I am sure you will have seen it yourself.   When pupils or students return to school after an away sporting fixture or other out-of-school event, many will be picked up by their parents.  And of course, in the summer months, this pick-up will occur in daylight.

In such situations, most parents will dutifully wait in their designated area near the school gates – and thus in the summer term will actually see the school minibus return.  Indeed, for many parents, this is both the only contact that they have with the out-of-school activities and the only time they get to see the minibus.

As such that minibus is the key to their vision of the school.  They are proud of course that their daughters and sons are representing the school, and they will undoubtedly seek to get information about the event, and indeed the trip.

And when the transport is very obviously new, and in excellent condition, that will form a major part of their vision of the school.

For it is undoubtedly the case that a minibus can have more effect on a parent’s view of the school than one might think, for the simple reason that when parents don’t see the inside of the school on a daily basis, all they have to go on is what their sons and daughters say.

But when they see the school team return to school in a modern, gleaming, and obviously very safe vehicle, parental impressions of the school as a whole rises.

At the same time, the age and state of the minibus will affect the students’ perception of the school.  If they are travelling in a modern vehicle they will accept their role as “ambassadors” of the school.

Indeed, more and more schools are using leased minibuses not just to facilitate journeys to sporting fixtures but also to increase the “learning outside” opportunities the school can offer.

There is more about leasing a new minibus on our website.   Alternatively, you can get in touch by calling the Minibus Team on  01753 976 095 or by dropping us an email –  stephenplumley@selectcarleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

Stephen Plumley

Parents, of course, have many varied views of what schooling is all about.  After all, they all went to school themselves, and the images from their own childhood will still be clear in their minds – and influencing their thoughts.

Which inevitably raises the question, what is the most effective way of ensuring that parents feel that your school is both providing the quality education they want for their children, and constantly improving the services and facilities offered?

Curiously, despite the complexity of that question, there is one thing that has been shown, time and time again, to impact upon parents in a very profound way.   And yet it is something that you might never expect to have such an impact.  It is the school minibus.

For the look and quality of the minibus that transports their children around, is often taken by many parents to be symbolic of everything that goes on in the school.

What’s more, when the minibus is not only a very modern vehicle, but is also displaying the school livery, it not only speaks volumes to parents of those attending the school, but also to parents whose children will shortly be moving up from primary to secondary school.

For these parents, as indeed for all parents, safety is of parament importance.  Which is why an obviously modern and up-to-date school minibus with all the contemporary safety features is exactly what they want to see.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to afford a brand new minibus.   But now, leasing a minibus means that low initial financial outlay and predictable monthly payments can make having a modern minibus available to pupils and students all the time.

Thus a modern, leased minibus with a contemporary design and full safety features gives pupils, students, colleagues and parents a feeling of quality, and a renewed respect both for the school, and the opportunities it gives to its pupils and students.

To see just what is available in terms of leasing contemporary minibuses, please do have a look at our website.

For more information on the vehicles available, and to discuss approaches to leasing please call 01753 976095 or email stephenplumley@selectcarleasing.co.uk

Steve Plumley

Select Fleet Solutions – Eton

Visits to art galleries, sports matches at other schools, theatre and concert events… the issue of travel for small groups of pupils and students has been something of a headache for many schools in recent years.

This has not just been because of the logistics of moving pupils and students around, but also because during the pandemic, the production of minibuses was greatly reduced, thus making them harder to obtain, and therefore harder to lease.

Now thankfully those problems are behind us and minibuses for schools are once again available on leasing contracts lasting anything from two to five years.

And as an added benefit we also now have available electric minibuses, which mean not only reduced fuel costs but also a very positive message indeed to put to parents and students about your school’s environmental awareness.

Leasing a minibus means that you can have a minibus with your school name on it, and an absolute guarantee that it will always be not just in full working order, but also fully maintained and ready to use, whenever you need it.

Which is why Select Van Leasing offer schools fully maintained vehicle leasing contracts, including scheduled safety inspections.

If you would like to explore the option of bringing a new minibus into your school, on a two-year lease or longer, from a company with a Trustpilot score of 4.9 out of 5, from over 34,000 reviews, then we would love to hear from you.

You can read more about our buses and our work on our website, where you will also find details of who can drive a minibus.

Or if you would like to talk about leasing exactly the right minibus for your school over any length of time that is suitable for you, please do call me on 01753 796095 or email me at stephenplumley@selectcarleasing.co.uk.

We can offer fully maintained vehicle leasing contracts, including scheduled safety inspections, as well as wheelchair accessible minibuses, and indeed all forms of vehicle signwriting to provide enhanced local awareness for your school.

Our minibus leasing contracts range from 24 to 60 months duration, to best suit your school’s specific needs.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Steve Plumley

Select Fleet Solutions – Eton

Obviously one can have a series of lessons in the classroom in which your students only speak French.

The only problem is that some students will occasionally phase out of the on-going conversation and stop forcing themselves to think in French.

However recent research undertaken by a team at Yale University has revealed that intellectual activity in new and different places stimulates the brain to a much, much higher level than otherwise would be the case.

As a result, if the instruction that all conversation is to be in French is given when the lesson is taking place in a different environment, then the focus on speaking and thinking in French tends to be grasped much more thoroughly than when the lesson takes place in the regular classroom.

Of course, if the conversation can also be related to something in the environment, then the learning becomes even more deeply embedded.  But even without that link, the mere fact of being in a different place stimulates the brain so much that the focus on the language is much more intense.

One way to do this is simply to take a group of students for a walk around the school grounds, with the students in pairs, being instructed to converse all the time, but only in French.

However if the students can experience a new environment, then the opportunity to develop the conversation grows dramatically when they are instructed to converse on the subject of what they see around them.

And one way to do this is by taking a short trip in the school minibus.

The research on learning in different environments from Yale University is reported in more detail on the Outside.Education website, and there is no doubt that the simple diversion of removing the conversation from the classroom to another environment does enhance learning dramatically.

As for the issue of having a minibus available, this problem has been overcome via the increased availability of leased minibuses which allow more groups to be taken out. For a minibus taken on a lease is paid for month by month until the lease ends, rather than being paid for in full at the start of its use.

If you are interested in the idea of leasing a minibus to enable the school to run more trips outside the classroom there is information on that here. Alternatively, you can get in touch by calling the Minibus Team on 01753 859944 or by dropping us an email – minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

You may have come across the “Daily Mile” – it is a project based around the notion that interrupting the school day in order to take pupils  out on a walk or run has a very positive outcome.

While one might assume that losing time from normal classroom lessons to go out for a walk might reduce the level of teaching, it appears that the opposite happens – and this is supported by analyses by the DFE and others.

Analyses of the project have been continuing since 2010, and most of the schools that take up the notion of interrupting work for a walk continue to report improved teaching and learning.

The only problem seems to be that after doing the same walk, or the same sort of walk, for a while, the improvement in learning diminishes  over time – although the improvement to the pupils’ physical health continues.

The reason for this is probably due to the impact on learning of the changing environment. As research from Yale University found, it is the change of environment that stimulates additional brain activity, meaning that more learning takes place in new or changed environments.

That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with The Daily Mile idea, but rather that if the walk can be varied and take in different places, then it brings two benefits: improving the pupils’ health and improving the retention of whatever is learned during the walk.

One of the best ways of organising this approach is to use the school minibus – especially if there are times of the day when it is standing idle in the school.  A school party goes out to a previously unexplored location nearby, the pupils walk, and as they walk they observe or discuss matters of educational interest.

And because of the extra brain activity that results from being in an unusual place, more of this knowledge is retained.

Indeed so beneficial is this approach that some schools are now starting to consider leasing a second minibus in order to facilitate such activities – as well as use the minibus for regular school visits and events.

There is more about the research into the benefits that are proven to come from learning outside on the learning outside website.

And if you are interested in leasing a minibus or upgrading a minibus to increase the learning outside opportunities your school can offer you will find this website of help.

Alternatively, you can get in touch by calling the Minibus Team on 01753 859944 or by dropping us an email – minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

Self-evidently maths pervades the entire world.  And yet traditionally it is studied almost exclusively within the classroom.

Clearly this works, since every year pupils and students learn the subject and take and pass their exams. But the question can be asked, is there a benefit in studying maths outside the classroom?

Recent research undertaken by a team at Yale University has revealed that learning in new and different places stimulates the brain to a much, much higher level than otherwise would be the case.

As a result any form of study that is undertaken during or after a visit to a different environment tends to be understood much more rapidly than study in the normal classroom.  And it is remembered for much longer.

Of course, if the learning can also be related to something in the environment visited then the learning becomes even more deeply embedded.  But even without that link, the mere fact of being in a different place stimulates the brain so much that it is invariably learned and remembered to a much deeper degree.

The one issue that has traditionally held schools back from undertaking more and more lessons outside the classroom is transport.  However this problem has been overcome via the increased availability of leased minibuses which allow smaller groups to be taken out.

For a minibus taken on a lease is paid for month by month until the lease ends, rather than being paid for in full at the start of its use. As a result, over recent years more and more schools have been leasing their minibuses rather than trying to raise the money needed all in one go.

Thus teaching and learning has in many schools had a double boost. Once from leasing rather than buying an additional minibus, and once because learning outside the classroom stimulates learning far more than learning that happens inside the classroom.

If you find this development interesting and feel it is something your department could benefit from, there are two articles available that may be of interest.

The research on learning in different environments from Yale University is reported in more detail on the Outside.Education website

And if you are interested in the idea of leasing a minibus to enable the school to run more trips outside the classroom there is information on that here. Alternatively, you can get in touch by calling the Minibus Team on 01753 859944 or by dropping us an email – minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

During the last couple of years there has been a lot of research on how it is possible to increase the speed at which pupils and students learn and their ability to retain that knowledge.

And it turns out from all this research that two changes to normal school procedures improve the speed of learning and the retention of the knowledge that has been gained.

First, the research clearly shows that a change to the physical location of the learning will indeed improve rates of learning and the retention of that learning. Second, physical activity also helps the retention of all that is learned.

And in both these cases these are not minor levels of improvement to the amount that pupils and students learn – they are huge.

I won’t try to deal with both these issues here, but instead just focus on one of them: the notion that changing the location in which learning takes place dramatically increases the level of learning and the amount of that learning that enters the long-term memory.

The key research in this field has been undertaken by a team at Yale University, and in summary this very detailed and extensive research showed that when we are in an environment which is different from the norm, the brain becomes much more active.

This, of course, is common sense – a new environment presents new challenges for the individual and so awareness is heightened.

But the research shows that even when the new environment is quite safe and the situation is under the control of others who are trusted, the brain still works far harder than it does in a well-known environment. As a result far more is likely to be learned in that new location and it is much more likely to be remembered.

What this means is that (to give but one example) if a teacher takes a group of pupils or students out for a part of the school day and conducts a lesson in that new location, the amount of information the pupils or students retain will be much higher than if the lesson had happened in the classroom.

This, of course, is the reason why more schools are now organising trips to nearby locations, often using a school minibus to take a group, and conducting a lesson there.

You can read more about the research showing how learning outside can be twice as powerful as learning in the classroom in the article “Uncertainty is good”.

Also, if you are interested in the idea of leasing a minibus to enable the school to run more trips outside the classroom there is information on that here. Alternatively, you can get in touch by calling the Minibus Team on 01753 859944 or by dropping us an email – minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

We have known for some time that learning outside the classroom is particularly effective in relation to delivering learning which is likely to be retained.

We also know this is particularly true of longer visits to venues some distance from the school. But is there a similar benefit to be gained from shorter visits to local venues?

Unfortunately independent detailed research into this topic has not been undertaken, but following the work by Yale University into whether learning outside the classroom in general really is more effective and more long lasting than learning within the classroom, informal studies suggest that short visits to local places can be as highly beneficial as visits to more distant locations which might already form part of the annual curriculum.

What’s more, it appears that this benefit accrues no matter what is being taught. It is the change of location that improves learning and retention.

This can also be most helpful if you are considering leasing a minibus as it is possible to gain extra voluntary funding for such a venture when the reasons behind it are set out.

If you are considering leasing a (additional) minibus to increase the learning outside opportunities for your pupils, do make sure to visit http://www.minibusleasing.co.uk/. Alternatively, you can get in touch by giving us a call on 01753 859944 or dropping us an email – minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk – and we’ll do our best to help!

Since Ofsted inspectors are making school leaders accountable for attendance, it is vital that schools are doing everything in their power to ensure that as many students as possible attend school each day.

Of course, this is much easier said than done, not least because there are numerous and various reasons for a student’s attendance dropping below what is required, but for some the reason is as simple as oversleeping and missing the school bus.

In these such cases, it could be worth sending a member of staff out with the school minibus to pick up any stragglers. This might be something that your school already does, but in our experience it is not a widespread method of raising school attendance.

If you would like to try this method of raising attendance but your current school minibus isn’t up to the job/ you need another school minibus to implement this service/ your school doesn’t currently own a minibus, simply get in touch with Benchmark Leasing.

Benchmark specialise in leasing minibuses to schools which, over time, has become a much more popular option than buying a minibus outright. This is because it is an arrangement which makes it possible for schools to afford a modern minibus with good capacity through a small monthly payment.

Furthermore, when you lease a minibus with us we take responsibility for its maintenance, thus absorbing the costs and keeping the vehicle fully operational at all times.

For more information visit http://minibusleasing.co.uk/. Alternatively, you can email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or call us on 01753 859944.