Teach Primary Issue 18.7

felt terrible that my early legacy was one of taking away, breaking down what was seen from the outside as a brilliant school and making it less. In that moment I couldn’t see the future and therefore I just felt the awful sense of a journey that I didn’t want to take, and on which I didn’t really know where I would end up. I could have asked the governors to take on the process but knew that I had to do it myself – it was vitally important in terms of my role as school leader that I did it, and looked each and every person in the eye as I did. I believe that learning to get through these moments is another key reason I have been a headteacher for so long. Sticking with it In every situation where, in the moment, I have felt powerless and wanted to run away, there was always a future moment where, on reflection, I have felt proud that I managed my way through it and almost always look back to realise that the decision was the right one and for the better. There is nothing wrong with imposter syndrome when the decisions are so critical. In every case like this, I still feel that I cannot take for granted that everything will be alright in the end. There is always that niggling sense that this is awful... But I steady myself for making the right long-term decision despite this uneasy feeling. Brian Walton is an award-winning headteacher and popular education blogger. His latest book, Lessons from the Head’s Office , explores how to face the challenges of leadership without sacrificing your principles or wellbeing. tinyurl.com/tp-HeadsOffice Alternative revenue streams can boost budgets and help schools deliver the best education for their children without compromise, while contributing to ‘big ticket’ items when capital expenditure isn’t available. FACILITIES HIRE Make money from your existing assets by turning your school into a community hub and a venue for hire. You can offer your school field and playground to local sports groups and hire out the school hall for everything from Scouts and Brownies to knitting circles and keep fit classes. Regular hirers can generate a consistent income. DON’T FORGET THE PTA Ask your PTA to lead on general fundraising to subsidise trips or other ‘extras’ or give them a target amount to raise, such as for new PE equipment. COMMUNITY ACTION Sometimes you might need to raise money for big ticket items, such as an outdoor classroom or a new playground. If it will require more donations than you can raise from parents and families alone, you can open the net wider with a crowdfunding campaign. It’s easy to set up a crowdfund online and your pledge for donations can be shared with your local community and businesses and promoted through your social media. Platforms such as Rocketfund and DonateMySchool GRANT FUNDING As well as Grants 4 Schools and FundEd, specific funding pots are available for sport, STEM, music and the arts, innovation and disadvantaged pupils. Local housebuilders often have a community pot in the area where they are developing homes, too. Once you’ve found funds you want to apply for, consider hiring a bid writer to apply on your behalf. As well as giving you a better chance of success, some bid writers work in return for a percentage of awarded funds, so there’s no upfront outlay. Jackie Keegan is resource advisor at HFL Education. hfleducation.org Budget boosters L E ADERSH I P “Early on in one of my headships I had to make more than £250,000 of cuts in the budget” www.teachwire.net | 41