Privateers Brochure (England, Anti-Academies)

[Starry Messenger]

This is a really nice PDF that lays out all the players in the so-called "free schools" movement, the English version of charter schools. There's a lot of overlap with our players, so I thought people here might be interested.

http://bit.ly/9p1oti

ABC Academies 4
Amey 4
Appleyards 5
ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) 5
BPP Holdings 6
Cambridge Education 6
The Capita Group 7
CfBT 8
Cognita Group 8
Contour Education Services 9
E-ACT (Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust) 10
EC Harris Group 11
EdisonLearning 12
Fieldwork Education 12
GEMS (Global Education Management Systems) Education 14
Harris Federation 14
International English Schools (Internationella Engelska Skolan or IES) 15
Kunskapsskolan (or Knowledge Schools) 16
Lilac Sky Schools 16
Mouchel 17
Oasis Community Learning 18
Ormiston Trust 19
Pearson Education 20
Place Group 20
Serco 21
Synarbor 22
TPP Law 22
Tribal Education 23
The United Learning Trust (ULT) 23
VT Four S 24

This directory lists the major organisations seeking a radically expanded
role in the management of maintained schools in England. The list is
necessary as an aid to understanding the unspoken education policy of the
government, which is to undo a basic principle of the 1944 Education Act
that has lasted for more than half a century.

The school system was often described as a national service, locally
administered. The local element was the local authority, part of the local
democratic state. With the introduction of local management by the 1988
Education Reform Act, the nature of local administration changed but
remained essential – or so it seemed. Repeated predictions of the demise
of local authorities proved unfounded.

Then this principle was breached by the introduction of academies,
which effectively are administered by the Department for Education (DfE),
although former Secretary of State for Education Ed Balls admitted to
the Select Committee that this proved impossible in practice – “Carlisle
is quite a long way from London”. Now the coalition government aspires
for all schools to become academies, arguing that they will benefit from
independence. However, Michael Gove, the current Secretary of State
for Education, knows that schools are not large enough organisations to
be completely self-sufficient, and he also knows he cannot administer
thousands of schools from London.

Mr Gove does not trust local authorities but he does know some people
he can trust, and they are listed in these pages. Some of the organisations
listed are charities, some are private companies and others are huge
multinational PLCs. They share the belief that they can offer expertise in
the kinds of services previously provided to schools by local or central
government, and that demand for their services is about to take off.
This directory describes the kinds of services on offer. Already, prospective
‘new wave’ academies are being approached by these organisations,
which seek to build chains of schools to which they can offer services
with economies of scale. This market is already important enough to
support two publications, Education investor and The assignment report,
the latter describing UK education as a £100 billion market. Many of the
organisations listed are linked with the New Schools Network (NSN).
This is a charity that does not reveal its funding sources but was awarded
£500,000 by the DfE in June 2010. The NSN’s director, Rachel Wolf, is a
former adviser to Michael Gove.

[Hannah Bell]

1. kik & sorry too late to r. you can bet there's some international crossover as well.

[Starry Messenger]

2. I need to look at it more deeply.

Edison, for sure, I recognize as an American company.

[Hannah Bell]

3. i missed that; i was thinking more of the consultation behind the facade. but on that level,

pearson ed is uk but does business in the us, including being "turnaround partner" receiving what i assume is rttt money:

Grayson School District in Rural Virginia Chooses Pearson as School Turnaround Partner

Grayson Public Schools in southern Virginia has contracted with the education, services and technology company Pearson for comprehensive school turnaround services to improve student performance at Fries School in Fries, Virginia.

Fries School is one of 19 schools that have been selected by the Virginia Department of Education to receive federal school improvement grants. Throughout the country there are more than 5,000 schools identified for this category of funding. Earlier this year, Virginia was awarded nearly $60 million in school improvement grants from the US Department of Education.

http://www.pearsoned.com/press/2010/09/14/grayson-school-district-in-rural-virginia-chooses-pearson-as-school-turnaround-partner.htm


so it's not just american capitalists getting rich off the public purse. worth checking out that list, i think.

[Starry Messenger]

4. Yeah, I'm going to dig into the list more this weekend.

They took out our kiln room two weeks ago (we didn't know that was the plan when school started...) and we are playing massive catch up on firing student work. I want to find some research time and follow some of these up.

[Hannah Bell]

5. some info on ormiston trust, principal = peter guiler murray

Ethel (nee Guiler) Murray was born a United States citizen on the island of Puerto Rico in 1905. Her father came from Northern Ireland and was qualified as an engineer. He went into the sugar business and at the time of Ethel's birth he was managing a sugar plantation. He later developed his own successful business and moved to Forrest Hills, New York where he became a prominent member of the West Side Tennis Club. He was very keen on tennis and at times umpired matches involving some of the legends of the time such as Borota and Tilden.

Ethel grew up in New York and soon found herself concentrating on art and dance. She and her sister attended the Ned Wayburn School and were offered a part in a Broadway show which they had to turn down following strong parental objections. Her brother Hugo also met opposition and rejection when he married Anais Nin whose affair and letters to Henry Miller became well known in literary circles. In her early 20's Ethel moved to Paris to develop her painting and sculpture under Zadkine and Fernand Léger. Later in England she also studied for a short time with Henry Moore who had a strong influence on her subsequent work.

Ethel was married in 1935 to George Murray an ex Scotland Rugby international, Chartered Accountant and successful oil business executive. She had two children Peter and Fiona, Fiona however died on her honeymoon in a car crash in Africa. In her memory Peter and his father George established the Ormiston Trust for the benefit of challenged Children and their families.

http://ethelmurray.com/

Her uncle, Hugh Parker Guiler (also known as Ian Hugo), married Anais Nin, famous for the role she played in bohemian Paris of the 1920s and 30s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Parker_Guiler

http://www.ormistoneducation.co.uk/

[Starry Messenger]

6. Oh that's interesting. I didn't see that one coming.

Amey

Type: PLC
Key personnel
Non-executive chairman: Sir Richard Mottram
Chief executive: Mel Ewell
Financial background
Revenue: £1.49 billion (31 Dec 2008)
Operating profit: £95.7 million (31 Dec 2008)

Services provided
Part of Ferrovial, one of the world’s leading
infrastructure companies, Amey works in more
than 200 locations in the UK, in both public and
private sectors: aviation, central government,
defence, local government, rail and strategic
highways. Within education, it has provided
infrastructure and support services for the former
Department for Children, Schools and Families
and local authorities.

It has 10 major education partnerships and
contracts for services ranging from school
improvement and special educational needs
services to the delivery and management of new
schools, including cleaning, catering, janitorial,
security and building and grounds maintenance.
Its catering brand is to deliver healthy school meals.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mottram

Sir Richard Clive Mottram, GCB (born 23 April 1946) is chairman or board member of a number of private and public sector organisations, many with international links. He is chairman of the board of Amey PLC and of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and a Board member of the International Advisory Board of GardaWorld, Ashridge Business School, and the Ditchley Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

He was formerly a British civil servant, who retired in 2007 from his most recent senior post as Permanent Secretary, Intelligence, Security and Resilience in the Cabinet Office.

http://www.amey.co.uk/AboutAmey/Ourhistory.aspx

Our history

Amey’s proud history began in 1921 when William Amey set up a quarrying company in Oxfordshire. During the Second World War we helped with the construction of RAF bases and our involvement with the highways market began in 1959 with our supply of gravel for the M1, between London and Birmingham. We became a public company in the same year, with a share capital of £540,000.

In 1972 Ron Amey agreed to a takeover by Hanson, with the company being renamed to Amey Roadstone Construction. In 1989, the company returned to private ownership and became known as Amey again.

In 1995, the company went back to the stock exchange with a strategic decision to focus on the provision of support services and expanded Private Finance Initiative (PFI) activity, which meant a gradual exit from the construction sector. Our position in support services was cemented in 1999, by the acquisition of Comax, the secure support services specialist. In 2000 our Stock Exchange listing changed to “support services.”

Dealing with rapid growth sharpened our focus. Our 2003 acquisition by Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure services company, provided the sound financial base to plan confidently for the future. It also gave us access to the skills and knowledge of a 100,000 strong worldwide network. In turn, Ferrovial benefits from Amey’s market-leading support services capability and expertise in Public Private Partnerships.

In 2002 we won a ground breaking project and the largest Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Europe, Tube Lines. Tube Lines is a company responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the London Underground infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. In 2005 we acquired an additional stake in Tube Lines, making us a majority shareholder with 66%.

The 2006 acquisition of the highly respected professional services brand, Owen Williams has enabled us to offer clients a genuine end-end-to-end service incorporating highly regarded design and building consultancy.


Ferrovial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrovial#History

[Starry Messenger]

7. BPP Holdings

BPP Holdings
Type: PLC, subsidiary company to Apollo Global
Key personnel
Chairman: Greg Cappelli
Chief executive: Carl Lygo
Financial background
Turnover: £7.8 million (31 Aug 2009)
Operating profit: £1.5 million (31 Aug 2009)

Services provided
BPP Holdings is owned by Apollo Global. Apollo
Global is a $1 billion joint venture between the
Apollo Group and private equity firm the Carlyle
Group established in September 2007.
Apollo Global is an educational investment
company, formed to make investments in the
international education services sector. It runs
Learning Media, its publishing division and, in
July 2010, the BPP Law and Business School was
granted a charter to become a university college.

Comment
In the USA, the Apollo Group runs the University
of Phoenix. Apollo Global’s aim is to set up a
global education network. Its 2009 acquisition of
BPP Holdings was to serve as a platform from
which to operate in the UK and throughout Europe.


Well any DUer knows what the Carlyle Group is about, so that's a no-brainer. Disgusting.

Greg Cappelli

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2008/12/18/20081218biz-apollo1218.html

3 Apollo execs' pay topped $6 mil
Dec. 18, 2008

The top executives of University of Phoenix parent Apollo Group Inc. saw big spikes in their pay packages last fiscal year, with three topping $6 million in total compensation.

Greg Cappelli, executive vice president of global strategy and assistant to founder and chairman John Sperling, saw the biggest payday, at $11.6 million, according to a proxy statement Apollo filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That compares with $5.4 million the previous fiscal year, in which Cappelli joined the company halfway through. Apollo's fiscal year ends on Aug. 31.

The bulk of the $11.6 million, as with many executive pay packages, was the projected value of stock grants and stock options. Cappelli's cash compensation was a $500,000 salary and a $1 million incentive plan bonus.


<snip>

For the fiscal year, Apollo's revenue grew 15.3 percent to $3.1 billion, on strong enrollment growth. Net income rose to $476.5 million from $408.9 million.

Apollo's new chief executive officer, Charles Edelstein, joined the company just before the fiscal year ended. His annual salary will be a minimum of $600,000 according to a four-year employment agreement he signed in August. Edelstein received a $200,000 signing bonus when he joined Apollo. He was also granted restricted stock units and 1 million in stock options with an exercise price of $62.51. Apollo shares closed Wednesday at $75.51.

[Hannah Bell]

9. apollo! paydirt! you need to write an op for all the folks who doubt that education

is the next global market & profit center.

[Starry Messenger]

8. Cognita Group

Cognita Group

Type: private limited company with share capital

Key personnel
Founder and chairman: Chris Woodhead
(former chief inspector of schools)
Property director and chief operating officer:
Dean Villa (previously property director of GEMS)

Financial background
Cognita Ltd, subsidiary to Cognita Holdings Ltd
Turnover: £0.8 million (31 Aug 2009)
Loss before interest and tax: £3.6 million
(31 Aug 2009)
Cognita Holdings Ltd Group
Turnover: £138.6 million (31 Aug 2009)
Operating profit: £3.9 million (31 Aug 2009)

Services provided
Formed in 2004 by Chris Woodhead together with
Englefield Capital LLP (renamed Bregal Capital
LLP in 2010), Cognita specialises in moderately
priced private education. It is the largest private
operator of schools in the UK.
Its international schools division was created
in October 2006. It currently has 52 schools
(including nurseries, prep schools, primary and
secondary schools) across the UK, Europe and
south-east Asia (46 of which are in the UK).
It employs 2,900 teaching and support staff and
delivers to more than 15,200 pupils.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/25/private-schools-cognita


A lesson in private education

Despite a recession and the government's new 'public benefit' standard, the Cognita group of private schools is thriving. Why?


Not all private schools are sweating, though. Those owned by the Cognita group have escaped these pressures by not claiming charitable status. The company was founded five years ago by a group of financiers, and has since bought up 49 schools. By 2013, reckons its chair, Chris Woodhead, it'll double that.

And – despite being a purely commercial venture – it is being helped in its ascent by the very rules intended to make schools offer a "public benefit".

To understand Cognita's success, it helps to understand the problems hitting the rest of the sector. The last 10 years have been fat years for private schools. The number of parents armed with banking bonuses and spiralling house prices, keen to keep their children from the local comprehensive, has grown massively – much faster than the places available, in fact, allowing fees to soar. Between 2003 and 2008, they climbed by more than 40%. Even mediocre schools could charge five-figure sums.

<snip>

And joining the chain makes good business sense for many schools. They can cut costs through economies of scale. They get some protection from short-term financial problems. And they're freed of the need to follow Charity Commission rules. They lose their tax breaks, too, but – if Anthony Seldon is to be believed – they're worth less than the money many spend on bursaries anyway.

All this is affecting only the most marginal of schools, of course. And Cognita is being picky about who it lets in.

But if the reaction to the first round of public benefit testing is anything to go by, more "charitable" schools could soon find themselves struggling to survive in their current form. And the rules that were meant to make schools act like charities could end up doing just the opposite.

[Hannah Bell]

10. another international one....

[Hannah Bell]

11. it gets better: "The Capita Group" is an *outsourcing* company. lol.

The Capita Group Plc (LSE: CPI), commonly known as Capita, is a business process outsourcing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest business process outsourcing company in the UK, with an overall market share of 27% in 2009, and has clients in central government, local government and the private sector.<2> It also has a property and infrastructure consultancy division which is the fourth largest multidisciplinary consultancy in the UK.<3> Roughly half of its turnover comes from the private sector and half from the public sector.<2>

Capita works across eight markets, being local government, central government, education, transport, health, life and pensions, insurance, and other private sector organisations (including financial services). Examples include television licence fee a contract won from the Post Office for the BBC; management of call centres for many government initiatives such as the London congestion charge (although this has recently transferred to IBM); and provision of IT services, including web hosting and helpdesk support, to many county and city councils, many LEAs, the Driving Standards Agency and the National Rail (NCCA).

Education services

SIMS.net - Schools Information Management Software a Management information system used in 95% of primary and secondary schools across the country to record many aspects of student data.<17> In March 2009, Capita SIMS was said to be responsible for sending a truancy warning notice to the family of a Cheshire school student who had died two months before.<18>

Individual Learning Account - A £290million scheme intended to give financial support to adult learners that was opened in 2000 and scrapped in 2001 following widespread and massive fraud.<19>

Connexions Card - A £109million scheme that involved issuing 16 to 19 year olds with smart cards that recorded their lesson attendance and rewarded them with discounts on consumer goods. It ran from 2002 until it was terminated in 2006 owing to lack of uptake.<20>

Education Maintenance Allowance for the Learning and Skills Council<21>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capita_Group

[Hannah Bell]

12. VT four

http://cpd.vtfours.co.uk/cpd/

VT Group is one of the largest school support service organisations in the country, providing consultancy, advice, training and development and project management to schools, local authorities and on behalf of central government.

We work with schools, extended services, local authorities, colleges, government departments and agencies to improve the life chances of Children and Young People. As the largest integrated school improvement service in the country we take an education-led approach that places the user at the heart of what we do.

We are a joint venture company owned by the VT Group and Surrey County Council, combining the best commercial practice with the values and principles of the public sector.

VT Four S Ltd is the school improvement and support service of VT Education and Skills (VTE&S) division of the VT Group. VTE&S incorporates a large careers, information and advice service and the UK's largest vocational training service. It is the third largest private sector education services provider in the country.

http://www.fours.co.uk/fours/index

VT Four S is part of the Babcock International Group.


Babcock International Group plc (LSE: BAB) is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK Ministry of Defence and Network Rail. The company has seven UK operating divisions and overseas operations based in Africa and North America. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Babcock International traces its history back to 1891 when the American Babcock & Wilcox Company established Babcock & Wilcox Limited as its United Kingdom subsidiary. <2>

The UK Company's sphere of operation was defined as 'the world except for North America and Cuba' which was the reserve of the US Babcock & Wilcox.<2> For a few years B&W boilers were built in the Singer Manufacturing Company's Kilbowie Works at Clydebank near Glasgow, Scotland.<2> In 1895 Babcock & Wilcox Ltd opened a new boilermaking works, based on the 33-acre (130,000 m2) site of the Porterfield Forge on the opposite side of the River Clyde near Renfrew.<2> The Renfrew Works grew to over 200 acres (0.81 km2) by the 1960s. The workload expanded as a result of the two world wars and the supply of defence equipment became another major business area. In the 1960s the company became involved in the development of the UK's nuclear power stations.<2>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babcock_International_Group


fyi: babcock & wilcox = one of those "republic of money" corps. old capital, big names.

[Hannah Bell]

13. united learning trust

The United Church Schools Trust (UCST) is a leading education charity which currently operates a family of 11 independent schools across the UK. Founded in 1883, UCST offers the stability of an organisation with a long-term commitment to education and the experience to run successful schools.

Our subsidiary charity the United Learning Trust (ULT) was established in 2002 to extend UCST's work and ethos into the state sector through the Academies Programme. ULT is the largest single sponsor of academies in the UK. Our 17 academies are inclusive and welcoming schools, where students of all faiths, backgrounds and abilities are valued and respected.

As members of the UCST/ULT family, our schools and academies share the objective of bringing out 'the best in everyone'.

Our family: embracing the private and public sectors

http://www.ucst.org.uk/

The United Learning Trust (ULT) is an education charity and the largest single sponsor of academies in the UK with 17 academies currently open.<1> ULT's objective is to bring out "the best in everyone", driving educational improvement across its family of academies and raising standards and aspirations for thousands of young people.<2> ULT academies are free of charge to attend. They are non-selective and are open to students of all abilities and backgrounds and all faiths and none.

ULT is one of the 50 largest UK charitable organisations.<5> Its central office is based in Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire. It is governed by a Board of Trustees and an Executive Team.<6><7>

ULT works in partnership with independent schools, universities and major UK and global corporations including Marlborough College, Winchester College, Warwick University, Sheffield Hallam University, Vodafone UK Foundation, Honda and Barclays. Through these partnerships, ULT seeks to enhance the opportunities available to its students and staff, enabling them to develop skills outside the classroom and gain insights into other sectors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Learning_Trust


http://www.ucst.org.uk/our-team/view/94

[Hannah Bell]

14. tribal education

Tribal is a leading provider of public sector
services in the UK and internationally.
Our service delivery, advisory and technology
solutions help improve the quality and effectiveness of
education, health and government services.

http://www.tribalgroup.com/Pages/Default.aspx


Tribal is a leading provider of consultancy, support and delivery services which enable our clients to meet their quality and efficiency goals. Our focus is on improving the planning and delivery of services worldwide for both government and private sector clients.

Tribal’s broad offering combines professional and technical expertise with an in-depth understanding of our chosen sectors. Our key areas of operation include education, health, financial management and the built environment.

We have the capability to develop bespoke solutions that correspond to our international clients’ cultural and local contexts.

Tribal has over 2,000 staff and our work spans over 40 countries across the globe.

http://www.tribalgroup.com/servicesandsectors/Pages/international.aspx


Investors Share Price
In this section of the website, we aim to provide investors with easy access to news and information about Tribal and the company’s performance.

Please visit our registrar's share portal to check your account details and dividend payments or register for electronic communications.

You can subscribe to our RSS feed for email updates straight to your inbox. Our share price monitor enables you to track changes over time and download data into Excel.


http://www.tribalgroup.com/Investors/Pages/Welcome.aspx

[Hannah Bell]

15. tpp law

TPP Law Limited is a British law firm with its principal office in Bankside central London. It is the only UK law firm to focus exclusively on creating public-private partnerships and contracts for public service delivery. The UK Government has an active policy of encouraging private sector and third sector management skills and capital in public service delivery through contracting.<1>

TPP Law is a specialist law firm with a clear and unique focus on supporting public services partnerships and projects. The firm's clients range from large public sector organisations to embryonic social enterprises and from charities and not-for-profits to commercial businesses entering public service contracts, partnerships and joint ventures. The firm is particularly involved in the sectors of education, healthcare, social care, leisure services and outsourcing of local authority 'back office' services.

Education

In the education sector, the firm works with local authorities, contractors and service providers participating in the UK Government's Building Schools for the Future programme and academy schools programme, as well as the outsourcing of educational ICT services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPP_Law_Limited

[Hannah Bell]

16. synarbor

Support Services

As the UK's leading 'Integrated Services Provider', Synarbor has been able to carve a niche role within the Public Sector as a specialist in 'frontline' support solutions.
We are unique in our cognitive approach to resourcing, planning, support, management and outplacements. Synarbor has always prided itself on delivering efficiency through the accuracy of its provision.

Schools and Children

We are working with school groups, trusts and prospective ‘free schools’ initiators, to form operational partnerships whilst matching services to their needs and requirements.

Our teams are working across the country to improve educational outcomes, assist growth, structure scalable models and help to deliver the correct education provision or provider.

Our teams will partner to deliver:

• Assistance with joint working partnership and Federation
• Assistance with Academy transformation
• Learning & Development
• Human capital
• Spend mapping
• Procurement leverage
• Business Process Outsourcing (e.g. Compliance, vetting, payroll, HR, administration etc)
• Skills Gap Analysis and mapping
• Leadership structuring & re-structuring
• Turnaround, improvement and mentor teams
• Subject Matter Experts/Trainers & Advisors
• Single entry Education Management Portal (Covering all education tools & applications within any school or group of schools)

http://www.synarboreducation.com/?pid=343&sid=490


Overseas Recruitment
Synarbor Education works with schools and educational networks across the entire globe. We are constantly looking for good, reputable qualified primary and secondary teachers to teach either the National Curriculum or the International Baccalaureate.

The International teams have numerous positions in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. We are looking for motivated teachers with a sense of adventure to apply for our fantastic international positions.

http://www.synarboreducation.com/?pid=342&sid=352

Are you an International school?
Synarbor Education has a proven track record in the UK, and is firmly established as one of the leading recruitment companies in the sector. With our strong team of experienced teachers and recruitment professionals in the UK and overseas, we are successfully moving forward with our work in Asia, New Zealand and Australia and look forward to being part of your school’s success for 2010 and thereafter.


We source quality teachers from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and South Africa supported by our 16 offices across the UK, and our international offices in Australia and Canada.

At Synarbor, we understand the importance of keeping your students safe, we ensure all of our candidates and very own staff complete our online safeguarding training.

By the time our teachers reach you, they will have received a thorough briefing about what to expect once they arrive (if from overseas) culturally, socially and professionally. We ensure they feel supported and ready to commit to your school and your students.

We are confident that our teachers will commit to you and your school and will only put forward teachers willing to commit to a one year contract, if not two years.


http://www.synarboreducation.com/?pid=343&sid=405

[Hannah Bell]

17. serco = RCA!

Serco Group plc (LSE: SRP) is a business services company based in Hook, North Hampshire in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Serco was founded in 1929 as a United Kingdom division of the Radio Corporation of America and initially provided services to the cinema industry.<2> It changed its name to Serco in 1987<2> and has been a London Stock Exchange listed company since 1988....

Serco operates in various sectors:

Transport: Serco operates London's Docklands Light Railway,<5> Woolwich Ferry<6> and Cycle Hire scheme<7> (all for Transport for London), and Great Southern Railways in Australia.<8> Serco also has a joint venture with NedRailways, the UK arm of Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, to operate passenger trains in the UK: Serco-NedRailways has a 25 year concession for Merseyrail in Liverpool and operates Northern Rail services in the north of England.<9> Serco also operates the Dubai Metro.<10> Serco formerly operated the Copenhagen Metro with Ansaldo STS, until selling its share with effect from 1 January 2008.<11> In addition, Serco Rail Operations operates infrastructure monitoring trains in the UK.<12> Serco's Home Affairs division, run by Tom Riall, also operates speed camera systems throughout the UK and designs, writes and tests the software that controls the matrix message signs, signals, emergency roadside telephones (SOS) and traffic monitoring on England's motorway network including the National Traffic Control Centre....

Detention: Serco supplies electronic tagging devices for offenders and asylum seekers.<15> In Britain, Serco runs four prisons, a Young Offenders Institution and a Secure Training Centre.<16> It also operates two Immigration Removal Centres.<17><18> Serco is also responsible for the contracted-out court escort services in the south-east area (formerly a role undertaken by HM Prison Service).<19> In addition, Serco runs Hunfeld Prison in Germany.<20> In Australia Serco runs Acacia Prison in Western Australia<21> and Borallon Correctional Facility in Queensland...

Defence: Serco holds defence contracts worldwide including the UK Government’s first modern outsourced contract for the operation and maintenance of the UK Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at RAF Fylingdales;<23> contracts are also held for the operation and maintenance of RAF Brize Norton,<24> RAF Halton<25> and RAF Northolt<25> in the UK and RAF Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic.<25> Serco also provides support services to garrisons in Australia.<26> Serco also manages many aspects of operations at the Defence College of Management and Technology in Shrivenham.<27> Serco is one of three partners in the consortium which manages the Atomic Weapons Establishment....

Education: Serco holds a 10 year contract with Bradford City Council to manage and operate the local education authority,<35> providing education support services to the City's schools, and similarly manages and operates Walsall<36> and Stoke-on-Trent local education authorities.<37> Serco is one of Ofsted's three Regional Inspection Service Providers, responsible for school inspections in the English Midlands.<38> Serco is also the provider of a Student information system, Facility, used in schools and colleges in several countries....

much more. criminy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serco_Group


Firm that does the dirty work for government on the cheap September 25, 2010

Serco, the detention centre operator, rides the privatisation wave, writes Nick O'Malley.

ON MONDAY before the 36-year-old Fijian Josefa Rauluni fell to his death from a rooftop at Villawood detention centre, staff of the British company managing the centre, Serco, hauled mattresses to the footpath to break his fall. It was a busy day for Serco.

In Ireland its employees were managing the nation's traffic lights. In the US they were running prisons, border security and defence systems. Public transport kept them busy in Dubai and South Australia. Welfare-to-work programs, schools, prisons and detention centres (or ''custodial accommodation'' in company literature) were administered in Britain. Serco people were building military hospitals in Germany and helping to decommission US military bases in Iraq.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/firm-that-does-the-dirty-work-for-government-on-the-cheap-20100924-15ql1.html

They're at spy central, too: Serco North america in reston, va:

Serco Inc. is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services focused on the federal government. Our customer-first approach, robust portfolio of services, and global experience enable us to respond with innovative solutions that achieve outcomes that matter. Serco Inc. is part of an international service company with employees around the world. To read more about our parent company, Serco Group plc, click here.

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In 1897, Marconi’s successful development of trans-Atlantic radio communications and his drive to expand this capability resulted in the establishment of an American communications company named Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA assumed all the assets of the Marconi Wireless Company in America so that all technological development of radio communications for the U.S. Armed Forces would come under the auspices of the U.S. Government via a wholly-owned American entity.

RCA’s success in America soon turned to the market on the other side of the Atlantic. On September 10, 1929, RCA set up the first RCA subsidiary in the UK—this is what we traditionally consider to be the “start” of Serco. In 1959, an RCA subsidiary in Great Britain negotiated a contract to install and commission an early warning radar station at RAF Fylingdales as part of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System project. This contract, awarded in 1960, secured the future for RCA in the UK. RCA now had evolved with demonstrable capabilities in the field of technical support for the most complex antenna and radar communication networks.

In 1969, RCA organized itself into operational divisions, one of these divisions was focused on service, and so it came about that the RCA Service Division was formed—the part of the company that would eventually be purchased by its management and staff and renamed Serco.

Bringing Service to Life in North America

Serco established its North American foothold in 1988 when it was incorporated, acquiring companies that shared a similar vision of transforming how public services are delivered.

In 2005, Serco acquired Resource Consultants Inc. (RCI), which expanded its capabilities in IT services, systems engineering, strategic consulting and HR-focused business process management. Then, in 2008 Serco acquired SI International, further broadening its capabilities in IT and professional services in North America and gaining new federal government and DoD relationships.

Serco now employs more than 11,500 people in over 100 locations across North America. The company delivers essential information technology and management services to all branches of the U.S. military, federal civilian agencies, state and local agencies, and commercial customers. Serco has access to over 200 contracts with capabilities in the areas of National Security & Intelligence, IT & Professional Services, Human Capital Management and Engineering & Logistics.

http://www.serco-na.com/Default.aspx?Area=AboutUsNew&Subarea=HistoryNew&Page=HistoryNew


RCA: More republic of money players

The incorporation of the assets of Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (including David Sarnoff<5>), the Pan-American Telegraph Company and those already controlled by the United States Navy led to a new publicly held company formed by General Electric (which owned a controlling interest) on 17 October 1919.<6>

The subsequent cooperation among RCA, General Electric, United Fruit, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and AT&T laid the groundwork for significant developments in point-to-point and broadcast radio, including the new National Broadcasting Company. The Navy turned over to RCA the former American Marconi radio stations appropriated during the war. Admiral Bullard received a seat on the RCA Board of Directors for his efforts in establishing RCA. The end result was government-created monopolies in radio for GE and Westinghouse and in telephone for AT&T.

GE used RCA as its retail arm for radio sales from 1919, when GE began production, until separation in 1930.<9> Westinghouse also marketed home radios through RCA until 1930.<[br />
Separation from General Electric
In 1930 the US Department of Justice brought antitrust charges against RCA, General Electric and Westinghouse. As a result, GE and Westinghouse gave up their ownership interests in RCA. RCA was allowed to keep its radio manufacturing facilities, and GE and Westinghouse were allowed to compete in that business after a 30-month interval.

RCA was one of the eight major computer companies (along with IBM, Burroughs, Control Data Corporation, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR and UNIVAC) through most of the 1960s. RCA marketed the Spectra 70 Series (70/15, 70/25, 70/35, 70/45, 70/46, 70/55, 70/60, 70/61) that were compatible with IBM’s 360 series and the RCA Series (RCA 2, 3, 6, 7) competing against the IBM 370.

Business and financial conditions led to RCA's takeover by GE in 1986 and its subsequent break-up...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA

[Hannah Bell]

18. Place group

Place Group partners with schools, clusters of schools and local authorities to deliver educational excellence, raise standards and improve life chances for young people, by:

Supporting schools in converting to Academies ...more>
Supporting parent/teacher groups in establishing
Free Schools ...more>
Helping groups of schools realise benefits through
collaboration ...more>
Partnering with Trusts and Social Enterprises to help
run schools and groups of schools ...more>
Partnering with local authorities to manage change
across the new educational landscape ...more>

http://www.place-group.com/

Place has developed a number of strategic partnerships with outstanding organisations that complement our mission of improving life chances for young people and their communities. We work alongside our partners across a broad range of initiatives and programmes, always seeking to drive innovation and develop implementation plans for our clients that offer quality and value for money, and contribute to increasing standards and outcomes for young people.

To visit each partner’s website, please just click on the logo.

http://www.place-group.com/partners.html

[Hannah Bell]

19. Oasis Community Learning/Oasis Trust

Oasis Trust (known as "Oasis") is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by Rev Steve Chalke in August 1985, who had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. His aim was to open a hostel for homeless young people.

Over the last 25 years Oasis Trust has developed into a family of charities now working on five continents and 11 countries around the world, to deliver housing, education, training, youthwork and healthcare. Oasis is now a significant voluntary sector provider, delivering services for local authorities and national governments, as well as self funded initiatives aimed at providing opportunity to people across the globe.

Oasis now has over 400 staff, students and volunteers involved in projects related to education, health and housing in the UK and worldwide.

Oasis Community Learning<4> is a subsidiary charity formed by Oasis Trust as an umbrella group to govern the Oasis Academies: nine secondary schools classed as academies.

The Oasis Trust has also spawned a communications company, Oasis Media, which provides services to charitable and not-for-profit organisations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_Trust

Not sure if this is affiliated -- looks like it's training nurses in india:

http://www.oasiseducation.com/html/aboutus.php

Education Loan SchemeThe Scheme provides financial assistance to deserving students to undertake basic education and to the meritorious students to pursue higher professional / technical education in India and abroad.

Purpose

To meet the tuition and other fmnees/Examination/Library/Laboratory fee, cost of books/Purchase of computers / equipments / instruments and the cost of passage for studies abroad. Caution deposit/building fund/refundable deposit supported by institution bills / receipts can be finances. Any other expenses required to complete the course like study tours, project work, thesis etc. can also be financed.

http://www.oasiseducation.com/html/loan.php

Highlights of the Institution
1.The Biggest Professional education Group in India
2.Separate hostel for girls and boys
3.Bank loan facility
4.Malayalee Students and staff
5.Spoken English classes
6.Free CGFNS, IELTS Training programme
7.America Requires 2 lack nurses

Campus Selection/ Placement Cell
100% placement assurance. All the students have been highly placed in premier institutions with in the country and abroad immediately through in campus selection.

http://www.oasiseducation.com/html/facilities.php#placement


Welcome to Oasis Global
Website portal for the Oasis global family
Oasis has a vision
It's a vision to see every person given the opportunity to experience God ’s all encompassing love

It's a vision to see both individuals and whole communities transformed by His presence

It's a vision to see every local church once again take its place at the centre of its community

It's a vision to see the poor lifted up

It's a vision to confront injustice, tackle deprivation, challenge inequality and promote inclusion

It is this vision that we invite you to be a part of.

Together we can make a difference.

http://www.oasisglobal.org/aboutus.htm

[Hannah Bell]

20. mouchel -- another services & outsourcer

Mouchel (LSE: MCHL) is a consulting and business services group that provides many of the design managerial and engineering services that support modern society. Such as highways, business process outsourcing, water, rail, property, housing, education, energy, waste, environmental and local government consultancy services in the UK and internationally. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Mouchel was founded in Briton Ferry in 1897<1> by Louis Gustave Mouchel, who arrived in the UK from France with a licence to use the new technique of reinforcing concrete using iron bars that was developed by François Hennebique.<1> Liverpool's Royal Liver Building, photographed here in 1909 and designed by Mouchel, was reported at the time as being Britain's first 'skyscraper'

On 16 October 2007, Mouchel Parkman rebranded as 'Mouchel', changing its stance from being a 'professional support services group' to a 'consulting and business services group'...Mouchel is the second largest employer of technical staff in the UK behind Atkins, the second largest provider of UK public sector outsourced services, also after Atkins, and the fifth largest technical consultant in the UK by fees rendered behind Atkins, Mott MacDonald, Arup and WSP.

Mouchel's education business provides services for individual schools, groups of schools and local authorities, as well as local authority support for the UK government's 'Every Child Matters' agenda, which seeks to improve the outcomes for children. In October 2007 its 50:50 joint venture with Babcock – mpb education – was named preferred bidder by the London Borough of Hackney to deliver its £167 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouchel

[Starry Messenger]

21. G.E.M.S.

GEMS (Global Education
Management Systems)
Education
Type: privately owned company

Key personnel
Founder and chairman: Sunny Varkey
Chief executive: Zenna Atkins
(previously chair of Ofsted)

Financial background
Turnover: £17.3 million (31 Aug 2009)
Operating loss: £0.9 million (31 Aug 2009)

Services provided
Part of the Varkey family holding group, GEMS
Education manages an international network
of schools in Europe, Asia and North America,
providing education to nearly 100,000 students
in 125 countries and employing 9,000 education
professionals in approximately 60 schools.
It claims to be the “…largest kindergarten to
grade 12 private school operator in the world”.

Comment
GEMS Education originally intended to be one
of the leading chains of UK independent schools
acquiring a chain of 13 schools. It had to sell
Kingswood College in Lancashire because the
Grade 1 listed building was simply too expensive to
run profitably, according to The assignment report.
GEMS Education intends to be a ‘major player’
in running the coalition government’s new free
schools programme. Speaking at a conference
in London former chief executive, Anders Hultin,
stated that “the profit motive is essential for
such projects to work”. He believes success is
dependent upon being given autonomy from
local authority control. He also said he felt England
would eventually reconcile itself to privatisation
in education when it saw the results. (Times
educational supplement, 21 May 2010)


http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-157085617.html


Article: Edison Schools and Global Education Management Systems Announce International Alliance.

Enter into Licensing Arrangement for Public Schools Abroad

Education Pioneers to Launch New Private Schools Company

New Management Assignments Announced

NEW YORK -- Two of the world's leading K-12 education companies today announced an alliance designed to expand their respective operations around the world.

New York-based Edison Schools, the largest manager of U.S. and U.K. public schools, and Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), the largest private school operator in the Middle East, China and India, have become the founding partners in a new company that will build a network of private schools. Campuses will be launched in major cities around the world.

In addition, Edison Schools will license its intellectual property and brand to GEMS for the management of public schools in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Asia.

<snip>

Edison Schools, founded in 1992, serves more than 285,000 public school students in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom through multiple educational offerings, from the full operation of schools to tutoring and summer schools. It employs approximately 6,000 full-time professionals and many thousands more in part time roles. More information is available at www.edisonschools.com.

GEMS manages approximately 100 private schools, some dating back 40 years, in the UAE, England, India, and other countries with a total enrollment of over 70,000 students. GEMS employs over 6,000 educational professionals and provides education for children of more than 100 nationalities. It is skilled in multiple international educational programs.

The Varkey Group

http://www.dubaifaqs.com/varkey-group.php

http://www.nriinternet.com/MIDDLE%20EAST/Dubai/Sunny_Varkey/4_Education_profit%20.htm

I recently spoke to the self-made millionaire, who chatted with me via speakerphone in his car while driving through Dubai. 'We have budget, mid-market and premium schools,' he says. 'Think about Mercedes-Benz: you've got S-class to E-class, but there's quality running all the way through. We have the same thing. Take another analogy. On an airplane, you've got economy, business and first class. There are some things that are common in each class but, at the same time, there are things that are different.'

These are unsettling analogies. While we are all born into different circumstances - rich or poor, with apparently limitless opportunities or seemingly none at all - the role of the state should be to level the playing field, not to exacerbate inequality. And to the extent that for-profit education necessarily promotes the latter, its mission seems misguided.

But whether you're a committed free marketeer or a diehard socialist, the real questions aren't ideological, but practical. How will for-profit education impact society? Will economy, business and first classes of early education increase social inequality? And, most simply, how can a businessman like Varkey offer more (or the same) for less?

'Education is a highly labor-intensive activity, with wages usually accounting for 80 percent or more of the school budget,' says Henry Levin, a professor at Columbia University.

'This means that the main cost-cutting opportunities lie in cutting personnel costs by using either cheaper personnel or fewer of them. Thus for-profit schools may use more part-time personnel (forgoing staff benefits), less experienced teachers whose salaries are lower, larger class sizes or shorter school days.'

Worldwide, for-profits schools are a relatively recent phenomenon. But some studies have been done and, from the point of view of a parent, the results are not encouraging.

Levin points to the example of Chile, where for-profit schools have existed for more than two decades. 'For-profit schools have lowered their costs by hiring part-time teachers, paying lower salaries and enlarging class size,' Levin says. The impact on educational achievement is obvious.

Hurl.

http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/edison-go-round.html

Edison-Go-Round

EdisonLearning, the school management company founded by Chris Whittle in the early 1990s, has fired it CEO, Terry Stecz, two years after he replaced Whittle. In a memo to Edison staffers, Michael Stakias, the president of Liberty Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that is Edison’s majority owner, announced that Jeff Wahl, Edison’s chief operating officer since 2007, would replace Stecz immediately. Before joining Edison, Wahl spent 15 years in various management roles at General Electric. Maybe Liberty’s hoping he’s got the right background to illuminate a path to profitability at a company named for the inventor of the lightbulb.

Stecz apparently didn’t. He was working in management at Pharmacia, the $14-billion heathcare company with products that included Celebrex and Nicorette, when Liberty recruited him to be Edison’s COO in 2004. He became Edison’s CEO when Liberty pushed Whittle out of the company’s management in early 2007. Stecz struggled, with little apparent success, to shake off Edison troubled legacy as a controversial, unprofitable school management company, going so far as to change the company’s name earlier this year from Edison Schools, Inc, to EdisonLearning and announce a move into on-line education.

Whittle hasn’t fared much better that his successor. The high-living entrepreneur set out to launch an international network of high-end for-profit private schools when he left Edison in early 2007, only to depart his new company, Nations Academy, last summer in the wake of a falling out with his major investor, Sunny Varkey of Dubai.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=E.G._West_Centre


E.G. West Centre
From SourceWatch
Jump to: navigation, search

The E.G. West Centre, established in March 2002, is the UK’s only university research centre dedicated to understanding and developing market solutions in education. It us based in the School of Education, University of Newcastle, UK. It was named after Professor Edwin G. West who died on October 6, 2001. <1> <2>

Its advisory council is populated largely by members of libertarian think-tank networks, including the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. It was formed by James Tooley, Pauline Dixon, and James Stanfield after they developed their course for the School of Education called Educational Freedom: A Global Perspective <3>.

The expenses of the Education Freedom course, and a cash prize, were awarded by the International Freedom Project of the John Templeton Foundation.


Contents


* 1 Staff
* 2 Advisory Council
* 3 References
* 4 Resources
* 5 Notes

Staff

* Professor James Tooley, Director (also of Institute of Economic Affairs)
* Dr Pauline Dixon, Research Associate
* James Stanfield, Executive Secretary
* Baolong Fan, Phd student

Advisory Council

* Nizam Ahmad Director, Making Our Economy Right
* Dr Peter J Boettke Deputy Director, James Buchanan Centre for Political Economy
* Lawrence Chen Director of Education, SIWA Corporation
* Matthew J. Brouillette President, Commonwealth Foundation
* Andrew Coulson Senior Fellow, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
* Eustace Davie Director, Free Market Foundation
* Douglas D Dewey Vice President, Children's Scholarship Fund
* Steven Ferris Professor, Carleton University
* Chester E. Finn, Jr. President, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
* Stephen P. Heyneman Professor, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
* Dr Terence Kealey Vice Chancellor, Buckingham University
* Dr Martin Krause Dean, ESEADE Graduate School
* Jane Hofmeyr Director, Independent Schools Association
* Dr Tam Man Kwan Dept of Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong
* Norman LaRocque Policy Advisor, New Zealand Business Roundtable
* Prudence Leith OBE Chairman, 3E's Enterprises Ltd
* Dr Myron Lieberman Chairman, Education Policy Institute
* Greg Lindsey Executive Director, The Centre for Independent Studies
* Dr Jack Maas Former Lead Edu Specialist, International Finance Corp
* Dr John Merrifield Prof of Economics, University of Texas
* Andres Mejia-Vergnaud General Director, Fundacion DL
* Dr Kenneth Minogue Professor of Political Science, LSE

Dr Sugata Mitra Director, Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems, NIIT

* Barun Mitra Director, Liberty Institute
* Rajendra S Pawar Vice Chairman & MD, NIIT Ltd
* Ronald Perkinson Lead Education Specialist, International Finance Corporation
* Professor Sir Alan Peacock Consultant Economist, David Hume Institute
* Dr George Psacharopoulos Former World Bank Advisor
* Dr Duncan Reekie Bradlow Prof of Industrial Economics, Wits University
* Michael Sandler Chairman, Eduventures
* Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. Chairman, Edison Schools
* Prof Lord Robert Skidelsky Prof of Political Economy, Warwick University
* Parth Shah Director, Centre for Civil Society
* Jose Luis Tapia-Rocha President, Instituto de Libre Empresa
* Sunny Varkey Chairman, Varkey Group
* Hu wei Director, Non-Government Education Institute
* Y.C. Richard Wong Professor, Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research
* Chris Woodhead Research Professor, Buckingham University

References

* James Tooley, Pauline Dixon, and James Stanfield, "<http://www.atlasusa.org/programs/pdf/2001_ifp_unitedkingdom_newcastle.pdf[br /> * Educational Freedom: A Global Perspective]", University of Newcastle, 2001


Resources

* Spinprofiles E. G. West Centre

________________________________________________

James Tooley:

http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/tooley1.htm

SHOULD THE PRIVATE SECTOR
PROFIT FROM EDUCATION?

Keynote speech delivered to the Business of Education Forum,
May 11, 1999, by professor James Tooley of the
University of Newcastle, England

[Hannah Bell]

22. lilac sky schools

- Lilac Sky Schools, 4 Nov 2009

Trevor Averre-Beeson and his team have turned around 3 London Schools in the last 10 years. Their successes include the high-profile transformation of Islington Green School, in North London. The once struggling inner-city school became a symbol of educational failure in the 1990's, hitting the headlines when Tony Blair rejected it for his children. Under Averre-Beeson's leadership, the school passed its inspection in the space of 9 months.

In each of three Headships the team adopted their 'Lilac Sky Strategy', seeing exam results double, and exclusions fall. In the third school exclusions fell from 200 to zero in 18 months.

It is a strategy developed over the last decade that will bring about root and branch improvement to your school, using methods described by Ofsted as "visionary and transformational". This approach enabled Islington Green to move from a failed inspection to a 'good' outcome within 9 months.

Put simply, the Lilac Sky Strategy has seven components:

Positive Discipline

We will help you to become a calm, well behaved, low exclusion school, which means you can become proactive in leading your school to success - no longer fire-fighting on a daily basis.

Teaching Quality

Lilac Sky's systematic approach raises teaching standards by 75% within the first year, which will enable you to focus on raising GCSE scores, including English and Maths. With more effective staff, the search for 'hard to get' shortage subject specialists can stop.

Assessment

Our complete ICT-based approach to assessment plus administrative package, provides comprehensive support for your teachers, students and parents, thereby allowing you to lead your school more effectively.

The School Environment

Lilac Sky’s Design team will take care of your classrooms and corridors, helping you to radically improve your school’s ethos and learning environment, take more care over your carbon footprint and have a more relaxed school.

Pastoral Support

Our approach will deliver zero exclusions using a totally inclusive approach and allowing you to be proactive in dealing with student and family issues before they reach crisis point. Parents who could have been your enemies become powerful allies.

School Organisational Capacity

We will help remove the struggle of the day to day organisation of every aspect of school business. Assisting with finances, premises management, audit systems and administrative processes, thus enabling you - and your team to focus on student progress - the job they trained for!

Communications and Public Relations

Lilac Sky’s Design and Communications team will ensure that you build a good self image and positive profile with the public, that reflects your school’s growing reputation. Year 7 will become over-subscribed when the community discovers what a great school you have and recruitment stops being a major issue.

The head of this org has an ugly personal PR website:

Trevor Averre Beeson

http://www.trevoraverrebeeson.com/


Trevor Averre-Beeson, FRSA is a British schoolteacher who became the youngest secondary Headteacher in the UK,<1> when he was appointed, in 1996, Head of Mayfield School, Redbridge, London, a post he held for 7 years.

A decade earlier, and within a few years of qualifying, Trevor Averre-Beeson had attained a head of year position at the Boswells Comprehensive School, quickly progressing to become the Head of the School's Six form College in 1988. He moved to Islington Green School in 2002. Islington Green had a troubled past; it was criticised for allowing its students to sing “We don't need no education” on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall. In 2001 the school failed its OFSTED inspection and was deemed to be in need of Special Measures.

Nine months after Averre-Beeson joined the school it passed its inspection and the Registered Inspector described him as “Visionary and Transformational” – communicating his effective vision to parents, teachers and students alike. In 2004 Tony Blair’s former speech writer Peter Hyman joined the school and wrote his book One out of ten, comparing Averre-Beeson's leadership style favourably with Blair. Hyman and Averre-Beeson worked together to start the process of Islington Green becoming an Academy in 2008.<3>

In 2007 Averre-Beeson was appointed Executive Head of Salisbury School in North London by the private firm Edison Schools.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Averre-Beeson

[Hannah Bell]

23. Kunskapsskolan: swedish school chain from sweden's version of ed deform expanding into uk

Kunskapsskolan (translates as the knowledge school) is a Swedish school that provides education for students from grades 6 to 9 (ages 12 to 16) in elementary school. They also offer a gymnasium schools for grades 10 to 12 (ages 16 to 19) in different areas of Sweden. They function differently from the public schools in Sweden, usually offering more freedom in studies than the public school system does. It focuses on the pupils' own abilities to take responsibility.

Kunskapsskolan is Sweden's largest non-governmental school, with 22 elementary schools and ten gymnasium schools.<1>

All Kunskapsskolan schools are built by the architect Kenneth Gärdestad, brother of the Swedish pop singer Ted Gärdestad. The architecture is very open, with glass than the colourfully painted walls. The founder of the school is named Anders Hultin.

Kunskapsskolan is currently working on opening three schools in the UK: Holywells High School in Ipswich, Suffolk<2>; Hampton Community College in Richmond upon Thames, London and Whitton School in Twickenham, London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunskapsskolan

[Hannah Bell]

24. Internationella Engelska Skolan = another swedish/american/brit private ed corp, moving into the uk

(IES), or the International English School is a Swedish corporation that consists of several Independent schools (or “free schools”). IES was founded in 1993.<1> by Barbara Bergström, an American by origin and a science teacher by profession. She is still the sole owner of the company and its working chairman. CEO is the Britt Peter John Fyles.

IES school are based on the idea of bilingual education, with up to half of the teaching in English, performed by native English speaking teachers recruited from Britain, USA, Canada, etc. Other vital elements are “tough love”-creating “a calm and secure work environment in which teachers can teach and students learn”- and “high academic expectations”. Restaurant type school lunches is also part of the concept. IES show results on the Swedish national tests far above average.

Currently, 2010-11, IES operates 17 schools in Sweden with 9 000 students, mainly middle schools (grades 4-9) in Enskede, Järfälla, Linköping, Örebro, Gävle, Bromma, Täby, Eskilstuna, Karlstad, Sundsvall, Jönköping, Nacka, Göteborg och Borås and 1 Sixth Form College (Södermalm in Stockholm). Education is paid for by the national voucher system. Public money goes to the school of choice. IES schools are certified by the National Schools Inspectorate. They are free of charge for the students. Students are admitted on a first come first served basis.

The company has a turnover of 680 million SEK (appr 60 million GBP) and 800 employed. Its head quarter is located in Täby north of Stockholm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internationella_Engelska_Skolan

http://www.engelska.se/


The Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES) network in Stockholm – Sweden’s fastest-growing network of independent schools – says it is looking forward to a bright future, in partnership with CIE.

IES currently has 14 existing schools and is one of Sweden’s largest bilingual education groups. Cambridge IGCSE is already well established in Sweden through the IES group, and increasing numbers of students are progressing to Cambridge International A/AS Level.

Recently, Val Sismey, CIE Manager, Programmes and Progression, arranged a meeting for staff and students at the IES group with Richard Partington, Senior Tutor, Churchill College, Cambridge and Dr Caroline Burt, Admissions Tutor, Pembroke College, Cambridge. They discussed local progression pathways and Cambridge University’s admission process.

Damien Brunker, Head of Academics at IES, said his organisation’s core mission was to support schools that provided an international education supporting the very best in bilingual teaching. He said: ‘Our recent partnership with CIE has enhanced this aspect immeasurably. Aligning Cambridge qualifications with the National Swedish Curriculum was easier than anticipated. Our future partnership with Cambridge looks bright.

http://www.engelska.se/

[Hannah Bell]

25. harris federation - carpet magnate's ed chain - bill gates has 3% stake in the carpet biz

Harris Federation is a federation of secondary academies in South London, England. There are currently seven open academies (with two more to follow in September 2009) in the federation which span over four London boroughs including the London Borough of Croydon, London Borough of Southwark, London Borough of Bexley and the London Borough of Merton. The academies' sponsor is Phil Harris (Lord Harris of Peckham), owner of Carpetright. The federation is a not-for-profit charitable organisation whose stated key aim is "to promote the education of young people in South London". Unusually in education, the Harris Federation represents an attempt to develop a distinctive "brand" in education. The group is generally oversubscribed and is achieving rapidly improving results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris_Federation


Philip Charles Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham (born 15 September in Peckham, South London, England, 1942) is a Conservative member of the House of Lords and businessman

Harris is the chairman of Carpetright plc and has over 40 years’ experience in carpet retailing and is one of the best known names in the business. He was chairman and chief executive of Harris Carpets. Harris Carpets acquired Queensway in 1977 to become Harris Queensway plc until the company was taken over in 1988. Lord Harris was also a non-executive director of Great Universal Stores plc for 18 years, retiring from the GUS Board in July 2004. Lord Harris became a non-executive director of Matalan in October 2004.

He was made a Life peer as Baron Harris of Peckham, of Peckham in the London Borough of Southwark in 1996.

He has contributed extensively to education and as a result, many schools and colleges (such as Harris Manchester College, Oxford) bears his name. Through the Harris Federation, many secondary schools in Southwark have received Harris donations. In the London Borough of Croydon, he helped to found the Harris City Technology College , Harris Academy South Norwood and the Harris Academy Purley, although many local residents are angered that the original name of the school, Stanley Technical High School, was dropped in place of the Harris name.<1>

Lord Harris ranked 206th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, with an estimated wealth of £285m. (2004 162nd £254m, 2005 192nd £250m).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Harris,_Baron_Harris_of_Peckham


Carpetright plc (LSE: CPR) is one of the largest British retailers of floor coverings. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

In 2008 Cascade Investments LLC, Bill Gates's investment vehicle, acquired a 3% stake in the Company.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpetright_plc


little quid pro quo there, maybe?

[Starry Messenger]

26. ABC Academies

ABC Academies

Type: charity

Key personnel
Dick Ewen (former headteacher, Islington Arts
and Media School) leads ABC Academies with
a team of a headteacher and three business
people volunteers.

Financial background
No financial information publicly available at the
time of going to press.

Services provided
ABC Academies intends to establish itself as a
charity. It hopes to run up to eight free primary
schools in west London from 2011.

Comment
ABC Academies’ website states: “Our schools
will be independent, high quality and private but
completely free to attend as they will be paid for
by the government.” The organisation leafleted
the Shepherd’s Bush area, where it hopes to
open its first free school, resulting in about 80
parents signing up to the scheme.


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23862440-free-schools-firm-targets-london-parents.do

Free schools firm targets London parents
Mark Blunden
02.08.10


A firm is “drumming up” support for eight London free schools despite having no funding or yet being registered as a charity.

ABC Academies, which claims on its website to be a charity, has been leafleting Shepherd's Bush.

Rosa Vane, a spokeswoman for ABC Charities, said: “Maybe we did jump the gun a bit in terms of the leaflets but we have had huge support from parents and we will become a charity.

“Shepherd's Bush is an under-served area in terms of schools and parent are telling us they can't get into schools.”

About 80 parents have signed up for the scheme, which hopes to secure funding from government and City livery companies to open its first school next year.

<snip>

ABC's leaflet campaign is within the free school rules set out by the Department for Education, which said backs bids as long as they have the support of parents.

Its managing director, Jonathan Woods, also runs Schools Plus, a “halls for hire” firm that last year had a turnover of almost £600,000.

From the comments on this story:

I bet the leaflet doesn't mention that the "free" school scheme is based on the Swedish model and that Sweden is now limiting the freedoms of the "free" schools. Research has also shown that Sweden has dropped in the international educational comparisons, whereas the UK hasn't.

The leaflet also won't tell you that "free" schools (which aren't free at all) increase social divisions and damage social cohesion. They benefit the better off at the cost of the rest.

There is no provision in the Academies Act 2010 for action if the schools fail or actively damage children's education. The fact that for profit businesses are lining up should tell you that the motivation is not education but money. Local authorities do not share that motivation, whatever their weakness.

In Sandwell a school which was rated as outstanding has gone into special measures as a result of becoming an academy. The local authority is absolutely powerless to intervene. A higher percentage of academies has been failed by Ofsted than local authority schools.

This is an extremely dangerous and elitist path that Gove has embarked on and should be opposed at all levels.

Finally, if it is such a good idea, why won't the Department of Education release a list of the groups which have applied to set up "free" schools. What is the great secret about it in the "big, open society"

- Jane, London, 03/08/2010 12:08

[Starry Messenger]

27. Appleyards

Appleyards

Type: private company

Key personnel

Non-executive chairman: Bob Heathfield
Chief executive: Colin Morrell
Director of education services: Ros Fox
Dr Kate Reynolds, formerly director of education
and children’s services with Mouchel, spearheads
its strategic business development.

Financial background
Turnover: £13.4 million (31 Mar 2009)
Operating profit: £0.6 million (31 Mar 2009)

Services provided
Appleyards provides consultancy and support
services to the public, private and third sectors in
the commercial, leisure, health, and government
and local authority sectors.
It provides education consultancy at every level
of the education system from nursery to further
education, including: Building Schools for the
Future consultancy, academies and trust schools
consultancy, and education project management.
It runs HEADLINE, a new training programme for
school senior leadership teams.
It has worked with sponsors and the former
Department for Children, Schools and Families
to open 9 academies across the country, and is
currently working on a further 11 to be delivered
before September 2011.

Comment
Appleyards is currently offering help to local
authorities, schools, colleges or universities,
charities and parents wanting to set up free
schools. This includes establishing a business
plan and helping to write a winning application,
providing help in identifying sources of funding,
determining the curriculum, recruitment and ICT,
and helping with marketing of the new school.
for Kids)


Not a lot of info on this one, though it's odd that a business consultancy company with a Chairman whose background is in the construction sector has a teacher training program.

http://www.appleyards.co.uk/services/education/headline-teacher-training

Headline


HeadLine - Training for Primary School Leaders

Do you want to see your school through the eyes of the inspector?

Do you want to improve your senior leadership’s ability to drive continuous improvement?

HeadLine is a focused training programme for primary schools, designed to consolidate and improve the effectiveness of senior leadership teams.

Using live and up to date case studies, HeadLine offers the chance to evaluate schools within their own context. Supporting you through a journey of critical challenge, the programme makes you more aware of how you can improve outcomes for children and young people.

The key skills which Headline will help you build are:

* The ability to see your school through the eyes of an inspector
* How to make sense of performance data so that you have an in-depth understanding of how data can be used to evaluate school effectiveness
* How to scrutinise teaching and learning and use monitoring in a focused and effective way
* How to develop action plans which drive improvements in teaching and learning
* How to use your self-evaluation form (SEF) to target areas for concern

Download further information on HeadLine

For further information about HeadLine or other bespoke training programmes please contact:

David Donnelly

T: 07507 803877
E: [e-mail]


No mention of cost, I'm noting.

[Starry Messenger]

28. ARK (Absolute Return for Kids)

ARK (Absolute Return
for Kids)

Type: charity
Key personnel
Founder: Arpad Busson – chairman of EIM
hedge fund

Financial background
ARK
Income: £19.4 million (31 Aug 2009)
Retained for future use: £5.7 million

ARK Academies
Income: £81 million (31 Aug 2009)
Retained for future use: £46.9 million

Services provided
ARK is an international “philanthropic co-operative”
children’s charity that has worked on health, welfare
and education projects in southern Africa, India,
eastern Europe and the UK.

ARK runs eight academies in London, Birmingham
and Portsmouth, modelled on American charter
schools. It plans to add four more by 2012.
It sells ARK Plus academic and behavioural
support for programmes for Year 7 pupils.
ARK has approached the New Schools Network to
express its interest in offering help to parents and
teachers who want to set up new schools.

Comment
Prior to its entry into the country, ARK had no
previous experience of running education
services in the UK.
ARK trustee Jennifer Moses was due to work
as adviser to Gordon Brown in 2009 but had to
give up days before starting the post when her
husband, Ron Beller, lost more than £29 million
due to the crash of his hedge fund, Peloton
Brothers, in the credit crunch. She is described as
a “libertarian who supports private money in
state education system”. (Daily Mail, 5 Mar 2008)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Return_for_Kids

Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) is an international charity whose purpose is to transform children’s lives<1>

It is based in the United Kingdom, and has international operations.

ARK is a registered charity under English law and is based in London. In 2007–08 it had a gross income of £38,415,000.<2>

ARK was founded in 2002 by some of the hedge fund world's leading luminaries, including Arpad Busson, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace from Marshall Wace, Jennifer Moses, the former Goldman Sachs banker, and David Gorton, of London Diversified Fund Management<3>

A significant proportion of its funds comes from donations pledged at an annual charity fundraising event, "a must-go event for London hedge fund moguls."<4>

In 2009 Stanley Fink became chairman of the ARK trustees, taking over from founding chairman, Arpad Busson who held the post since the charity launched. Arpad Busson remains on the Board as founding chairman, and chairman of ARK US.

Fink says of ARK: “ARK’s work in health, education and child welfare has never been more vital. If you can offer a child a good education and good health you can change their life.”<5>

Busson says of ARK: "If we can apply the entrepreneurial principles we have brought to business to charity, we have a shot at having a really strong impact, to be able to transform the lives of children."<6>


http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/06/schools.newschools

From playboy to playgrounds: the speculator turned philanthropist with big plans for pupils

To the gossip columnists, Arpad "Arki" Busson is the archetypal French playboy, a friend and confidant of the powerful, the glitzy and the enormously rich. To Elle Macpherson, the model who is the mother of his two children and who was, until a few days ago, his partner, he is a "serious, private" individual. To those who live outside the jet-set or work outside the secretive world of hedge funds, he is largely unknown.

<snip>

It is unclear what experience Mr Busson will bring to the attempt to turn around failing, inner city schools, although the charity has recruited a director of education, Jay Altman, who was co-founder and principal of a school in New Orleans.

<snip>

Mr Busson's EIM Group manages around £5.5bn, increasingly on behalf of institutional investors. In the beginning, his speciality was to run a "fund-of-funds" which helped his wealthy associates, many of them old school friends, invest in a number of hedge funds. Among his former clients were members of the Bin Laden family, although not Osama bin Laden, whom the family has disowned. Shortly after 9/11 the FBI asked EIM, along with other companies, to help it establish whether the financial backers of the attack had laundered money through hedge funds. There is no suggestion that the company or any of its clients have ever been involved in money laundering, however, and EIM was not the focus of the investigation.

Mr Busson's publicists concede that talk of "giving something back" is hackneyed, but insist that is what he wishes to do. Mr Busson describes Ark's aims as "measured philanthropy": he wants his charity to employ the rigours of the hedge fund industry to ensure its money brings maximum benefit to deprived children. The "absolute return" of Ark's name is a hedge fund term, describing a determination to improve results year-on-year.

There is clear demand for academies, and the funding they bring, among parents whose children's schools have been failing, and it is unlikely that many of those parents will care greatly who is funding the project. In Bermondsey, south London, for example, there were more than 800 applications for the 180 places at the City of London academy, sponsored by the Corporation of the City of London, when it opened last year.

<snip>

His six fellow trustees, mostly hedge fund veterans, include Jennifer Moses, the former Goldman Sachs banker who took some considerable time to spot that her secretary, Joyti De Laurey, had plundered more than £1m from her husband and herself.

Jay Altman is another "Yay, Katrina!" sociopath:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aNuDPiWGwTPc

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Samuel J. Green school in inner-city New Orleans features an edible garden, where the kids grow and eat the produce. Four years ago, there were metal detectors.

That’s a symbol of one of the few bright spots to emerge from the Hurricane Katrina disaster that devastated this great city 3 1/2 years ago. One of the country’s worst school systems was destroyed. A collection of local reformers, generous benefactors, entrepreneurial nonprofits, and committed teachers and students are producing something much better.

“This is the most exciting urban education place in the world,” says Jay Altman, the director of FirstLine Schools in New Orleans, which runs the Green charter school, kindergarten through eighth grade.

Three miles away, in the French Quarter, the same story and the same enthusiasm are present at the McDonogh 15 school, run by KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), the nation’s foremost education network of schools working with inner-city kids.

<snip>

The teachers and administrators work long hours, are always available on their cell phones, and are under pressure. Altman worries about a “burnout rate” if more resources aren’t available.

He says if the urban charter-reform movement “is really going to go to scale,” it’s going to be necessary for the federal government to fully fund the No Child Left Behind initiative.

Still, in both Green and McDonogh, the progress is remarkable. The kids wear modest uniforms supplied by the school. There’s a strong sense of order and discipline, yet an emerging energetic and innovative environment.

“We are moving from a culture of compliance to a culture of performance, which we hope will lead to a culture of investment in public education,” Altman says.

He founded an "educational network"

http://www.firstlineschools.org/ourpeople/network-leadership.html

FirstLine Schools Leadership
Jay Altman, Co-Founder and CEO

Jay Altman Since 1990, Jay has partnered with like-minded parents and educators to provide quality educational opportunities for students in New Orleans open-admission public schools. He taught in the city for several years before co-founding New Orleans Charter Middle School. He was also a founder of James Lewis Extension School, New Orleans Outreach and New Orleans Summerbridge. As director of education for London-based ARK schools from 2005 to 2008, Jay helped develop a British network of academies, charter-like schools in complex urban environments. He also was instrumental in establishing two training programs there – Future Leaders for aspiring principals of open-admission schools, and Teaching Leaders for mid-level school leadership.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article544805.ece

The hope is that the Ark academies, modelled partly on charter schools, will be among Britain’s top schools within five years, with four in five pupils getting five good GCSE’s, well above the national average. If Altman and his backers pull it off, it will be an astonishing achievement.

Certainly they will have enough cash behind them — each will take £2m of Ark’s money to set up, a figure matched by up to £20m of state cash as part of Labour’s city academy programme, which encourages private sponsors to help run schools.

The source of some of Ark’s funds is thought to be the City hedge fund business in which some of its donors work. The charity also runs glittering auctions to raise cash. Two months ago, a gala dinner raised more than £11m after guests bid eye-watering prices for activities such as a dance with the actor Richard Gere.

Busson, who runs a fund management empire, has said: “If we can apply the entrepreneurial principles we have brought to business to charity, we have a shot at having a really strong impact, to be able to transform the lives of children.”

As well as Busson, who is expected to sponsor one of the academies personally, other Ark trustees include multi-millionaire Paul Marshall, one half of the fund managers Marshall Wace. Marshall is sponsor of the first Ark academy to get off the ground — developing from the Geoffrey Chaucer technology college near the Elephant and Castle in Southwark. It’s predicted to be up and running by 2008.

Another Ark trustee, Stanley Fink, 46, will sponsor the next academy — the grammar school boy is chief executive of the world’s largest hedge fund, the Man Group.

[Hannah Bell]

34. Arpad Busson - that name rings a dirty bell.

[Starry Messenger]

38. He's Uma Thurman's boyfriend.

Also, Elle Macpherson's baby daddy.



I think he looks like a tool.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article7127570.ece

Arpad Busson, chairman of EIM
The hedge fund chief loves giving and glamorous blondes, and his firm has survived a brush with Bernie Madoff. Just don’t call him a playboy
The Andew Davidson Interview

For it’s all too easy to forget he’s a serious businessman, worth £160m, heading EIM, the fund of funds firm he founded in 1992 that now has $8 billion (£5.5 billion) under management. That’s only half its 2008 total but better than it could have been, given the downturn. The slide in assets was hastened by a $230m hit racked up after an investment with Bernie Madoff that seriously damaged EIM’s reputation.

A sign that his outfit doesn’t do proper due diligence? Don’t get him started. He gives me a five-minute lecture on risk management, net asset value calculation, the history of fraud and the work of regulators. Then he shrugs.

“I wish I could say we will never be exposed to another fraud and I bet the regulators wish that, too, but none of us can guarantee it.”

And he admits customers subsequently withdrew funds, but says they were being unrealistic about what could be done to protect against fraud and the effect of the financial crash. That was America’s fault for unravelling the Glass-Steagall Act and allowing mega-banks to emerge, which must now be broken up, he adds.

All of which makes the kudos Busson receives from his philanthropy rather more piquant. While he has battled with worried investors, Ark — Absolute Return for Kids — has continued to galvanise hedge fund giving, and raised £14m at last week’s dinner alone.

Now chaired by Stanley Fink, doyen of hedgies, Ark has moved from being a supplier of grants to being, as Busson puts it, “an implementer”, running eight academy schools here, as well as projects overseas.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/4802

Michael Gove opens new Globe Academy building
Monday 13 September 2010

Education secretary Michael Gove has been accused of 'breathtaking hypocrisy' for praising investment in the new Globe Academy just weeks after he axed plans to rebuild hundreds of schools across the country.

Mr Gove cut a ribbon to officially open the Deverell Street school before addressing the first assembly in the new building designed by Amanda Levete Architects.

It is two years since former children's secretary Ed Balls launched the new Globe Academy which was formed from a merger of the old Joseph Lancaster Primary School and Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College.

Since then a new school building has been built on the former playground and the previous academic buildings are now being demolished.

Known as the the Paul Marshall Building, the new school is named after the hedge fund millionaire who chairs the academy's board of governors. Mr Marshall is a Liberal Democrat supporter who was a co-author of The Orange Book.

The Globe Academy is sponsored by Ark, the educational charity founded by Arpad Busson.

[Hannah Bell]

39. he was named after this guy...

Dr. Arpad Plesch (purported written by joanne harcourt-smith, timothy leary's girlfriend)

Marisya was her step-father’s toy, a victim of incest since she was a child at the mercy of her mother’s second husband. The man was a wealthy Hungarian Jew who had accumulated a dubious fortune during the war at the expense of less fortunate Jews who sent their money to him in Switzerland for safe keeping while they tried to stay alive in their home countries during the pogroms and exterminations under the madness of the Third Reich. This man Arpad Plesch who called himself an International Financier, created numbered accounts for his so called friends and then pitilessly ransomed them to the Hitler regime for a large commission on their fortunes. As his former friends died in concentration camps the man became richer and richer, playing darker and darker games of evil and domination in a world gone insane.

Much later, I was to learn that my family had a complete lack of values, their genetic memories of belonging burnt away by greed and hatred through the brain damage that occurs from not receiving the proper kind of care and loving in infancy. Generations of neglect by parents for their young had created a group of ruthless monsters that by the year 2.000 were to rule the world spreading famine and disease throughout the African continent, extreme poverty to South America while the other animal worlds disappeared at an alarming speed...



her father's nephew:

Stanislaw Marcin Ulam (April 13, 1909 – May 13, 1984) was an American mathematician of Polish-Jewish origin, who participated in the Manhattan Project and originated the Teller–Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons. He also invented nuclear pulse propulsion and developed a number of mathematical tools in number theory, set theory, ergodic theory and algebraic topology.

Stanislaw Ulam was born in Lwów (Ukrainian: Lviv ; German: Lemberg), Galicia to a wealthy Polish-Jewish banking and timber-processing family<1> who were part of the large Jewish minority population of the city. Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) was then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire...

http://h2oreuse.blogspot.com/2009/01/plesch-saga.html

Leary became involved with Swiss-born British socialite Joanna Harcourt-Smith, a stepdaughter of financier Árpád Plesch. Leary "married" Harcourt-Smith at a hotel two weeks after they were first introduced; she used his surname until their breakup in early 1977. They traveled to Vienna, then Beirut and finally went to Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1973. "Afghanistan had no extradition treaty with the United States, but this stricture did not apply to American airliners," Luc Sante wrote in a review of a biography of Leary.<22> That interpretation of the law was used by U.S. authorities to capture the fugitive. "Before Leary could deplane, he was arrested by an agent of the federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs."<22>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary


Busson was born in France. His father Pascal Busson was a former French army officer and Algeria veteran, and later turned financier. His mother, Florence "Flockie" Harcourt-Smith, was an English former debutante. Busson's aunt, Joanna Harcourt-Smith, was a companion of Timothy Leary.<3> His parents met in Paris and named their son after the Hungarian-born banker Árpád Plesch (1889–1974), who was not only Florence Busson's stepfather (he was the second husband of her mother, Marysia Ulam Krauss Harcourt-Smith), but also her stepgrandfather (Plesch's first wife was his second wife's mother, Leonie Ulam).<4> Plesch also was a mentor to Italy's richest man, the late head of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli.<5>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpad_Busson

Busson: A hedge fund "hippie"

Busson may be best known for Ark, but he is still the hands-on chairman of EIM, his hedge-funds business.

His father was a stockbroker at JP Morgan in New York in the 1960s and ended up as European head of Lehman Brothers.

Busson's mom's deb party, 1956:


For the showiest party of all, an army of some 60 technicians was called in to transform the ballroom at Claridge's into a moonlit garden so that young Countess "Bunny" Esterhazy and "Flockie" Harcourt-Smith could meet society in proper style. Their parent-step-parents, Hungarian-born Banker Arpad Plesch and his four-times-married wife, laid out an estimated $25,000 to make the evening a success.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862152,00.html#ixzz10nLjZcAs

[Starry Messenger]

40. Excellent. I hoped you'd find the family tree.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2IT6Y4JmC48

Busson’s high standing among European investors can be traced partly to his family roots in the world of international finance. His step-grandfather Arpad Plesch was a Hungarian-born financier who married three times. Plesch earned his fortune from businesses around the world, including a large stake in the Haitian-American Corp., which owned sugar plantations.

The Rich Life

Plesch, a lawyer, was famous in the 1930s for suing governments that abandoned the gold standard written into the contracts for international bonds he owned. Busson says Plesch won cases in France and Germany, lost in the U.S. and failed in the U.K. when the House of Lords overturned a potentially lucrative court verdict in his favor.

“The Plesches knew everybody,” says Hugo Vickers, who edited “Horses and Husbands: The Memoirs of Etti Plesch” (Dovecote Press, 2007), the chronicles of Plesch’s third wife. “Arpad Plesch was part of a world of people who are so rich we don’t even hear about them.”

Plesch first married Leonina Ulam, Busson’s great- grandmother, and after she died, married her daughter, Marysia Ulam Harcourt-Smith, who already had a daughter from a previous marriage -- Busson’s mother Florence “Flockie” Harcourt-Smith, an English debutante. Flockie met Busson’s father, Pascal, in Paris in the 1960s. Pascal served in the French army before going into finance, where he opened up European offices for a Wall Street firm called Faulkner, Dawkins & Sullivan and then headed the French operations of Lehman Brothers.

Le Rosey Alum

Born in Paris, Busson was raised and educated mostly in Switzerland, attending Le Rosey, a boarding school located between Lausanne and Geneva. Known as the “school of kings,” Le Rosey counts among its alumni the late Shah of Iran, the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco and the Aga Khan IV, millionaire head of the Ismaili branch of Islam. In the winter months, the school body moves to a campus in the ski resort of Gstaad. Busson grew up skiing and toyed with the idea of becoming a professional downhill racer. Instead, after school he did a one-year stint in the French army, serving in the Alpine troops.

Busson’s career as a lord of financial middlemen began in the mid-1980s with a casual introduction to Paul Tudor Jones while the two were dining at Indochine, a popular French-Vietnamese restaurant in New York’s East Village. Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp. was the talk of the financial world at the time: it posted returns of 136 percent in 1985 and 99 percent in ’86. Busson began doing freelance marketing for Tudor Jones, now 54, tapping his circle of rich European friends from Le Rosey and beyond.

[Starry Messenger]

29. Cambridge Education

Subject: Cambridge Education
Message:
Cambridge Education

Type: owned by Mott MacDonald Group,
a private limited company
Key personnel

Managing director: Brian Oakley-Smith

Financial background
Mott MacDonald Group
Gross revenue: £1.01 billion (31 Dec 2009)
Group operating profit: £48.1 million (31 Dec 2009)

Services provided
Cambridge Education is the trading name of
the education and children’s services arm of the
Mott MacDonald Group, a global, independent,
health management and construction consultancy
that is privately owned and operates worldwide.
Cambridge Education Foundation, its not-for-
profit arm, is a specialist education consultancy
providing education services to government,
public sector organisations and development
partners, in the UK and internationally.
Its UK portfolio includes the running of all
education services for the London Borough of
Islington and project managing academies.
Its 2009 annual report states that it also offers
a one–stop shop for school development in
conjunction with its parent company, including
detailed design and development of the building,
project and construction management, and
facilities management.

Comment
Its website offers support to any school wanting
to be an academy and to anyone needing help
once their academy is up and running.
Its website also states that it offers a complete
package of support for anyone wishing to set
up a free school and will help with identifying a
site, the application, developing a business case,
delivering the education vision and creating a
sustainable school community.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mott_MacDonald

Mott, Hay & Anderson

On 30th July 1902 Basil Mott and David Hay entered into partnership under the name Mott & Hay. Both engineers had worked together since 1888 on the City and South London Railway under Sir Benjamin Baker and JH Greathead. They were joined by Sir David Anderson in 1920.

Mott, Hay & Anderson's traditions owe much to its founder's two mentors. Greathead is renowned as the foremost soft ground tunneller of the time, while Baker is remembered particularly for London's District Railway, the Fourth Railway Bridge and the Aswan Dam which, in one of those extraordinary coincidences of history, was heightened between 1926 and 1933 by Sir M MacDonald & Partners.
Sir M MacDonald & Partners

The existence of Sir M MacDonald & Partners directly relates to affairs in Egypt from 1890 to 1930 and in particular to the Aswan Dam. The greatest achievements of this period included the construction and first heightening of the Aswan Dam which opened on 15th May 1921. Sir Murdoch MacDonald in his capacity as the Advisor, Ministry of Public Works, was closely associated with the development and first heightening of the Aswan scheme which marked the start of a long association with hydro electric power development. Sir Murdoch retired from the Egyptian Government Service in June 1921 and returned to Britain where aged 55 years, he immediately entered into partnership with Archibald MacCorquodale.

PH East (who had also been an engineer in the Egyptian Government Service from 1907 to 1926) and OL Prowde joined Sir Murdoch MacDonald in a partnership in January 1927, marking the start of a new era. The name of the company was changed to Sir M Macdonald & Partners and major new work started including the second heightening of the Aswan Dam, which continued through the design and construction stages to 1933.
Post-merger

The firm has expanded over the years through the acquisition of Husband and Company, Ewbank Preece (power & telecommunications specialists) in 1994, Cambridge Education Associates (education consultants) in 2000, Dalal Consultants (an Indian-based firm) in 2001, Franklin + Andrews (cost consultants) in 2002 and HLSP (a health practice) in 2003.<1>


http://www.camb-ed.com /

Cambridge Education

American division:

http://www.camb-ed-us.com/Home/Ourclients.aspx

List of clients
For the past seven years in the U.S. we have partnered with over 2,500 schools in more than 100 districts across 22 states.

With access to over 40 regional offices across the U.S., we have the resources and capacity to respond to local, regional, and national initiatives as they arise. The following represents a partial list of recent clients:

Northeast

* Connecticut State Department of Education and
* 15 public school districts including:
o Bridgeport Public Schools
o Hartford Public Schools
o New Haven Public Schools
* Massachusetts Eight public school districts including:
o Brookline Public Schools
o Lincoln Public Schools
o Reading Public Schools
* Lighthouse Academies, Worcester (MA)
* Ewing Township Public Schools (NJ)
* Lawrenceville Public Schools (NJ)
* Newark Public Schools (NJ)
* New York City Department of Education
* Ithaca City School District (NY)

Southeast

* Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (NC)
* District of Columbia Public Schools
* Hoke County (NC)
* North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
* North Carolina New Schools Project
* Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD)

West

* Adams 50, Schools District (CO)
* Austin Independent School District (TX)
* California Department of Education
* California Charter Schools Association
* Eugene Public Schools (OR)
* Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP)
* The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
* Los Angeles Alliance Charter Schools
* Oakland Unified School District
* Sacramento City Unified School District
* San Diego Unified School District
* New Leaders for New Schools
* PISCES Foundation
* Stupski Foundation

Midwest

* Dublin City Schools (OH)
* Benton Harbor Schools (MI)
* Farmington Public Schools (MI)
* Clayton Public Schools (MO)


http://www.camb-ed.com/SchoolsServices.aspx


School services
At Cambridge Education, we believe every child and young person has the right to a good education. Which is why all our work, both in the UK and internationally, is targeted at helping improve education for children and young people.

For schools
We work with all levels of school education professionals from support staff to head teachers, managers to senior leaders. Our services are offered through our Leading School Improvement Solutions and include delegate courses, in-school training, consultancy and resource packs. These all focus on areas we believe make a real difference including leadership and management, teaching and learning and ICT solutions.


For schools and consortia
We also offer services for schools and consortia including school development and performance management consultancy, delegate courses, interim management and ICT consultancy and training.

In fact, when you add all our services together, we can help in almost any area of a school's development. What's more, schools have the reassurance of working with leading professionals and an organisation that has built a first- rate reputation over many years of service.


Contact us

Cambridge Education (LLC)
National Headquarters
400 Blue Hill Drive
North Lobby, Suite 100
Westwood, MA 02090

Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Regional Offices

California
4301 Hacienda Drive
Suite 300
Pleasanton, CA 94588

New Jersey
21 Bleeker Street
Millburn, NJ 07041

New York
475 Park Avenue South 10th Floor
New York, NY 10016

North Carolina
450 East Davie Street, #209
Raleigh, NC 27601

Cambridge Education (LLC) is registered in Delaware
Federal tax code registration number: 203157028
Cambridge Education (LLC) is a member of the Mott MacDonald Group
Reg. office: Mott MacDonald House, 8-10 Sydenham Road,
Croydon, Surrey, CR0 2EE, England
Company registration No. 1566758. Registered in England.


They sell materials and courses. Very expensive. A one day course was listed at £295.00 + VAT. That's pounds, not dollars.

http://www.cec-worldwide.com/aboutus.php

There's an international consulting arm too, but too long to excerpt here.

Their clients, etc.:

epartment for International Development (DFID) www.dfid.gov.uk
The European Union (EU) http://europa.eu.int /
The World Bank www.worldbank.org

Regional development banks, including:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) www.adb.org
African Development Bank www.afdb.org

UN organisations, including:
UNESCO www.unesco.org
UNDP www.undp.org


Partners
________________________________________________________


Cambridge Education Associates (CEA) is an international education consultancy offering a wide range of support and expertise in the nursery, primary, secondary and special school phases to the education sector. smfciyiz forumsina kuryepark penguen quicktimeindir bulmaca youtube sapanca

Cambridge Education Resource (CER) is a group of seven internationally reputed education and training organisations based in Cambridge, UK

General Education
________________________________________________________

UN education index
UNESCO education information service
Education for All (EFA) homepage
World Bank education site
UNESCO world education indicators
OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)


Project Websites
________________________________________________________

Secondary Education Sector Improvement Project (SESIP): Bangladesh www.sesipbd.com
Gansu Basic Education Project www.gbep.org
Senior Secondary Education Project: Uzbekistan www.members.fortunecity.com/ssep1737


Just a little mom & pop organization. :sarcasm:

[Hannah Bell]

35. :>) another mom & pop with us connections. excellent!

[Starry Messenger]

30. CfBT

CfBT

Type: charity

Key personnel
Chief executive: Neil McIntosh

Financial background
Total incoming resources: £90.5 million
(31 Mar 2009)
Net incoming resources: £4.4 million
(31 Mar 2009)

Services provided
CfBT is a registered charity that undertakes
education consultancy, research and support
services in the UK and internationally. All of
its funds are used for educational purposes,
including £1 million reinvestment in practice-based
educational research every year. Its annual report
states that it will not invest in companies involved
in military or armaments manufacture, pornography,
gambling and tobacco.
In 2008/09 CfBT owned and managed seven
schools in the UK. It provided school improvement
management services and consultancy support to
local authorities in East Sussex in 2008/09.

Comment
CfBT believes in diversity in education provision
and in giving consumers a real choice. Its 2008/09
annual report said it would pursue opportunities
to expand its portfolio of schools as it reaffirmed
its aim to be a major provider of state-funded
schooling and to consolidate its position in fee-
funded independent schooling.
The New Schools Network lists CfBT as having
approached it expressing an interest in being
involved with free schools.


http://www.cfbt-inspections.com/aboutus/cfbteducationtrust.aspx

(Centre for British Teachers)


CfBT Education Trust
Providing education for public benefit worldwide

CfBT Education Trust is a leading independent provider of education and training services. It is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in 1965, with an annual turnover in the current financial year of about £150 million and employs approximately 2000 people worldwide.

CfBT operates as a business and values commercial disciplines as a means of ensuring high levels of performance but its work is underpinned by an ethical dimension deriving from its corporate values as a leading educational charity.

CfBT is a registered charity, and surpluses made on operational activities are placed in trust to fund educational research and development work. Each year the CfBT Trustees distribute over £1 million in this way.

CfBT provides education services to governments and agencies both at home in the UK and across the world. Examples of current and recent project include:

*

The design and administration of the national programme of professional development for the Fast Track Programme;
*

The management of some of the Government's largest projects for adult basic skills ('Skills for Life') on behalf of the Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit (ABSSU) and the Learning & Skills Council (LSC);
*

The provision of technical assistance for national level education reform in Rwanda and Bosnia; and
*

The lead advisor to the State of Qatar on the reform of their core national curriculum.


They have their fingers in so many pies, it's hard to get a sense of what they really are. They're quite large.

Welcome to CfBT Education Trust

CfBT Education Trust is a leading education consultancy and service organisation. Our object is to provide education for public benefit both in the UK and internationally. Established 40 years ago, CfBT Education Trust now has an annual turnover exceeding £100 million and employs more than 2,000 staff worldwide who support educational reform, teach, advise, research and train.

Since we were founded, we have worked in more than 40 countries around the world, including the UK, managing large government contracts and providing education services, as well as managing directly a growing number of schools.

We work with a wide range of organisations including the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), Qatari Institute of Education, Malaysia Ministry of Education, The European Union (EU), The Department for International Development (DfID), The World Bank and a range of local authorities.

Our overarching commitment is to education – to enable individuals, institutions and communities to fulfil their potential. As a not-for-profit organisation we are proud that the surpluses we generate are reinvested in research and development programmes. We invest around £1million of our surpluses in practice-based educational research both in the UK and overseas.

[Starry Messenger]

31. Contour Education Services

Contour Education Services

Type: private limited company
Key personnel
Managing director: Charles Rigby
(founder of World Challenge, the leading
provider of school expeditions)

Financial background
No financial information publicly available at the
time of going to press.
Services provided
Incorporated on 26 January 2010, Contour
Education Services supports or takes over
the management of failing schools. It builds
and manages new schools for both state and
independent sectors.

Comment
Contour Education Services has not yet set up a
school. Its website states that “Contour Schools
will be inspirational places where students want
to be….”

The New Schools Network website includes the
company on its list of charities and companies
that have approached it to express their interest
in offering help to parents and teachers who want
to set up new schools.

Managing director Charles Rigby states on
Contour’s website that he “understands education
and business and is passionate about combining
both to improve opportunities for young people”.


http://www.contour-ed.com/about.php


Contour Education Services was formed in January 2010 by highly experienced individuals from within education to help schools to raise their standards. The way in which we engage with schools has adapted through the change in Government, but our ethos remains unchanged. And this is what sets us apart.

We're proud to be working alongside HTI as we share many beliefs about how schools should be run. HTI is a highly regarded organisation with 25 years' experience of raising standards in schools through providing leadership training, linking up education and business professionals and encouraging schools to take a positive attitude to risk in schools through its popular national Go4it Award Scheme.

Our vision is very simply to give more young people the opportunity to attend great schools with motivational teachers, who create an environment where there is a positive attitude to learning.

HTI (Heads, Teachers & Industry)
http://www.hti.org.uk/html/ab/ab202.php

Anne Evans, Chief Executive

Anne joined HTI as Chief Executive in 1996. She has wide-ranging experience of leadership and management in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

She has contributed to a number of think tanks and task groups which have driven policy for leadership in UK education. Currently she sits on the Education and Employers Taskforce and JACQA’s Wider Reference Group. She is a trustee of the Teaching Awards Trust and chairs the Midlands panel. She has a regular leadership column in the weekly magazine ‘SecEd’.

Anne was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2007, for her services to education, specifically at the interface between business leaders and school leaders. She contributes to national conferences about educational leadership and business engagement.

[Starry Messenger]

32. E-ACT (Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust)

Type: charity

Key personnel
Chairman: Noorzaman Rashid
Director general: Sir Bruce Liddington
Financial background
Revenue: £15.6 million (31 Aug 2009)
Profit: £2.4 million (31 Aug 2009)

Services provided
E-ACT (established by Lord Bhatia’s British
Edutrust Foundation and formerly known as
Edutrust) runs a chain of eight academies across
England and is developing several more.

Comment
In November 2008, the government ordered an
inquiry into allegations brought by Edutrust’s
then chief executive, Ian Comfort, that the
charity had mismanaged contracts worth
millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

In March 2009, Lord Bhatia was forced to step
down from the board after the government
review had found E-ACT had failed to comply
with “financial management requirements” and
had “inappropriate governance arrangements”.
According to The Guardian (13 Mar, 2009), most
of the £70,000 misspend related to excess rent
paid to the Ethnic Minority Foundation, of which
Bhatia is co-founder and chair. E-ACT also failed
to effectively address conflicts of interest, showed
poor record keeping and paid for items not
“properly chargeable to it”. After the review,
both Bhatia and BEF no longer had sponsorship
control over the running of E-ACT academies but
BEF still raised funds on their behalf.

In April 2010, E-ACT whistleblowers disclosed
that its directors had claimed thousands of
pounds of public money for luxury hotel rooms
and long-distance taxi journeys; they also used
chauffeur-driven limousines to visit academies
around the country. The director general, Sir
Bruce Liddington, is paid a salary of £265,000,
probably the highest for an education executive
in Britain. He claimed £1,436 on deluxe hotel
suites for two nights for himself and a colleague,
and a senior director repeatedly claimed £250
to take a taxi from Lincolnshire to his home in
South Wales. Almost all of E-ACT’s funding
came from Labour government grants worth
approximately £250 million.

E-ACT’s website states that it is “…keen to
work with parent promoters, community and
teacher groups, who have the ambition and
drive to establish a new Free School. E-ACT will
work with groups to develop the school they
want, where they want it”.


What a sweet set-up!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/apr/20/teachers-strike-over-sackings-at-academy

Teachers to strike over sackings at academy

Seven teachers are being fired at a school run by a charity that pays its director £260,000 a year.

Paul Holmes, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Chesterfield who was a member of the Commons children, schools and families select committee, has called for a government inquiry into the finances of academies and the trusts that run them because they are not open to public scrutiny.

E-Act said Crest boys' academy is overfunded by more than £1m and "must return to an operating balance and be capable of sustaining itself in terms of pupil numbers and staffing structure". E-Act receives about £50m from the government. It sponsors eight academies and is developing five more.

Teachers at the academy said they had been promised there would be no redundancies when E-Act became its sponsor in September. They said Liddington's salary was being covered by sacking teachers.

<snip>

A spokesman from E-Act said the strike would be highly damaging and inappropriate: "Every effort is being made to prevent compulsory redundancies among classroom teachers ... and support them to find alternative roles. We have tried hard to keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum. We would urge unions not to resort to strike action – because it's not in anyone's interests.

"The strike is irresponsible and we very much regret the unions' decision to press ahead with it. It disrupts pupils' education, at a key time leading up to exams. And it is entirely self-defeating. We sympathise entirely with the views and concerns of our hardworking staff, but it's a simple fact that there were too many teaching staff for the number of pupils on roll. We've reluctantly had to make a number of people compulsorily redundant. As a result, we have now got a sustainable ratio of teachers to pupils – which is still high compared to the national average."

<snip>

Liddington joined E-Act in February 2009. This year, he and six department heads were awarded a 5% bonus. The rest of E-Act's 40 staff received a 1% pay rise.

Here's what he said right as he assumed this job in 2009:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/31/bruce-liddington-eact-schools-commission

Academies can be the solution for primaries, too

We need to embed a culture of high expectation throughout the primary sector, says former schools commissioner Bruce Liddington

One key to improving standards at primary level is the introduction of academy chains – groups of schools linked to successful secondary (or other primary) providers. This model applies equally well to groups of threatened small, rural primaries as it does to clusters in the inner cities.

A further advantage of creating chains is the ability to preserve the unique character of many of our smallest high-achieving primary schools, so often threatened with closure because of their scale and lack of resources. These schools should be encouraged to thrive under the umbrella of a chain of schools.

We need to embed a culture of high expectation throughout the primary sector. There can be no excuses about deprivation or family background. That is not to say these issues are unimportant, but they should be irrelevant to outcomes. Teaching and learning must be tailored to achieving, and to aiming much higher from the very beginning of schooling. So must parents' ambitions.

It is time to embrace the next stage of change and draw chains of primary schools closer to the nexus of improvement.

• Sir Bruce Liddington was a former schools commissioner for England and is now director general of academy sponsor EACT (Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust)

Sir Bruce wins Starry's upper-class asshole of the year award.

[Starry Messenger]

33. EC Harris Group

EC Harris Group

Type: wholly owned subsidiary of EC Harris LLP
Key personnel
Chief executive: Philip Youell

Financial background
EC Harris LLP
Revenue: £306 million (30 Apr 2009)
Operating profit: £40.7 million (30 Apr 2009)

Services provided
EC Harris is an international built asset
consultancy, usually focusing on “the construction,
operation, use and ownership of built assets”
but now offering “specialised educational and
children’s services asset management and
consultancy services to all public services and
independent sector providers”.
Its Schools Direct Team has more than 100
professionals working on more than 200
individual school projects at any one time from
£400 to £40 million.

It has worked on Building Schools for the Future,
on 15 Primary Capital Programmes, and on more
than 50 academy projects across the UK, giving
it “extensive expertise in addressing the needs of
independent Academy Trusts”.

Comment
EC Harris has prepared a report on the
accommodation costs of free schools, arguing
that the costs of refurbishing a building shell
would be about a third of the cost of a new
building. EC Harris believes that conversion of
retail space could take from 20 to 35 weeks and
include provision of play areas.

EC Harris has met with Rachel Wolf, head of the
New Schools Network. Simon Lucas, head of
education at EC Harris, said people were “beating
a path” to Wolf’s door, and that he had met with
Toby Young, who is planning a free school in
Acton, west London, and has done “pro bono”
work for him.

Philip Youell, chief executive of EC Harris,
is supporting the construction industry’s
Charter 284 campaign for maintaining state
spending on construction during the recession.



http://www.ameinfo.com/242524.html

EC Harris wins two year contract to make Abu Dhabi's transport master plan a reality

EC Harris, the international Built Asset Consultancy has been appointed to support Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport in delivering its Surface Transport Master Plan (STMP).

<snip>

EC Harris will provide Programme Management Services to support and advise the Department of Transport on which schemes should be constructed first, prioritised on the basis of value for money and need, and to oversee the phased implementation of the Master Plan over the next two years. EC Harris will also advise on the creation, shape and form of the infrastructure company which will maintain all of the major assets created as a result of the Master Plan.

Brian Fitzpatrick, Highways Sector Leader at EC Harris said:

"Our experience of helping similar organisations to the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport around the world, whether they are working as highways network creator or network operator, will provide a real source of locally based, world class expertise. The commercially led programme management approach that we will take to delivering this commission will allow the department to realise its ambitions without risk to their programme. For EC Harris, the opportunity to help shape the transport system of one of the most ambitious cities in the world is very exciting and will act as a catalyst as we look to significantly develop our transportation offering in the Middle East."



EC Harris has operated in Abu Dhabi for 20 years and in the Middle East for over 50 years. It has offices throughout the Middle East including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

http://www.slideshare.net/VikkiJacobs/simon-lucas-ec-harris

Interesting power point presentation. I wish there was a way to C/P the text off of those things.

There seems to be a new flurry of trade shows aimed at refurbishing schools in the UK, which usually means a growing & thriving industry.

[Starry Messenger]

36. Edison Learning

EdisonLearning

Type: subsidiary of EdisonLearning Inc.,
incorporated in New York
Key personnel

Managing director: Paul Lincoln
Financial background
No published results in the UK.
Services provided

EdisonLearning (formerly Edison Schools UK)
was founded in 2002 to provide frontline school
improvement and educational services in
the UK.

It provides consultancy services to Building
Schools for the Future and academy projects,
school trusts, local authorities and others. It
undertakes “improvement work with partner
schools and school management services”.
EdisonLearning also manages maintained schools,
including Turin Grove School in London, and
Salisbury School in Enfield (a £1 million contract).

Comment
EdisonLearning Inc. has attracted a lot of criticism
in the USA. It is in substantial debt, with only one
profitable quarter since its inception, but has still
paid large bonuses (up to 275 per cent of an
annual salary of at least $600,000) to its
chief executive.

EdisonLearning has “refused to say how much
the company earns running schools”, but said
“it is a good business model. Low profit and
long contracts is the approach.” (The Guardian,
8 Oct 2009) The journalist and staunch free
school advocate, Toby Young, has been in
negotiations with EdisonLearning about
managing ‘his’ west London free school.


http://www.examiner.com/education-in-san-francisco/the-light-goes-out-for-once-hailed-edison-schools


The light goes out for once-hailed Edison Schools

Caroline Grannan
July 22, 2008

ECA was run by New York-based Edison Schools Inc., a flamboyant experiment in running public schools for profit. Edison, founded by flashy entrepreneur Chris Whittle, was publicly traded on the NASDAQ for several years. At the time, it was widely hailed as the future of public education, the miracle everyone had been seeking.

Edison was the darling of the free-market right, touted by the big think tanks (one of its top executives, John Chubb, was and still is a fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution), the Wall Street Journal editorial board and the rest of that crowd. Some liberals chimed in too. I would imagine that Peter Schrag and Joan Walsh – both prominent journalists whose attitudes appear to be generally liberal, pro-public-education and (in my view) overall highly sensible – are a bit embarrassed now about their 2001 articles praising Edison achievement in The Nation and Salon, respectively.

With all the publicity Edison got at the time, it’s surprising that more people aren’t wondering what ever happened to that miracle that was supposed to be bringing private-sector efficiencies to public education. I really expected some high-profile collapse, and semi-joked that Whittle would fake his own death. But actually, Edison has just gradually faded, and has quietly shifted its focus toward providing supplemental services to schools, an area in which a for-profit business is perfectly unremarkable.

Now it has even more quietly officially died, though apparently its successor will continue managing however many schools are still left in Edison’s hands (again, Edison’s own information is fuzzy). That presumably includes the one in San Francisco, which for years now has been under the auspices of the California state Board of Education, no longer an SFUSD school. It’s a rent-paying tenant in an SFUSD property; little is known about it outside its own community.

<snip>

Meanwhile, Whittle and his Edison colleague Benno Schmidt (a once-respected academic – in fact, former president of Yale) have moved on to a new scheme, according to New York Magazine: “an international chain of for-profit elite private schools.” Somehow the New York Mag headline seems like the final nail in Edison’s coffin: “After failing with for-profit public schools, Chris Whittle goes private.”

It’s hard now to explain why Edison’s lone San Francisco school made such a media splash. At the time – early 2001 – Edison was trying to take over several schools in New York City and the entire Philadelphia school district (both efforts were unsuccessful, though it got a few Philly schools to manage), just as the SFUSD Board of Education was attempting to sever its contract with Edison. In an odd strategy, Edison responded by launching a massive PR blitz about the SFUSD controversy (despite the fact that other Edison client school districts were also moving to kick Edison out, and one – Sherman, Texas, Edison’s first client – had already done so).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Schools

http://books.google.com/books?id=AnVTOOvTbOwC&lpg=PA125&ots=pF8aAH_dwD&dq=Edison%20Learning%20Jacques%20Steinberg&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Edison%20Learning%20Jacques%20Steinberg&f=false


Here we must address the dirty little secret of these so-called public schools. The "Education Management Organization", a bland enough title. Here is what right wing think tank Mackinac has to say about them:

http://www.mackinac.org/2140

Education Management Organizations: Managing Competition

Michigan is home to the nation's third-largest number of charter schools, many of which rely on private, for-profit companies for administration and management. The companies, commonly known as education management organizations (EMOs), manage approximately 70% of the state's 144 charters. But some EMOs are not content to simply manage charter schools for othersin some cases, they are starting up their own schools, creating greater educational choice and competition for Michigan families.

One such company is National Heritage Academies (NHA), a Grand Rapids-based EMO. Founded by J. C. Huizenga in 1995, NHA is rapidly achieving its goal, which is to create and manage a strong network of K-8 charter school academies. Huizenga operated just one charter school in NHA's first year. Three years later, the company is managing 13 schools in western Michigan and plans to open nine more schools this fall.

Like other EMOs, NHA has sought private, outside investors. To date, it has raised $100 million in investor capital in addition to millions of dollars provided by Huizenga from his own personal finances. Yet, even with this level of funding, the risk is great, and there are no guarantees of success.

Charter schools cannot sell bonds for buildings and equipment like traditional public schools. First-year charters must be fully staffed and teaching students long before any money comes from Lansing. The high up-front costs for starting charter schools cause a negative cash flow for many months and also keep many "mom and pop" charter schools from entering the market.

<snip>

Ultimately, charter schools and the private companies that manage them are held accountable by parents who are free to return their childrenand the state aid that goes with them to traditional government schools at any time. Consumer choice is the key. By searching out market niches, private companies such as NHA and the Edison Project are helping to provide families with greater educational options at a reasonable costwhile providing teachers, investors, and taxpayers with opportunities they would otherwise not enjoy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For-profit_school

For-profit schools are educational institutions that are run by private, profit-seeking companies or organizations.<1>

There are two major types of for-profit schools. One type is known as an educational management organization, or EMO, and these are primary and secondary educational institutions. EMOs work with school districts or charter schools, using public funds to finance operations. The majority of for-profit schools in the K-12 sector in America function as EMOs, and have grown in number in recent years. The other category of for-profit schools are post-secondary institutions which operate as businesses, receiving fees from each student they enroll.

Introduction and Background

The EMO Industry: Background and Rationale
Education management organizations, or EMOs, emerged in the early 1990s in the
context of widespread interest in so-called market-based school reform proposals. Wall
Street analysts coined the term EMO as an analogue to health maintenance organizations
(HMOs). Proponents of EMOs claim that they will bring a much needed dose of
entrepreneurial spirit and a competitive ethos to public education. Opponents worry that
outsourcing to EMOs will result in already limited school resources being redirected for
service fees and/or profits for another layer of administration. Opponents also have
expressed concerns about public bodies relinquishing control or ownership of schools.

The theory behind market-based school reform proposals is that, by being forced to
compete with other schools, existing public schools will necessarily improve or cease
operating. Competition under this theory generally comes in two forms: private schools,
with taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers, or charter schools, which operate largely
independent of the school district but have been chartered by a public entity or publicly
appointed entity so that they qualify for local and state taxpayer funds in the same way as
conventional district schools. In practice, voucher schools have remained a small part of
the market-reform arena, while charter schools now account for the lion’s share of
alternatives to traditional public schools.

While faith in market competition as an effective engine of reform provides a general
theoretical basis for both EMO-run district and charter public schools, the specifics of the
competition are somewhat different in each instance. Adherents of market-based school
reform favor charter schools in the belief that they provide competition that will force
existing public schools to improve their outcomes or be put out of operation. Support for
for-profit management of district schools, meanwhile, arises essentially from a belief that
private business models are more efficient and effective than nonprofit, government-
operated institutions. A for-profit company contracted to manage district public schools,
it is reasoned, will have incentives (making a profit in the short term and retaining a
profitable contract in the long term) to seek efficiencies and improve student outcomes
and achievement. The competition, in this context, takes place not among schools or
districts themselves, but among current or potential managers of schools.
Profiles Report: Introduction

http://www.epicpolicy.org/publication/profiles-profit-education-management-organizations-2007-2008


This is the "privatization" we are all talking about when we refer to charter schools. Their being open to the public does not make them "public" any more than a mall being open to the public makes that a public institution. It is privately run by a profit making management firm and/or vendors. There are some charters that are run by school districts (or so I've seen it claimed here...), but a great majority are run by outside management.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_5_57/ai_77382336/

The Rise of EMOs

Charter schools are public schools, financed by taxpayers and accountable to agencies of state or local government. Like other public schools, they are nonprofit organizations. Any surplus revenues they generate must be used to advance their educational purposes.

Increasingly, however, charter schools are managed under contract by for-profit educational management organizations. EMOs provide a variety of services to charter schools. Some offer a relatively limited array of management and financial services to their schools. Others offer whole-school packages to charter school operators.

Under these contracts, the EMO exercises full administrative control over the school. The principal and teachers are EMO employees, and decisions about curriculum and instructional practice are made by the EMO. Some EMOs, including Edison and Advantage, have implemented whole-school packages in traditional public schools as well as in charter schools.

One of the early lessons from charter school reform is that starting a school from scratch without the support of a public school district is very difficult. Opening and maintaining a building, hiring and paying a staff, developing and implementing a curriculum and ensuring compliance with state regulations and reporting requirements takes more work than many charter school operators ever imagined. Many EMOs have emerged to provide charter schools with the administrative support that traditional public schools ordinarily receive from the central office. They are, in other words, private-sector school districts.

<snip>

How They Profit

How do EMOs earn their money? Three ways, primarily

* Reducing labor costs.
* Using economies of scale.
* Providing fewer services.

<snip>

Under Michigan's school finance system the state provides the same subsidy for every student in a local school district. If students from that district choose to attend a charter school, their subsidies follow them to their new school. The state subsidy is greater than the average per-pupil cost of educating elementary students, but less than the average per-pupil cost of educating high school students.

This represents a powerful incentive for schools to specialize in the education of elementary students, and this is just what most Michigan charter schools do. Many schools focus on early elementary education. Only a few offer programs for secondary students, and many of these are low-cost alternative or vocational programs targeted to specific groups of students.

By specializing in the education of low-cost students, charter schools are able to reduce the average cost of educating the students in their schools. The margin between the subsidy provided by the state and the average cost of education is available for other uses, including profits for EMOs.

When charter schools reduce the average cost of educating students in their schools, however, they raise the average cost of educating students in nearby public schools, which must continue to offer high-cost programs, including secondary education and special education services. If low-cost students leave to take advantage of opportunities elsewhere, then the subsidy provided by the state will begin to fall short of the average cost of educating students in the traditional public school system.

[Starry Messenger]

37. Fieldwork Education

Fieldwork Education

Type: private equity

Key personnel
Co-founder and managing director of Fieldwork
Education: Martin Skelton (previously primary
school headteacher and university lecturer on
education)

Chief executive of the World Class Learning
Group: Marcel van Miert (previously marketing
director at the European Business School)
Chairman of Sovereign Capital: John Nash
Partner at Sovereign Capital: Ryan Robson
(former Wandsworth Councillor, and member
of the Centre for Social Justice’s ‘Educational
Failure Working Group’)

Financial background
Turnover: £3.2 million (31 Aug 2008)
Operating profit: £0.6 million (31 Aug 2008)

Services provided
Fieldwork Education is part of the World Class
Learning Group (or WCL), a London-based
international schools group educating more
than 2,000 students at its five British Schools of
America and at its Compass International School
in Doha, Qatar.

Since 2008, WCL has been backed (owned) by
Sovereign Capital, an independent private equity
house set up by John Nash in 1988 with £650
million under management. Sovereign invests in
entrepreneurial UK businesses, specifically in the
service-based sectors of healthcare, education
and training, and business support services.
Sovereign has held investments in the Alpha Plus
Group (an independent schools operator group),
the special needs schools group, SENAD, and in
esg and Paragon, both training providers.

Comment
John Nash is former chairman of the British Venture
Capital Association, former board member of the
Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, Conservative
party donor and member of Chancellor George
Osborne’s ‘independent challenge group’, which
has a remit to ‘question the unquestionable’ in the
Treasury’s austerity drive. He sponsors Pimlico
Academy in south London via Future, a charity for
the “underprivileged young”. When Westminster
Council announced that Sovereign Capital was
to sponsor the new Pimlico academy, protesters
occupied the lobby of Sovereign Capital in protest.
Sovereign Capital says: “The education market
is one with high barriers to entry and strong
regulation while the training sector remains
highly fragmented and, as a market with priority
state funding, is forecast to grow substantially
throughout the next decade.”

Fieldwork Education is an international provider of
learning-focused services and products, working
in four areas: school management services,
international primary curriculum, professional
development, and assessment and evaluation.
It runs Shell’s international schools and sells its
international primary curriculum to more than 500
schools in 50 countries.

It also states: “There are significant opportunities
for further organic growth at British schools by
expanding pupil capacity in addition to Buy &
Build prospects in the fragmented, international
market.”

Fieldwork Education already offers a schools
start-up service. It says: “We help new schools
begin and we provide the educational management
to our own schools and to other schools around
the world. Our service is dedicated to providing
schools with the systems and structures that will
ensure a focus on learning.”

Fieldwork Education is listed on the New Schools
Network website as one of the charities and
companies which have approached the New
Schools Network to express their interest in
offering help to parents and teachers who want
to set up new schools.


http://www.fieldworkeducationservices.com/

http://www.fieldworkeducation.co.uk/

John Nash & Center for Policy Study:

http://www.cps.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=cpsarticle&id=112&Itemid=20

History of CPS

http://www.cps.org.uk/index.php?option=com_cpshistory&Itemid=19

"I do think we have accomplished the revival of the philosophy and principles of a free society, and the acceptance of it. And that is absolutely the thing that I live for. History will accord a very great place to Keith Joseph in that accomplishment. A tremendous place because he was imbued by this passion too. We set up the Centre for Policy Studies, and it has propagated those ideas, and they have been accepted."

Margaret Thatcher, 1979.

As the Centre for Policy Studies celebrates its 35th anniversary we have compiled a timeline of some of the milestones of the CPS' work up to the turn of the millennium


In short very Conservative and High Tory


World Class Learning Group (WCL)
http://www.wclgroup.com/


Sovereign Capital
http://www.sovereigncapital.co.uk/


About us
Established in 2001, Sovereign Capital is the UK's private equity Buy & Build specialist

We have a significant track record and specific expertise in the defined UK service sectors of healthcare, education & training and outsourced business support services.

As an independent private equity house with £650m under management, we invest up to £40m in proven management teams who are committed to growing their businesses.

Sovereign have developed a strong reputation for successfully building investee companies' scale: through geographic expansion and / or service diversification.


The International Primary Curriculum (IPC)
http://www.internationalprimarycurriculum.com/

http://www.gsgi.co.uk/articles/curricula-and-exams/curricula/international-primary-curriculum

International Primary Curriculum

The International Primary Curriculum was originally developed by the Shell Oil Company for its schools overseas and is now used extensively at primary level in international schools throughout the world. The curriculum was created to grapple with the problem of transient students who missed out of large amounts of material every time they changed schools. The resulting topic-based curriculum is taught in pre-packaged formulated lesson plans so students can go from school to school and not miss a beat. Yet, in keeping with the close attention paid to the way emotional states affect learning, the material can be innovative and often fun.

Focusing on three standards - academic, personal development, international mindedness, the theory is that teaching through topics provides a creative system that opens up learning. The core subjects - science, mathematics, history, art, language, geography, and more - are all taught through topics, each one lasting two to six weeks.


http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2382750

Slick oil curriculum fuels theme-based teaching

Growing numbers of primary schools are paying to teach a theme-based international curriculum initially developed for the children of Shell Oil employees.

More than 150 schools in England have joined the International Primary Curriculum network, spending around £10,000 to sign up, then a further £1,000 annual subscription.

The network, which has its headquarters in London, provides teaching units to more than 200 schools in 43 countries on themes such as "What price progress?" and "Time and Place". The units encourage pupils to be internationally minded, so, for example, one themed on chocolate examines fair trade.

The curriculum was initially developed for 15 English and Dutch-speaking international schools run by Shell Oil, but swiftly attracted interest from other schools.

Martin Skelton, a founding director of the IPC, said that no mention of Shell was made in the curriculum, although the company had provided crucial start-up money and requested that lessons gave pupils a global perspective.

Shell Oil has its own school system. Who knew.


"The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connexions everywhere."--Old man who knew his stuff

[Hannah Bell]

41. kicking this so i can find it