BELMAS
NOTES OF THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
OF THE BRITISH EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT
AND ADMINISTRATION SOCIETY
11 am,Monday, 14 March 2005
Astor Suite, 3rd Floor, Staff House, University of Birmingham
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Present:
A Briggs, D. Cracknell, M Crawford, N Herrington, C James, M Jenkin
M Marland, P M Ribbins, R Saran, M Strain, A Taysum
Chair:C James
In attendance:C Coates
1.Welcome and apologies
CJ welcomed members and apologies were noted from: M Alcorn;N Bennett;T Bush; R Glatter; D Moir; L Nicholson; B Vann; and L Watson.
2.The notes of last meetingand matters arising(26 November 2004)
5.1 Conference report.It was decided that the certificates presently held by AB for winners/runners-up in the Best Paper in Annual Conference 2004 should be passed to MS to take to the recipients at the CASEA conference in Canada and that NB should arrange despatch by secure post of the laptop directly to the winner who lived in Canada.
ACTION: AB/MS/NB
5.2 Publications. NH expressed concern that a discussion about publications had taken place with a representative from Sage but not with a representative from the Education Publishing Company. CJ said that the discussion had been wide ranging and general in nature and was concerned about the publication of Educational Management Administration and Leadership. Specific arrangements with both the companies that publish the Society’s journals had not been discussed.
6.3. Administration report.MM enquired whether any improvement in the recruitment of bursars had been achieved. No information was available. It was decided to contact Jacky Lumby, and ElizabethWood of the University of Lincoln with a view to establishing contacts with the national associations of school bursars.
ACTION: CJ/AB
3.Chair/Vice-Chairs Report and Updates
3.i. BELMAS Development Grants.CJ reported that five applications had been received to date, of which two were rejected for failing to meet the criteria, one had been accepted, and twowere under consideration. Members expressed pleasure at the evident interest in the scheme.
3.ii. Professional Officer.GlynRawlings, a former headteacher, had been appointed as Professional Officer. CJ confirmed that Glynwould be accountable to the Chair for his work for the Society, then the Executive and Council. It was expected that he would attend National Council meetings.
3.iii. Distinguished Service Award.It was decided that the Society should proceed with making Distinguished Service Awards this yearand that awardsshould be presented at the dinner of the 2005 Annual Conference. A group of Council members comprising N Bennett, M Crawford and M Jenkin would organise the Award for this year.
ACTION: NB/MC/MJ
3.iv. Retired Membership Category. The financial implications and other aspects of Retired Membership Category were discussed. It was decided that the Society should proceed with this category of membership and that CJ would produce a paper on the Retired Membership Categoryfor discussion and decision at the next National Council meeting.
ACTION: CJ
3.vi. Vice Presidents.It was decidedthat Vice Presidents should be able to attend BELMAS Annual Conferences free of charge if they wished.
4.Secretary's Report
The Secretary was unable to present his report because of illness. Members expressed their wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
5.Where next for BELMAS?
Council reviewed the roles of the Co-ordinators in relation to the job specification of the Professional Officer. Thefollowing decisions were taken.
1. The Professional Officer would support the work of the Council Co-ordinators.
2. The Professional Officer would be expected to be particularly active in the areas of Marketing (the Regional Affairs responsibility in this Co-ordinators role would be omitted as BELMAS regional activity had ceased), Publicity, Public Profile and the Annual Conference.
3. The Professional Officer would be expected to respond to developments in the areas of Publications, International Affairs, Equal Opportunities and Research.
4. The Professional Officer would be directly and pro-actively involvedin Marketing, Publicity and Public Profile and this area of activityshould be added to his job specification.
5. The Professional Officer would be accountable to the Council Chair. This accountability role could be delegated to the Council Vice Chair as appropriate.
6. Any performance review should be undertaken by the Council Chair.
7. The Society’s Standing Orders should be amended to take account of the ceasing of regional activity in the Society.
8. CJ to arrange meeting with GlynnRawlings, BV and the other members of the Executive Committee.
ACTION: CJ
Co-ordinators Reports/Updates
5.1. Conference update.Council noted and expressed appreciation for the excellent work that had been undertaken by DM in organising theAnnual Conference 2005. MC reported that the basic arrangements for the Conference were in place and that more detailed organisation was now being undertaken. MC is responsible for the Conference keynote speakers for the 2005 Conference and would be supporting the Conference organisation. The following decisions were taken.
- All Council members should be encouraged to attend the Conference.
- The Conference should be welcomed by a senior member of the education community local to the conference centre.
- The Conference Dinner would be a more formal event this year and would include the presentation of Awards, the welcoming of Fellow members and newly elected members of Council and the presentation of the BELMAS Thesis Award.
- Early notice of the Conference should be given to educational leadership and management colleagues in the Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Luton, and Oxfordshire local authorities and special fee be established so they can attend for the Saturday of the Conference and become members of the Society.
- Council members should encourage members, colleagues and research students to present papers.
- There would be a ‘Research Student strand’ in the programme of Conference Member’s papers which could run on the Saturday of the Conference.
- The final session of the Conference was discussed. There would be a more engagingfinal session in which Conference members actively participated.
- The overall management of the Conference was discussed. MC would be the Conference Chair, DM the Conference Manager and PennyMcKeownbe the Co-ordinator of Conference members’ papers. GlynRawlings would have a key role in publicising the Conference.
- Those attending the Conference who were not members of the Society would become members by paying their conference fee.
The arrangements for future Annual Conferences were discussed. The following decisions were taken.
1. More prestigious venues and locations were needed for future conferences.
2. Earlier decisions on times and venues would help to secure a good range of keynote speakers which ideally would include senior political figures and senior members of the education community in the UK. DC suggested the Chief Inspector of Schools in Scotland as an example of the kind of speaker we should aim to attract.
3. CJ reported the criteria for the choice of the Conference venue that BV wished to be conveyed to Council. They were: cost, close proximity or within a large city, accessibility, facilitiesand atmosphere. Engaging the services of a conference venue search company were discussed and the idea was welcomed.
4. CJ confirmed that the dates for the Annual Conference 2006 would be 6th-8th October. These dates may cause difficulty with regard to the completion and auditing of the accounts in time for the Society’s AGM. It was decided that CJ would raise the issue with KeithDungey, the Society’s Financial Administrator.
ACTION: CJ
5. The importance of maintaining the Society’s link with Toshiba in their role as conference sponsor and provider of prizes for the BELMAS Thesis award and the Best paper award was discussed. It was decided that MC and CJ would contact Toshiba and re-confirm the link.
ACTION: CJ / MC
The themes of future conferences were discussed. DC remarked that a number of members,particularly headteachers,will be experiencing a ‘sea change’ in the nature of the institutions they were leading and managing. It was decided that the provisional title for the Annual Conference 2006 would be ‘The Changing Landscape of Educational Leadership and Management’.
5.2. Publications. NH presented his report and thanked AT for her work as Deputy Editor. The question of the title of Management in Education was discussed. It was decided that the journal title would be discussedat the next Council meeting and that having the journal in ‘perfect bound’ format would not be pursued at the present time.
Council thanked NH for his excellent and detailed report on the journal and expressed appreciation for the recent improvement in the journal content.
5.3. International / EMAL reports. Reports from TB were presented. MS enquired whether the editor might be written to by the Society to formalise the matter of his editorial expenses. CJ thought this had been done, but it was decided that he should check. It was confirmed that TB would be funded to attend the meeting of the International Editorial Board of Educational Management, Administration and Leadership at the Annual Conference of the AERA in Montreal over Easter as had been agreed by BV and CJ.
ACTION: CJ
It was decided that Sage should be encouraged to fund a BELMAS reception to be held at the Annual CASEA Conference in June 2005.
ACTION: CJ
It was confirmed that the 2006 Conference of CCEAM would be held from 12th – 16th October in Nicosia, Cyprus. CJ confirmed that AB has agreed to co-ordinate the BELMAS symposium at the CCEAM conference. International delegates would be encouraged to attend both the BELMAS Annual Conference and the CCEAM Conference.
It was decided to apply to CCEAM for a grant for 2006 to fund attendance of colleagues from developing countries, in particular in from Africa at the Annual Conference 2006.
ACTION: CJ / MC / DM
5.4 Marketing/Regional Affairs. It was decided that this co-ordinator role would need to be re-configured in the light of the ceasing of the Society’s regional activities. As a result of this likely change, MJ agreed to resign her role as Coordinator for Marketing/Regional affairsand would be invited to take up the revised role or another Co-ordinator role within the Society.
CJ reported that he had received a letter from PeterTaylorregarding regional activities in the North West of England. The letter indicated that LW had suggested that the region’s main activity, which is a productive collaborative link between the BELMAS North West region and the Society for the Management of Education in Ireland, should come within EFEA. The work undertaken by BELMAS members in the North West would continue but not as the BELMAS North West region. The matter of the funds held in the North West region’s accounts was discussed. It was decided that a letter of thanks be sent to Peter Taylor, requesting the closure of the BELMAS North West accounts and the return of any balance to the BELMAS national account, stressing that regional links were important, emphasising that the continued participation of colleagues from the North West in the Society must be maintained and indicating that the involvement of North West members in formal role within the Society would be welcomed.
ACTION: CJ to liaise with BV
5.5 Equal Opportunities.No matters were reported.
5.6. Research.AB had contacted SteveFox of the University of Lancaster, who is undertaking research on behalf of the Centre for Excellence in Leadership. AB has arranged to meet him in Leicesterin May, when they will discuss BELMAS and research matters.
The arrangements for the 2005 BELMAS Thesis Prize were in hand and would be co-ordinated by RayBolam. AB will liaise with him on the management of the award.
The meeting with GeoffSouthworth, the Acting Chief Executive of the NationalCollege for School Leadership on research matters on Thursday 5th May 2005which had been initiated by the Standing Conference for Research on Educational Leadership and Management (SCRELM) would now be a joint event with BELMAS.CJ agreed to prepare a note to members informing them of the event.
ACTION: CJ
5.7. - 5.8. Publicity/Public Profile.No reports were presented. It was decided that following the earlier discussion on these issues, National Council and the Society could now move forward in these areas. It was decided that CJ would contact Council members to invite them to take on the roles of co-ordinators for Marketing, Publicity and Public Profile and that MJ would be specifically invited to take on the role of Co-ordinator for Marketing.
ACTION: CJ
At this point meeting broke for lunch and NH and MS left the meeting.
6.Treasurer's Report
6.1. Budget Report.AT presented the budget report, which was then discussed.
6.2. Reserves Policy.Given that the Society was undertaking new expenditure such as the BELMAS Development Grants and the employment of a Professional Officer,it was decidedthat more forward financial planning was required. It was decided that adraft financial plan should be brought by the Executive Committee to the next Council meeting.
ACTION: AT / Executive Committee
6.3. Conference financial updates.AT confirmed that the finances and accounts of the 2004 BELMAS –SCRELM Research Conference were at the stage where the amount due to SCRELM could now be paid. It was decided that £3543 (50% of the total of the present surplus plus one outstanding but expected delegate fee) should be paid.
ACTION: AT / KD
7.Website
7.1. - 7.2. - 7.3. Present position, Future needs, Commissioning. It was agreed that there had been a substantial improvement in the content and appearance of the Society’s website. The meeting examined the main pages of the website and raised a number of points with regard to improving the site yet further including the following.
- The content should be clear and easy to read but not lightweight in tone.
- The recent Notes of Council meetings could be posted on the website.
- The ‘voice’ of the text should be standardised, for example, inconsistencies between the use of "We", and "the Society" should be avoided.
- The Society’s contact details could be on front page.
- The number of ‘hits’ could be noted.
- There could be a link to the editorial of MiE.
It was decided that an early task for the Professional Officer could be the re-shaping of the Society’s website and that the oversight of developments in this area should be the responsibility of the Co-ordinator for Marketing.
ACTION: CJ
8.Any Other Business
PMR reported that HelenGunter and MS are intending to apply to Society of Education Studies for a grant to fund research into the history of the Societyand the educational leadership and management field and that they are requesting support from the Society in undertaking this research. It was decided unanimously that the Society would support their research.
AB had met with LynneSedgmore of CEL, and had received a very positive response to the Society’s work.
NB, CJ and BV had had a productive meeting with GeoffSouthworth the Acting Chief Executive of the NationalCollege for School Leadership on Thursday 27th January 2005. The meeting had been very positive and he had been very supportive of the Society’s work.It was decided that BV will circulate the notes of that meeting.
ACTION: BV
9.Future meetings
FRIDAY, 10 JUNE 2005 at 11 am at Staff House, BirminghamUniversity.
SATURDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER orSUNDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2005, during the Annual Conference 2005 at Kent's Hill, Milton Keynes.
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