Which schools are eligible for the free consultancy?
All maintained schools in England are eligible for the free consultancy day. Unfortunately the DCSF funding for this service does not extend to non-maintained schools. We are able to provide the service to non-maintained schools, but the costs of this need to be covered from the schools' own budgets.
We are a Special Education Needs school, are we eligible?
Yes you are eligible and we have consultants with SEN experience available.
We are a Pupil Referral Unit, are we eligible?
Unfortunately as PRU’s do not have the same type of governance arrangements as schools or a delegated budget of their own to manage they are not eligible for this service.
What happens after the booking is made?
A password for our site will be sent to your email address.
You will need to login and complete a pre-visit questionnaire. This questionnaire will only be viewed by the consultant and will help them identify the areas of focus for your visit.
Once the questionnaire is completed your booking request becomes active and we will match up your date, locality and school phase with an experienced consultant. You will receive a confirmation email from our team at schools@tribalavail.co.uk indicating the date of your visit and your assigned consultant.
Closer to the time your assigned consultant will call to discuss the plan for the day and who it is best that they meet with. They may also request some additional information to help them in their preparation.
After the consultancy day, you will be provided with a post-visit feedback form which provides you with a report of the day’s discussions and future recommendations. Your consultant will notify you when this is able to be viewed via our website.
Once you have read your feedback you will be asked to complete some short evaluation questions to enable us to track the quality of the service we are providing.
How do I request a specific consultant?
If you have heard about this programme from one of our Avail consultants and would like to requests them for your visit, enter their name in Section C of the booking form.
Can I amend the questionnaire or save it to complete later?
Yes you can save your questionnaire to complete later but please be aware your booking will not be finalised and a consultant cannot be assigned until this questionnaire is completed. You can also log back in and amend the questionnaire if required.
What will the consultant focus on during the day?
We have grouped our value for money initiatives into 6 focus areas:
In order to get the most from the consultancy support, we would aim to focus the discussions during our visit on the two issues of most interest to the school. We expect to spend around 2 hours with key staff on each topic.
Can I see what experience our assigned consultant has?
Yes, if you login to our site http://schools.tribalavail.co.uk/vfm/login.html using your email address and password, you will be able to see the contact details of your assigned consultant along with a brief pen portrait of their experience.
How much time does the consultancy take?
Our consultants have a draft agenda for the day, running from approximately 9:30am-3:30pm but are more than happy to tailor this to meet your schools needs. You can finalise this when the consultant contacts you to discuss the details of the visit.
I would like to request an additional day of consultancy, how do I do this?
This offer is only for one day of free consultancy. If you would like to request additional day(s) from one of our Avail consultants then this will need to be paid for out of your own school budget. We hope that you get good value for money out of this day but if you do want to proceed with additional support we would be more than happy to help. Please contact us at schools@tribalavail.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.
I am having problems logging into the website
You need to use the same email address as the one that you used when making the booking. For example if you are a headteacher trying to access the site and your bursar made the original booking then this will need to be used to log back in.
If you would like to change this please contact us at schools@tribalavail.co.uk and we can update our system.
Go to http://schools.tribalavail.co.uk/vfm/login.html and select ‘Forgotten your password?’ Enter your email address and select Submit and your password will be sent to you.
What have been schools reactions so far?
“Many, many thanks for your support and advice today. Your thoughtful questions and insight have given us a number of key issues to think about and been incredibly helpful. An outside perspective is so reinvigorating!!!”
“I am correct in thinking this consultation is free of charge? It seems too good to be true!!”
“I just wanted to say thank you for the visit and your lovely letter. It has helped me to take stock and move forward once more and talking with you has also boosted my confidence that I can ‘Go for it!’ I discussed some of our findings with the Governors and my SIP. I also suggested to the SIP that other Heads would find the process extremely useful. Always good to have another view. I have kept your letter so that the next time I hit another seemingly insurmountable problem I can get it out and read it!”
We are a Nursery School, are we eligible?
If you are self-managed with your own budget then yes you are eligible.
We are a Voluntary Aided or a Voluntary Controlled school, are we eligible?
Yes as you are part of the state maintained system you are eligible.
How can I access the free VFM consultancy?
Complete the booking form at: http://schools.tribalavail.co.uk/vfm/booking.html
You'll need either your postcode, school URN or DCSF number (the full one including the local authority code) to make the booking.
You will also be asked to provide 3 preferred dates for your visit.
I am a Bursar/School Business Manager – can I make a booking?
Yes a bursar can initiate this process, and in some cases it may be the bursar that the Avail consultant works with to address VfM areas. Avail does ask that the headteacher is aware of the booking, reviews the questionnaire, and is briefed by the consultant at the end of the visit if they are not included in the day’s activities.
How do I access my questionnaire or feedback form?
Login to our site http://schools.tribalavail.co.uk/vfm/login.html using your email address and password and at the bottom of the screen you will see Event Questionnaires. Click on the blue link to access the form that you require.
How much does the consultancy cost?
We don't charge schools for this service - our costs are covered by the DCSF. The funding covers one day of consultancy, focused on identifying the key issues and developing a high-level action plan to address them. If you want more support beyond that which can be provided in one day, this is available but the costs will need to be covered from your own budget. However we aim to provide enough support in one day that schools shouldn't need any extra help to take forward their plan. If you would like to proceed with this please contact us at schools@tribalavail.co.uk .
The programme is provided and managed by Avail, one of the UK’s leading providers of consultancy services to the public sector. Avail’s consultants are education specialists (many of whom have experience of school leadership) and are distributed across the country so they are familiar with local contexts. Whether a school requires advice on leadership, improving procurement or strategic management, the consultant will tailor the day to the school’s needs.
Who will the consultant meet with on the day?
This will really depend on the size of your school and the key issues that are identified. In smaller schools it may just be with the Headteacher and may not need the entire day. Larger schools may be a mixture of Headteacher, Deputy, Bursar or School Business/Finance Manager depending on the issue that is being covered. You may also want to involve your SMT or Chair of Governors. We only ask that the Headteacher is aware of the visit and the consultant meets with the Headteacher at the end of the day to go though what was discussed.
Firstly, schools are asked to complete a short questionnaire to help consultants focus their support. The consultant will discuss this with the school and agree who should be involved. Secondly, the consultant will spend one day with the school team, exploring the issues which have been identified as most significant. This process will identify immediate actions for the school to address. Finally, the consultant will feed back to the school by providing a written report of the discussions from the consultancy day and further advice will be given to the school on where to find high quality sources of longer term support. It is worth nothing that the use of the consultancy and the results of the day are completely confidential. The sole purpose is to provide support and advice to the school.
The system does not recognize our school’s code
You'll need either your postcode, school URN or DCSF number (the full one including the local authority code and including the / ) to make the booking. If none of these work please contact us at schools@tribalavail.co.uk.
I have just completed a booking and want to complete the questionnaire but I don’t have a password.
A password should have been emailed to you as soon as you select ‘Complete Registration’. Sometimes if you have accidently entered an incorrect email address this may not have gone through. In these instances please use the ‘Contact Us’ function.
I need to reschedule my visit?
We understand that situations can change so if you can no longer make the agreed date please contact us as soon as possible at schools@tribalavail.co.uk. We will notify the consultant and suggest that you both negotiate another suitable date.