, determination and effective support from IAPS and others, I am confident that the vast majority of schools will not just survive, they will thrive.

John Tranmer is the Headmaster of The Froebelian School, Leeds. He is Chairman-Elect of IAPS.
This article first appeared in the XXXX issue of Attain.