schools from scratch

1

Schools from ScratchAn essential guide to setting up a special school

Based on the experiences of six parent-

founded schools for children with autism

“I don’t know how we did it. It was a bit like a wave; it just took you and somehow we came out the other end breathing”.

“I always think I wouldn’t go back there for anything. That says how hard it is. But having said that, I think it is achievable. No regrets. I’d recommend anyone to do it. But it’s tough”.

2683_schools_from_scratch.indd 12683_schools_from_scratch.indd 1 19/01/2009 11:5819/01/2009 11:58

Schools from Scratch

An essential guide to setting up a special school

3

Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone who helped compile this guide. The six schools that form the bulk of the case

study material have all been set up by parents since 1997. Several others are following their example,

including schools in North West England, Ireland and the Netherlands. The six in the guide are, as

far as we are aware, the ‘oldest’ of what has been a succession of schools and units for children

with autism in the UK, set up by parents and committed to adopting the principles of ABA.

These are:

Chrysaliswww.chrysalisschool.org

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Registered charity number: 1101424

The Jigsaw CABAS® School www.jigsawschool.co.uk

Email: [email protected]


Questwww.questschool.co.uk



Rainbowwww.rainbowcharity.org.uk



Step by Stepwww.stepbystepschool.org.uk

Email: dfi [email protected]


TreeHousewww.treehouse.org.uk



As special thank you also goes to Virginia Bovell OBE, a TreeHouse founding parent and advisor

who has donated considerable time to the research, writing and design of this guide.

Thank you also to the following donors who have funded the production of this guide:

Awards for All

Lloyd’s Charities Trust

The Persula Foundation

The Steel Charitable Trust


4



Disclaimer

This is intended as an introductory guide, but it does not constitute an offi cial advice tool nor a

defi nitive list of recommendations.

The information contained is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate and up to date at the time of

writing (2008) but we appreciate that our own circumstances may change in the future, just as the

legal and institutional requirements contained in the following pages are likely to be updated or even

altered radically due to the introduction of new government policies and procedures.

We would therefore strongly recommend to anyone embarking on starting their own school that they

carry out their own research in all the areas covered in this guide.




5

Contents

Acknowledgements 3

Disclaimer 4

1. Introduction 7

1.1 How to Use this Guide ............................................................................................................................................... 71.2 The purpose of this guide .......................................................................................................................................... 71.3 Partnership approaches ............................................................................................................................................. 71.4 The Pembrokeshire ABA Project – the model parents have been longing for? .................................................. 8

2. What and who is involved at the very beginning? 9

2.1 How founding parents met and were recruited ....................................................................................................... 92.2 The skills for start-up ............................................................................................................................................... 10

2.2.1 The start-up committee …………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

2.2.2 Professional services and fees ………………………………………………………………………………… 11

2.2.3 Pro-bono assistance ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

2.3 Governance: Trustees/Governors/Directors and proprietors .............................................................................. 112.3.1 Should we become a charity and a company limited by guarantee? ……………………………………… 11

2.3.2 Directors/trustees/proprietors …………………………………………………………………………………… 12

2.3.4 Separating charitable trust from school governing body …………………………………………………… 12

2.4 Who will fund the pupils’ places? ........................................................................................................................... 13

3 The business case 14

3.1 What is your vision and mission? ........................................................................................................................... 143.2 Points to address ..................................................................................................................................................... 15

3.2.1 The local need …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15

3.2.2 Dialogue with local authorities …………………………………………………………………………………… 15

3.2.3 Number of purchasing authorities ……………………………………………………………………………… 15

3.3 Who are the potential pupils?.................................................................................................................................. 163.4 Finding premises ...................................................................................................................................................... 17

3.4.1 Start-up locations ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17

3.4.2 Premises in the longer term ……………………………………………………………………………………… 18

3.5 Initial outlay and fundraising ................................................................................................................................... 183.5.1 Ways of fundraising ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

3.5.2 Resourcing ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

3.5.3 Charity law and best practice …………………………………………………………………………………… 20

3.6 Publicity ..................................................................................................................................................................... 203.7 Potential allies .......................................................................................................................................................... 21

3.7.1 Councillors ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21

3.7.2 MPs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21

3.7.3 Local health service ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 21

3.7.4 Infl uential local organisations …………………………………………………………………………………… 21

3.7.5 The National Autistic Society …………………………………………………………………………………… 21

3.7.6 National education charities ……………………………………………………………………………………… 22

3.7.7 Involving celebrities? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 22

4. Early decisions you will need to take prior to registration 23

4.1 What type of school? ................................................................................................................................................ 234.2 School leadership, staffi ng and administrative issues ........................................................................................ 23

4.2.1 School leadership ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

4.2.2 Ongoing role for parents ………………………………………………………………………………………… 25

4.2.3 Role of qualifi ed teachers ………………………………………………………………………………………… 25

4.2.4 Expertise in ABA …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

4.2.5 Expertise in SEN law ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 26


6



4.2.6 Recruitment and staff remuneration …………………………………………………………………………… 26

4.2.7 Financial systems and setting up payroll ……………………………………………………………………… 27

4.2.8 Length of school day and school year ………………………………………………………………………… 27

4.3 Identifying the pupils (at start-up and longer-term) .............................................................................................. 284.3.1 How many pupils, what age range? …………………………………………………………………………… 28

4.3.2 Advertising for pupils ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 29

4.4 Premises .................................................................................................................................................................... 294.4.1 What are the regulations? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 29

4.4.2 Fire regulations …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29

4.4.3 Health and safety ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 30

4.5 School fees and fi nancing the organisation .......................................................................................................... 304.5.1 Calculating the average cost of a place ……………………………………………………………………… 30

4.5.2 Deciding on approach to pupil by pupil vs general fee levels ……………………………………………… 31

4.5.3 Is it possible to subsidise places via fundraising? …………………………………………………………… 31

4.5.4 Gauging the local market ………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

4.5.5 Fee increases over time…………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

4.5.6 The National Contract …………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

5. The work involved in registering as a school 33

5.1 Registering as a school ............................................................................................................................................ 335.2 What is involved in registering and how long does it take? ................................................................................ 335.3 Policies and information to parents and prospective parents ............................................................................. 335.4 Curriculum policy, schemes of work and assessment methods ......................................................................... 345.5 Recruitment and child protection .......................................................................................................................... 35

5.5.1 Criminal Records Bureau checks ………………………………………………………………………………… 35

5.5.2 Additional child protection safeguards …………………………………………………………………………… 35

6. When the school has opened: Things to plan for 36

6.1 Inspections and information required by government ......................................................................................... 366.1.1 Inspections ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

6.1.2 Informing the DCSF of changes ………………………………………………………………………………… 36

6.2 Things to plan for ...................................................................................................................................................... 366.2.1 Growth ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

6.2.2 Relationships ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37

6.2.3 Staffi ng and organisational structure …………………………………………………………………………… 37

6.2.4 Revisiting your strategy …………………………………………………………………………………………… 37

6.3 Accessing useful resources and networks ............................................................................................................ 376.3.1 Local Lending Resource Libraries ……………………………………………………………………………… 37

6.3.2 NAS Partners in Autism …………………………………………………………………………………………… 37

7. Concluding remarks 38

Glossary 39

Education sources and organisations 41

Schools and units mentioned in this guide 43

Charity and fundraising resources and organisations 43




7

1. Introduction

1.1 How to Use this Guide

Please note

there is a glossary at the back for all the abbreviations and terms that might be unfamiliar

(see p.39)

several sources of support and information are contained in the main body of the text

there is a summary list of these sources at the back (see p.41) which also contains

additional resources that you are advised to have

1.2 The purpose of this guide

The past decade has seen a wave of parent-founded special schools for children with autism. These

schools have often been a response to the parents’ belief that the alternatives available for their

children are not going to meet their needs. They do not refl ect a belief that parent-founded schools

are a general solution. Rather, they are indicative of a last-resort option.

Setting up a school is something that may cross many people’s minds, but what, really, is involved?

This guide aims to give an introductory picture of the issues you will need to address, some of the

details and some of the obstacles you may confront, so that you can decide if it is an option you

wish to investigate thoroughly. As an introduction, it will also sign-post you to other sources of more

detailed information.

All the schools and units involved in preparing this guide are day schools (additional requirements

for boarding schools are therefore not covered) established by parents. They have been established

to provide a UK-based education in which the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) are

systematically used to teach children with autism. But you will see that not all have approached

things in the same way, and it is important to recognise that there is no blueprint – each situation is

unique.

However, this guide may be useful for you even if you are trying to do something different – for a

different client group, using a different approach.

But remember

Setting up a school is not always the solution. Working with a Local Authority (LA) to encourage

them to establish a new provision may be a more appropriate route, both for your child and for other

children in your area.

Alternatively, if the local conditions are not right – for example, if your LA is unwilling to open its

own unit, if you don’t fi nd a likeminded group of co-founders to set up independently, if the funding

and organisational requirements are too burdensome (see particularly section 3 for a fundraising

‘reality check’ about premises), and so on – then you should see this not as a failure but as a realistic

assessment of the situation you are in. Many parents have considered the possibility of setting up

a school, and then chosen alternatives: either through focused work with a local school, to ensure

that their child’s experience there is as good as it can be, or home education. For further information

about home education try Education Otherwise (www.education-otherwise.org), which also has

a Yahoo group, and www.home-education.org.uk, which has a web-ring. You can also check the

EOTAS (Education Other Than At School) services available locally.

There is no single right way. This guide will help you decide whether setting up a school from scratch

is the right route for you.

1.3 Partnership approaches

For information about how to infl uence local authorities and other stakeholders, see Constructive

Campaigning for Autism Services: the PACE Parents Handbook.


8



Examples of the ‘partnership route’ to setting up a new school or unit include:

the ABA unit attached to Westwood mainstream primary school in North Wales, which is

a cooperative venture between the school, two local authorities, local health boards and

Bangor University

a partnership between the parent charity SPEAC, the local education and library board,

and Tor Bank special school, combined with consultancy input from TreeHouse, which

led to the establishment of a three-year pilot ABA unit based at Tor Bank

the new initiative in Wales – Pembrokeshire ABA Project – which is described below as a

stand-alone case study

Treetops School for children aged two to 19 years, which is a LA provision using the

principles of ABA (Verbal Behaviour). It is an outstanding example of parents, a LA and

a local Special School working together to achieve something new and inspirational for

children with autism

1.4 The Pembrokeshire ABA Project – the model parents have been longing for?

Several of the schools in this guide have felt they were swimming against the tide and having to fi ght

for their existence – if not in defi ance of their LAs, then certainly with a sense that it would be an

uphill struggle to get LA support. The parents involved have felt forced to undertake an enormous

task because no-one else was doing it.

The Pembrokeshire ABA Project could hardly be more different, in that the initiative has come not

from parents but from enthusiastic ABA practitioners in collaboration with the LA.

The impetus came when the two practitioners, who are also studying for their BCBA at Cardiff

University, visited Treetops with a teacher in a LA autism unit. Inspired by what they saw, they

approached their local Community Regeneration Department, with a county councillor, then a

cabinet member and fi nally the Director of Education. Following a series of meetings, they were

asked by the LA to lead the establishment of a local unit to meet the needs of four children under

fi ve, and four over fi ve. Long term it is anticipated that the unit will also provide outreach to existing

special needs provision and mainstream schools.

A local community council were already involved in a community development so it was relatively

straightforward for the additional premises for the unit to be incorporated into that. The school will

rent the space from a local community group. The Welsh Assembly are funding the community

project’s planning application. Some fundraising may be required to kit out the building but salaries

and pupil fees will be covered by the LA.

The centre will be run by the two practitioners, with highly-trained ‘lead therapists’ heading each

section. The LA has expressed a desire for the unit to be an ‘outreach’ of an existing local school,

therefore the issue of additional teaching qualifi cations has not been raised.

It is estimated that the whole initiative, between initial visit to Treetops and the opening of the unit,

will have taken four to fi ve years.

In March 2008, the project organisers reported that they had recently started bringing the children

who were currently on home programmes together occasionally during the week in a temporary

building so that they could become used to learning in a different setting and also to start acquiring

resources. They were delighted to fi nd that this was extremely successful.

www.pembrokeshireabacentre.com




9

2. What and who is involved at the very beginning?

Before looking at specifi c issues, it is worth bearing in mind some general pointers, informed by the

experience of all the schools in this guide:

In the early days, an enormous amount of time, effort and energy is needed, usually

shared among two or three founders and sometimes with one key individual taking the

lead.

Although many of the schools have evolved from the determination and vision of one

or two founding parents, these key people cannot do it on their own. A critical mass of

individuals is necessary to avoid burnout and to ensure a mixture of skills and pooling of

energy. Most have started with a management committee of about six.

Establishing a committee, with a chair and clear responsibilities for the members, is

advisable right from the start. This may evolve into the board of trustees/school governing

body (see section 2.3.4).

It is advisable from as early as possible to run meetings in a business-like way, with

minutes and agendas, reports and agreed action points.

“You need to balance the passion of being a parent versus the perspective of the wider school. Sometimes it’s hard for parents to let go”.

“Think hard about what you call yourselves. Although you need a name quickly, remember you’ll be lumbered with it. Why choose a stupid name!”.

“When we were setting up we were more like a set of home programmes under one roof. We needed to pull this together to be a proper school”.

There are also some general pitfalls to avoid. The following is not an exhaustive list but has been

mentioned by several of the schools:

It is important that you recognise from the start that a school is, by defi nition, there to

meet the needs of a group of children. If you set up a school purely to meet the needs of

one child, it may be that home education would be a better solution.

While many have started out as “a set of home programmes under one roof”, all have

found it important to recognise that there are distinct features of a school that make it

different from a cluster of individual children’s programmes – in content, practice and

purpose.

There is a big difference between “parent founded” and “parent controlled”. Establishing the

appropriate role of professionals, and surrendering some infl uence to them, at the right point is

crucial; even where parents have stayed in a position of responsibility, they have had to separate

their ‘parent’ perspective from their professional perspective.

2.1 How founding parents met and were recruited

Despite the importance of having a suffi cient number of likeminded people to get the project started,

there has been no single way by which founding parents and supporters met. Examples of how the

different groups of founding parents met are:

some or all of the children were on ABA home programmes (Quest, The Jigsaw CABAS®

School, Step by Step)

where families were running home programmes, some had a supervisor or tutor in

common

speech therapy classes (Step by Step)

put in touch via local paediatrician and then word of mouth (TreeHouse)

met at a local autism group (Chrysalis)

Earlybird (Rainbow)


10



2.2 The skills for start-up

2.2.1 The start-up committee

Bear in mind that the composition of the start-up committee may be right at fi rst but as the needs of

the school evolve, you may need to add to the skill-mix.

Not everyone on the start-up committee has to be a trustee or company director, although it is likely

that the committee will form the core of the subsequent board of trustees (in the case of a charity).

An ideal mix would include experience, skills and/or familiarity with:

the education sector

fi nance

business

law – including SEN law

marketing, website and design

human resources

wide network of contacts

fundraising

charities

“Be careful about Board members – get people who offer what you need and who are positive rather than overly-cautious”.

“We’ve got a very varied bunch – a couple are relatively well-off and a lot who are not at all. The parent involvement and drive doesn’t stem from that. It comes from a belief in the school and a belief in what they want to happen next for the children”.

Examples of founding expertise – please note this is not an exhaustive list:

Education expertise

At Quest, one of the founding parents was already a qualifi ed teacher, who went on to become the Head Teacher.

One of Step by Step’s founders (grandmother to one of the fi rst pupils) was already an experienced HMI.

One of Chrysalis’ early governors was a retired HMI. In other cases, this expertise was not available until the schools recruited qualifi ed teaching staff.

In relation to ABA knowledge and expertise, several of the founding parents had experience of running a home-based programme though they were not themselves qualifi ed or experienced behaviour analysts.

Business and fi nance expertise

Founding trustee with business and fi nance background prepared the business plan in the case of Rainbow, The Jigsaw CABAS® School and Step by Step, who also had an accountant on their Board.

Quest’s founding board comprised people with a variety of experience including accountancy, law, business and fi nance.

Marketing, website and design

One of the founding parents was a design professional, and did all the logo and design work (TreeHouse).

A friend of one of the founding parents was a graphic designer and took charge of the logo and design (Rainbow).




11

Whilst it is hard to fi nd all these skills in the ‘hard core’ group, what is really essential is:

1. that it is made up of people with the energy, team spirit and attitude to keep the project alive

2. that there is a common goal

3. that you may be able to access the necessary skills without having them all represented on your

core group, either through informal networks or – if necessary – by buying them in

2.2.2 Professional services and fees

Given the extensive responsibilities of running a school, and the complexity of laws around

employment, charities, and education law, you are strongly recommended to have access to

professional legal services from the start. Even if you have a lawyer on your committee, this may

not be suffi cient. Because different types of legal advice are needed at different stages (e.g.

employment, charity law, property, education law), even if you can access some pro-bono legal

advice for aspects of your work, you may still need to buy legal expertise in other areas.

Similarly, your fi nances will need to be audited annually by an independent and appropriately

qualifi ed individual or fi rm, even if there is in-house fi nancial expertise.

2.2.3 Pro-bono assistance

Some or all of the following professional services have been secured at no cost by the schools

involved in this guide:

legal advice

architects (e.g. for planning permission applications)

project management (for capital builds)

website and logo design

printing

accounting and auditing

payroll

SEN and education law

However, opinion is divided as to whether it is a good idea to seek pro-bono help or to pay at the

market rate. This is because it is not always easy for those providing pro-bono assistance to prioritise

that work over a commercial arrangement. If you can afford it, there are advantages to setting off on

a commercial contractual footing with all the services you will need once the initial burst of activity

and goodwill is over.

“The Charity needs to keep control – be careful about pro-bono if you end up having to be too grateful”.

In practice, of course, this will depend on your particular set of relationships as well as available

funding. For example, TreeHouse has found that legal fi rms will sometimes consider doing pro-bono

or discounted work. Rainbow is still able to access payroll and management accounting services

on a goodwill basis from a local private school group and receives all its legal services support pro-

bono.

To fi nd out more about fi rms who might be offer pro-bono help, go to ProHelp. This is a list of fi rms

with a variety of expertise who are willing to offer pro-bono help to voluntary organisations who

do not have large funds of their own, as follows: www.bitc.org.uk/take_action/in_the_community/

community_investment/engaging_employees/prohelp/

2.3 Governance: Trustees/Governors/Directors and proprietors

2.3.1 Should we become a charity and a company limited by guarantee?

It is likely that you will be establishing yourselves initially as a registered independent special school

(see section 4.1). You will need to give consideration to becoming both a business and a charity.


12



Becoming a company limited by guarantee

Your school will have all the characteristics of a small business; you will be employing people,

renting or owning premises, running a bank account, seeking insurance, etc. Because of this, you

should set yourself up as a company limited by guarantee. Go to www.companieshouse.gov.uk to

fi nd out how to incorporate a company.

Becoming a charity

All the schools involved in this guide decided to become a charity. Charitable status offers the

signifi cant advantage of being able to fundraise. There are particular requirements of governance,

fi nancial reporting and restrictions associated with being a charity, and it takes several months

between applying for charitable status and receiving an offi cial charity number. The Charity

Commission has a web page with information on things to think about before setting up a new

charity. www.charitycommission.gov.uk/registration/think.asp. This page also has links to approved

and model governing documents, example ‘objects’ and a registration pack.

For schools who think they may, in the future, want to apply to be a Non-Maintained Special School

(NMSS)(see section 4.1 ) it is worth noting that charitable status will be a necessity.

(See also section 2.3.4 below in relation to the possibility of contrasting terms of reference/goals for

your charity, company or school).

2.3.2 Directors/trustees/proprietors

Companies House, the Charity Commission and the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and

Families) will require a list of the named people in charge of the organisation as Directors/trustees/

proprietors respectively.

The proprietors of the school have an important legal status within the education sector. It is they

who are legally bound to make registers available for inspection, submit returns to the LA, and

are responsible for the management of an independent school. Sometimes the proprietor is the

charitable trust, sometimes it is the Company limited by guarantee, and sometimes both.

Any individual responsible for the management of the school will need to undertake a CRB (Criminal

Records Bureau) check (see section 5.5).

In most of the schools featured in this guide, the trustees of the charity are the same individuals as the directors of the company, who are also the proprietors.

An exception is Quest, which is set up as a company limited by guarantee and run by a board of management with a separate board of trustees who oversee to ensure that the school is run in accordance with its charitable objectives.

2.3.4 Separating charitable trust from school governing body

In the long run, you may want to have a separate school governing body reporting into the board of

trustees. In this case, it is important that there is a clear link between the board of trustees and the

governing body to ensure they do not pull in different directions, for example, with at least the chair

of the governing body being a trustee. Indeed, for schools which have NMSS status, the Charity

Commission is keen to ensure that there are close and explicit links between the governors and

trustees with as much overlap as possible. Anyone starting from scratch would be well advised to

create close links from the start.

Even if you do not separate the two, you may fi nd it useful to access www.governornet.co.uk which

provides information and updates relevant to anyone responsible for school governance, including

appointing staff, working with parents and pupils, regulations about school premises, and so on.




13

The Jigsaw CABAS® School separated the trustees and the governing body after three years (and there are four sub-committees to the governing body). This is because the sets of responsibilities and focus are somewhat different. For example, those with expertise in curriculum, or staff and parent representatives, will not be required – as trustees are – to look at the wider running of the charity.

TreeHouse developed a School Advisory Committee to be a ‘shadow’ governing body after four years, and SAC became a formal governing body after a further fi ve years. The governing body is a formal subcommittee of the trust, along with other trust subcommittees, and the governing body has, in turn, two subcommittees.

In both cases, there are overlaps – a number of trustees are on the governing body, while the governing body membership is broader.

2.4 Who will fund the pupils’ places?

Whether you intend to be profi t-making or not, sources of funding will be crucial to your business

case.

Most of the schools aim to secure 100% LA funding for their pupils. However, this has not been

achieved entirely, or overnight, in all cases.

for some, funding for a home-based ABA programme already agreed by a local authority,

was used to support the school placement in the initial stages

for some, privately-funded pupils were accepted in the early stages while waiting for local

authority funding to be forthcoming

in some cases, employers are willing and able to fund a place for the child of a member

of their staff

in some cases, pupils’ places were subsidised by the charity until the local authority

agreed to name the school in part four of the Statement (in one case this took two years)

By confi ning yourselves to pupils whose fees are funded by LAs you will:

Advantages

help to ensure a diverse pupil base: e.g., that the pupils are not only from wealthy families

contribute to the positive reputation of the school as one that has LA ‘blessing’

access an income stream that is relatively secure

avoid a situation in which parents who can initially afford fees for one or two terms,

anticipating that they will win a place for their child at SENDIST, then become unable to

keep up fee payments as Tribunals are delayed or lost

refl ect what may be one of your charitable purposes or values

Disadvantages

require parents to persuade LAs to fund the place, which will mean that your school will

need to be named on each pupils’ Statement. This process, in turn, may involve appeals

to SENDIST

be vulnerable to changes in LA policy and provision

require parents who could afford the fees to go through avoidable hoops of securing a

Statement with the school named in part four

rule out a potential source of income

Some schools have subsidised, through fundraising, the cost of a school place, deciding to charge

fees below the cost per place. For further discussion about fee-setting and LA funding, see section

4.5 below.


14



3 The business case

Whether you become a company or a charity, you will need to have a clearly-stated set of goals

and plans that you can articulate succinctly. The process of coming to a shared vision, mission and

plans will help your committee focus and reduce the risk of loss of direction. It will also be a useful

back-up document to support fundraising.

3.1 What is your vision and mission?

This can seem like a lot of ‘hot air’ but is actually very useful for clarifying to yourselves and to others

what is unique about what you are trying to do. Although you may not want to get bogged down in

discussions about this right from the start, at some point in your fi rst year it will be helpful to clarify

and sum up what you are trying to do, since this will be at the forefront of your communications

to others and a reminder to yourselves in subsequent years. Some boards of trustees will have a

process of revisiting their vision and mission on a three to fi ve yearly basis.

An important potential distinction to bear in mind is that you may want to set the aims and objectives

of your charity that go wider than those of the school itself. You are not bound to deliver on every

object in your charity’s constitution, but it leaves you room for manoeuvre in the future. It is much

easier to include scope from the start than to try to change objectives at a later stage.

Sources of advice on how to write a business plan

You can access support through your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS). To fi nd your local

CVS or other voluntary sector helper agency, go to www.navca.org.uk.

Also of help may be NCVO www.ncvo-vol.org.uk and the Directory of Social Change www.dsc.

org.uk. They have a helpdesk and publications catalogues.

See, for example, The Complete Guide to Business and Strategic Planning for Voluntary

Organisations.

The Charities Aid Foundation www.cafonline.org offers consultancy and advice on fi nance, fundraising, and business and strategic planning.

Parents involved in setting up schools have said the following:

“Having worked with lots of voluntary organisations around business planning I can’t emphasise enough how important it always was to try to get them to think about their Business Plan, not as a burdensome document but as an ongoing source of reference which should be informing every committee meeting. That means regularly reviewing, through the agenda, how the organisation is doing in meeting its Business Plan targets. Plus, the Plan should be updated at least annually to keep the organisation on track and ensure it is continually planning for its future”.

“I would say a Business Plan is the most useful tool an organisation can have”.

“I don’t think you should be doing anything without it. I think it’s crucial. You can’t pre-empt everything, but you can for a lot”.

There is no blueprint for an effective business plan since each organisation is unique, with distinct

challenges and solutions. However, when setting up a school from scratch you will need to address

the following issues:

local conditions

who are the potential pupils?

fi nding premises

initial outlay and fundraising




15

publicity

potential allies

3.2 Points to address

3.2.1 The local need

In assessing the local market, and the viability of your school, you need to be aware of what

alternative provision is available for pupils such as yours. Crudely, your chances of succeeding

are bound to be greatest where there is a dearth in autism-specifi c provision. Likewise, you should

discuss with the local authority any plans they may have to develop provision in the immediate

through to medium term, and assess the realistic speed at which these developments may come on

stream.

“They said they were planning to build a new unit attached to (name of LA primary school) but we knew it would take forever and our kids would be secondary age by the time it was ready. So we went ahead anyway”.

3.2.2 Dialogue with local authorities

It is really important that you inform your LA/LAs of your plans and intentions, your reason for

establishing the school and of subsequent developments. This will certainly not guarantee that they

will be willing to fund places at your school, but the inverse is likely to be true: if your local authority

is kept in the dark, they will be on stronger ground for not wanting to cooperate. It’s always good to

be able to demonstrate how reasonable you have been – for example, if you are seeking the support

of local councillors or local press.

“We approached the LA and had several meetings right from the beginning. We suggested a unit attached to a primary school, and offered to fundraise, etc. The LA were cautious and said they didn’t feel there was a need… Now they’re the only LA with whom we still have battles”.

“My recommendation is – do not upset them. You may be upset by them regularly, but there’s always a better way to deal with things other than upping the ante. There’s always another side to the story, you have to consider what’s the driver for them and why they’re behaving the way they are”.

“We naively thought that because (offi cer’s name) was giving the impression that the LA was interested, he was really interested. It was a false hope”.

“We took the Business Plan to them right from the start, including the councillors on the Education Committee. They’ve continued to maintain a ‘(school name) doesn’t exist’ attitude in public, but behind the scenes the special needs department is admiring and we’ve probably raised the bar for everyone”.

3.2.3 Number of purchasing authorities

If you have several pupils funded through their Statements of SEN from a single LA, such

placements will put pressure on the LA’s centrally-held funds. An independent school is considered

as an ‘out of authority placement’ even when it is located within the geographical boundaries of a

local authority, and currently there is a drive among all authorities to reduce the number of out of

authority placements for SEN. This is because the funding for ‘out of authority’ placements comes

from a different budget to maintained school funding and this budget is generally under extreme

pressure.

All the schools contributing to this guide have diversifi ed the number of authorities who fund pupils

at their school beyond the LA in which they are geographically located. Given that most LAs will

want to keep as many placements as possible within a 20 mile radius of the pupil’s home, or within


16



“reasonable” travelling time, this means that fi nding premises accessible to more than one LA will be

important. For further discussion about this, see section below.

Step by Step – Located in the heart of Sussex yet has children from six LA’s which send children by transport from up to an hour away.

Quest – Once LA funding was agreed for the fi rst pupil they began to get referrals from this and other LAs for more pupils.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School – pupils from Surrey form 1/3 of the overall pupils. Six additional LAs fund pupils.

TreeHouse – started with four pupils from one LA, and now diversifi ed to 14 LAs. Rainbow – pupils are funded from 10 LAs. Chrysalis – pupils have been funded from three LAs (currently two).

For tips about how to ‘open doors’ in your local authority, see Constructive Campaigning for Autism

Services: The PACE Parents Handbook.

3.3 Who are the potential pupils?

As the previous section made clear, it is important that your plans for any future growth of your

school beyond the founding pupil base are related to an assessment of local need.

Clarity about your pupil base is important, and this will form the base of your admissions policy. The

kinds of questions you will need to consider include:

1. what age group? (are all the children of the founding parents of similar age and ability?)

2. will your school specialise in educating children with specifi c conditions and/or with similar

levels of functioning?

3. from what geographical reach will your pupils come?

The answers may initially depend on who the founding children are.

TreeHouse decided that the pupils should all have a diagnosis of autism, or related communication disorder. All four founding pupils were at the severe end of the spectrum and of similar age (three to four), although the differences between the children were still substantial.

The original children at Step by Step differed in age and how their autism manifested itself. Although not all the founding children are still involved, the current pupil profi le refl ects the original mix of abilities.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School started with six pupils, all of school age with varied levels of verbal ability. Admission criteria require that all pupils have a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder or related communication disorder.

Chrysalis opened with two full time children and one part time child, ranging from the age of six to eight. All three children presented different academic abilities.

Quest has diversifi ed from its original pupil group and now has pupils with a wide range of academic abilities.

It may be that the pupil profi le will alter from your initial intentions, both because of the experience

you will gain and also because you cannot control referrals.

“Our view is that we can help any kind of child with ASD. However, as the school has fi lled, we’ve found that we don’t have the space for the most severely behaviourally challenged – or one per class maximum”.




17

“Some children were not offered a place after assessment because they were functioning so ably that they wouldn’t have had a peer group, so it wasn’t in their best interests. But most children who are assessed are offered a place – the bottom line being the ability to persuade the LA to fund it”.

3.4 Finding premises

The technicalities around premises are in Section 4.4. You will need to be aware of legal minimum

standards and those required to pass an inspection right from the start.

It is not vital that you have identifi ed premises before you decide to establish a school, though clearly

the search will affect how long it will be between the initial decision to set up and the date at which

you open your doors. Nor is it vital that you start in the place that you intend to make your permanent

home.

But you should not underestimate how much time and energy the search can consume, both in the

immediate phase and long-term as your school expands. You may have to be willing to consider a

series of short-term premises in the early years of the school’s development, with all the attendant

expense and disruption. TreeHouse had seven different homes in its fi rst 11 years. The Jigsaw

CABAS® School has been split-site and moved twice, even though a permanent location has now

been identifi ed.

An important consideration for some schools has been proximity to a range of LAs, feeling that if a

school is located in the heart of a large county this might preclude pupils who have to travel from

neighbouring authorities. Until recently, however, it has been the experience of most schools in this

guide that, once the school is established, parents and funding LAs have tended not to object to

long distances, even though this is clearly not ideal since a key factor is travelling time rather than

number of miles. The schools in this guide have noted that ‘reasonable’ travel times may be anything

up to an hour for primary pupils and an hour and 20 minutes for secondary.

It is important to note, though, that most LAs set a maximum journey time between home and school

of 45-75 minutes, depending on the age of the child.

3.4.1 Start-up locations

There is no single formula governing the ‘right’ start-up locations – these have ranged from a

temporary building in the playground of a local primary school, to renting a private house, to

renting a village hall or church building. However, fi nding the right long-term premises is crucial to

the viability of your school, and with that in mind you may want to add experts in property to your

committee/board as the school evolves.

Examples of fi rst premises Chrysalis – church building, with offi ce in founding parent’s home Quest – village hall, with offi ce in founding parent’s home TreeHouse – gym in a local hospital with offi ce in founding parent’s home Rainbow – temporary building in the playground of a local mainstream primary school The Jigsaw CABAS® School – bungalow (rent-free) converted from domestic use Step by Step – barn converted by landlord with aid of DEFRA grant

Only in the case of Step by Step would it be accurate to say that the fi rst premises, i.e. the converted

barn, remain the permanent base of the school. In their case, the Step by Step founders decided it

was worth taking longer between originally establishing their goals and opening the school, in order

to have completed more of the groundwork before the children started.


18



3.4.2 Premises in the longer term

Quest has been able, like Step by Step, to work with a local landlord to convert agricultural barn

premises, thanks to a DEFRA grant. In both cases, the landlord came forward as a result of local

press coverage.

The schools located in more built-up areas have searched a range of premises options, from

commercial outlets to former school buildings to residential properties with potential for conversion

of use. TreeHouse fi nally identifi ed a piece of land in North London and gained planning permission

to build a permanent base there before constructing temporary buildings on that site (also requiring

planning permission) that would last until the building project was complete. The Jigsaw CABAS®

School has identifi ed a residential property and is in the process of gaining planning permission

to convert it. Following its original temporary building, Rainbow obtained a change of use on a

commercial building, but is still searching for its ultimate home. Chrysalis have, at the time of writing

found a building and hope to be able to move in within a few months.

In the absence of government grants, and unless a DEFRA grant can be obtained to convert

agricultural buildings, the capital costs and fundraising burden of these long term premises

solutions are huge, running into several millions of pounds and requiring a separate capital

fundraising strategy additional to the start-up and revenue fundraising described in the next section.

“The search for premises is in danger of hi-jacking everything else we do, taking time, focus and energy away from actually running the school day to day and term by term”.

“I’m glad we didn’t know at the start that it would take more than 10 years for us to fi nally have our permanent home, and that’s been with a relatively fair wind”.

3.5 Initial outlay and fundraising

All the schools that helped prepare this guide undertook initial fundraising before they were able to

open. One of them also explored getting a business loan. However, because the school could not

at that early stage guarantee the number of pupils, the banks were not prepared to lend without

individuals agreeing to be signifi cant guarantors – something that none of the founding trustees

could afford to be.

Funds for start-up are necessary to cover initial outlay, where this will include some or all of the

following, according to how much pro-bono assistance you can get, and whether or not you are

converting from home programmes or recruiting and training new staff prior to opening:

premises (and refurbishment)

school equipment

recruitment, initial training and wages of staff prior to pupils starting

production of materials (e.g. prospectus)

professional fees (e.g. legal, accounting)

contingency

Different schools have had different thresholds for start-up, including contrasting assessments of

risk. Much of the risk assessment relates to the level of security linked to the certainty or otherwise

of local authority funding of the pupil fees.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School had a target of £100,000 for the fi rst year.

Step by Step aimed to do substantial fundraising before opening in order to provide a cushion to enable the school to run for two years without local authority funding. Their initial target was £250,000.

Chrysalis initially aimed to raise £70,000 before the school would open, but a deadline imposed by an impending tribunal hearing led them to open sooner than this, with two founding parents acting as guarantors for the outstanding amount.




19

Rainbow opened having secured enough money to pay staff salaries for three months (£25,000).

You need to bear in mind that even if all the pupils’ places are paid for through Statements, there is

likely to be a long-term fundraising requirement.

This is because:

you will have some fi xed costs that cannot be reduced even if you are starting with few

pupils (e.g. premises, overheads, management). You may not expect to cover all your

costs through fees until the school has grown to a size big enough for ‘economies of

scale’ to set in and this may take years

if you decide to keep the school small in order to preserve a ‘small and friendly’ ethos,

as one school is doing, this will impact on your business planning – i.e. you may need to

subsidise the provision indefi nitely

until the school has established itself with a track-record, and ideally at least one

favourable inspection, you may fi nd it hard to make a case for fees that cover all your

costs, even if your costs per pupil are high

3.5.1 Ways of fundraising

There are several guides to fundraising. You should enquire about Funderfi nder (accessible through

your local CVS or other helper agency), Profunding www.fundinginformation.org.uk, and visit the

Directory of Social Change’s funding searching package www.trustfunding.org.uk. See also www.

governmentfunding.org.uk for government grants to the voluntary and community sector (though this

has not been a rich source of funds for the schools in this guide). Most of the schools raised their

initial funds through a series of events and targeted approaches to potential supporters (individuals,

trusts and companies).

Examples of community fundraising and events have included car boot sales, fairs, coffee mornings,

church magazines, dinners and balls, 10k runs, a Snowdonia bike ride, and other sponsored events.

Your success in raising funds from such activities will depend on a range of factors, such as the

number of people you can access to organise, participate and support these events; their relative

wealth; how unifi ed and affl uent your local community is; whether or not you can access corporate

contacts with ease.

For sustained fundraising over time, trust sources are likely to produce the biggest return. Good

information about all grant making trusts can be found at www.guidestar.org.uk although you will

fi nd that many of the largest grant making trusts have their own websites featuring their own specifi c

criteria.

3.5.2 Resourcing

Most organisations fi nd that after a certain point, they will need to employ professional fundraisers

rather than rely on the energy and commitment of volunteers – even though the latter will remain

essential. Schools can choose to employ a fundraising consultant or a freelance fundraiser. Advice

on fi nding and appointing either of these can be found at www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk.

Another alternative is to employ your own fundraiser. Good sources of information about salary levels

and sample job descriptions are www.charityjob.co.uk and www.thirdsector.co.uk.

In addition, you will require some fundraising materials. This could start off as a basic donation form

and a simple page on your school’s website, and can develop over time to include a wide range of

leafl ets and posters and a more detailed section of your website.


20



3.5.3 Charity law and best practice

It is important to note that, whether led by volunteers or a professional, all fundraising activities must

be conducted within charity law. Information about legalities and also good practice in fundraising

can be found at www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk.

3.6 Publicity

Press coverage can be helpful:

to generate local awareness about autism in general

to build local support for your school to make links with other parents or potential new

pupils

to raise the interest of local councillors and other potential allies

as an indirect fundraising tool, getting the word around for local fundraising events

“We’ve bombarded them (local newspaper). They’ve been fantastic, and always supportive”.

However, press coverage is a double-edged sword.

It is rarely helpful as a direct fundraising tool.

“We got some lovely letters of support, but only about £25.00 in donations, from a big splash in the local press”.

You can rarely control what the local press write about you. The local newspaper or editor,

may have a particular agenda regardless of what your key messages are; they may be

seeking to ‘rubbish’ the LA in a way that may not help your case.

“I don’t fi nd it useful in our local press to be too heavy-handed about lack of provision. It needs to be selectively and carefully done”.

All of the schools in this group have been featured in the press. Some have deliberately chosen to

get national as well as local coverage while others have focused chiefl y on local coverage.

Step by Step were featured on local BBC news, ITV, and a big Telegraph article. However, because of the focus on disputes with the local authority, they feel it may have exacerbated and perpetuated an adversarial relationship.

Local press coverage assisted both Step by Step and Quest in their search for premises.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School has focused on up-beat stories, such as the progress recently achieved in applying for planning permission.

Chrysalis were featured on BBC London News, The Daily Mail’s Sunday magazine You, Hertbeat FM, Radio 4, local press, and Hertfordshire Life magazine.

Do not underestimate the amount of time it will take to use the press effectively. Both TreeHouse

and The Jigsaw CABAS® School have, as an aspect of expansion, been able to employ specialist

PR staff in the last two years in order to sustain and manage relationships with the press more

systematically. In the early days, you will need to do this work yourselves as part of the wide range

of tasks facing the committee. It may be useful to bear in mind the following before you pick up the

phone to a local reporter:

think about what you are trying to achieve

remember that you will want a long-term relationship with your local newspaper, and view

any immediate story in light of this

plan your press work in such a way that you can, as far as possible, control the message




21

3.7 Potential allies

All the schools in this guide have learnt to be effective local infl uencers. For more indepth information

about how to go about this, see Constructive Campaigning for Autism Services: The PACE Parents

Handbook.

3.7.1 Councillors

Depending on the local party political confi guration, your councillor may have more or less local

infl uence. If they are in opposition, you may need to think through whether their support of you is

going to help in terms of winning over the majority. And even if they are of the ruling party, unless

they are a cabinet member they may only be able to lobby on your behalf internally.

Nonetheless, you never know when your local councillors are going to be helpful. At worst, they

may be disinterested, but at best they can be very helpful allies. As a matter of courtesy, it is worth

letting them know about you from the start. Later, they may want to lend their support in any number

of ways – be this in attending a local fete, helping raise the profi le of a local fundraising event, or

speaking in favour of your planning permission application.

In addition to asking for a meeting with local councillors, you should also consider having a special

briefi ng meeting with the cabinet member with responsibility for children.

3.7.2 MPs

For similar reasons, it is helpful to inform your MP about your existence, the reason why you are

establishing a school, and to offer to keep them up to date with developments at regular intervals.

Inviting your MP to special events, such as a formal opening, will ensure that s/he remembers you.

Meeting the children and observing them in class usually leaves a lasting impression.

3.7.3 Local health service

Local paediatricians and other health professionals may potentially be helpful allies in terms of

informing parents about your school’s existence.

“We found that the LA never told anyone about us, but sometimes a local health professional would suggest to a parent that they come and visit us. Not all the time, because they had to tread carefully, but sometimes they felt so strongly about a particular child that they’d almost say ‘Don’t say we told you this, but… have you visited (name of school?)’”.

3.7.4 Infl uential local organisations

In order to become embedded in and adopted by the local community, you may want to make

friends of particularly infl uential local societies, such as residents associations. These may help

with fundraising, lobbying, and in providing a pool of volunteers. It may be particularly important if

you are seeking controversial planning permission that you have established a dialogue with local

groups.

3.7.5 The National Autistic Society

Find out who your regional National Autistic Society (NAS) offi cers are and make yourselves known

to them. They may have useful contacts and background information about local conditions and

personnel, and it is helpful to be plugged into other autism networks in your area, including a local

NAS branch if there is one. Several schools also found the input of the NAS Education Adviser

extremely helpful, drawing on the experience of existing NAS schools and extensive consultancy

and outreach.


22



3.7.6 National education charities

A range of charities offering advice on SEN law have been of assistance to the schools in this guide.

They can help schools in relation to SEN law and also help parents fi ght for places at our schools. For

a full list, see the resources sections.

3.7.7 Involving celebrities?

A lot of time and effort can be spent at the start seeking the endorsement of famous people on the

assumption that they will somehow exert leverage and assist with publicity.

“I think it probably would have been helpful but we just didn’t know anybody and we had other more pressing things to do than run around trying to fi nd someone famous”.

“It’s probably useful because people are interested in celebrities. But we’ve never been very successful. It’s a lot to do with who you know at the end of the day. Actually, now we don’t spend much time on it”.

“I think having a celebrity is a double-edged sword. People remember you, but then they assume you’re ok because you’ve got that celebrity behind you”.

Although it is natural to seek infl uential patrons, what really matters is the robustness of your plans

and business case, and the cohesion of your committee.




23

4. Early decisions you will need to

take prior to registration

It is important to note that while this guide was being prepared the government (DCSF) put out a

consultation which, confi rmed by responses, proposed to transfer responsibility for the registration,

and regulation, of independent schools – from the DCSF to Ofsted. To enable these changes to go

ahead, it will require legislation in an Education Bill which, at the time of writing, was not published.

You are, therefore, strongly advised to visit www.dcsf.gov.uk and the links in this section, since the information below may well change.

4.1 What type of school?

For special schools, the following are the salient points:

if you are setting up as a charity, this means you are planning to run a school in the non-

maintained sector. All the schools contributing to this guide are established as not-for-

profi t companies and charities.

independent schools fall into two main categories:

1 independent and registered with the DCSF as such. If the school is named on the child’s

statement, this used to need the consent of the Secretary of State. It was up to the LA to

obtain this consent but, in practice, schools found that they had to remind and press them

to do this. Where the placement is subject to appeal at Tribunal, consent has to be received

before the Tribunal. However, Secretary of State consent will no longer be required once the

changes above are enacted. It will be up to the LA to assure themselves that the school can

meet the child’s needs.

2 ‘non-maintained special schools’ – These schools are eligible for some government grants. To

be eligible, a school has to be run by a charity and fulfi l additional requirements in relation

to school governance, curriculum, and teachers’ pay and conditions. It is unlikely that at the

early stages your school will be able to meet all the NMSS criteria, but you may aspire to

achieve this status in time. For example, TreeHouse achieved NMSS status after 11 years.

In all cases, LAs have a right of access to the school to monitor provision for the children once they

are placed in your school.

To fi nd out more about what type of school organisation you are seeking to establish, contact:

NASS, The National Association of Independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special

Schools at www.nasschools.org.uk.

NASS is the membership organisation for special schools not maintained by LAs. NASS

provides advice and support to schools and is a central point of contact for lobbying for

the sector. NASS offers associate membership to new schools working towards their fi rst

full Ofsted inspection. Associate members get a regular e-newsletter and reduced price

access to NASS training events and conferences.

the DCSF, details at www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/i/

independentschoolsregistration

4.2 School leadership, staffi ng and administrative issues

You will need a clear model of staffi ng, with recruitment (and training/induction if necessary) in place

in time for the fi rst pupil(s).

4.2.1 School leadership

The most common model of schooling in the UK expects a qualifi ed teacher to run the school as

headteacher. They are responsible for everything, from policies (e.g. admissions), the curriculum,

recruitment and retention, and premises to health and safety, child protection, and so on.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that the process of setting up a school involves a particularly

heavy load in all these matters. You are likely to be recruiting new staff and pupils, managing


24



premises and compliance with regulations, liaising with local authorities and fundraising, all at the

same time.

For this reason, most of the schools in this guide have adapted this traditional model, in a range of

ways.

1. Some parent-founded special schools have chosen to separate leadership functions between

(1) a person or people in charge of the executive/business development functions, and (2) a

person or people in charge of the education.

2. Others have consolidated all the functions of (1) in one of the founding trustees, and also

recruited a senior teacher to address aspects of (2) – i.e. to head up the curriculum and

professional management aspects of the work.

In addition, there are differences in the lines of reporting into the trustees/management committee

of the school.

Each school has taken a slightly different approach. Some of the following have evolved in time. For

information about how ABA expertise fi ts into the summary below, see section 4.2.4.

Chrysalis Founding parent is in charge of fundraising and secretary to Board of Governors. The headteacher (now Principal) is a qualifed teacher and is line-managed by the Chair of Governors. This post was recruited from the outset, prior to the school opening.

Rainbow

Founding parent is Principal of the School and currently Chair of Trustees, in charge of all non-educational aspects of the school. She line manages the headteacher and reports to the full Board of Trustees. Initially a group of parents ran the offi ce but this consolidated into the one role within a year.

The Jigsaw CABAS® SchoolFounding parent was originally overall Head with an experienced supervisor heading up the education, but is now Executive Head, overseeing all administrative and non-educational aspects of the school, with a qualifi ed teacher/Behaviour Analyst as Director of Education. They jointly report to the Board of Governors and The CABAS® Board as a Registered CABAS® school.

Quest

Founding parent is a qualifi ed headteacher, and line manages educational and development staff, working in close collaboration with an Associate Behaviour Analyst. They report to the board of management and board of trustees. They receive additional professional supervision from a Senior Behaviour Analyst at Kent University and also a qualifi ed School Improvement Partner.

Step by Step

Director is a qualifi ed teacher, who also worked previously in banking/fi nancial services, and reports to the Board of Trustees. The Director line manages teacher-in-charge and all educational staff but shares ultimate education decision-making with them. They receive their additional professional supervision from trustee who is former HMI. Director was recruited after one year, initially as a trustee but then took up formal paid post one year prior to school opening.

TreeHouse

Chief Executive is responsible for overall charity, including school, and line manages headteacher. Both are members of School Governing Body, which in turn is a subcommittee of the Board of Trustees.




25

4.2.2 Ongoing role for parents

It is important to be clear about who is in charge and to respect boundaries. For parent-founded

schools in particular, there is often an advantage in the founders continuing to be involved and, as

can be seen from the above, in several cases founding parents have continued to have a formal, and

in some cases salaried, position. The ongoing involvement of parents in the organisation as a whole,

whatever their role in governance or management may be, needs to be clearly delineated from any

special privileges they may seek in relation to their own children. It is vital that appropriately qualifi ed

and experienced professionals do not have their judgement continually questioned and, as a result,

become inhibited in trying to do the job for which they have been recruited.

Where a school has been set up with particular children in mind, it is often particularly hard for the

parents to let go and see the needs of all the pupils as equal. Being able to separate your ‘parent

hat’ from your ‘organisational hat’ is crucial for the welfare of all the pupils. However, when this can

be achieved, parents continue to be a very valuable resource. First, it is the aspiration of all the

schools in this guide that parents should be active partners in their children’s education, and second,

parents are encouraged to be members of various committees.

4.2.3 Role of qualifi ed teachers

For schools who are committed to underpinning their practice with the principles of ABA, it may

be hard to fi nd staff who both have this expertise and who also are Qualifi ed Teachers (QTs).

Nonetheless, all the schools have recognised the importance of having Qualifi ed Teachers on staff.

Despite the fact that the DCSF state that there is no requirement that all teachers in independent

schools have Qualifi ed Teacher status as long as there is relevant expertise or experience, in

practice it has proved to be important for all the schools in this guide to employ or access Qualifi ed

Teachers. This is partly in order to be recognisable to external parties such as Ofsted and LAs, to

be able to ‘speak the same language’, but also, more fundamentally, to provide suffi cient curriculum

awareness appropriate to the school system.

“I think you need Qualifi ed Teachers straight away, because you need to link with the National Curriculum. You’re daft not to use it as a resource. To access it well as a resource you need someone who’s been trained and educated with it”.

“We took it literally but soon found out that in practice we weren’t going to be inspected favourably without qualifi ed teachers”.

“At SENDIST hearings they are always asking about the ratio of qualifi ed teachers to pupils”.

In the early stages of their development, The Jigsaw CABAS® School, Step by Step and TreeHouse all encouraged some existing members of staff to obtain a PGCE, and have since recruited additional QTs.

Chrysalis recruited a qualifi ed headteacher right from the start.

Rainbow received QT support from TreeHouse and some local primary schools in the early years. The founding parent and the ABA supervisor had to learn as much as they could about the National Curriculum and, in particular planning and assessment, prior to employing in-house QTs. Rainbow now employs two QTs including the headteacher, has funded one member of staff to acquire a PGCE, and has two further members of staff going through the Graduate QT programme.

Quest employed its second QT after two years.


26



4.2.4 Expertise in ABA

Most schools have in-house staff who are experienced and qualifi ed in ABA at a senior level. They

may be in overall charge of educational decision-making, just below the overall Head or Director.

Many schools have also set up a consultancy agreement with an external organisation or individual

to provide additional expert input in the classroom, in training or in individual children’s cases. This

consultancy augments the expertise within the school.

Arrangements have differed markedly, and what is felt appropriate or necessary may change as the

school evolves.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School has always been a CABAS ® school, which means that a system for teacher training and ranking was in place from the outset.

Quest started with a consultancy arrangement with an independent external individual provider and now receive their consultancy from a Behaviour Analyst based at a university.

Step by Step currently use two independent consultants, one who formerly ran an independent external commercial provider organisation, and another who is university-based with considerable experience.

Chrysalis bought in consultancy from an independent charitable provider, and also buys in expertise from an additional independent external individual provider.

Rainbow have a BCBA-qualifi ed ABA Consultant who is also the Deputy Head, and additional consultancy from Dr Patrick McGreevy who visits the school for three days every term.

TreeHouse was a CABAS® school in is fi rst year, then used a series of external consultancies until employing its own Senior Behaviour Analyst and in-house ABA team after four years.

Schools also differ in how they ensure that their staff are appropriately trained. The level of

qualifi cations required and requisite number of people with these qualifi cations varies. While all offer

some in-house training, which in the case of The Jigsaw CABAS® school is certifi ed by the CABAS®

Board, some have in addition funded some of their staff to undertake training in preparation for

BACB certifi cation at either Associate (BCABA) or higher (BCBA) level.

4.2.5 Expertise in SEN law

It is likely that at least some of your potential pupils’ places will rely on parents attending SEN and

Disability Tribunals. Because of this, your school staff (often but not always the headteacher) will be

required to provide evidence for Tribunal to show that the school can meet all of a child’s needs. A

member of staff may also need to attend hearings as an expert witness. These members of staff will

need to be advised on what to say and what not to say.

Some schools in this guide have paid for one-off training sessions from SEN lawyers. In one case,

the Principal had already trained in this area. Similarly, some of the schools do a lot of direct work

with prospective parents – informing them about the type of evidence they will need for Tribunal, the

statementing process, timescales, etc. Others refer parents to individuals and organisations offering

advocacy and advice.

4.2.6 Recruitment and staff remuneration

In some instances, in the early stages the school staff have comprised the tutors who were originally

working on home programmes. In other instances, even from the outset, staff have all been recruited

through advertising in the sector and/or local press, local universities, and email groups. Word of

mouth continues to play an important part for some, even when, as schools evolve, recruitment is

done solely through advertising and a formal recruitment process.




27

As part of your business planning and fi nancial projections, and in establishing your fee structure,

you will need to decide on salary rates. All schools have pegged the pay of their qualifi ed teaching

staff to the national pay scales, but have differed in how they approached the salaries of non-

qualifi ed teaching staff.

Step by Step use the national unqualifi ed teacher scale for tutors and national scale for teachers.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School use the national teacher pay scales for QTs, and have separate scales for non-qualifi ed teachers. All scales refl ect progress through CABAS® ranks.

Chrysalis operates to an independent pay scale. The unqualifi ed staff were initially paid at rates that matched what they had been on as home tutors.

Quest – QTs are paid according to national pay scales, and have separate scales for non-qualifi ed teachers.

Rainbow – QTs are paid according to national pay scales, with class leaders on the non-qualifi ed teacher pay scales. More junior classroom staff scales are based on TreeHouse scales.

TreeHouse – QTs are paid according to national pay scales and have recently adopted a local Government job evaluation scheme to inform other staff scales.

4.2.7 Financial systems and setting up payroll

You will need robust fi nancial systems and the moment you take on paid staff you will need to

operate a payroll system.

Different schools have found different ways round this. As organisations grow and their staffi ng

issues become more complex, so schools have found it important to outsource payroll services. For

Rainbow, a local private school group manages their payroll pro-bono and has done so from the

outset, while The Jigsaw CABAS® School and TreeHouse have paid to outsource the function after

eight to nine years of doing it in-house.

From the start, most schools have employed designated staff to carry out the book-keeping and

more high-level fi nancial work, including production of management accounts. One school has

employed a Bursar.

4.2.8 Length of school day and school year

Minimum number of hours of teaching time are set out in DfES Circular 7/90 at the time of writing.

The minimum consists of 190 contact days and fi ve training days. However, the schools in our group

tend to run a longer-than-average school year (43-45 weeks). While two are contemplating having a

full month off in August, they would hope to run a two week playscheme over this time to support the

families.

Although it has been known for special day schools to operate a shorter-than-average school day,

the schools in our group have on the whole chosen 9am to 3.30pm.

The things that schools have taken into account in reaching their decision have included pupil, family

and staff factors. Sometimes these confl ict, and a balance or compromise is necessary. For example,

although families and pupils often benefi t from shorter holidays, staff burnout is a real consideration.

Similarly, parents may be keen for their pupils to access as much teaching as possible in a day, but

running a special school classroom requires extensive planning and material preparation, as well as

frequent meetings to discuss pupil progress. This can only be done outside teaching time.


28



4.3 Identifying the pupils (at start-up and longer-term)

4.3.1 How many pupils, what age range?

This will form part of your business planning and infl uence your fi nancial projections. Most of the

schools have started small, with six pupils or less, and all have chosen different long-term goals in

terms of maximum size, and pupil age-range.

Step by Step started with three full-time and one half-time pupil aged six to nine, though they were registered for all ages up to 16. By July 2008 they had reached maximum capacity and are now looking to expand the site to accept more children.

Chrysalis started with three pupils and now have two full-time and two four year olds on part-time, temporary ‘assessment places’. They are registered for the age group four to 13.

The Jigsaw CABAS® School are registered for 36 pupils but aim for 60 pupils long-term, from reception through to age 16 with plans to extend this to 19. They had six pupils in the fi rst year, and have grown steadily since then.

Quest started with three pupils (one full-time and two part-time). After four years it had grown to eight full-time pupils. They are registered for pupils aged fi ve to 14 and this will be extended to 16 by the end of 2008.

Rainbow started with three pupils, with permission to expand to 15 (now 18) pupils once new premises were found. They are registered for pupils age four to 11, but hope in the long run to grow to 60 pupils, up until the age of 16.

TreeHouse started with four pupils and have grown steadily year on year. Currently there are 60 pupils and the school is registered such that it will be able to take up to 80 pupils aged three to 19.

At start-up, most of the schools’ decisions took into account the ages of the founding cohort of

pupils, but they differed in their aspirations in terms of provision for older pupils. It is important

not to under-estimate the particular requirements of secondary-aged pupils, including additional

space and facilities, specifi cs in relation to the curriculum (e.g. practice suites for life skills), and

the experience and expertise of staff. The organisational requirements, including statutory transition

reviews, liaising with the Connexions service, and so on, will also require targeted planning and

additional multi-agency work.

Clearly, the availability of premises and staff at any one time is a key determinant of the size of the

school in the immediate term, but the preferred overall target also varies. The factors infl uencing

ultimate size may be both philosophical/pedagogical and practical. Some seek a small school

deliberately because they want to retain an intimate ethos, minimising some of the sensory

disadvantages of large numbers of people in one organisation. Others have looked at the fi nancial

and organisational challenges of both staying small and of growing. While expansion can bring

about economies of scale, it can also place additional burdens.

“Small is beautiful on the one hand, but on the other hand there are advantages to being big (you can’t dismiss TreeHouse). And if we had more places, LEAs would look at us more closely”.

“What was important in setting up was that we were providing something intimate and different from other schools. We don’t want to sacrifi ce that by growing too big”.




29

4.3.2 Advertising for pupils

It has been known for a school to be set up to meet the needs of a single ‘founding child’, while in

other cases (more frequently) the school is established with a group of children in mind.

Either way, it is likely that you have in mind a school that will meet the needs of more children than

the original group, and in this case you will either seek to attract additional pupils from the outset, or

plan to attract them in subsequent years.

Because of the requirements around registration (see section 5), you need to be careful not to

advertise formally until you have achieved this, or alternatively take care not to make any public

commitments that you may not be able to fulfi l.

To get round this, some schools have attracted additional pupils by simple word of mouth. Others

have found that enquiries arose following a carefully–placed article in the local press. All have also

started to receive spontaneous enquiries from some LAs.

4.4 Premises

Remember that wherever you are you will probably have to apply to the local authority for planning

permission and/or notify them of changes of use if you are constructing new buildings on a site

or adapting existing buildings. For a building to be used as a school it has to have what is referred

to as ‘D1 use’. Relationships with your local planning department need to be as constructive as

possible as you will probably fi nd you get to know them rather well!

4.4.1 What are the regulations?

“It’s tortuous”.

“It’s something you have to go through yourself, in infi nite detail”.

There is a range of legal requirements relating to the facilities in any school, and the fact that you

are a special school will place additional requirements, including the amount of physical space

your pupils may need, possible need for quiet areas for pupils, and so on. Remember also that

the requirements of a building will vary signifi cantly according to the age range of your pupils,

from basic things like providing separate boy/girl toilets when pupils are over the age of eight, to

ensuring that secondary aged pupils have more space in general and access to specifi c curriculum

opportunities.

The fi rst source of general information on this is the DCSF information pack (see section 5). You

should also access the various regulations and bulletins via www.teachernet.gov.uk – search for

‘School Buildings Information Centre’ and/or ‘Schools Capital Assets Design Team’.

From these searches you will be able to download a useful overview of all the bulletins and

regulations contained in the Schools Design Unit publications list.

Do check regularly as several Building Bulletins in relation to SEN may be updated soon.

Examples of the most basic requirements you need to address include:

4.4.2 Fire regulations

This is a complex area. You will need to complete a school fi re risk assessment to comply with fi re

regulations for the workplace and this needs to be done prior to registration. Examples of necessary

measures include having a fi re alarm and fi re-proofi ng all doors. More information about all of this is

contained in the DCSF information pack. You should also go to your local Fire Department to fi nd out

all you need to do to comply with the fi re regulations and to get a fi re certifi cate which you will need

to submit with your registration. In addition, companies that provide fi re extinguishers often have the

knowledge necessary to advise you, and so getting guidance from one of the local providers (e.g.

Chubb) is a good idea. Just be aware that they are also there to sell their products.


30



4.4.3 Health and safety

If some rooms are going to be used for just one child and one adult on their own, then you must be

able to see into the room (for example, a window or a visibility panel).

All glass has to be plate glass – that is, shatterproof.

In practice, it is sometimes hard to know what statutory or regulatory requirements are until you get

inspected. Guidance on classroom sizes is particularly vague, while the overall requirement is that

they should ensure pupils’ health and safety and accommodate effective delivery of the curriculum.

Where there are large numbers of adults in the room, this will need to be taken into account.

“Because we operated a 1:1 staff:pupil ratio, but had only fi ve pupils in each class, it was hard to translate the DfES guidelines into our situation. The HMI said that her assessment (that our premises were too small) was done through a visual appraisal rather than anything else”.

Step by Step have had access to pro-bono services of a technical adviser, and hired a consultant to

advise on compliance with all Health and Safety regulations.

4.5 School fees and fi nancing the organisation

In an ideal world, the process of establishing school fees would be a straightforward one, but in

practice each school in its start-up phase will need to take into account what ‘the market’ can bear.

Several schools have started by subsidising the cost of each child’s education, with a plan to

obtain ‘full cost recovery’ in time, once the reputation and quality of the school have been secured

and evidenced – for example, via a favourable inspection, or when the number of pupils reaches a

critical mass .

Be warned that it is not legal for schools to compare notes on their planned school fees prior to

setting them because discussion could lead to schools altering how much they charge parents or

LAs – and this is deemed to be anti-competitive practice under the Competition Act 1998. Schools

have taken this very seriously after it was discovered in 2005 that some private schools had colluded

prior to setting their fees.

This does not mean that the information should be a close secret – for example, LAs, prospective

parents and general enquirers may all legitimately want to fi nd out what a school’s fees are once

they have been set.

Here is a quick rule-of-thumb guide on how you might go about setting your fees at start-up:

1. Calculate the average cost of a place

2. Decide on whether you intend to vary fees according to pupil needs or to set general fee levels

3. Identify whether subsidising places through fundraising is viable in the short term

4. Gauge what you think the local market can bear

5. Set a fee

4.5.1 Calculating the average cost of a place

In order to arrive at an idea of the average cost of a place, look at the overall costs to the

organisation, divided by the number of pupils. This will be a detailed piece of work, and different

schools have their own ways of approaching it. However, below is a rough indicator of the things you

need to take into account.

Overall costs are broken down as follows:

Staffi ng

The bulk of the annual running cost to your organisation is going to be staffi ng. This is true of all

schools, but even more so in the case of special schools where the staff:pupil ratio is likely to be




31

high. Your costs will therefore be highly sensitive to pay increases. Additional staffi ng costs for items

such as caretaking, lunch cover, extra therapy and curriculum input, as well as management and

training, fi nance and administration, all need to be factored in.

Premises and running costs

If you are renting, the costs of premises needs to cover this, as will an imputed cost for premises

if you own your premises. You will also need to budget for depreciation on all assets, plus ongoing

maintenance, utilities, IT, cleaning, and insurance.

Reserves

Charities will be audited against SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice) and the existence of

a policy on reserves is a necessary part of this. Beware, though, that the fees you are charging to

LAs are covering the actual cost of the child’s education and reasonable reserves, not generating

surpluses to be used on other aspects of the charity’s activities.

The Charity Commission guidance on reserves does not suggest that charities should set a specifi c

amount but that they should have an agreed policy on reserves based on the organisation’s

identifi ed needs and risks. Many schools see six months running costs as the ideal to aim for but

few can achieve this! Many see three months running costs as a minimum because of the need to

give most qualifi ed staff three months notice of termination of employment. Staffi ng covers about

80% of most schools’ costs but other issues to factor in are contracts for services such as energy,

telephones, computers, etc. Reserves should allow all fi nancial commitments to be met if a school

should have to close.

Your auditors may also have a view on your reserves policy.

Management and development

This may all rely initially on the tireless voluntary work of the founders. However, it is in principle

legitimate to allocate a cost to this crucial area of activity from the outset, and is certainly something

that will require funding in anything other than the short-term.

4.5.2 Deciding on approach to pupil by pupil vs general fee levels

If a child needs a particularly high staff:pupil ratio it may be possible to go back to the LA and argue

the case for additional funding for that pupil. This is best done if you are transparent about your

other costs.

Most schools have not started with differentiated fee levels, though specifi c pupil packages have

evolved in a couple of schools in exceptional circumstances.

The danger of relying solely on specifi c pupil packages is that it makes forecasting particularly

unreliable. Also, the ease with which these specifi c packages have been negotiated varies

tremendously. In a couple of cases, it has entailed quite a straightforward negotiation with the LA,

but in one case it required a protracted process involving independent assessments and a long-

drawn-out dispute.

4.5.3 Is it possible to subsidise places via fundraising?

You will probably seek to set an annual fundraising target (see section 3.5) and your trustees/

management committee will need to be clear about how realistic it is if you do intend to charge fees

at less than the full cost of the place. While this may be possible in the short term while you are in

the start-up phase, in the long run it will be very hard to sustain the fundraising effort involved in

subsidising places since most grant-making trusts and donors will argue that they are being asked

to fund something for which statutory funding should be available. This will have a knock-on impact

on fee rises and relationships with LAs (see 4.5.5 below).


32



4.5.4 Gauging the local market

LAs are not going to be keen to pay high fees because of the limits on their budgets and their legal

requirement to meet the needs of all the children with SEN in their area. Clearly, if you set your fees

high, you can anticipate greater reluctance to fund pupils’ places.

If LAs do not have alternative provision for the pupils, you are in a stronger position in the market.

Where there are local maintained schools that the LA argues can meet the needs of the pupils

you are hoping to attract, parents may have to go to SENDIST in order to appeal against the LA’s

decision. The ability, or otherwise, of the LA to argue successfully that their own provision meets the

child’s needs will be a key factor on the outcome.

4.5.5 Fee increases over time

Local Authorities mostly accept fee increases in line with pay increases, so the national pay scales

agreement will be something you need to be abreast of.

There may be critical points in your school’s development at which you can raise the fees by a

signifi cant percentage (above the pay increase), but to do this year on year will not go down well.

Such critical points need to be accompanied by full explanation to the LAs, and will be, for example,

when you have suddenly had to incur additional premises costs, or when your trustees make a policy

decision to stop subsidising places – perhaps once you have grown to a size when it is reasonable

for all fi xed costs and overheads to be covered by the pupils’ fees. It will help your case if this is

compatible with your business planning, rather than indicating a panic response to unforeseen

circumstances, and if you give suffi cient warning (e.g. six months).

Remember that signifi cant rises in fees can damage relationships with your LAs for a long time;

some schools in this guide have said that, in hindsight, they should have set a full-cost fee from the

outset.

4.5.6 The National Contract

NASS, the ADCS, Regional Partnerships, NCERCC, and the Local Government Association have

developed the National Contract for placements in independent and non-maintained special schools,

with the support of the DCSF. The Contract aims to support schools that work with a number of LAs

by offering a single contract that is now used by over 100 LAs. In essence the contract is a useful

document protecting both school and authority by setting out clear conditions.

NASS recommends that the contract is used by all independent special schools. Some placing

authorities are not keen to place in schools that do not use the Contract. The Contract can be

useful for schools with little experience of contracting as it has been developed by schools and

commissioners with experience and expertise in this area. The Contract covers all key areas of

provision and sets an expectation of how schools and authorities will set and meet annual fee

increases. However, each Contract focuses on the needs of the individual child being placed via the

Individual Placement Schedule.

Not all the schools in this guide use the National Contract because, despite all the advantages, they

prefer to maintain more fl exibility, particularly in their early years of development. However, it should

be noted that the Jigsaw CABAS® School has been able to negotiate some specifi c amendments

to the National Contract. Fee increases need to be supported by budgetary analysis and fee setting

should be transparent, and in their experience this is achievable and not hindered by signing up to

the National Contract.




33

5. The work involved in registering as a school

5.1 Registering as a school

As well as the organisational considerations set out in sections 3 and 4, you will need to address the

specifi c requirements of registering as a school.

At the time of writing, the DCSF is considering transferring responsibility for registering schools to Ofsted. The following information may be subject to revision within the near future.

An essential guide, which covers in more detail some of the ‘basics’ that are set out in the next

sections, is the DCSF Registration of Independent Schools Information Pack. This is free and will be

sent to you on request from Independent Education and Boarding Team, DCSF 01325 392159 or

email to [email protected]

It will provide defi nitions of some of the terms below and it points you to all the relevant statutory

requirements that you will need to fulfi l.

Before you take any pupils you are required, by law, to be registered with the DCSF. This applies in

the event of:

providing full time education for fi ve or more pupils of compulsory school age

providing full time education for one pupil if the pupil has a statement of SEN (and/or is a

Looked After Child)

If you are starting out with children of pre-school age, you will still need to fulfi l other requirements

for the provision of under-fi ves. Contact your local Children’s Services Department to inform them

of your intentions and to identify any local requirements, and you will need to register with Ofsted,

under whose inspection framework you will fall. For information about this, go to www.ofsted.gov.uk.

While doing all this, you will also be planning ahead for the point at which the children do reach

compulsory school age – which will come around very quickly!

5.2 What is involved in registering and how long does it take?

It is likely to take a good six months in total. First, you will need to draw up a range of plans and

documents to accompany the DCSF application form, and then it will then take a further three

months for an Ofsted inspection following receipt of the application, before the school can open.

The documents accompanying the application form include:

a plan of the premises

curriculum policies, schemes of work and assessment methods

policies covering bullying, safeguarding children, health and safety, and challenging

behaviour

a school risk assessment to comply with fi re regulations for the workplace

a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Form covering the school’s proprietors

Once the school has been open for three months, the DCSF will require you to submit a second form

with details of pupil numbers, fees and employee details, and a second Ofsted inspection will have

to take place.

5.3 Policies and information to parents and prospective parents

You are required to provide information about contact details of the proprietor as well as a range

of policies including admissions, discipline, exclusions, a statement of the school’s ethos and aims,

and the complaints procedure. Schools have varied in how they have gone about researching and

preparing this material, but the general approaches can be listed as follows:

1. Paid consultancy to deliver specifi c aspects, bought from other schools, individuals or group-of-

schools (commercial or charitable)

2. Copying or being given helpful examples (always with permission) from other schools,

particularly special schools, both in maintained and private sectors


34



3. Working on policies from fi rst principles, using in-house expertise

4. Accessing examples on the web, such as teachernet or governornet (see below)

5. Accessing local policies, guidance and training in Child Protection, Health and Safety, and First

Aid from the host LA

These are not mutually exclusive. Most of the schools in this guide have done a mixture of all fi ve.

The factors infl uencing the balance between one to fi ve will include how constructive a relationship

you build with your LA or another school or provider, how much in-house expertise and time you

have, and what you can afford if you choose paid consultancy.

Do bear in mind that ideally schools need to think through and work out all these policies individually

and there is a limit to what you can access ‘off the shelf’. Even if your fi rst priority is just to show you

have documentation necessary for registration, these policies are meaningful and will underpin and

guide what happens in your school. They will also need regular updates; some requiring reviews

annually, others less frequently.

Even though as an independent school you will not be bound by all the requirements of a

maintained school, it is still very helpful to keep up-to-date with the key developments and good

practice recommendations in the wider educational community:

www.governornet.co.uk for useful information and updates about policies and regulations

relating to all aspects of school governance, including responsibilities for staffi ng,

premises, curriculum, etc.

www.teachernet.gov.uk for all aspects of education provision, management, policies,

staffi ng, curriculum, etc.

5.4 Curriculum policy, schemes of work and assessment methods

This information will need to be provided as part of the registration application. The curriculum

policy will cover the school’s approach to teaching, supported by schemes of work for each subject

taught. All schools applying for registration need to demonstrate how they will address the spiritual,

moral, social, and cultural developments of pupils, and illustrate how they will incorporate linguistic,

mathematical, scientifi c, technological, human and social, and physical aesthetic/creative areas in

their curriculum.

There is no blueprint for devising a curriculum and this is an area where professional expertise

and familiarity with curriculum frameworks is necessary. How the curriculum is planned will also

be dependent on the abilities and ages of the pupils at your school. All the above areas will

be approached very differently according to the needs of the pupils; it is highly likely that for a

special school responding to the needs of pupils with autism, you will have to demonstrate marked

curriculum differentiation and you may choose to highlight areas of particular emphasis.

Although an independent school is not required by the regulations to cover the National Curriculum,

it has been the experience of the schools involved in this guide that planning the pupils’ learning

against the National Curriculum headings has been helpful in terms of explaining the work of

the school to inspectors and local authorities. Also, it is common for Statements of SEN to make

reference to the National Curriculum in part 3, and independent schools will have to deliver what is

in the Statement.

Information about the National Curriculum can be obtained from:

Qualifi cations and Curriculum Authority (QCA)

83 Piccadilly

London W1J 8QA

Tel 020 7509 5555

www.gca.org.uk

For further guidance, refer to the DCSF information pack and websites above.




35

5.5 Recruitment and child protection

A new Independent Safeguarding Authority has been set up as a single agency to vet all individuals

who want to work or volunteer with vulnerable people. It will be relevant for all new appointments,

both paid and unpaid, including trustees and governing body members.

This is a new body but it will work closely with the Criminal Records Bureau (see below). The service

will become operational in October 2009 but you are strongly advised to check for up-to-date

information on an ongoing basis, both before and after that date.

Please go to www.isa-gov.org.uk or phone the Lo-call rate information line on 0300 123 1111.

5.5.1 Criminal Records Bureau checks

A Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Form covering the school’s proprietors will need to be

submitted direct to the DCSF when you apply for registration. Once the school is open, CRB forms

need to be fi lled in for all staff and volunteers who are linked with the school, including trustees and

governing body members.

Enhanced Disclosures must be obtained for proprietors where they will be engaged in training,

supervising or being in sole charge of young people under the age of 18. They are also necessary

for all staff and volunteers whose work involves this level of contact with young people.

Go to www.crb.gov.uk for the latest information on CRBs.

You will see that most organisations are being encouraged to access CRB checks via an umbrella

body. This applies particularly to small organisations (such as a school) where the volume of checks

per year will not be suffi cient to register as a processing organisation in their own right. You will

need to shop around, and most umbrella bodies charge a registration fee. Rainbow have found an

organisation called Capita who process CRB checks for free providing they are for staff working with

children under the age of eight.

In addition to the above, List 99 contains the names of people who are considered unsuitable

for work with children, held by the DCSF. Appointment of anyone on List 99 will make the school

vulnerable to being de-registered and closed.

5.5.2 Additional child protection safeguards

Schools are required to ensure that they have taken all appropriate checks to verify prospective

staff’s identify, previous employment history, and qualifi cations as well as undertaking a CRB check.

Each school will also require a designated child protection offi cer (often the headteacher) and

ensure that all staff are given appropriate training, updated at least every two years for designated

offi cers and every three years for other school staff. Several schools access the training provided by

the LA or Local Safeguarding Children Board, though often they have been charged for this.

The legal requirements are set out in section 175 of the Education Act 2002, with accompanying

guidance in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education which can be downloaded

from www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00175.

There are requirements on all independent schools to follow safe recruitment practice and to have

at least one person on any recruitment panel that has gone through the NCSL safer recruitment

training. This can be accessed on-line whilst some organisations run face to face courses.


36



6. When the school has opened: Things to plan for

It is tempting to work towards the registration, and then opening, of the school as the end of your

story. You have achieved a huge amount, and fulfi lled your initial goal. It can be daunting then to

recognise that actually this is just the beginning… However hard it is to get going, sustaining the

momentum once you’ve opened is when some of the real challenges begin…

“Don’t think you’ve done it once the school has opened. It will follow you wherever you go. Every year we have a crisis”.

“You have to keep planning for everything. If you look at Ofsted and inspections, you are always reviewing. You should always have a development/improvement plan running alongside with what you’re dong. Rules change, legislation changes…”.

With this in mind, we wanted to give you just a taster of the issues you will need to address. It never

stops, but our advice is that while planning is crucial, do not let terror paralyse you! Just take one

step at a time.

6.1 Inspections and information required by government

First, there will be things you need to plan for as part of the regular round of inspections and

reporting in order to maintain registration. If the school fails to meet the required standards, the

ultimate sanction is to remove it from the Register of independent schools.

6.1.1 Inspections

Once you have achieved registration as an independent school you will be inspected by Ofsted on

a three-year cycle under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 as amended by schedule 8 of the

Education Act 2005.

Details of the process are given on the Ofsted website www.ofsted.gov.uk.

6.1.2 Informing the DCSF of changes

You will need to notify the Secretary of State of signifi cant changes, including changes of proprietor,

school address, age range, or maximum number of pupils, accompanied by plans for staff

numbers and qualifi cations. In the latter cases, you will need to demonstrate that you can meet the

appropriate needs, and accompanying plans and documents will be required, including plans for

staff numbers and qualifi cations. Some of these changes will trigger an inspection.

6.2 Things to plan for

There will also be a whole range of areas in which planning is essential and issues will need to be

tackled on an ongoing basis.

Here are just a few such areas, to give you a taster:

6.2.1 Growth

How do your original plans compare with the benefi t of experience? Are you taking new

pupils at the rate you expected?

How does this affect your cash-fl ow and your fi nancial projections?

Is the administrative load sustainable under current resourcing?




37

6.2.2 Relationships

Have relationships with LAs, other schools, landlords, funders, and so on developed as

you had hoped? How can you plan to develop these?

Are parents being involved as partners in the school in a way that balances the

professional and parental perspective effectively? Will there need to be adjustments as

the school evolves and matures?

Are the founders still on board? If there are substantial differences, might you have to

agree to a parting of the ways? Will you need to take on more trustees and advisers?

6.2.3 Staffi ng and organisational structure

Are the lines of accountability and reporting evolving as the school matures? Will you be

able to demonstrate them in such a way that they will be clear to external stakeholders

(e.g. funders, inspectors)?

Is there a rapid staff turnover and, if so, will you be able to look at ways to address this?

Are you managing to ensure recruitment of people with the right potential or set of skills?

6.2.4 Revisiting your strategy

Are you still seeking to fulfi l your aims and targets, as set out in your original literature and

business plan, or will you need to revise these in light of experience?

6.3 Accessing useful resources and networks

Because every locality and every school is unique, there is no simple list available of helpful

resources, contacts, organisations to join or recommended partnerships and networks. Instead,

below are just a few examples of the kinds of things that the schools in this guide have found useful

for ongoing support, so that you can research equivalent facilities for your school.

6.3.1 Local Lending Resource Libraries

Some LAs operate resource libraries for all local schools in their area. In return for an annual

subscription (maybe £500), schools will be allowed to borrow any number of resources.

“For us it’s a fabulous resource which we use constantly, gives us access to all sorts of books, teaching guides, learning materials, big books, puppets, even Arabic/English dictionaries. Must have saved us a fortune in buying resources over the years”.

6.3.2 NAS Partners in Autism

This is one example of how to work in partnership with other organisations working in the fi eld of

autism. These meetings enable you to make contact with local partners, keeping up to date with

local developments and sharing information.

Other resources are contained on pages 39 to 43.


38



7. Concluding remarks

In preparing this guide, the participating schools have all had a chance to look back and refl ect on

the challenges that have faced them over the years, as well as recognising those that still lie ahead.

Here are some of the concluding comments that contributors have made, which we leave you with.

“Although at times it’s been incredibly stressful and very hard, and there have been many sleepless nights wondering where the money is going to come from, or how we are going to achieve our goals, my heart swells with pride when I see the progress our pupils make or have made. The gratitude of their parents is often overwhelming, but a wonderful reward, and I often have to pinch myself when I think that thanks to a group of gutsy parents we have climbed a mountain… and although we’re not at the top yet, we’re too high now to descend”.

“I sometimes say that I wouldn’t wish setting up a school on my worst enemy. I also get very angry when it’s put forward as a general policy solution, because parents have enough on their plates and shouldn’t be expected to compensate for system failures. And yet… I feel incredibly privileged to have been part of it; I’ve met amazing people, I’ve learnt so much. When things get really low I just look at our wonderful kids, our amazing teachers, and think we’re all on a great adventure”.




39

GlossaryABA – Applied Behaviour Analysis In general,

ABA refers to using what we know scientifi cally

about behaviour in order to bring about positive

change (i.e. the learning of specifi c skills), and it

covers a broad school of thought and published

literature within the fi elds of education and

psychology. In the specifi c context of this guide

it refers to the use of the principles of ABA to

teach children and young people with autism.

There are several specifi c applications within

the fi eld of education that emphasise different

aspects of the science and associated methods:

examples include Verbal Behaviour, Precision

Teaching, Natural Environment Training, etc. See

the Behavior Analyst Certifi cation Board (www.

bacb.com) and the Association for Behavior

Analysis International (www.abainternational.

org) for further details about ABA, and the

Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (www.

behavior.org) for further details about different

applications of ABA.

ADCS – The Association of Directors of Children’s Services is the national leadership

Association in England for statutory directors of

children’s services and other children’s services

professionals in leadership roles.

www.adcs.org.uk

BCABA – Board Certifi ed Associate Behaviour Analyst One of the qualifi cations

conferred by the international Behaviour

Analysis Certifi cation Board. www.bacb.com

BCBA – Board Certifi ed Behaviour Analyst Qualifi cation conferred by the international

BACB above.

Board of Trustees Body of volunteer

individuals who are legally responsible for the

charity. For further information about roles and

responsibilities, see below under NCVO and

Charity Commission.

CABAS® Comprehensive Application of Behavioural Analysis to Schooling A specifi c

behavioural model of schooling with its own

Board and certifi cation/practice requirements.

CABAS® schools operate in the US and Europe.

www.cabas.com

Charity Commission National body that

registers, advises and regulates the operation

of charities in the UK. Has offi ces in London,

Liverpool, Taunton, Newport. Tel 0845 3000 218

www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Children’s Services Department The

department within each local authority

responsible for children, combining what were

formerly separate education and social services

departments.

Companies House The offi cial government

body that registers and regulates the operation

of companies in the UK.

www.companieshouse.gov.uk

CRB – Criminal Records Bureau An executive

agency of the Home Offi ce which vets

applications for people who want to work with

children and vulnerable people.

www.crb.gov.uk

CVS – Council for Voluntary Service For

information about your local CVS go to the

NAVCA directory of members and local contacts,

which can be accessed via www.navca.org.uk/

liodir

‘D1’ use An offi cial classifi cation of property

usage governing non-residential premises within

building and planning regulations. For further

information contact your local authority planning

department.

DCSF – Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly DfES) The government

department which has responsibility for children

and children’s services including schools and

early years in England and Wales www.dcsf.gov.

uk, 0870 000 2288. Department for Children,

Schools and Families, Sanctuary Buildings,

Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT.

DEFRA – Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairswww.defra.gov.uk

DfES – Department for Education and Skills (now DCSF) www.dfes.gov.uk

Earlybird A parent support and training

programme run and/or franchised by the

National Autistic Society.

www.nas.org.uk/earlybird

EOTAS – an acronym for Education Other Than

At School. EOTAS support services are run

differently in different LAs.

Governing Body – body of individuals who

are legally responsible for a school. For further

information see governornet.co.uk


40



HMI – Her Majesty’s Inspector of Education

Offi cial inspector under the auspices of HMIE

(Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education) –

the offi cial body responsible for evaluating

educational establishments (including schools

and early years settings).

Home programmes Usually refers to home-

based teaching for children with autism using

the principles of ABA.

ISA – Independent Safeguarding Authority The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

has been created to help prevent unsuitable

people from working with children and

vulnerable adults. They work in partnership with

the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), which will

gather relevant information on every person

who wants to work or volunteer with vulnerable

people. www.isa-gov.org.uk

LA – Local Authority The local government

body in your area responsible for several

aspects of local government, including

education.

LEA A Local Education Authority is the part of

a local council or local authority (LA) in England

and Wales that is responsible for education

within that council’s jurisdiction. The phrase is

now obsolete in offi cial use, but is still frequently

used informally to refer to the Education

Department of the relevant local authority.

List 99 List of individuals who have been

debarred from teaching.

Local Government Association A voluntary

organisation representing and informing its

member local councils and authorities in

England and Wales. www.lga.gov.uk

NAS – National Autistic Society UK-wide

charity in relation to autism, with regional teams

and a local branch network. Runs national

helpline and advice services and a range

of direct and volunteer services alongside

campaigning, publications and local resource

directory.

NASS National Association of independent

Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schools

www.nasschools.org.uk

National Children’s Bureau (NCB National

umbrella children’s charity www.ncb.org.uk

National Curriculum The National Curriculum

applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

as a nationwide curriculum for primary and

secondary schools, to ensure that all pupils will

be able to access key areas of learning. For

further information see QCA.

NCERCC The National Centre for Excellence

in Residential Child Care (NCERCC) works to

improve standards of practice and outcomes

for residential child care in England, funded by

the DCSF and based at the National Children’s

Bureau. www.ncb.org.uk (search on the NCB

website for NCERCC).

NCSL – National College for School Leadershipwww.ncsl.org.uk

NCVO National Council for Voluntary

Organisations. A membership organisation, itself

a charity, set up to support, inform, advise and

campaign for the charitable sector.

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

Help desk 0800 2 798 798

or [email protected]

Non-Maintained Special School – NMSS For

further information, contact NASS (National

Association of independent Schools and Non-

Maintained Special Schools). www.nasschools.

org.uk

Ofsted The Offi ce for Standards in Education,

Children’s Services and Skills. This is the offi cial

body for inspecting and regulating schools and

care settings. www.ofsted.gov.uk

PGCE Postgraduate Certifi cate of Education.

Qualifi cation conferred on graduates who have

successfully completed professional teaching

qualifi cation. For further information see TDA.

Pro-bono Assistance offered free of charge.

QCA – Qualifi cations and Curriculum Authority The regulatory body for public

examinations and publicly funded qualifi cations

including the curriculum for the under-5s, the

National Curriculum, and GCSEs. 83 Piccadilly,

London W1J 9QA, 020 7509 5555

www.qca.org.uk

Qualifi ed Teachers Qualifi ed teacher status

(QTS) is the accreditation that enables you to

teach in state-maintained and special schools in

England and Wales. For further information see

Regional Partnerships The DfES established

11 SEN Regional Partnerships which covered

all local authorities in England. In 2007 they

became 9 Regional Partnerships, coterminous




41

with Government Offi ce regions. Although

funding has now been discontinued, you will

fi nd a lot of information about their work on

teachernet.

SEN Special Educational Needs

SEN Code of Practice Published by the DCSF,

this is the national framework of requirements for

how SEN provision is delivered in England and

Wales.

SENDIST Special Educational Needs and

Disability Tribunal. The Special Educational

Needs and Disability Tribunal considers

parents’ appeals against the decisions of Local

Education Authorities (LEAs) about children’s

special educational needs if parents cannot

reach agreement with the LEA. The Tribunal is

independent. www.sendist.gov.uk

SORP – (Statement of Recommended Practice)

Accounting procedures for charities. For further

information see the Charity Commission.

Statements (part 4) The legal document setting

out the needs and provision that the local

authority is required to meet for an individual

child with SEN if their needs cannot be met

at school level (see Code of Practice) within

England and Wales

Tribunals See under SENDIST.

TDA Training and Development Agency

for Schools. It is the national agency and

responsible for the training and development of

the school workforce.

www.tda.gov.uk/resources

Education sources

and organisations ACE (Advisory Centre for Education) Education helpline 0808 800 5739.

www.ace-ed.org.uk

An independent education advice centre.

Building Bulletins including Designing

for children and young people with special

educational needs or disabilities in mainstream

and special schools.

Downloadable from: www.teachernet.gov.uk/

management/resourcesfi nanceandbuilding/

schoolbuildings/designguidance/

SENandDisabilities/

Butterworth’s Law of Education A regularly

updated manual of all the Acts, regulations

and statutory guidance affecting education in

England and Wales. It is available on CD as well

as in hard copy format. It has the advantage

of being indexed and includes explanations of

when and why major changes were made.

CRONER-i Education An on-line subscription

service aimed specifi cally at the independent

sector covering the full range of legal

requirements concerning employment, health

and safety, special educational needs, premises

and governance, etc. www.croner.co.uk

DCSF Governors’ Guide to the Law (2008)

downloadable from: www.governornet.co.uk/

publishList.cfm?topicAreaId=26

Includes information on health and safety,

employment and equal opportunities which

apply to all types of schools. Much is relevant

only to state maintained schools but it is still

a useful guide for what is considered best

practice, in the absence of similar guides to

independent schools.

Education Otherwise

www.education-otherwise.org

Governornet provides information to school

governors on a whole range of issues including

staffi ng and personnel, premises regulations,

roles and responsibilities, training, and guide to

the law. www.governornet.co.uk

Health and Safety: responsibility and powersLeafl et which provides links to legislation and

guidance on risk assessment, school premises,

pupils with medical problems, school visits etc.

Downloadable from www.teachernet.gov.uk/

wholeschool/healthandsafety/responsibilities/

Home education www.home-education.org.uk

Inspection guide The Framework for

Inspecting Independent Schools, April 2008,

is downloadable from the Ofsted website, but

please note this is subject to change.

www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms-and-

guidance/Browse-all-forms-and-guidance-

by/Title-A-to-Z/Framework-for-inspecting-

independent-schools/(language)/eng-GB

IPSEA (Independent Panel for Special Education Advice)www.ipsea.org.uk

6 Carlow Mews

Woodbridge

Suffolk IP12 1EA


42



Advice line 0800 018 4016

General contact 01394 38471

National Autistic Society393 City Road

London EC1V 1NG

General helpline 0845 070 4004

Advocacy for Education Service 0845 070 4002

www.nas.org.uk

National Association of independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schoolswww.nasschools.org.uk

Membership organisation for special schools not

maintained by local authorities. Provides advice,

support, lobbying, training, and conferences.

A central point of contact for the sector. NASS

offers associate membership to new schools

working towards their fi rst full Ofsted inspection.

Associate members get a regular e-newsletter

and reduced price access to NASS training

events and conferences.

Public Benefi t Guidance available from the

Charities Commission. www.charitycommission.

gov.uk/publicbenefi t/

From April 2008, all organisations wishing to be

recognised as charities have had to demonstrate

explicitly that their aims are for the public benefi t.

Previously, the law presumed this to be the case

for charities that advance education for example.

QCA – Qualifi cations and Curriculum Authority83 Piccadilly

London W1J 9QA

020 7509 5555

www.qca.org.uk

The regulatory body for public examinations

and publicly funded qualifi cations including

the curriculum for the under-fi ves, the National

Curriculum, and GCSEs.

Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in EducationDownloadable: www.teachernet.gov.

uk/wholeschool/familyandcommunity/

childprotection

Guidance on recruitment, vetting checks, and

duties for safeguarding and promoting the

welfare of children in education. All schools,

including non-maintained schools and

independent schools, should use this guidance

for safeguarding children and dealing with

allegations of abuse made against teachers and

education staff.

SEN Code of Practice (English code 2001)

www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.

cfm?id=3724.

Also available in hard copy from 0845 60 222 60.

(Welsh code 2002). Also available in hard copy

from 029 2082 3683.

The Code provides guidance to schools, local

authorities and other agencies on the framework

for identifying, assessing and making statements

for children with special educational needs and

reviewing statements.

TDA – Training and Development Agency for Schools.www.tda.gov.uk

It is the national agency and responsible for

the training and development of the school

workforce.

Teachernetwww.teachernet.gov.uk

Offi cial website for all aspects of educational

provision, management, policies, staffi ng,

curriculum, and so on.

The Disability Rights Commission Code of Practice for Schools 2002

www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/

publicationsandresources/Disability/Pages/

Education.aspx

Also available in hard copy from 08457 622 633.

Provides statutory guidance on the duties not

to discriminate against disabled pupils and

prospective pupils in the provision of education

and associated services in schools, and in

respect of admissions and exclusions. The law

applies equally to independent and maintained

schools.




43

Schools and

units mentioned

in this guideChrysalis www.chrysalisschool.org

The Jigsaw CABAS® Schoolwww.jigsawschool.co.uk

Pembrokeshire ABA projectwww.pembrokeshireabacentre.com

Questwww.questschool.co.uk

Rainbowwww.rainbowcharity.org.uk

Step by Stepwww.stepbystepschool.org.uk

SPEACwww.speac-centre.org

TreeHousewww.treehouse.org.uk

Treetops SchoolEriff Drive

South Ockendon

Essex RM15 5AY

01375 372723

[email protected]

Charity and

fundraising resources

and organisations Business in the Community works with

businesses who are committed to Corporate

Social Responsbility, provides advice, networks,

campaigns and a list of fi rms who are willing to

offer pro-bono help to voluntary organisaitons.

www.bitc.org

Charity Commission National body that

registers, advises and regulates the operation

of charities in the UK. Has offi ces in London,

Liverpool, Taunton, Newport.

Tel 0845 3000 218

www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Charities Aid Foundation – a charity which

helps other charities through consultancy and

advice on fi nance, fundraising, business and

strategic planning, and also has a specialist

banking service. www.cafonline.org

Constructive Campaigning for Autism Services: The PACE Parents’ Handbook,

Armorer Wason Jessica Kingsley Publishers

2005.

Directory of Social Change a charity which

provides information and training to voluntary

organisations on a range of issues including

fundraising, policy and campaigning. Publishes

a series of useful guides.

www.dsc.org.uk

NAS – National Autistic Society UK-wide

charity in relation to autism, with regional teams

and a local branch network. Runs national

helpline and advice services, and a range of

direct and volunteer services, campaigning,

publications and local resource directory.

NAVCA – the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action Promotes

and supports voluntary organisations by

providing its members with information, advice,

networking and learning opportunities, support,

and development services. www.navca.org.uk

NCVO – National Council for Voluntary Organisations A membership organisation,

itself a charity, set up to support, inform, advise

and campaign for the charitable sector.

Help desk 0800 2 798 798

or [email protected]

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

Organisations set up to help charities/additional fundraising links:www.charitiesbuyinggroup.com

www.fundinginformation.org.uk

www.trustfunding.org.uk

www.governmentfunding.org.uk

www.guidestar.org.uk

www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

www.charitiesbuyinggroup.com

www.inkinddirect.org


schools from scratch

Documents

succession of schools

charity number

scratchan essential

introductory guide

special schoolbased

special schooldisclaimer

following pages

following donors