Some helpful advice regarding choosing a Secondary School for your child by Joe Sullivan, Chairman of Governors at Dover College Independent school.

This is an anxious time of year for many parents as they get the results of the Secondary School places allocation, announced Monday 1st March. Having Grammar schools, means that Kent offers a wider choice for parents than most parts of the country but that choice also causes a dilemma for many. True, the grammars achieve great academics results, but a group of children who can pass the Kent Test should be expected to do well wherever they are educated.

Options if your child doesn’t get allocated a place at their chosen school

Parents whose child, having passed the Kent Test, is not allocated a place in a Grammar school or has been offered a place in a school not easily accessible to them should consider the options of independent education. It is not always as unaffordable as is generally believed.

Kent is lucky also to have a number of well known Public schools – the term Public School, Private School and Independent School being used to describe the same schools. The grammars are reported to do better in examination achievement than the Independent sector. This will not be true of the top flight of public schools in the county. It must be remembered however that much of the Independent sector is not as selective as the Grammars and includes a large percentage of international pupils for whom English is not their first language. The results must also be compared with the performance of the rest of the State schools. The Sunday Times reported that the number of pupils gaining at least one grade C at GCSE is 47% for Comprehensive, 86% for Independent and 95% at Grammar. This high figure for Grammars reflects the successes achieved nationally and is not necessarily mirrored here in Kent. In 2008 and 2009, Dover College which creates a broader base of opportunity academically for young people, achieved results that exceeded many of the local Grammar schools. The advent of the Academies and of schools with specialism, add to the wide choice available to parents. No one school will suit all children so how does one choose?

The move from primary to secondary school is a very important step in a child’s development.

Moving from the protective environment of primary into the growing-up world of secondary, is a big culture change. The experiences, opportunities, motivation and friendships at the chosen school over the subsequent years, will have a substantial, perhaps formative impact on the child’s life.

The Kent Test, while being an efficient way of selecting the more able pupils, is not a perfect system.

It can be very damaging for a child to be told at this young age that they are not bright. Children develop at differing paces. Success or failure at 11+ may be affected also by the standard of teaching in primary school. If a child is bright they deserve the best opportunity to go to university so results are very important. The child who fails the Kent Test at eleven may well exceed the ability of many who did pass at eleven, a few years later. If the less able child is placed in the right environment they will exceed predictions of achievement based on tests at this age. A question therefore to ask of any school is of the ‘value-added’ to such children at GCSEs and A Levels. But surely we have the right to expect good educational opportunity from any school.

Many parents today know that success in life comes from being confident, personable and sociable as much as from good A level results.

There are many starting out in business whose prospects will be limited because they lack the confidence necessary for selling and networking, an essential skill to any business, and the ability to speak in public. There are very many lawyers, accountants and other professionals who suffer the same limitations. The pursuit of exam results alone does not lead to a well rounded person.

Choosing a school for one’s child will normally have been a long slow subconscious process, one of understanding the child’s strengths and weaknesses. It will also stem from a parent’s experience in their own school days. The choice of school will evolve from having observed the local schools as represented by their pupils and how they behave in public. What is the uniform like? How it is worn, will be a guide to the control the Head has over discipline. Casually observing how the pupils behave and present themselves will give an indication of the influences likely to affect your child. This experience may also indicate the type of friendships your child may develop.

But a new parent arriving in the district would have no such experiences. Where should they start?

Word of mouth is always helpful.

Watch out for Open Days. A walk about a school will give a feel for how life will be for your child over the next seven years.

All schools have websites. It is here that a school sells itself. Here one will find out about the facilities in the school. Here also one will learn where the school places educational emphasis. What opportunities does the school offer for your child? Choir, orchestra, drama, public speaking or a wide variety of sport may offer opportunity for your child regardless of ability. But many schools now
seem to emphasise or major in these subjects rather than pushing pupils to achieve GCSEs in maths, English and the sciences.

Another good starting point is to read the latest inspection reports. These can be found on the OFSTED website for State schools and ISI for Independent schools. These are very helpful authoritative guides to all aspects of a school.

Truancy rates are very important. Truancy is a complicated problem. Not all, but many of the causes are to be found at school. Bullying, lack of discipline and poor teaching are but some. Almost 200,000 children in England missed one in five or more of their classes last year. Such a level of disruption in the classroom creates an impossible environment for a teacher to follow a curriculum and for the conscientious pupil to learn or be taught. A culture of high truancy will be associated with many other social problems. For example; low academic achievement is known to have a direct link with teenage pregnancy.

League Tables can be very informative. But on occasions, very misleading. Many independent schools take a number of international pupils. Such pupils often spend their first year learning English and sit GCSE a year late, adversely affecting reported results.

The academic outcomes of a school whilst being very important tell little of the whole school experience.

A bright pupil intending to go to university will need good grades but over the coming years when university places are being restricted, pupils will have to shine at interview. For example, university Medicine department interviewers will be far more interested in the applicant who plays football, gardens and likes astronomy than the one who arrives with an anatomy book under one arm and a copy of the Lancet in the other hand.

Choosing a school is about understanding a child’s needs, both educationally and pastorally. If a child needs to excel academically, a suitable school where pupils are pushed must be found. But having chosen a school which the child will attend through the 6th form, parents should be confident that they can support his/her development in every possible way.

To use the example of a university medical applicant again, he/she will benefit from training and experience in: Team building; Team work; Leadership; Confidence; taking responsibility; Public speaking; Work ethic

The school chosen therefore should help discover latent talent in a child and nurture it.

It should broaden the individuals knowledge in many areas. It should be able to accommodate many levels of ability and in a safe environment in which a child can be taught how to study and manage their time.

All parents know that every child is different in academic ability, personality and talents. A school should cater for the whole family. The bright child, the shy child and the sporty child should be enabled to grow in confidence and friendship together.

Secondary school prepares many children for university but it prepares all children for life. It should build confidence and help a child to explore widely so that talents and areas of interest can be discovered and fostered. Perhaps above all a young person should be able to develop lasting supportive friendships and happy memories.

The Independent sector offers opportunities not so easily found otherwise.

The scope for and the extent of extracurricular activities is far greater in a school with boarders than in day schools. An International school like Dover College blends over 30 nationalities with a high number of British boarders and local day pupils. It is co-educational, giving pupils the opportunity to experience a taste of life beyond school days. It is not a big school.

All the pupils, parents and even visitors, remark on the feeling of community. This is another consideration for parents concerned for their child’s preparation for leaving home for university; giving a young person enough independence and freedom within the safety net of a boarding school. Getting a good education should be assumed. A good school should be measured on all the other aspects of development. Independent schools offer a variety of boarding options; from overnight stays to weekly or for a term. Many local pupils become boarders for the 6th form as it is more conducive to study and offers such a wide range of opportunity.

Dover College is the least expensive of the local independent sector. It offers education from Pre-reception to sixth form with excellent results at A levels.

www.dovercollege.org.uk

On 3rd February 2010 Counterpoint Networking in conjunction with Aspinall Business Club at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. We had a fantastic time, learning about the rhinos from keeper Paul Beer who had kindly come in to speak to us, even though he had a cold, for which we were very grateful!

We learnt about:

• the gestation period in rhinos
• how rhinos are being returned to the wild
• the problem of poaching
• the problem of deforestation in the wild

You can read more about the rhinos on the Aspinall Business Club website and see all the pictures of the meeting here.

The meeting was a bit of a Tweetup (a Twitter meet up!) – we had a number of people who all knew each other through Twitter, some of whom had never met in person! ‘Twitterers’ were:

Counterpoint Members

• Lee Freeman from Kent Business Directory (@KentBusinessDir)
• Hayley Jones of Foreman & Jones (@HayleyJonesUK)
• Jane Unsworth of ABC Simple As (@abcsimpleas)
• and me of course (@Jododds)

Other Twitterers:

• Barry Nutley (@Greenenergychap)  whose new daughter Eleanor Grace was born last week – congratulations Barry!
• Graham Seymour (@ShopperAnon)

To learn more about our Counterpoint members and their businesses click here to view their profiles.

On 25th February we are having our informal networking at the Red Lion Pub (this is because it was a morning meeting this month, so we make up for that with an evening meeting in the same month!) Find out more here.

At the next meeting at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park on March 10th we have local singer Anna Stone performing for us which is something to really look forward to. We will be setting the meeting up as a Tweetup too so that even more new people can come along. Find out more here.

At The ICELAB Ltd we specialise in safely guiding retailers through the minefield of Ecommerce to reach the greener grass on the other side! We have three clear routes across – cool blue, mellow yellow and red hot. To find out more about exactly what we do and how much it costs read this recent blog post here.

Some of our clients’ websites include…

www.foxsoutdoor.co.uk – an outdoor equipment retailer based in Amersham, Bucks

www.tabletennisdirect.com – a mail order table tennis equipment retailer in Deal, Kent

www.cbwdesigns.co.uk – a unique natural jewellery designer based on The Isle of Wight

www.customsportskit.com – a personalised sports kit manufacturer in Deal, Kent

We sponsor an annual award to find the best web shop in Kent www.theicelab.co.uk/award10

We now send out our monthly eNewsletter Ecommerce In Kent to over 4000 subscribers! Feel free to subscibe now to Ecommerce In Kent.

A few of our own various websites include…

www.theicelab.co.uk – our own site that tells you a bit more about us

www.theworldsmostexpensivelink.com – a fun and unique way to promote your website

www.adbasement.com – a great way to promote any advertising space you have available

www.dealkent.co.uk – our local business directory for our area

And finally our blog

www.ecommerceinkent.co.uk

Alan Noake

Counterpoint Networking, Hythe, Kent, feature on fellow local small business “The World’s Most Expensive Link” blog. Company owner and newest member of Counterpoint Networking Alan Noake (of The ICELAB, Deal, Kent) challenged site participants to take the World’s Most Expensive Link banner around the UK to gain greater publicity. Here we are next to the seaside on quite a grey day!! See the blog here.

On Wednesday 13th January the Counterpoint Networking meeting took place in conjunction with the Aspinall Business Club at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent. In spite of the ice and snow we had a great turn out and did some good networking. We had a few new visitors this week: vocalist Anna Stone who is working on her new business using her design skills (and who will be singing for us at the March meeting!) , and Trevor Straw, Furniture restorer in Acrise, Folkestone.

Many members attended also. Jaci Godman Irvine from Estate Legacy Service specialises in Wills, Trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate attended to hear the talk about gorillas from Phil Ridges as did Gareth Hurford-Jones of Red Dragon I.T. Tuija Foster from The Folkestone Handbook, Trevor Cobb of Microwave Service Company and Julie Couch of Hestia Property Services.

Chris Raines from Copy Link Ltd, Grace Hill Folkestone was showing us his new products: reproducing old postcards to A4 size, presented in a frame. He told us know many people were coming in to buy these for presents or for themselves. He has a very wide range of postcards to choose from and we all pored over them, looking at how things used to be. Chris also spoke about the great quality of printing he does on fabric and T-shirts where the printing actually becomes a part of the fabric, so the printing will remain long after the fabric has degraded!

We have a new Counterpoint Networking member Lee Freeman of Kent Business Directory which is a resource for businesses and members of the public. Businesses can post their details on their business page, posting job vacancies, and special offers for potential customers to discover. Lee has a special offer for members of Counterpoint Networking which will be emailed out direct to members for them to take advantage of.

Hayley Jones of Foreman & Jones, Herbalist, Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner attended too and told us all about the 10p appointment offer that is running at Foreman & Jones to celebrate their 1st birthday of being in the High Street, Hythe. They are repeating the 10p offer they ran in 2009 as it was such a success! The offer is that until 13th February 2010 new patients are entitled to a full appointment for Herbal medicine, Hypnotherapy and/or NLP, Reflexology, Osteopathy, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), and Counselling for a just 10p. All the 10ps (and any extras they are being donated by kind people) are donated to MacMillan Cancer Support. Also during this period Allergy Testing is offered for £45 (usual Price £69), and there is £5 off Craniosacral therapy. See the Foreman & Jones website for details.

Where would we be without Gordon Haining, our resident Toastmaster and Master of Ceremonies? As usual he called us all through (in his very professional toastmaster way!) to the part of the meeting where we had a very interesting and entertaining talk on the subject of gorillas from one of the world’s leading experts, Phil Ridges. You can find out more about what he had to say at the Aspinall Business Club Website.

If you would like to be kept up to date about events and special offers at the Hoodeners Horse, please join their mailing list below.

Join Our Hoodeners Horse Email List Email:

Take a fresh look at your business for 2010

Following the recent launch of our Faculty of Business and Management, Canterbury Christ Church University offers a FREE breakfast workshop on Tuesday 19th January at Hall Place Enterprise Centre, Canterbury, to all business owners who want to gain a competitive edge and boost their business in 2010.

What does your brand say about your business?

Your customers make their decisions based on a complex range of factors, many of them emotional. The impressions they form based on what they see, feel and hear about your company can make a real difference to the value they place on what you do, and to your success. Your brand is not about having a clever logo or spending lots of money – it is about being clear, consistent and professional in everything you do. Come along to our brand clinic to learn from branding experts and through peer review what your brand says about your business and how you can make it work more strongly for you.

Led by Sharon Wilding from Purple Edge, and presenter for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and Joanna Wood, marketing consultant and lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Management, our workshop will help you to understand how to:
• identify your brand values
• harness the power of design
• apply your brand consistently
• create your action plan for maximising the power of your brand

Join us from 7.45am to 10.30am (breakfast provided), on Tuesday 19th January 2010 at Hall Place Enterprise Centre, Harbledown, Canterbury CT2 9AG.

Places are limited so please book early.

To book a place email business.services@canterbury.ac.uk or call Fontemaria Totaro on 01227 782666.

www.canterbury.ac.uk/business-services

I wish to take this opportunity of thanking you and Simon for all the useful networking support and advice that you have given to me and of course promoting my business on your very professional website.

It is particularly helpful to me as it always takes time to establish a business.

As a result I am very pleased to be a member of Counterpoint and will recommend Counterpoint Networking wherever I can.

Many thanks and keep up with the good work.

Paul Tatt

Paul Tatt Bookkeeping Services

Many small businesses trade throughout the year and six months after, use their accountant to prepare the annual accounts from their historical records. In these times this is not an ideal situation particularly if trading has slowed down or cash flow is tight; businesses need to know its trading position and profitability.

An experienced Bookkeeper looks after the day to day financial running of the business from inputting data, reconciliations and VAT returns etc and provides a valuable source of information to their client, the monthly financial reports which include the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet of the company. In addition bookkeepers can provide budgeting forecasts and cashflow forecasting to ensure that businesses can plan ahead.

Businesses, particularly limited companies need accountants who will prepare the annual accounts in statutory form, provide taxation services and consultancy services; however, it is sensible for the business to use a bookkeeper for as much work as possible as they charge far less for their time than accountants. It is also important that the bookkeeper communicates with the accountant to ensure the accounts can easily be interpreted which in the long term will save on end of year fees.

Should a company wish to borrow from the bank, they will ask for a business plan with financial reports and forecasts, therefore the business owner needs to have a good working relationship between the bookkeeper, accountant and bank manager to assist with a successful outcome.

A bookkeeper is a good investment:

• They take care of the financials so that the business can concentrate on its key skills.
• A bookkeeper will explain the monthly financials in an easy to understand format.
• A self employed bookkeeper saves you money from ERNI and holiday pay.
• Will save money on the end of year accountant’s fees.

If your business needs to get up to speed with its finances please contact me. I can work onsite or offsite whichever is convenient; naturally I will need access to your financial records, such as bank statements, cheque books, pay in books and more dependent on the complexity and nature of your business. Why wait a year when you could have monthly reporting and have less work for your accountant at the end of the year?

With 30 years experience of bookkeeping within small to medium size businesses Paul Tatt Bookkeeping Services was set up in June of this year and is well equipped to help businesses with their bookkeeping and more importantly provide the financial reports. Please visit Paul Tatt’s profile for further details and to link through to his website.

You know we like to do something different for our networking – well this one really was special!

On Tuesday 1st December we had the well-attended joint Counterpoint Networking and Aspinall Business Club (ABC) Networking meeting at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. We met at 8.30am for bacon sandwiches (and a vegetarian option!) and teas and coffees before hearing a little from Adrian Harland, Animal Director, about the work that goes on at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, and just as importantly all the work that is going on across the world in the name of animal protection and conservation.

Neville from the park (Wildcat keeper) also told us of the great success of the Wild Cat Hootenanny that was supported by our member Gordon Haining.  He also thanked members Jaci Godman-Irvine and Jane Unsworth who have been volunteering at the zoo, which is a benefit of being a member of the ABC.

I talked a little about the recent research I have been doing about the effectiveness of the Counterpoint Networking Site for our members. I found that the Counterpoint Networking site is becoming more and more well optimised for Folkestone and Hythe which is a specific strategy we have been following for the last few months. (The site is already very well optimised for Shepway). For example, Foreman & Jones have recently listed their profile on the Counterpoint Networking website and already they appear on the first page of Google (above their own site!) for “hypnotherapy hythe”, “hypnotherapist hythe”, and “sleeplessness Hythe”. Hayley Jones of Foreman & Jones gave us a testimonial.

We then had a talk from Simon the monkey-keeper who told us that he actually grew up in the animal park as his parents were both keepers! He has been working here for years and just like all the other keepers and workers we have met, he was so enthusiastic about his work.

We then made our way down to the enclosure housing the de Brazza’s and Colobus monkeys and were lucky enough to meet them and feed them! We were surprised (as you’ll hear on the following video!) that we were actually able to go into the enclosure and feed the monkeys out of our hands – not just throwing food over the fence!

It was such a special event, and everybody thoroughly enjoyed it – we won’t go on anymore, we will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

We hope you join us for our next meeting.