Certificate in School Efficiency
In the most simple of terms the two month Certificate in School Efficiency course aims to save all schools that participate considerable sums in their annual budget through a complete investigation into every possible method of increasing school efficiency. The next intake on to this course starts on 21 May (closing date for application is 11 May).
The course is taught by distance learning and will last two and a half months, and is validated by the Institute of Business Management. It has been devised and written by the team that produced the Certificate in Educational Administration course, and the Work Management and Administration course.
The Certificate in School Efficiency is highly practical in that all students on the course will be required to plan and explore several school efficiency schemes before implementing one such programme in the school. Students will also have the opportunity to share their efficiency programmes with others on the course and read the programmes implemented by others who have undertaken the course before them, so that knowledge of how school efficiency can work is shared.
It is an entry requirement that all applicants must be working in a school at the start of the course. There are no other formal academic requirements for participation in the course, but it should be noted that the level of the course is that equivalent to that of first year student in an undergraduate programme. The SEA is very happy to give advice and guidance on the level and the suitability of the course to individual students. Enquiries of this nature should be sent to Tony@schools.co.uk
Coverage of the course
It is a fundamental vision of the course team that efficiencies can be made throughout virtually every school. However, while many schools are endeavouring to cut such areas as their heating bills, fewer are seeking to change the way in which they work in order to introduce efficiencies on a wider scale and in other areas.
A large number of examples are explored within the course, and students are encouraged to find the areas within their own schools where efficiencies can be introduced with success.
Among the many programmes so far introduced by our students as a result of taking the course we have seen thousands of pounds saved by changing the way in which photocopying is organised in the school, the way in which the school canteen is organised and the way in which cleaning in the school is contracted out.
Among other examples explored in the course we have:
- The way in which teacher absences are covered
- Approaches to raising staff morale
- The utilisation of the most effective methods of teaching throughout the school
- Upgrading the school’s computer servers in order to reduce heating output and thus saving on air conditioning costs
- The efficient handling of meetings
- Methods of sharing of equipment across classrooms
- Division of jobs within the school office
- Moving work between departments in the school (for example from senior managers to the school office)
- Recognising the effect that changes have on staff
- Expanding the notion of the implementation of school improvement plans to incorporate efficiency improvements
It is recognised, however, that no changes can be made in the school unless there is a willingness among colleagues to take on change, and thus there is also coverage within the course of the issue of the negotiation and implementation of change within a workforce that may not always recognise the need for further change.
Aim of the course
The aim of the course is very simple. Every school that participates in the programme will save at the very least twice as much as the cost of having an individual do the course. (Some schools have reported savings far in excess of this).
It will be appreciated immediately that some of the concepts listed in the bullet points above are small projects, some (such as raising the morale of all staff) are very large, and the course aims to allow students to choose projects that they feel could be introduced within their own school.
The aim is to ensure that every student on the course is able to find efficiency projects which are related to his/her school and which can generate real savings for this individual school.
Students on the course
The course is being advertised to deputy heads, school administrators, heads of teaching departments, efficiency officers, and bursars. The SEA's aim is to recruit individuals from different areas of the school so that ideas and experiences can be shared not just between the schools but also across the traditional divides within schools.
Course reading and tutorials
School efficiency is a new concept in the UK and there is virtually no literature available on this topic. For this reason students will be issued with a manual which guides them through the course. Additionally the course website contains a growing range of articles on issues relating to school efficiency; these are being updated all the time. Because of the newness of the topic there are no set texts to buy for the simple reason that none exist!
All student projects are made available for all students to read – so during the course you will see all the work of your fellow students, which should give you a number of ideas for further efficiency projects.
Students will have a tutor whom they can contact through email or by phone, and they will be able to discuss the course with each other through the on-line forum.
Activity and assessment
Through the course you are required to undertake a number of small activities (most of which take the form of writing a brief report on how issues raised in the course relate to their school, and the exploration of ideas you may have for implementing efficiency programmes). Finally you are asked to plan one such efficiency and explore how you think it might work if put into practice.
If you have any enquiries please call the SEA’s course admin office on 01536 399 007
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