St Margaret’s School Edinburgh set to close
June 15, 2010
More bad news on the school closures front with confirmation that St Margaret’s School in Edinburgh has called in liquidators KPMG.
The chain of events leading up to the appointment of KPMG is pretty typical of a failing school and one quote given is rather stating the obvious when it says that the solution lies in increased fees and lower costs.
The issue highlights the fact that there are no ‘quick wins’ when it comes to fixing the problems faced by a failing school. Attempts by the school to sell off some property assets also failed and this is not uncommon with independent schools due to their charitable status and potentially the legalities behind why property has been gifted to them in the first place.
Whilst it is admirable that the parents wish to pull together some kind of rescue package, especially bearing in mind the emotion attached to the issue, I suspect it’s too little too late. In any event you do have to question why the pupil numbers have halved and how quickly an annual deficit of half a million pounds can be turned around.
From my perspective the salient point here is that at the first signs of a downturn a school must act commercially and decisively to prevent a bad situation getting worse.
What kind of printing culprits are in your office?
June 9, 2010
A great article I spotted on the Envirowise website today taking a humorous look at the characters you might have in your office when it comes to printing documents.
I could certainly identify at least one of every type from my last job which was based in a busy office.
Underlying the humour though there is a very important message. The cost of waste in UK companies is typically 4-5% of turnover and can be as high as 10%. With disposal costs rising and a greater focus on ‘green’ issues it has never been more important to continually review ways to reduce waste. This can ultimately lead to greater efficiency and increased profitability.
Of course my home office is currently staffed with personnel of one so I couldn’t possibly reveal what sort of printing culprit works here!
More independents fall victim to the recession
May 14, 2010
A somewhat depressing, if not unexpected, article in the Times Education Supplement today confirming that the recession is really starting to impact the independent sector.
Unsurprisingly, it does seem to be the smaller schools which have been hardest hit as they have limited options open to them to turn things around.
It may be stating the obvious but the key to survival is to act and act early. In my experience independent schools leave things far too long before taking measures to address the issues they are facing, often believing that things will turn around. When things are heading south the decisions to be made are always difficult ones and it requires a highly skilled and commercial Board of Trustees to make the right decisions and make them quickly. Sentimentality has to be put to one side. Commerciality is the order of the day.
I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to engage your professional advisors as soon as you have concerns. The popular belief (perpetuated by the media) is that banks close down schools. Ultimately that is possibly true but working closely with the bank from an early stage can ensure support and survival. No bank wants to close down any business, especially a school, and they will work very hard with you to avoid this happening. Similarly, ensure you have your lawyer and accountant on board too. Many accountancy and legal practices have turnaround professionals who have knowledge and experience in assisting distressed schools.
So where can Minerva assist? Well firstly we have links with many professionals who can provide you with the right support and advice. We can also help with negotations with the bank, should this be required. On such an emotive subject an independent negotiator with knowledge of the banking sector can be invaluable. However, the main way we can help is to ensure that things don’t get that bad in the first place. Effective cost management is vital to a schools financial health especially at a time of dropping pupil numbers and rising costs. Please engage with us and let us help you reduce your costs and improve your bottom line.
Lower pupil numbers for independent primary schools in Scotland/Festival of Education
April 28, 2010
According to Government statistics, pupil numbers in primary one in the Scottish independent sector have shown a drop of 7% in the last year.
An article in The Scotsman today points to parents ‘holding off’ on placing their children into the independent sector and taking on a financial commitment in the region of £7-£9k per annum.
Whilst the article is based on Scottish statistics I think it’s safe to say that there is a similar pattern emerging in England and Wales and this is set to continue into the 2010/11 academic year.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that at the nursery, pre-prep and prep levels numbers for the next academic year look ‘light’. Senior schools seem to be less affected as parents are more prepared to pay for independent education once their child reaches senior school age.
Interestingly, some of the larger and more traditional schools are reporting growth in numbers, many with waiting lists. They seem to have an immunity to the issues affecting the rest of the sector.
Finally, I was delighted to see information on the new Festival of Education with the inaugural event being held at Wellington College, Crowthorne, over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th July. The prospect of a debate between Germaine Greer and Kelvin Mackenzie (The Sun) makes me think the £35 ticket price will be excellent value!
If it’s good enough for Tesco……
April 20, 2010
Supermarket giant Tesco announced their annual results today posting a 10% increase to £3.176bn despite a declining overall market.
Their success was, in part, down to strong relations with their suppliers and joint purchasing using the group expertise and scale.
All of this is perfectly achievable in the independent school sector through good supplier management, a focused procurement strategy and collaboration with other local schools to leverage better pricing from suppliers.
For further information on advice in these areas please contact Lorraine Ashover at lorraine@minervapcs.com.
School fees to rise above inflation.
April 15, 2010
A slightly misleading headline in The Times earlier this week as many schools have not yet decided on the level of fees for the next academic year and, for those that have, there are several who have kept fees at or below the inflation rate.
As someone whose own child is in private education I have a great degree of sympathy for those parents who feel schools should give more consideration to what is happening as a result of the economic downturn. However, having worked as a bank manager for independent schools for many years I also have the benefit of seeing things from the perspective of the school and in particular the bursar.
Trying to balance the needs of parents, pupils, teachers and Governors, whilst also being mindful of what your local ’competitors’ are up to, is an almost impossible job.
The article rightly states that much of the increase in fees relates to the teacher’s salary rises which, unlike the usual world of business, seem to be almost guaranteed in order to keep pace with teacher’s in state schools. This coupled with increasing utility bills are the main drivers of rising fees.
Luckily for me the school my daughter attends has managed to keep the fee increases in line with inflation. I thought the letter from the Chair of the Governors summed up very eloquently the difficulty on setting the fees for the forthcoming academic year:
“…..it will not come as a surprise to you that it was without doubt one of the most difficult meetings the Board has held.”
“The challenges ahead over the next 12 months are considerable. With a General Election looming and the continued fragilty of the UK economy, it would be a brave person who is able to predict where the country will be in a year’s time”
“…..overall fee increases are almost neutral in relation to the general level of inflation in the UK because of a concomitant and rigorous programme of cost reduction throughout the school.”
In order to minimise or eliminate future fee increases, or use those increases for improvements to the school infrastucture, it is absolutely essential to have a meticulous focus on reducing costs. This should include a one-off exercise looking for ‘quick wins’ but must also be part of an ongoing strategic plan to consider alternatives for external suppliers and amendments to internal processes.
All of this takes time, something which the bursar is always short of. So let us take that burden away and help you to be the one to announce news on fees that all your stakeholders will be happy with.
DCSF confirms efficiency savings of £1.1bn
April 1, 2010
Following on from last week’s budget the Department for Children, Schools and Families has confirmed that it will be looking to make £1.1bn of efficiency savings. This is part of the Government’s commitment to making £11bn of savings a year across all departments by 2012/13.
It has been suggested that as much as £650m of savings can be achieved through greater use of collaborative procurement by schools. There will also be the opportunity for many primary schools to benefit from a shared School Business Manager (bursar).
In essence this is exactly what we at Minerva are looking to do in the independent sector. By setting up local buying groups this enables schools both large and small to benefit from more favourable pricing that can be negotiated due to volume orders.
If you are interested in learning more about this, including assistance in setting up a local buying group in your area, then please get in touch with us.
US plans to promote women-run vendors
March 17, 2010
News from across the pond that the US govenrment wants to boost contract opportunities for women-owned firms.
This is due to the fact that the Small Business Administration has identified 83 industies where firms owned or run by women are “substantially under-represented”.
Whilst I am all for promoting women owned businesses I am totally against this being on the basis of positive discrimination. Many women run their business equally as efficiently and effectively (if not better) as a man. I want us to win business through our own tenacity, hard work and competitiveness not just because we are ‘under-represented’.
Pupils are given sleep lessons!
March 16, 2010
It clearly must be a sign of my age but I did find this article in the Scotsman today rather amusing.
Apparently, there is a project running in Scotland to help school pupils learn how to sleep better thus, in theory, enabling them to maximise their learning potential!
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Pupils-are-given-sleep-lessons.6153897.jp
Personally, I believe that it is the parents who should be receiving the education not the pupils. I am quite sure that as a teenager I would have loved to have stayed up until gone 11pm every night watching my favourite TV programmes but, having spent all day having fresh air and alot of exercise coupled with a clear set of parameters from my parents, I was literally falling into my bed at 9pm.
As I say, perhaps it’s my age but I do feel the ‘education’ is being aimed in the wrong direction! In any event I am pretty sure one of Mr Woodhall’s biology classes was more than enough to send me to sleep without the aid of any additional training!
Price versus Total Cost
March 15, 2010
Had a great meeting this morning with Stuart Sheppard from Kinnarps, the Swedish workplace furniture firm. Kinnarps is an excellent example of why we at Minerva don’t just look for the cheapest option for our school clients.
Their product may initially appear to be more expensive if you are comparing on the price of one chair versus another similar one. However, if you factor in the product quality, durability, 5 year guarantee and 48 hour replacement parts service you are then starting to compare on total cost which is over the lifetime of the product.
This is the reason why at Minerva we cap our consultancy fee thus meaning we can focus on providing the best quality product/service not just the cheapest which may, in the long term, be more expensive.
Kinnarps are currently running a prize draw – order their new Education catalogue and be in with a chance of winning £2010 of education furniture for your school. Good luck!
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