Dear colleague
Welcome to the
first issue of our newsletter for this academic year. Here are the latest
updates and information:
Our
support for you:
Thank you to everyone who responded to our independent sector survey last term.
Your feedback highlighted the value of ASCL’s national voice, the importance of
communicating our impact, and the need for greater advice on business
management, representation, and professional learning.
In
response, we are actively strengthening our engagement and support:
- Enhanced content: Look
out for increased independent-sector features in Leader magazine (including
my next article on 12 October) and on the ASCL website.
- Targeted events: We
have introduced dedicated online forums for independent leaders (register
for the 6 October session here) and specialised workshops within our Leadership
Essentials series (more details below).
- Stronger representation: General Secretary Pepe Di’Iasio and I met with
the DfE Permanent Secretary, Susan Acland-Hood, to showcase the impact of
independent-state partnerships and transition arrangements. We also
strengthened ties with independent school associations, attending the
annual conferences of HMC, GSA, SoH, ISA, and ISBA, hosting roundtables,
and delivering keynotes.
Looking
ahead, we will continue to champion the positive contribution of independent
schools, develop strategic budget management support, and repeat this survey
every two years to ensure our work always reflects your priorities.
Leadership Essentials:
Our
popular autumn leadership conferences return this November as Leadership
Essentials – designed to help leaders navigate major education reforms.
And for the first time, this year, we are including a session exclusively
for leaders working in independent schools.
On 25 November at the London event, Tom
Middlehurst (ASCL Deputy Director of Policy), Lindsey Hughes (Headmistress
Channing School, Vice President of The Girls' Schools Association, and Board
Director of Independent Schools Council) and I, will be in conversation
discussing:
What does leadership in the independent sector
look like in five years? Considering the challenges and opportunities, and
strategies which all leaders in the sector need to be reflecting upon.
Do come along and book your place at the conference. We
hope there will be sufficient interest and engagement to support the
introduction of similar sessions for independent school leaders at other
conference locations next year.
The other presentations and workshops during
the day will also feature content that is directly relevant to all leaders,
regardless of which type of school you work in, so it should prove to be a
highly informative day.
Online forums:
The first independent sector business leaders’ online forum of the year takes
place at 10.30am on 1 October. As ever, this will be hosted by our Business Leadership
Specialist, Emma Harrison, and myself. You can register here.
At 9.30am on 6 October, our independent sector
leader online forum resumes. This is an informal opportunity to ‘drop in’ and
meet other leaders and to raise any issues which you feel it would be helpful
for me to be aware of. You can register here.
Pensions:
Prior to the summer holidays, details of the new rates of employers’
contributions for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) were published. In case
you missed it, you can read the blog that my colleague Melanie
Moffatt, ASCL Pensions Specialist, and I wrote outlining the implications for
schools. Whilst the new rates do not come into effect until April 2027, schools
that have remained in the TPS may need to consider how this reduction may
affect them, especially if they are currently running a dual economy model, where
some staff have remained in the scheme and others have moved to a
school-provided defined contribution scheme.
Enrichment
framework:
Many independent school leaders place great value in the partnership work they
do with colleagues in state schools. I am sure that the new, non-statutory, enrichment framework which emerged from the
white paper published earlier this year, will have provoked discussions how
existing partnerships could be focused on helping state schools meet the elements
of the new framework.
One of the benchmarks which schools are
encouraged to meet is developing partnerships with other organisations, and if
you are considering establishing a new partnership or are based near a state
school with which you have not worked with yet, I’m sure that your years of
experience in delivering and evaluating enrichment will make a great difference
to schools that are looking at ways that they can both comply with the
framework and demonstrate compliance with the benchmarks.
Upcoming
Council meeting:
The autumn meeting of ASCL Council takes place 8-9 October
at Warwick University. Council is the body which makes decisions for the
association. During Council, I meet with the representatives of the three
independent school associations who are affiliated to ASCL, and this year,
those representatives are Shaun Fenton (HMC, Head at Reigate Grammar School),
Julie Keller (GSA, Head at Nottingham Girls’ High School), and Martyn Beer (SoH,
Head at Ackworth School). If there are any matters which you would like them to
raise at Council with me, please get in touch by emailing me at Neil.Smith@ascl.org.uk
International members:
International membership of ASCL is available to any staff working, who would
otherwise meet the criteria for UK membership. ASCL membership includes access
to all information through our website and email newsletters, Leader magazine, hotline and specialist support for general educational matters and
pension advice.
Membership also includes a discount on our
professional development events and programmes – a full list can be
accessed here and, also includes access
to a range of professional leadership communities which
members can choose to join; these meet regularly and provide an opportunity for
members with similar interests, roles or backgrounds to meet.
For more information, please email Membership@ascl.org.uk
ASCL Annual Conference 2027:
Our Annual Conference is one of the highlights of the education calendar. It
will take place in Birmingham on 12-13 March and will once again feature
exceptional CPD, high-quality keynote speakers, and networking opportunities
for senior leadership teams.
You can book now on a special ‘early bird’
discount rate. Full details here.
And finally…
I hope
to see many of you at the upcoming IAPS and HMC Conferences in Birmingham and
Manchester respectively. Please come and meet us at the ASCL stand in Manchester
and say “hello” when you’re in the exhibition area. It will be great to see to
see you.
Best wishes
One platform for CPD and appraisal
How can independent schools bring consistency
to professional development across a complex, multi-site group?
At The Worthgate School, part of Cats Global
Schools, leaders were juggling a plethora of platforms, with training scattered
across different systems and logins.
Using The National College, they brought CPD
and appraisal together in one place. Leaders assign mandatory training and
track progress through a single dashboard, while staff take ownership of their
own goals and build a portable portfolio.
The result is consistency, clearer
communication, and instant, inspection-ready evidence of every completed
course.
Read
the full case study.
