Finance

An examination into how England's education budget is divided

Find out how England's education budget is divided between competing priorities and distributed to individual schools, in this video for headteachers on finance, performance and management. Economist and broadcaster Liam Halligan bakes a giant cake to represent the £72bn 2005/06 education budget, and slices the cake to demonstrate how the money is shared out. Halligan is eventually reduced to putting crumbs on plates to indicate the few thousand pounds left over for school departments. The video asks whether good education is dependent on a big budget, and explores how one inner-city secondary school managed to double its GCSE pass rate without any extra government cash.

Economics of Education

How far should schools go to raise funds?

Should a cash-strapped school accept sponsorship from a fast-food company, or a firm employing child labour in the developing world? What are the least painful cuts to be made to a school budget that needs slashing by 20 per cent? The late professor Ted Wragg chairs the debate, with our panel of educational experts exploring issues arising from taking tough financial decisions to keep a school solvent. Our panel includes: &nbsp; <ul> <li>Rachel Macfarlane, head of Walthamstow School for Girls</li> <li>Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of Mossbourne Community Academy</li> <li>Bill Simmonds, chief executive of the National Bursars Association</li> <li>Sir Frank Lowe, sponsor of Capital City Academy</li> </ul> For more information about this programme, visit the resources and support materials page.

Financial Crisis

Tips from the teacher behind a successful fundraising campaign

The Sarah Bonnell School in east London is just completing the building of a new languages centre called "the atrium", as well as a media resources centre thanks to a remarkable &pound;250,000 fundraising campaign. Headteacher Cauthar Tooley gives a tour of the atrium to three visiting consultants who then move to the new media resources centre to discuss some of the best ways that secondary schools can raise funds. Cauthar Tooley explains that she believes her school should not seek money from parents as they do not have the resources; instead her approach centres on perfecting the writing up of grant applications and backing up these applications with carefully tailored activities in the school. The three fundraising consultants are: <ul> <li>Mark Jefferies, MD of Craigmyle</li> <li>Freelance fundraising consultant David Poppitt </li> <li>Freelance fundraising consultant Christine Baker</li> </ul> The consultants and the head discuss a range of fundraising techniques and ideas, including leadership and fundraising.

Fundraising Consultancy

The benefits of investing in ICT and e-learning software

The Sir Bernard Lovell School recently used their devolved capital formula (DFC), combined with a bank loan, to invest £250,000 in ICT hardware. This investment coincides with an upgrade in software for e-learning. The school believes that education continues after the lesson and their strategy to invest in ICT is focused on supporting teaching and learning. Teachers, students and pupils will be given access to an e-learning network that is supported by the new hardware investment. The project is managed, independently of the LEA by business administration manager Liz Griffiths in collaboration with Andrew McCauley, the ICT systems manager.

Three governors learn about their legal responsibilities

In this programme, we follow three new governors as they complete challenges designed to help them get to grips with their legal responsibilities. Governance expert Judy Burgess explains how important it is for governors to familiarise themselves with the legal responsibilities of a school governor, as our governors learn how to cope with a number of key tasks. In addition to their many other responsibilities, our governors discover how they are also responsible for health and safety, special needs and finance.

Know your Responsibilities

A look at how one school approaches its capital projects

In this programme, we focus on how one school approaches a range of self-managed capital projects. Finham Park Comprehensive School in Coventry is a mixed community school. In recent years it has invested over £500,000 of its devolved formula capital (DFC) on a range of projects. Work has included a new sixth form centre, a library and an award-winning refurbishment of all of the school's toilets. Business manager Jan Hawker, with the assistance of deputy head Colin Napp, discuss how the school approaches its capital projects, with advice on how to raise finance and how to best manage projects. See the resources and support materials page for links related to this programme.

New Buildings

A fundraising consultant looks for a school's untapped resources

Outspoken fundraising consultant David Poppitt is convinced every school should have a well thought-out and strategic fundraising strategy. When Poppitt saw a recent BBC documentary about Brownhills School in Stoke-on-Trent, he was appalled that the school's campaign to attract the essential &pound;50,000 for a specialist status bid had raised less than &pound;1,000. Teachers TV invited Poppitt to visit the school and review its strategy. He meets various members of staff, some more enthusiastic about the task of fundraising than others. He also discovers considerable untapped resources. Key points: <ul> <li>Plenty of practical advice for schools on what works best</li> <li>The role of a bursar and the dangers of having excessive expectations from him or her</li> <li>Having the right attitude to raising cash and allocating sufficient resources to the job</li> </ul>

Raising Funds Locally

Different approaches to sourcing funds for ICT

Raising money to invest in ICT in schools can be a minefield, as there are any number of models and schemes in place. In this programme, we compare and contrast potential sources of ICT funding, investigating the pros and cons of each. Money for ICT: Find It visits Waldegrave School and Greensward College and explores the different funding schemes and models they have followed. Talking to key representatives, we hear about the issues that these schools needed to consider when finding the money, for example: How to raise the money Why choose a particular model How to work out the amount needed Who needs be involved in the decision-making process

Secondary ICT - Money for ICT: Find It

Two schools reveal what they spend their ICT money on and why

So, you've got the money in place, but what do you spend it on? Just as finding money for ICT can be a difficult process, so spending the money successfully can be a nerve-wracking undertaking for schools. The aim of this programme is to look at different models for spending money on ICT and the issues that need to be addressed. In Money for ICT: Spend It, we focus again on Waldegrave School and Greensward College, but this time compare and contrast what the two schools spent their money on and why. Through conversations with the key representatives we consider: How they budget for hardware or software What the hidden costs are What advice/support is available to them How they evaluate their ICT needs Who is involved in the decision-making process

Secondary ICT - Money for ICT: Spend It

Discussion of the ongoing class divide in British education

Despite all best efforts, Britain continues to have one of the greatest class divides in education in the industrialised world. The socio-economic attainment gap is evident as early as 22 months, and widens as a child gets older. There has also been no improvement in the number of poor children going to university. Jonathan Dimbleby is joined by a panel of experts and an informed audience to debate education's biggest failure. Can education help to bridge the class divide, or does it only make it worse?

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

Whole school

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