HOW MANY HOURS SHOULD A HOUSEMASTER/HOUSEMISTRESS WORK?
Most of our member schools are independent, with their own terms and conditions for staff. Reputable boarding schools will have contracts of employment, as advised by their professional associations, but possibly varying according to the type and circumstances of the school - do housestaff also teach? Are there House tutors as well as houseparents etc?
Everyone is aware that the role of a houseparent is very demanding, but it is also considered one of the most fulfilling and deeply satisfying of all the roles a member of staff in a boarding school could have.
Advice on this topic is available to Bursars on the website of the ISBA.
BSA does not intervene in matters of dispute between Heads and staff. Should a member of staff feel he or she has cause for concern, our advice is always to talk directly to the Head, who may be unaware that there is a difficulty and may be able to resolve it quickly.
HOW HAVE BOARDING INSPECTIONS CHANGED?
Ofsted assumed responsibility for the inspection of boarding welfare in both independent and state boarding schools in April 2007. There has been little publicity about any changes in inspection since then, but it is always worth checking the Ofsted website for up to date information.
Ofsted have said that their inspections will ‘relate to the National Minimum Standards' and reports will ‘fall under' the five outcomes of Every Child Matters. The verbs are quite vague, but it boils down to the 52 standards still being the base line, followed by the probability that reports may be more ‘broad brush stroke' than would have been the case under CSCI. They are unlikely to go point by point through the 52 standards as may have been the case in the past.
This allows schools more freedom - are children safe? Healthy? Are more easily answered than detailed questions about the space between beds. But schools have also reported that where they know they met specific standards wonderfully well, this has escaped the report, when they would have liked it to be noted and proclaimed as an excellence.
Children's Rights Director Roger Morgan is re-drafting the National Minimum Standards now, and the new draft will go out for consultation probably later this year, to be then revised and come into use in September 2009. Until then, Ofsted is happy to work from the NMS as we know them.
Boarding Sector Professional Inspectors (BSPIs) have been ‘converted' into Boarding Schools Additional Inspectors (BSAIs) if they applied for such ‘conversion' and may be available if a school has more than 50 boarders. Their use is under review by Ofsted at the end of this academic year - July 2008. They are currently more expensive than BSPIs were - BSPIs constituted peer review - and it is possible their cost will be a significant factor in the decision to retain their services in future.
For the moment, most concern is being expressed by schools about the questionnaires used for parents and pupils. These are ‘one size fits all' for Ofsted use across several sectors. In response to our many complaints, Ofsted are working on revised versions which should be in use by September 2008.
Independent schools may well wish that ISI could inspect boarding as they do education in independent schools. If they did, the chances of getting a unified inspection, rather than two in rapid succession, would be greater. Until such time as that may occur, BSA endeavours to work with Ofsted on schools' behalf. |
