Services for Academies
AlphaPlus is one of the UK’s leading educational consultancies with a large and varied portfolio of work in education and training in public sector education in schools and post-compulsory education. The company can draw on a core team of six directors and more than sixty Associates, each a specialist educational consultant.
Among the AlphaPlus directors we have a former Chief Executive of a national Awarding Organisation, and a former HMI and Assistant Chief Executive at SCAA (later QCDA). Among our team of Associates, we have a key member of the first Academies team in the DfE, and the former Chair of Ofqual. Our wider Associate pool includes individuals who have:
- played a key role in the first Academies team in the DfE (formerly DCSF)
- produced the first Academy Manuals for officials and for external users (as a precursor to the published policies and procedures now on the DfE website)
- supported a range of sponsors, schools, advisers and officials in the Department through the entire process from registration, legal and financial advice, land transfer and building programme, opening and closing a school, liaising with the Charity Commission, governing bodies, curriculum and SEN teams as well as Local Authorities through to funding agreement and pre-opening stages.
- developed a specialism in stakeholder engagement supporting sponsors from private schools, faith schools and charities to develop and deliver stakeholder engagement plans including being seconded to develop stakeholder engagement with a wide range of Academies across the country
- worked on both collaboration models and advisory roles for outstanding primary schools converting to Academies
- supported schools to improve attendance through a multi-agency approach and including families
- worked closely with Headteachers in disadvantaged areas on a TDA funded project on effective CPD as a tool for School Improvement to move a school out of special measures
- developed a leadership programme to encourage support staff at all levels to contribute to raising standards
- run a parental engagement project in areas of low aspiration
- developed and delivered research methodology courses for practitioner researchers. The courses were designed to support teachers to undertake small-scale research into their own classroom performance – reflecting on their teaching styles and methods – in order to improve their practice and raise pupil achievement.
Why choose AlphaPlus ?
- Our management team and associates have experience of working and leading in all aspects of statutory education including school improvement. We have direct experience at Board level of managing an academy conversion process for a secondary school and are familiar with the challenges of partnership management at that level. We bring an awareness of and sensitivity to the public and political context of education and educational change.
- We have particular expertise in raising student attainment in literacy and numeracy, and on strategies to embed them in the curriculum as well as innovative approaches to their assessment. We have also prepared a suite of bespoke materials in literacy, language and numeracy to support schools' development plans. We provide training on embedding literacy and numeracy (and latterly functional skills), and we have a range of CPD programmes for teachers, including core curriculum, behaviour management and initial assessment. We can offer expertise in organisational and training needs analysis, identifying and agreeing training objectives and developing training proposals which meet schools’ needs and requirements.
- The embedding of ICT in the curriculum is an area in which we have a particular expertise. Through our associates we have played a leading role in creating ICT as a subject in the National Curriculum, at GCSE and A level, as a Key Skill, a Skill for Life and a Functional Skill. We have conducted an impact analysis of ICT Skill for Life CPD on teaching and learning practice.
- For the TDA, we develop the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Skills Tests in numeracy, literacy and ICT, and we have contributed to setting and maintaining the standards for newly qualified staff entering the teaching profession.
- Our work on behalf of LAs includes the development of programmes dealing with Equality and Diversity, and we have significant experience in placing children not in education or with social/domestic/educational needs.
- We can call upon Associates who are Ofsted Registered Inspectors (including lead inspectors) and Trainers, so can provide schools with valuable insight into the Ofsted inspection framework.
- We are experts in educational evaluation, and can support schools in their qualitative and quantitative evaluation policies, assisting them to synchronise self-evaluation and school improvement planning. We can advise on best practice in evaluation design, and in the conduct of interviews with students, teachers, managers, and parents.
- We have detailed knowledge of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). We have developed units and qualifications for the QCF, and we recently concluded the review and analysis of a number of QCF units against the criteria contained in the Regulatory arrangements for Ofqual.
- In all our projects we work in partnership with our clients. This is more than a cliché for us: we care about the services we provide and the impact they have on learners. Experience has shown us that the best impact our work can have is when it is undertaken alongside our clients so we make partnership working a key feature of our approach and management method.
We look forward to working with you.
