Government announces new peer mentoring programme

30/12/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Every working day during the year, members of the Education Marketing news service get a detailed report on an issue relating to selling into education.

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Here’s a typical item of news from the service.

 

Young people will be mentors to their peers as Government announces £720,000 to help young people become more active citizens

 

The Peer Mentoring programme, run by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation, will work across England, to enable young people to provide support and advice to one another in schools and build friendships. The programme will work in schools and colleges and involve young people being trained to mentor their peers, listen to their problems and engage other young people in the community.

 

As part of the National Peer Mentoring Programme, children and young people will:

 

• work with groups or individuals to resolve disputes through conflict resolution;

• develop befriending schemes which help to encourage friendships for those children who might otherwise struggle to fit in or to be accepted;

• be trained to listen to problems and support their peers.

 

The National Peer Mentoring Programme aims to promote and support the development of young people volunteering to become peers in schools and colleges. The scheme will ensure that the necessary infrastructure and resources are available to all schools and education settings that want them.

 

The National Peer Mentoring Programme delivers a key commitment of the Aiming high for young people strategy to work with young people who have become disengaged with their community. By offering a young mentor to advice and support those young people experiencing difficult circumstances at school or at home, they can help make the transition to adulthood much easier.

 

The National Peer Mentoring Programme follows a successful pilot scheme which involved 180 schools and engaged with 3,600 pupils. The pilots focussed on attainment, behaviour, bullying and transition.

 

The national programme will build on the pilots and is designed to apply to all young people in pre and post 16 education. Typically the young person requiring mentoring may be experiencing difficulties in education that are linked to language or social and communication skills.

 

 Case studies:

 

A) MORECAMBE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL, LANCASHIRE

 

BACKGROUND

Morecambe Community High School in Lancashire became involved in the National Peer Mentoring Pilot in September 2006. Since then, they have never looked back and were recently presented the Princess Diana Award for their innovative and successful Anti-Bullying Programme ‘MENTOR MATES’ which has been embedded within the whole school. In just 2 years the project has gone from having 20 to 35 full time, active Mentors –a true measure of its success and impact in school.

Currently Year 9, 10 & 11 mentors carry out one to one sessions with vulnerable students in Years 7 & 8, providing an understanding ear and offering advice on coping strategies. There is a drop-in centre every break and lunch time where serious issues can be tackled in a friendly and non-confrontational environment. The peer mentoring programme was designed to run as an integral part of the schools anti-bullying policy. The desired outcome of the project was to reduce incidences of bullying within the whole school, and especially for year 7 and 8 students in periods of transition and students perceived at risk. In addition to this, Peer Mentoring is also being used across the school to tackle other issues including low-level disruption and providing learning support.

 

HOW IT WAS IMPLEMENTED
Y9 and 10 volunteers are selected by interview and in consultation with the heads of years. Peer mentors attend a training day to gain skills necessary to become mentors, anyone conducting 1:1 sessions will need to attend further sessions on specific areas. Additional training would be available every fortnight after school, delivered by the coordinator.

 

GOOD PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTED BY THE PROJECT
• Student ownership and participation
• Successful marketing strategy within the school and for parents
• Accessibility for all students to receive mentoring

 

THE COORDINATOR
“… At a time when young people are often criticized because of the actions of an anti social minority, the selfless actions of these caring and unique young people should be celebrated – I am very proud to work with them and look forward to seeing all their great work once again during this year’s Anti-Bullying Week!”

 

APPROACH TO PEER MENTORING
The coordinator plays a pivotal role in the running of the scheme. Whilst providing training, advice and guidance and on going support the coordinator also monitors and evaluates the drop in groups and the one to one mentoring.

 

WHEN AND WHERE
“There’s a private room for the sessions as mentees are already generally quite shy so we do need to create an intimate and cosy environment where they feel comfortable about opening up. Sessions are generally held weekly with more meetings if needed. There’s no fixed time how long a Mentee has a Mentor– its case dependent – maybe between 1-25 but its always best not to stipulate at the outset or the relationship can become false or forced. The general guide has been when they run out of issues to talk about, the Mentor’s work is done! “

 

MEASURING OUTCOMES
Each Mentor has a Work Booklet which contains a Peer Mentoring Code of Conduct, a Contract and a Confidentiality Contract that both Mentor and Mentee agree and sign. After each meeting they fill out a Session Review Sheet about the issues discussed. After four weeks the Coordinator will assess progress and offer advice on how to move forward, plan ahead and set targets, There’s also a Reflection Log for issues discussed, guidance offered, and the skills that were used (as these are helpful later on a CV or UCAS application).

 

THE PEER MENTORING COUNCIL
For extreme cases, the school has introduced an innovative method of Peer Mediation where Peer Mentors take referrals from the four Heads of House. Bullies are brought to a PEER MENTORING COUNCIL, a session comprising two Mentors, the Bully and the Victim. This helps give the students more ownership as to how these cases are dealt with. Explains Peer Mentoring Coordinator, Ailsa Bunch. “Although this method is infrequent it is effective. Once the child has come to terms with their own issues that led them to bully, the school then aims to turn the situation around and make them the mentor. We are able to deal with bullying in a less confrontational and more positive, peer-accountable way.

 

MARKETING THE SCHEME IN SCHOOL
The Peer Mentoring scheme has a high profile across the school with its own dedicated Link Building, meeting room and notice board. In addition to this, it is marketed individually to pupils, staff and parents:
TO PUPILS: The programme is launched every September in the Library with Role Play sessions for all Y7 groups and a play in Assembly showing how bullying can start (from the subtle knocking books of a table, to name calling, pushing and hitting). After the play, Y7s draw a poster and do worksheets in class to explore and discuss the issues further. The Y11s have rewritten the school’s anti-bullying policy which has also added impact across the year groups.

TO STAFF: All teachers are made aware of the programme through INSET training and newsletters are used to publish answers from anonymous questions posted in the anti bullying box. At the start of term the Mentors also put on a play and host after school workshops for the staff in which they highlight the responsibilities of teachers in tackling bulling – not to shrug off the issues and ‘deal with it later’ but to take the issues seriously, take immediate action and nip the conflicts in the bud.

TO PARENTS: The programme is marketed to parents through the school newsletter, brochure and website where the Mentors have their own area of the site. OFSTED have also recognised the value of the scheme in the most recent report, whilst staff across the school give it their support.

 

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK
This is a key date in the school calendar and is celebrated by a range of activities including thought-provoking assemblies, profile raising events and staff and pupil workshops throughout the week.

 

LESSONS LEARNED
Mentoring should be optional and without too many barriers – the more you can trust pupils to run it themselves, the more the process can happen fluidly. One of the biggest learning curves in school has been when the mentor/mentee relationships didn’t work and learning not to see this as a failure but working out how to improve things. The very purpose of Mentoring is to stimulate change and growth and therefore the process itself will also require constant review. The programme and training takes a long time to set up and get pupils and staff on board, but once they are, the project is self-sustaining as its the pupils who run the project (staff just provide the communication channels and additional support if needed).

Anti Bullying - Peer Mentor & Mentee Case Study

 

THE PEER MENTOR
“My school has definitely changed – everyone has someone to talk to now … its much easier to talk to a mentor rather than an adult because they’re more your age and understand you better – you also can talk about a problem without it becoming a big deal…the confidentiality part of it is really important and they know we wouldn’t tell unless there was a serious problem and that helps them to open up.”

 

BACKGROUND
Catherine was trained last year whilst in Y9 and has been a Mentor for the academic year 2007-08. “I remembered how scary it is going into big school and how lucky I’d been to have help through transition from our Y11s, so I volunteered to become a Peer Mentor. As well as launching the Mentor Scheme in school September (with plays, posters), before the summer we went out to talk to Y6 pupils before they join the school so even if they don’t get their own mentor, they know the structure is in place and where to go if they have a problem.

 

IMPACT ON MENTEE
My first mentee was very shy and that was the biggest part of the problem - she was so shy she used to ignore the bully so things just got worse. … I found some worksheets on confidence building, how to find your voice and stand up for yourself that we worked on together through posters and pictures …and gradually the problem stopped.

I’m now working with two Y7 pupils who are best friends and being bullied by another one of their classmates. Initially they wouldn’t really open up to me, so after about a month my coordinator suggested I try using some worksheets about Friendship. This worked and sparked off a big discussion in which we brainstormed why friends fall out and how you get round it… how all the little niggles, fibs and squabbles can suddenly turn into bigger problems. This really helped the girls open up about what was happening to them.

 

IMPACT ON MENTOR
Mentoring has made me more confident … I used to be very shy and quiet and now I’m confident in myself and with my studies. My mentees are more confident and I see the change in them and that makes me feel really good. We used to meet up once a week but our sessions were reduced to once a fortnight and are now just once a month.

They’ve said they’re OK now I’ve taught them the coping skills … but they still like to know I’m around if they ever need me. As well as improving my confidence, I’ve learnt new skills such as speaking skills, listening, thinking on my feet, developing my judgment and being organised (I do organisation worksheets with my mentors and this helps me too!). I think every school should have a Peer Mentoring programme as it makes everyone feel more confident knowing there’s someone to help deal with your problems.

 

IMPACT IN SCHOOL
Catherine explains “At the start of the school year we run Role Play sessions in the Library for the Y7s which shows what bullying looks like, the different forms it can take and how it can start. We acted out little scenes and had a big group discussion about what it feels like the first few days of starting a new school. This really helps the little ones know that what they feel is normal and no one’s going to flush their head down the toilet!”

 

THE MENTEES
“… our bully is like World War 3 and we try to avoid her but she’s sometimes hard to ignore. Catherine is the best thing in the world – she’s brilliant and without her we’d probably have left this school by now or would have had to hide in cupboards but Catherine makes us feel great … happy and not frightened any more!

 

BACKGROUND
A mentee is usually referred from the head of Y7 or Head of House. All potentially ‘at risk’ Y6 pupils are allocated mentors before they arrive in school and go into weekly meetings with the three different Peer Mentoring groups. A big notice board tells the new intake what support is on offer and where whilst also acting as a reminder to the rest of the school how it feels to start secondary school.

 

IMPACT ON MENTEE
Pupil A “It started in Y7 when she used to call me names for being small… then she started telling lies to my friend (pupil B) to try and stir things up, make us argue and split us up. I thought she was my friend but then she sent me nasty messages so mum said I should block her on Bebo”.

Pupil B “ I used to feel scared and annoyed and didn’t like coming to school in case she was waiting at the gates for me – sometimes she’d look at me and say ‘what are you looking at? Catherine did brainstorms with us and we made posters about friendship so now I just tell her I’ll play with whoever I like and she’s not in charge of my life… I’ve filled out 3 bullying forms about her now and we know we can meet Catherine in class time or in a break if ever we need to ask her about anything”

Pupil A “I think we’d make good Mentors now because we’ve learned from what Catherine said to us when we were being bullied – and because we know what it feels like to be bullied we can help other pupils from our own experiences (what you do if you’re being called names or getting nasty looks) … “

Pupil B “We really like our school the after school clubs are good and our English teacher is great – this is the best school and Catherine is the best!”

B) HEADLANDS SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY SCIENCE COLLEGE, BRIDLINGTON

“…We were terrified of our son starting secondary school - but his Peer Mentor has been a real God send – and we’re feeling very reassured to already be seeing the benefits at such an early stage… The fact he’s having a good, positive time at school now is all thanks to the Peer Mentoring scheme…”

BACKGROUND
The formation of a Peer Mentoring Group was one of the steps towards improvement introduced by the school after being placed in Special Measures following an OfSTED inspection in February 2008. At this point Claire Wood (Head of Coaching and Mentoring) decided the time was right to launch her idea for a Peer Mentoring Programme. Claire enlisted the help of Ange Coyne (Learning Tutor) and from there the project grew. As early as July 2008, OFSTED confirmed that the school had already made improvements with the Peer Mentoring proving to be a great asset:
“Under the new management structure many staff have recognised the need for change.
Learning Tutors have been proactive in the creation of and training for a Peer Mentoring Group. Students appointed as peer mentors wear their eye-catching uniform tops with pride”. OfSTED

HOW IT WAS IMPLEMENTED
In early March, pupils were invited to apply to be a Peer Mentor, thirty-nine students applied. Following a series of interviews in April, fifteen Y9 students began their training – which involved a two-day training course at the school. By June they were visiting Y6 pupils at the feeder primaries, and by July were matched 1-2-1 with Mentees identified as potentially vulnerable*. Once the new intake had arrived, HOY7 referred pupils to the Peer Mentor Scheme as and when situations occurred. “Some matters are resolved in just one drop-in session others take a little longer … the Peer Mentoring room provides a constant, accessible and safe haven for any pupils who want to go there”.

*At the outset, 15 mentees were identified as potentially vulnerable. Out of these, only four were still being mentored after the first few sessions whilst new mentees have entered the programme.

GOOD PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTED BY THE PROJECT
• Dedicated team of staff made up of 2 x Project Managers (Claire Wood and Ange Coyne) working closely with Maths Teacher (Mike Kneeshaw) John Badman (Director of Learning) and Barry Ackroyd (HOY7) who worked together to provide a constant line of communication for staff, pupils and parents.
• Great support for the scheme across the teaching staff and from parents.
• Successful marketing strategy within the school (to staff, pupils and parents).
• Accessibility for all students to receive mentoring.
• A dedicated drop-in Peer Mentor room for all Y7 and Y8 pupils.

THE COORDINATORS
“We are a totally dedicated team and are lucky enough to receive excellent
support from our colleagues… we’re opening a new drop-in Peer Mentoring room after half term which we feel will be key to the success of the project – some of our Y7s just need a safe haven to come to at break times until they find their feet”
Claire Wood, Head of Coaching and Mentoring

APPROACH TO PEER MENTORING
Although the scheme is still in its first year, Clare and Ange believe passionately in the benefits of Peer Mentoring and have great ambitions for the project. Claire’s goal is – by September 2009 – to introduce a Peer Mentoring qualification onto the school timetable with dedicated hours, leading to tangible qualifications (equivalent to a GCSE Grade B in year two and an A/S level by year three).

WHEN AND WHERE
A dedicated Peer Mentor room is open every break and every lunch time for Y7s where they can eat lunch, play games (Connect 4, Jenga, Uno), speak to a Peer Mentor one-to-one or just hang out with their friends away from the bustle of the rest of the school. In addition to this, there will be corridor patrols and playground assistants and all mentors are allocated a specific day to be on duty once a week. All the Peer Mentors wear bright green hoodies with ‘PEER MENTOR’ on the back to make sure they’re a visible presence at all times. There is currently a team of thirteen Y10, two Y11 and four 6th Form Peer Mentors.

MEASURING OUTCOMES
Each Mentor has a File which contains a Peer Mentoring Code of Conduct, a Contract and a Confidentiality Contract that both Mentor and Mentee agree and sign. After notable events they fill out a Session Review Sheet about the issues discussed. At any time the Coordinators can assess progress and offer advice on how to move forward, plan ahead and set targets. There’s also a Log Book for the mentees to document their thoughts, feelings and what they have learnt (rather like a diary).

MARKETING THE SCHEME IN SCHOOL
The Peer Mentoring scheme has a high profile right across the school with its own dedicated uniform and room as well as a number of colourful, eye-catching display boards in key locations (reception, main corridor, Peer Mentoring room and canteen). The boards display posters, the photos and names of the Peer Mentors, information about what they do, when and where sessions are held and details of the special Y7 Assemblies.

MARKETING TO PARENTS & PUPILS: In addition to the feeder primary visits, full details of the scheme are included in the Y7’s Transition Packs followed by Y7 assemblies at the start of term hosted by the Y10 Peer Mentors.

MARKETING TO STAFF: All teachers are made aware of the programme through INSET training and the School Newsletters. With the full support of the Head Teacher, the teaching staff fully understands the need to give new starters this additional level of support.

“I really don’t mind if a peer mentor sometimes needs to miss part of a lesson to meet with
their mentee as it all serves a greater good”
Mike Kneeshaw, Maths Teacher

LESSONS LEARNED
It is not always obvious who will benefit the most from having a Peer Mentor.
*At the outset, 15 mentees were identified as potentially vulnerable. Out of these, only four were still being mentored after the first few sessions whilst new mentees have entered the programme. Fluidity, adaptability and patience play an important part to the success of any project.

TRANSITION CASE STUDY ONE: Y10 PEER MENTOR & Y7 MENTEE
“We were very, very impressed at the speed in which the school picked up on the fact there was a problem and then immediately dealt with it. [In the three weeks] since having a Peer Mentor, our son has started talking to us much more about what he’s doing and has been a much happier boy both at school and at home…The fact he’s having a good, positive time at school now is all thanks to the Peer Mentoring scheme.

BACKGROUND (MENTEE’S DAD & MUM)
“My son has autism –and is quite a shy boy so it took him all through junior school to make one or two good friends… so understandably we were very nervous when the time came for him to make the transition from a school of 150 pupils to 1,500! He is very much a creature of habit and thrives on familiar surroundings and people so whilst part of us worried whether transition would be too much for him – we also very much wanted him to go to a mainstream school.

After two weeks we received a call to tell us he’d been seen wandering aimlessly around the corridors at lunch and break times… this started to make sense as he’d been coming home saying he’d not had any lunch (which surprised us because he enjoys his food!). The school requested permission to give him a Peer Mentor (we’d read about these in our Transition Packs but weren’t entirely sure what they did!) … but that’s when things began to noticeably improve. Since being under a Peer Mentor’s wing there’s been a dramatic change… he’s opened up and has had lunch every day (today we’re trying out a new system where all the mentees are bringing in packed lunches which they can eat together in the Peer Mentor’s room.)”

Y7 MENTEE
“My mentor is cool – he’s my friend - we have lunch together three or four times a week and chat and play games together. We play Uno, Bingo and I like Connect 4 (because I always win!). I’d like to be a Peer Mentor myself one day.

Y10 MENTOR (BACKGROUND)
“After my interview I was really pleased to be chosen as a Peer Mentor. I think the qualities I bring are that I’m outgoing, talkative, confident and funny at times. I try to be open-minded an all-round good guy. At the end of last year I was told I’d be having a different mentee but everything changed at the start of the year as some of the new Y7s didn’t need a Peer Mentor after all. Then, someone told Miss Wood that my mentee had not been having lunch so Miss Coyne asked if I’d pick him up and take him to the canteen every day.”

IMPACT ON MENTOR
“It has already been rewarding because I’ve already seen results. I’m a natural goal setter and my first goal was to get him talking more. I’ve really seen his confidence grow and we chat about all sorts now. My second goal is to ‘expand his friend-span’ – I’m doing this by wandering off for a few minutes if someone new comes over to talk to us. I’m sure he’ll make loads of friends, he likes having a laugh and making other people laugh … he’s actually really confident with people he knows… “

IMPACT IN SCHOOL
There is a buzz across the school – the Peer Mentors are proud and very, very committed to their role. Peer Mentor Aaron said the scheme appealed to him straight away “ you don’t have to be the brightest pupil you just have to be good at listening and just be you … I had a lad dropped in one morning with lots of troubles but after he’d talked for a while you could see the difference in him. It works both ways though. If I’ve had a bad morning and you make someone else feel better, it makes you feel better too!”
I’m learning lots of new skills – learning how to listen, what to say and what not to say. For example if someone says they think someone is a bad teacher or their dad is a bad person you ask them how it makes them feel rather than pass a judgement on their situation”

TRANSITION CASE STUDY TWO: Y10 PEER MENTOR & Y7 MENTEE

“I truly believe the Peer Mentoring scheme should be rolled out as the norm right
across the country. I don’t think people really recognise the massive change it is from primary to secondary school … the building is big - the people are big –
it can all be too much all at once!”

BACKGROUND (MENTEE’S MUM)
My daughter has always been quiet and conscientious although by Y5 began to gain in confidence. But by Y6 with every mention of high school she always went very quiet. We had a few reservations anyway because of the bad reputation the school had at one point but it seemed really nice when we came to look round and with the new head in place we wanted to give it a fair chance. I must say the transition work the school did was brilliant - with a team from this school visiting her primary school - on top of the Y6 pupils actually coming in to school for a two-day, time-tabled induction. The science lab was all set up and the music room – so they could have a go and try things out before they started.
However, in spite of all this - call it a mother’s instinct – I just knew something wasn’t right. Then the biggest blow was that she’d not been put in any of the same tutor groups as her best friend (as academically they are at quite different levels). Whilst she did make a new friend, after a couple of weeks her new friend was not at school for a few days which just shattered her confidence to the point she cried every morning. That was the point I rang the Head of Year, Mr Ackroyd – who was absolutely fantastic… he rang me back at work twice until he’d spoken to me and explained that the school was going to give her a Peer Mentor.

The whole Peer Mentoring team has been so enthusiastic and spot-on from day one. A couple of days after all this happened, (Learning Tutor) Mrs Coyne called me just to reassure me that my daughter was fine and had had a good day… its very unique to get that level of care at a secondary school and just so valuable.”

Y7 MENTEE
I was really looking forward to starting my new school but very nervous about all the changes even though we’d had lots of transition work to help us … and for the first two weeks I would get a bit lost (even though I had a map!) … It was really hard at first but it has started getting better since I’ve learnt to ask for advice. I didn’t like to ask for help at first – I was just too nervous – but I’m feeling more confident now. One big change was getting a Peer Mentor … someone had been mean to me but talking to my Peer Mentor and Mrs Coyne helped me stand up to them (in a kind way) so that was a confidence boost. Now I meet Heather every Wednesday – she’s really nice – although I can talk to other Peer Mentors as well now… they’re older and understand what you’re going through because they’ve been through it themselves.

I think this will be a good year for me and I’m looking forward to it – I like the subjects and even though I may not like IT, I know I can ask for help … I also know that even if you don’t like something if you give it a go, something good might come from it.

I’d like to be a Peer Mentor one day because I know what they do now. I’m a kind person and have already managed to pass on some of what I’ve learnt from my Peer Mentor – so if one of my classmates is struggling with something I say ‘don’t worry, just do your best, do it at your own pace and ask for help if you need it’ … (that’s what they said to me and I think that’s good advice to pass on to help other people).

HEATHER - Y10 MENTOR
“I like being a Peer Mentor because you know you’re helping other people (and that they know it too!). What skills am I using so far? Well, I’m good at listening and really cheery so I can cheer someone up if they’re down … I’m very friendly so the Y7s see me as a friend rather than someone that’s a lot older. I think I’m developing lots of new skills as well - I’m learning how to be more sociable (I’m not very confident around people I don’t know so this is building my confidence as well as building Charlotte’s) and its very rewarding when new people come into the room we can help. Its good we had the training and know what to do and we also know we have Mrs Wood or Mrs Coyne there if there’s a problem we can’t deal with (for example we can help with things like name-calling but if it was physical bullying we’d call our coordinator).

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Buying Patterns in Schools: Free Report

23/12/2008 by Tony Attwood.

The “Buying Patterns in Schools” report is the most widely read report of all those that HHM puts out.  It reviews how and when schools spend money, and it incorporates the When to Mail report.

 

Best of all it is free

 

Apart from the details of what we think will happen month by month in 2009 the report also contains articles on the way responsibilities have changed, the effect of the Schools Financial Management Standard, the effect of the end of elearning credits, what RM is now doing with post during the school holidays, the latest on how email into schools is working, and information on shared mailings.

 

It also contains dates of holidays etc for the coming year.

 

You can read it all on http://www.hamilton-house.com/free%20reports/When.pdf     If you want to discuss issues relating to the report or any other issue in education marketing please do email me: Tony at Hamilton-House.com    Our offices are closed over the Christmas and New Year period but after January 5 2009 you can contact us once again on 01536 399 000.

 

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What has happened this term in schools

14/12/2008 by Tony Attwood.

What has happened this term that is quite different from years gone by is that we are getting reports of positive responses to campaigns that are continuing deep into December.

There are a couple of possible reasons.

One is that it does seem that following the introduction of the new financial rules for schools this financial year, a lot of schools have held back on spending their money, and are now recognising that it must be spent by April, and so are starting to use it up with orders for products wanted in January.

Another is that more and more advertising is going to teachers direct via email (by which I mean advertising that reaches the teachers at their own email in-box, rather than going via the school’s general address).  I can’t say that every campaign using the newly available teachers own email addresses is a success, but some campaigns certainly are, including some that are going out this month.

Third, I’d add the fact that the message has got home that it is now vital to change the style and approach of advertising.  Just because an ad style worked last year it doesn’t mean it will work this year - and I think companies that have followed this approach are doing particularly well.   Once again, not every new piece works, not every new idea is good.  But experimentation is necessary because teachers find it so easy to look at something in a previously used style and say “seen that” and throw it away.

There’s details of some of the new email lists of teachers on http://www.yesmail.org.uk/email_optin_teachers.html - but remember that’s only part of the revolution in emailing that has happened this year.  Other lists of teachers are available too.

Call 01536 399 000 if you would like to know more

Tony Attwood

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Government announces more money for education

25/11/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Hundreds of school modernisation projects are to start early after the Government announced it was accelerating up to £800 million capital investment by 12 months.

The Pre-Budget Report announced that funding originally earmarked for the Primary Capital Programme (PCP) and three other capital programmes in 2010-11 is now available in 2009-10.

Overall schools capital spending has risen seven-fold in real terms over the last decade – up from under £700m in 1997 to £6.67billion this year. This announcement adds to the £7.02 billion capital investment already being pumped into schools next year.

All 150 local authorities in England are being asked to identify building and refurbishment spending which can be brought forward - with the funding being released from April 2009.

The vast bulk of the projects that can be brought forward will be small-scale modernisations and refurbishments – giving immediate cash injections to thousands of small and medium-sized businesses fitting out these new facilities.

The full details of the announcement are:

£800 million to be advanced 12 months from the 2010-11 allocations from the Primary Capital Programme; Local Authority Modernisation Grant; Locally Controlled Voluntarily Aided Programme and Targeted Capital Fund for 14-19, SEN and disabilities fund.

The specific programmes involved are:

Primary Capital Programme: 41 local authorities with approved strategies for the next two years could bring forward up to nationally £280 million from 2010-11. The DCSF announced earlier this month it is working with the other local authorities to bring their plans up to speed quickly.

Local Authority Modernisation Grant (capital grant): to improve the infrastructure of the school estate (other than voluntary-aided schools and academies) - up to £470 million could be brought forward;

Locally Controlled Voluntarily Aided Programme: to improve the infrastructure of the voluntary-aided school estate; to support the provision of new pupil places; and to facilitate physical access to schools - up to £220 million could be brought forward;

Targeted Capital Fund for 14-19; Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: to provide additional funding to areas not currently in the BSF programme to build facilities to deliver 14 to 19 reforms; diplomas; and to improve facilities for SEN and disabled pupils those local - up to £460 million could be brought forward.

Local authorities are being asked to identify by Christmas what is suitable expenditure to bring forward, depending on the readiness of locally managed projects – the Government will confirm by decisions by January 16 2009.

Building Schools for the Future

This announcement is in addition to ongoing measures taken to accelerate the Building Schools for the Future programme,

The Pre Budget Report sets out that the 41 local authorities able to bring forward 2010-11 Primary Capital Programme funding to next year: Barnet, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Bromley, Camden, Cornwall, Coventry, Darlington, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Ealing, Essex, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Hackney, Hampshire, Harrow, Hartlepool, Hertfordshire, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Lambeth, Leicester, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Luton, Middlesbrough, Newham, Portsmouth, Redbridge, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames, Rutland, Tameside, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire

The full local authority funding breakdown and other background material on Primary Capital Programme is at: www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/pcp/

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How are schools responding to the credit crisis?

19/11/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Schools in England are on 3 year finance systems now following the introduction of the Schools Financial Management Standard and other measures.  There are details of this in the article at http://www.hamilton-house.com/free%20reports/When.pdf (see part 2 in particular).So schools certainly should know what they have got this year and next year and the credit crunch won’t be affecting them.

However last financial year was the year in which schools were able to run over as much of their money as they liked without losing it.  (This as a final much-delayed response to the chaos of 2003 when schools ended up making huge numbers of teachers redundant, only to re-employ them 6 months later when the funding came through).

So in the financial year 2007/8 schools were told to spend everything they had accumulated over previous years - and they did.  That rule hit in November 2007 and that put spending up dramatically in November and December last year.

This year there is no roll over, and no old funds to use.   So firstly, the extra money of last year is not there.  

And secondly, because the old roll-over rules don’t apply now, I think people are holding back just in case they need to buy something urgently in February.   That suggests that there should be a big load of sales in February - although you can’t sue me if there isn’t.

Thirdly, e-learning credits came to an end in August, which means that IT products are competing for real money once again - and that means that non-IT purchases are competing for a pot of money that is being squeezed over a wider range of products.

That I think is it.   They know about the budgets, they haven’t got last year’s bonus, they know they have to spend the money by April and are holding back to next term, and they ain’t got no e-learning credits.

Other than that it is business as usual.

If you would like to know more please do call me on 01536 399 000 or email Tony at schools.co.uk - or visit www.educationmarketing.org.uk 

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The 3 activities that generate the greatest success

05/11/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Here’s a simple analysis: the companies that I see that generate the greatest profit from schools all do three things:

They vary their advertising message all the time

They work across the five different direct marketing media

They undertake trial mailings to ensure that each full-scale promotion works to the maximum effect.

Varying the message and using the different media are both vital, because different teachers respond in different ways.  A teacher who responds to a solo mailing might not opt in to an email list.   A school that forwards emails sent to the general school address might not do the same with shared mailing leaflets, and so on.  

And the same variance can be found with different types of message.  

Combine the five approaches (shared, solo, school email, opt in email, and subscriber email) with the fact that advertising messages can be endlessly changed and re-written, and you’ll see just how the marketing can be developed in order to keep the orders coming in.

In an ideal scenario this endless rotation of media and message will be combined with a continual regime of testing - so at any one time you might be sending out a promotion to 300 schools as a direct mail shot to measure the response on that, while running a different promotion on an generic email campaign that was tested earlier.  A couple of weeks later it might be a shared mailing that is going out, along with a test email mailing using the Subscribers email list.

Of course this is not easy - which is why many companies don’t follow this rigorous approach.   It is necessary to be thinking and planning weeks and months ahead in order to get the trial mailings out on time.  It may seem a bit complex, but the savings and additional sales will always make it worthwhile.  

To help make this approach of testing and varying both the message and the media work, Hamilton House has a service through which we work with our clients running and monitoring these promotions, tracking and analysing the response rates, and coming up with ideas as to what should happen next both in terms of the message and the media.  

If you would like to talk about any of these three topics (that is varying the message, varying the media, and testing before full promotions) please just give myself or my colleagues a call on 01536 399 000

Tony Attwood

Hamilton House Mailings plc reg number 2444392 VAT 354907535GB.  Phone 01536 399 000.

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