C.E. Jottings

Top pay? Who gets what and why and how do you know? #CondEd

Continued from "Fat-Cat Academy Pay Costs Pupils, Say MPs" My interest in the recent story from The Times under the headline "Fat-Cat Academy Pay Costs Pupils, Say MPs" was not prompted by an a priori antagonism to Academies nor to highly-paid individuals. What prompted it I merely hinted at – and then not well - in the final sentence: “…the intrusion of corporatisation even into the charity sector”. What’s this to do with conductive education, some will ask. I suggest... Read more →

"Fat-cat academy pay costs pupils, say MPs"

That was the headline of an article by Rosemary Bennett, Education Editor of The Times, March 30th. Here are two extracts: School academies that pay their executives and head teachers fat-cat salaries are depriving the front line of vital funds, MPs say. The lack of accountability is "alarming" and in most cases pay packages of more than £150,000 have not been adequately explained, a Commons committee has said. Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the public accounts committee, told The Times that... Read more →

When less may simply mean less. Who speaks for the special education and upbringing of children with cerebral palsy? Not Scope, evidently

Consider this: “At the seminar, during a break, I asked one of the speakers when she had most recently heard that the education of children with cerebral palsy was a 'problem', a matter for public debate? As she appeared not to comprehend the question, I suggested she substitute autism, or dyslexia or emotional and behavioural difficulties for cerebral palsy. She then agreed that she was indeed aware of the continuing public discussion about the education of children with autism or... Read more →

In defence of the amateur tradition on charity boards

When did the word "amateur" acquire such strong negative connotation? In The Times a week or so ago, the headline to a Philip Collins' opinion piece states "These amateurish charities aren't fit for purpose". And in The Guardian the day before an Editorial headline ran "The Guardian view on charity trustees: no role for amateurs". These confident assertions arise from the Kids Company débâcle. Yet if there was one thing that the Board of Kids Company was not, it was... Read more →

No longer Keeping Kids Company. What were the Board of Trustees thinking? Are there lessons for all Trustees and all charities?

Are there lessons to be learned by all charity Trustees in the collapse of Kids Company? I have been interested in the fate of Kids Company since the recent publication of the fact that in 2003 HM Revenue and Customs wrote off almost £600,000 in unpaid national insurance contributions in return for a deal that Kids Company paid up just £100,000. This was a staggering deal, maybe even unprecedented. The Chair of Trustees, Alan Yentob, also Creative Director at the... Read more →

Waiting for the White Rabbit to appear

Yesterday, I reflected lightly on re-branding. It had come up in a collective discussion about the future and direction of Paces Campus. As interesting as the discussion was, the notion of re-branding seemed to be advocated as a panacea for what we were not getting right rather than as an expression of where we aspired to be. In short, it was to do with the past rather than the future. One day Alice came to a fork in the road... Read more →

So what's a Chief Executive worth in the voluntary sector?

As a member of the NCVO, we recently received our 'Member Edition' of "The UK Civil Society Almanac 2012". What a treasure trove of civil society data it is. I'm tempted to quote some statistics ... "Did you know, for instance ..." but will resist the temptation. Except for one statistic. Pay and Chief Executives. So how much do you think the average Chief Executive gets paid? While you ponder that, bear in mind an often quoted statistic that a... Read more →

Children do not have motor disorders only in school term-time

The other day, I was reflecting on the possibilities 'Flexi-schools' offer for year-round conductive education. Today, I have been reading of the possibilities open to Free Schools. ( The Daily Telegraph reports a speech by Education Secretary Michael Gove to the Policy Exchange.) The Free School Norwich for instance, plans to open six days a week for 51 weeks of the year, which will integrating high-quality education and child care all year-round. Freedom to set their own staff pay and... Read more →

Concocting a recipe for a new approach to conductive upbringing and schooling from four ingredients

The 4 Ingredients: Cyber-CE Flexischooling Family-centred education Free schools. I have long puzzled about how conductive upbringing, which is necessarily child-and-family centred 365 days a year, might creatively be integrated with conductive schooling with its institutional structures and limitations – whilst having some hope at least of a sustainable business model. Three fortuitous bits of reading and a current obsession - the 4 ingredients - can perhaps be shaken or stirred together to make something wholly new. Crazy? No problem.... Read more →

Values and CE organisations

Do Values matter? The question “How should Paces be, that parents will invite us into their lives?” has intrigued me before. In essence, this is a question about our Values. How we present ourselves, how we are perceived, of course, matters. Customer satisfaction is crucial. Similarly, there can surely be no need to argue that we should comply with our statutory responsibilities. Likewise, that we should be well-run, aspiring to excellence in our services, needs no emphasis. In recent weeks,... Read more →