Wokingham and Bracknell Lifestyle Aug - Sep 2022

IAPS GOES from strength
to strength
By Christopher King, IAPS CEO...
The independent school sector continues
to ride on its roller coaster. At the time
of writing, in advance of a new school
year, it does look as if there are plenty
of negative factors lining up to puncture
any post Covid optimism which might
have occurred. Alarming increases in
fuel and heating costs, high inflation not
seen for more than 30 years, a squeeze
on parental incomes and a gloomy
mood in general, given the political and
international landscape, do not combine
to give much reason for thinking the next
academic year will be any kind of bed of
roses. All that having been said, there are
some lessons learnt from the experience
of the time of the pandemic which give
good cause to stop one throwing in the
proverbial towel.
We learnt from the time of maximum
impact of Covid-19 that parents of
children at IAPS schools were remarkably
loyal and supportive of the schools their
children attended. We also found the
total number of children on roll in our
schools went up, not by many, but set
against dire predictions of impending
collapse of the sector this was a
remarkable achievement.
In short, the independent sector has
demonstrated considerable resilience
and positive energy can be drawn from
the experiences of the last few years. The
fundamental strengths of our schools
remains unchanged. A holistic education,
alert to the changing expectations of the
wider society but tied to tradition when
it makes sense to do so because of the
stability this offers, lies at the heart of
IAPS schools. Small class sizes, a sense
that every child is known and valued,
and a determination to offer excellence
as standard. In combination, all these
features offer a compelling model which
continues to draw families into the
independent school fold.
There are changes which have been
gathering pace in the prep school world.
Much of this change involves new
ownership and governance for schools.
There are some investors in our sector
with a motivation which is opaque and
where their vales do not appear to align
with the expectations we have for IAPS
membership. However, the investment
some of the so called ‘groups’ have
brought to the schools is welcomed
for the statement of confidence in the
school’s future that this brings. The
gathering into a larger foundation by
some senior school governing bodies
has been eyed with some suspicion
in a few corners of the independent
school sector. The drivers for such a
move, where assimilation in this way
has taken place, has been called into
question. In reality, where senior school
governing bodies have moved to draw
prep schools into their fold, this has
grown confidence amongst the majority
of the current and prospective parental
body, even if the leadership and staff
might feel destabilised, at least for some
time. Change brings such responses
but time can heal this and it does seem
that where new alignments are taking
place confidence can return quickly as
commitments on the school’s future
start to be followed through on. The
history of the prep school sector shows
that there have regularly been well
documented changes in ownership.
The difference at this time would seem
to be the aggregation of the schools
into ‘groups’ but if they are well funded
and can achieve economies of scale
to suppress some costs which would
otherwise have to be reflected in higher
fees for parents then this can certainly be
welcomed. The change of ownership and
governance shows no sign of stopping
and the parental body need not be
concerned if they can see the values of
the school aligning with their’s and that
fundamentally children are happy and
well cared for whist attending the school.
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