Summer 2019 Chair Head Bursar Registrar Staffroom School Office ...the professional journal for Management & Staff Carefree School Minibus Ownership Choose from our complete range of versatile and fully type approved 9 - 17 Seat School Minibuses • Finance Options To Suit all Budgets Call today to arrange a quotation or free demonstration • Nationwide Service and Support • D1 and B Licence Driver Options 01202 827678 • New Euro Engine Technology redkite-minibuses.com • New and Pre-Owned available [email protected] VEHICLE CERTIFICATION AGENCY NATIONWIDE SUPPLIERS OF PEUGEOT FORD & VAUXHALL 2 Independent Schools Magazine Advertisement Sales: 01242 259249 [email protected] In this issue... 05 The future of prep schools correcting the doom-mongers 06 More than Mindfulness happier at school? 07 Grit can resilience be taught? 10 Honesty Apps Development begins schools must counter an insidious trend Richmond House School, Yorkshire, has announced a significant investment in the 14 Voucher System buildings and facilities for its youngest pupils. school leaders discuss the pros and cons Over the Summer Holidays the school is preparing to demolish and rebuild the Early Years 28 Is Grammar Still Important? building, replacing it with a new, purpose-built the reality from a teaching perspective Nursery School and two Reception classrooms. The building is designed to create the optimal learning environment for the younger children. 40 Character Education This will include areas for quieter learning, space a duty to prepare students for life after school for messy play, and a cosy, age-appropriate library to encourage a love of reading. The design even includes separate welly storage for Finance, Insurance & Investment - Special feature the children’s all-important outdoor learning lessons in the school’s yurt and 10 acres of fields. TPS – behind the figures Headteacher, Helen Stiles – pictured with pupils Redevelop or Refurbish? – analysis – said: “We are very excited about our new Early New private health insurance for schools Years development. Whilst the new building creates a more spacious learning environment, it does not increase the capacity of the school, as we want to maintain its warm, family feel. The increased, carefully designed space, will give Plus our youngest children the best opportunities to 04 Deaf teacher’s life transformed by dog learn, develop and play from the moment they 08 Empowering communities through educational partnerships join our school”. 12 Recycling as a guiding principle of learning This building will be completed for the start of 16 Benefits of a charity partnership the Autumn term and is the first of 3 phases of 30 Music, Drama & Dance Focus Feature building development planned for the school. 34 Judge-turned-head gives her vision for prep school 35 Unconditional offers - what advice can staff provide? Cover background 36 Taking a wider view of A-levels The new Swimming Pool at Godstowe 38 NEU Conference reflections Preparatory School, Buckinghamshire, has been 39 Have you a view on reformed exams? officially opened by Olympic Gold Medallist 42 Changing Faces...Changing Places Rebecca Adlington OBE. 44 Making work experience authentic Story and picture page 18 47 Editorial Advisory Board; Free e-mag subscriptions; Contact Us LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL A SCHOOL OR NURSERY National SchoolTransfer For a Professional – Confidential Service www.nationalschooltransfer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)1980 621251 Advertisement Sales: 01242 259249 [email protected] Independent Schools Magazine 3 Teacher has life transformed by Hearing Dog A Moulsford Prep School, sounds that they are trained to Oxfordshire, teacher has had his alert people to, they will let their life changed by a specially trained deaf partner know by nudging hearing dog that alerts him to them. The person will then ask important and life-saving sounds. the dog ‘What is it?’ and the dog will lead the person to the source Graham Sage, who is a Year 4 of the sound. In the case of teacher, began to lose his hearing danger sounds such as the smoke at around 15 years old. By the alarm, the dog will lay down on time he went to university, the ground when asked ‘What Graham was unable to hear his is it?’. This signals that they’ve lecturers and realised he had been heard a danger sound and ensures relying on lipreading. they are not leading their partner Graham’s hearing loss is towards danger. progressive and over the past Graham Sage said: “My hearing five years has gone quickly from dog Jovi has changed my life moderate loss to being severe to in so many ways. When I’m profound. teaching, he helps me by alerting Being deaf left Graham feeling me to a timer I set to give my unsafe at home and meant he pupils a specific time to complete often struggled to get to sleep, work by. He also alerts me to fearing that he would miss the the fire alarm, which is amazing. smoke alarm or someone breaking Before I had Jovi, a fire alarm in. Furthermore, Graham could went off when no one was in the not hear the alarm clock in the classroom and I didn’t evacuate morning, making it more difficult because I didn’t hear it. to sleep well at night for fear of “I am very lucky because the not waking up on time. school and colleagues are all Graham!’ and he’ll come and alert charity to benefit from an auction When Graham became a teacher, fantastically supportive, and Jovi’s me and take me to her. run by the well-known band Belle he found it daunting as he was presence has greatly increased “Looking to the future, if my wife & Sebastian. The pupil’s mother not always able to hear the everyone’s awareness of my and I were to start a family, it is was on the cover of the band’s sounds that he needed to hear deafness. The pupils are great in comforting to know that Jovi can debut album, and her son was during the school day, such as fire class and have learnt to be clearer be trained to alert me to a baby’s asked by the band which charity alarms and timers. in their communication. cry and will add to the safety and he wanted the proceeds to go Graham decided he needed help “Having hearing loss can be security of the household. to. He chose Hearing Dogs for and got in touch with Hearing pretty scary. I have always had a Deaf People, and this raised over “Deafness can cause barriers, but Dogs for Deaf People, a national fear that if my house was being £14,000. it does not always have to hold charity that trains dogs to alert broken into, I wouldn’t hear it. people back, and I would say David Robson, a spokesman for deaf people to important and I would be quite on edge and to anyone who has any level of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, life-saving sounds and provide would keep checking that the hearing loss and is struggling - said: “Jovi not only helps Graham valuable emotional support and doors were locked. try and seek help, even if it’s just companionship. He was eventually on a daily basis by alerting “Not only does Jovi make me talking to someone. matched with hearing dog Jovi, a him to sounds, but he also feel safer, he has helped me to cocker spaniel. “Jovi helps me to lead a ‘normal’ provides emotional support and overcome some of my anxieties life and I’m so thankful to him companionship, which is really A hearing dog acts as a person’s around interacting with other for that. important as hearing loss can ears. When they hear one of the people, and his presence actually cause people to feel isolated. encourages interaction. I have Jovi’s presence at Moulsford has had so many people come up also led to the school raising “Not only that, Jovi gives a to me and ask questions about £20,000 for Hearing Dogs for visibility to Graham’s deafness him. When people find out he is Deaf People in less than a year. which can make things easier for my hearing dog they start to ask One of Graham’s colleagues even Graham when he’s interacting more questions, which has made ran the London Marathon in with others. me far more accepting, and even 2018 dressed as a dog to raise “Moulsford Prep School has done proud, of my hearing loss. money for the charity and ended fantastic things to fundraise for “Communication at home could up breaking the Guinness World Hearing Dogs. This will directly be quite difficult at times, as my Record as the fastest female to help us to train more dogs that wife Anna could struggle to get run the London Marathon in a will change the lives of deaf my attention. Now, thanks to full body animal costume. people, so we are incredibly Jovi’s amazing abilities, Anna can One of the school’s pupils also thankful to the staff, pupils and call him and ask him to ‘Go get chose Hearing Dogs as the their families.” 4 Independent Schools Magazine Advertisement Sales: 01242 259249 [email protected] Success deserves respect National newspapers have given some prominence to a comment from a sector pundit that independent prep schools are facing a ‘slow and gentle good night’ thanks to the improvement in state primaries. Christopher King, CEO of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) responds... In some quarters it seems that it’s which, as I write, is at 627 schools children through to the end of away from the performing arts in open season to take a pot shot at – more than double that of HMC Year 6; although there are a small state schools.