Development

Part of the process

The development office in the modern independent school: trends and imperatives, by Dr Philip Evans and Tony Bannard-Smith

Look back at any independent school in the 1950s. To me, and perhaps to a fair number of others in positions like mine, this time does not seem that far away. I was at school myself then: memories of long Friday afternoons can quickly come flooding back, with chalk dust hanging in the sunny air, rhododendrons blooming outside on Offa’s Dyke (for me, at least); and no examinations blocking the horizon, for modules had not yet intruded into education, with O-levels and A-levels being examinations that came and went quickly in two late summers of any pupil’s career. ICT would have meant nothing, apart from a probable typing error and league tables would have had something to do with your favourite football team.

Times have changed, of course. “That was then, but this is now” runs the familiar mantra when nostalgia intrudes into modern planning; and rightly so, for times have indeed changed and hugely so in our schools – not simply since the 1950s, but over the past few years. And the pace of change is quickening, too.

Changing times
A glance at the emerging history of the “school development office” or the “school foundation” (as ours is called) shows an almost exponential increase in the number of schools possessing such organisations over recent years. This trend seems set to continue and it may well be only a short time before we reach the point where virtually every independent school of any size has one. Why is this? What is the driver for such change? Where will it end?

The driver for this increase in fundraising structures of one sort or another at major schools is the tension between the need to provide ever-better facilities at our schools and the equally important need to keep fees at accessible levels. Not only has “educational inflation” run ahead of the consumer price index for many years (something that parents find difficult to accept – try mentioning salary incremental drift!), the endemic development of school resources has further fuelled the annual fee rise. I have heard this described as an “educational arms race”, but woe betide any school that falls behind. One can imagine parents saying: “Your fees may be lower, but so is the quality of your facilities – and, for me, it is the facilities that are crucial”. 

There is simply no way in which this circle of fees vs facilities can be squared without the aid of the development office. Income generation through fees alone is a thing of the past – the rise and rise in the number of development directors may slow, but it will not stop until every school of significance has one, whatever the precise nomenclature used by any individual school. The genie is well and truly out of the bottle. Development directors can sleep soundly, knowing that – if they deliver – their posts are safe. But so can headteachers, knowing that if all is well in the development office, then the school should be much more secure too.

Dr Philip Evans OBE is headmaster of Bedford School.

Footnote:
The Bedford School Foundation was founded in 2002 to implement the development function. The headmaster, trustees and governors of the school (founded in 1552 by letters patent from King Edward VI and a major gift from William Harper) have integrated the foundation into the school and the Old Bedfordians Club. Their focus now is on strengthening relationship-building between the school, Old Bedfordians and parents.

Success rates
In the first five years, the foundation has established a £3 million+ pipeline of funds for the school of which over £1.2 million has been received and banked. The foundation is mid-way through a Campaign for Sport aiming to raise in excess of £3 million. This investment will include strengthening the sports scholarship scheme, additional coaching and extension to the Master Class programmes, new sports training equipment and a substantial extension to the sports pavilion. The achievement of these targets, as always, is dependent upon sound preparation and planning, being realistic, and involving all the stakeholders of the school. Introducing effective volunteer leadership into the fundraising is the current challenge.

Tony Bannard-Smith is director of the Bedford School Foundation.

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