2022 Autumn Term 2

The know zone

  • The widening gap
    New Key Stage 2 data gives us the first real insight into learning post-pandemic and confirms that attainment has fallen with disadvantaged children hit hardest, says Tiffnie Harris. Will the government act? More
  • A sticking plaster?
    Will the government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme alleviate financial concerns? Hayley Dunn analyses the details. More
  • A new PAL?
    New legislation for schools concerning careers information comes into force from January. Kevin Gilmartin examines the details and implications for school leaders. More
  • All change?
    Two new announcements bring the potential for significant change to the post-16 and skills sector, says Anne Murdoch. Here, she shares the details. More
  • IT
    Are you using technology in an innovative way in your school, college or trust? Here, ASCL members share their views. More
  • Lessons from love
    Caroline Lowing is Head of School at Test Valley Secondary School, a small rural school in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. Here she shares her love for teaching, leadership, ASCL Council, gigs and a good wedding. More
  • Categorically speaking
    Just what are the rules on the number of Ofsted categories, asks Carl Smith? Here, he shares his own ideas on how the inspectorate could review the current number. More
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Will the government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme alleviate financial concerns? Hayley Dunn analyses the details.

A sticking plaster? 

Energy cost rises for products and services including electricity, gas, oil, liquid petroleum and coal have risen exponentially for many schools and colleges over the past year. Due to circumstances way beyond their control, schools and colleges are experiencing significant and unsustainable pressure on their budgets in what is usually a steady part of non-staffing costs. 

The government announced an Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) for non-domestic customers in Great Britain, including for schools and colleges. However, it doesn’t go far enough. It looks very unlikely that the scheme will cover the entirety of energy cost rises, particularly for those who fixed their tariffs before 1 April 2022 and, so far, there’s little detail on support for fuel supplies other than for gas and electric customers. 

The scheme eligibility incorporates those schools and colleges who are on existing fixed-price contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, those signing new fixed-price contracts, those out of contract or on variable tariffs and those on flexible purchase arrangements. The relief rate has been set at £211 per megawatt hour (MWh) for electric and £75 per MWh for gas. 

Discounts will be applied to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The scheme will work automatically, as suppliers will apply reductions to invoices for those eligible for the relief, meaning that you do not have to do anything. This is important to know, as fraudsters have been quick to target schools with unsolicited messages with malicious sign-up links – if you receive any such messages, please delete them and do not click on any links. 

Shortfall 

While ASCL is pleased the government is providing a relief scheme, we are concerned that it falls considerably short of mitigating the increases and budgetary pressures on schools and colleges. And we are concerned that the scheme is only limited to a six-month period and that the bar for eligibility is set high and excludes many in need of support. 

This, alongside pay awards for teachers and support staff agreed at a national level without any additional government funding for schools and colleges, are compounding rather than alleviating their financial pressures and forcing them to have unpalatable discussions about future subject offers, staffing and building projects. 

Updates 

There are two further important announcements I’d like you to be aware of, including a new inspection programme and the launch of a new resource for ASCL members. 

First, on the new inspection programme, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be carrying out a schedule of inspections of schools across England, Scotland and Wales from September 2022 onwards. These will be single-issue inspections carried out by HSE inspectors and focused on management of asbestos. For more information and guidance, please see our recently published Inspection of Asbestos Management in Schools and Trusts 2022–23 information paper (www.ascl.org.uk/AsbestosInspections). 

Second, ASCL is delighted to launch our new online hub – the Business Leaders: Support Hub (www.ascl.org.uk/BLSupportHub). The hub is a key output from ASCL Council’s (www.ascl.org.uk/ council) recent review of business leaders’ pay, conditions and recognition. The hub will provide guidance and tools, including case studies, and a task and finish group report (www.ascl.org.uk/BLTaskFinishReport2022) detailing the findings reviewed by ASCL Council’s Conditions and Employment Committee. 

We would like to feature more examples of good practice relating to business leaders’ pay and conditions. If you have an example to share, please email it to TellUs@ascl.org.uk    

THE GOVERNMENT PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE SCHEME COULD MEAN FOR A SCHOOL’S ENERGY USAGE: 

“A school uses 10 MWh of electricity and 22 MWh of gas a month. They signed a fixed contract in July 2022, giving them a current monthly energy bill of about £10,000. At the time they signed their contact, wholesale prices for the next 6 months were expected to be higher than the government supported price of £211/MWh for electricity, and £75/MWh for gas, meaning they can receive support under this scheme. “The difference between expected wholesale prices when they signed their contract and the government supported price is worth £240/ MWh for electricity and £75/MWh for gas, meaning they receive a discount of £4,000 per month, reducing their original bill by 40%.”  

Hayley Dunn
ASCL Business Leadership Specialist 
@ShropshireSBM

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