The team here at Benchmark Leasing have for some time been working hard to create the most convenient minibus leasing packages especially for schools – evolving the arrangement through feedback, primarily from teachers, site managers, administrators and school managers.

Here are the arrangements that we have composed to date:

The New Ford Transit Minibus
Key features: Daytime running lights, Bluetooth, power side step, curve control, tinted glass, and remote central locking. The Trend in addition (for a modest rental increase) includes such items as metallic paint, power heated and folding mirrors, heated front windscreen, and parking sensors.

Ford Transit Minibus 12 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £299 + VAT.
A favourite as it can be driven on a regular driving license due to its light weight.

Ford Transit Minibus 15 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £317 + VAT.

Ford Transit Minibus 17 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £368 + VAT.

Renault Trafic Minibus
Key features: 62 mph speed limiter, electronic stability control, digital tachograph, two 2kg fully compliant water/foam fire extinguishers, first aid kit with VOSA approved content, electric side step, individual spot lights and air vents for passengers and rear safety doors.

Renault Trafic 9 Seat Minibus
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £318 + VAT.

Vauxhall Movano
Key features: Padded head restraints, dual front passenger bench seat, individual saloon lighting, optional air conditioning, illuminated rear passenger walkway, overhead storage and coat racks, retracting side step, and standard Electronic Stability Programme (ESP).

Vauxhall Movano 17 Seat Minibus
3 years, 30,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £470 + VAT.

All prices include a Full Maintenance package consisting of tyre replacement, servicing, Road Tax, MOT’s, and 6 Monthly Safety Inspections. Based on an initial rental equivalent to 3 monthly rentals.

You can find more information about Benchmark Leasing’s school minibus packages by visiting our website. Or, if you’d prefer, you can call us on 01753 859944 or email us at minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

The Woodland Trust is asking for more people to become citizen scientists and help them with their quest of studying, observing, and recording the natural world.

This is a great opportunity to get your pupils involved in spotting and recording critical pieces of information in your school’s local area which “simply couldn’t be collected via conventional science alone.”

You can register to participate in The Nature’s Calendar Survey[1] where your pupils can “record and view seasonal events that show the impact of climate change on our wildlife”, or find out which trees are infected with pests and diseases and how you can help by applying for a Disease Recovery Tree Pack[2].

It is also worth noting that some schools are eligible to receive free tree packs[3].

Likewise, The Pod also runs a citizen science programme with which you can get involved[4]. Once you’ve signed up you’ll have access to supporting resources, including: a presentation, lesson plans with curriculum links, an information pack for background information on birds and climate change, a data sheet, and identification posters.

Benchmark has created a Facebook and Twitter page especially for schools where we post and tweet a constant stream of activity and location ideas for learning-outside-the-classroom in your school’s grounds, local area, and further afield.

To get notifications of learning-outside-the-classroom activity and location ideas and how LOtC can be used to benefit your pupils’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

[1] The Nature’s Calendar Survey

[2] Disease Recovery Tree Pack

[3] To see if your school is eligible to receive free tree packs, visit http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/in-your-community/apply-for-a-school-tree-pack/

[4] Get involved in The Pod’s citizen science programme by visiting jointhepod.org/.

Learning-outside-the-classroom:
providing real-life applications of concepts learnt in the classroom

Without a clear vision of what it is exactly that your colleagues want to achieve by taking their students on a school trip, it is unlikely that the LOtC experience will be as beneficial to students’ learning and development as they might have hoped.

Therefore, before your colleagues go any further with their planning, it is important that they ask the question, “What do I want to achieve?”

Of course, if your colleague in the English department plans to take his or her students on a trip to the Globe Theatre, it is clear that the purpose of this visit is to cement the learning that they have done in the classroom for their upcoming exams and beyond.

In other instances, it might be that your colleagues wish to use learning-outside-the-classroom to provoke an emotional response among students, as opposed to using the visit as a revision tool or for learning new knowledge.

Where your students are encouraged to engage on an emotional level with a subject or topic area, they will be able to remember information about it more readily. So your colleague in the history department might plan to take his or her students to a WW1 memorial site.

However, not every school trip has to be focussed on learning. Sometimes, if there is time left at the end of term and the budget allows for it (or parents are willing to pay for it), your colleagues might plan a school trip as a reward, to boost morale, or perhaps to re-ignite students’ passion for a subject.

But it doesn’t end there – school trips, or learning-outside-the-classroom, can also be highly beneficial to secondary school students when it comes to deciding which career they would like to pursue.

School trips enable students to experience activities and events that they don’t have the opportunity to experience in the classroom, thus giving them a better understanding of where, in society, they (could) fit in.

Benchmark has created a Facebook and Twitter page especially for teachers where we post and tweet a constant stream of activity and location ideas for whatever it is you or your colleagues wish to achieve by undertaking learning-outside-the-classroom.

To get notifications of school trip activity and location ideas and how LOtC can be used to benefit your students’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk .

The seven benefits of learning-outside-the-classroom

Countless studies and eye-witness accounts (from teachers, parents, and pupils) have proven that learning-outside-the-classroom is beneficial to all those concerned in various and numerous ways. But what are these “various and numerous ways” exactly?

The team here at Benchmark Leasing have come up with seven different ways that learning-outside-the-classroom is beneficial. Of course, if you think a benefit is missing from the list below, please do email jenny@hamilton-house.com to let us know.

Benefit one: Learning-outside-the-classroom raises your school’s profile
Schools that regularly undertake learning-outside-the-classroom in their local area are able to form stronger links with groups and individuals in their community. And schools that regularly undertake learning-outside-the-classroom further afield are visible within the community through the school’s branding (uniforms, logos on the school minibus, etc.)

Your school thus has the opportunity to showcase its efforts and achievements and to communicate the school values which could lead to positive media coverage, impressing Ofsted and encouraging prospective parents to send their child to your school.

Benefit two: Reward, motivation and boosting morale
Not every school trip has to be based around learning. Sometimes, if there is time left at the end of term and the budget permits (or parents are willing to pay for it), the school might decide to plan a school trip as a reward for the work pupils have done, or to boost morale and further motivate them to future learning.

Benefit three: To ignite or re-ignite a passion for a subject
Benefit two links in nicely with benefit three. Learning-outside-the-classroom can be beneficial for pupils who are new to the school as it can ignite a passion for a subject which they may not have been introduced to before.

It can also be beneficial to existing pupils to re-ignite a passion for a subject, particularly after a period of exams, for example.

Benefit four: Improves pupils’ understanding of the world and where they (could) fit in
Learning-outside-the-classroom can also be highly beneficial to students when it comes to deciding which career they would like to pursue. School trips enable students to experience activities and events that they don’t have the opportunity to experience in the classroom, thus giving them a better understanding of where, in society, they (could) fit in.

Benefit five: Trust, independence and responsibility
With learning-outside-the-classroom comes an element of trust in terms of pupils’ behaviour as many school rules aren’t applicable when pupils are outside the school’s grounds. This thus devolves increased responsibility on to your pupils and encourages increased independence, which is of course a vital life skill.

Benefit six: Learning-outside-the-classroom can encourage diversity
Given that the demographics of pupils in a school are representative of the demographics of the people in the local area, schools located in an area where ethnic and cultural diversity is lacking naturally find it more difficult to fulfil Ofsted’s diversity requirements.

Therefore, by undertaking regular learning-outside-the-classroom activities (depending on where your pupils go, what your pupils do, and whom your pupils encounter) the school can offer good evidence to Ofsted that your school is encouraging diversity.

Benefit seven: To cement the learning that they have done in the classroom
This is perhaps the most beneficial outcome of learning-outside-the-classroom. And there is not just one reason, but three that we can think of, for learning-outside-the-classroom being remembered more readily by pupils than learning-inside-the-classroom.

Firstly, learning-outside-the-classroom provides real-life applications of concepts learnt in the classroom which not only provides a greater understanding of these concepts, but also highlights to pupils why what they are learning matters.

Secondly, learning-outside-the-classroom often takes on a different type of learning style, steering more towards kinaesthetic learning than visual and auditory learning – styles which are used most commonly in the classroom. This therefore gives pupils, who learn best through movements and experience, the opportunity to learn in their preferred style.

Thirdly, some learning-outside-the-classroom can provoke an emotional response from your pupils which cannot be provoked in the classroom. Connecting their learning with emotion will ensure that the information they have learnt will be remembered more readily. This type of learning-outside-the-classroom might be a visit to a WW1 memorial or to a theatre production, for example.

As mentioned previously, if you think a benefit of learning-outside-the-classroom is missing from our list, please do email jenny@hamilton-house.com to let us know.

And, of course, as school minibus leasing is our area of specialty, if your school requires a (new) school minibus in order to undertake learning-outside-the-classroom, you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk for more information.

What’s more, Benchmark has created a Facebook and Twitter page especially for teachers where we post and tweet a constant stream of activity and location ideas to support you and your colleagues with learning-outside-the-classroom.

To get notifications of school trip activity and location ideas, and how learning-outside-the-classroom can be used to benefit your students learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

Most parents have fond memories of the school trips they went on, which is why they are always impressed to see just how many times the school minibus has been used each month.

The school minibus is not only a vehicle that transports students from A to B and back again but it is also an extraordinarily powerful advertising message to parents of students in your school and to those who are thinking of sending their child to your school.

Now I know that normally when I  say “advertising message” in relation to minibuses people think of the logo and name of the school painted on the side of the bus.  And that, of course, is a fair place to start.

But there is a second issue that can have even more impact than the logo on the side of the minibus.  For if on your school website you log all the school trips that your minibus or minibuses have been used for, you can then use that list as a statement to the parents of just how involved your school is in Learning Outside the Classroom.

Of course, just putting up the log of all the trips each month is not enough by itself, for you also have to direct potential parents to that point on your website and you have to let them know the benefit for each trip.

So you will need to have a page that says, “Learning Outside the Classroom” and a link to it from the home page.

This simple device works as a way of impressing parents because most people do see “Learning Outside the Classroom” as a highly beneficial concept.

This is because what most of us remember most positively about our own school days are the days that stand out – and that often means the days that were different, the days when we left the school and went elsewhere.

So your log might well include the date, the name of the group (eg Year 10 history students), the place visited, and the reason for the visit.

That’s all it has to be – although you might well want to write a brief introduction at the top of the page about why Learning Outside the Classroom is such an important part in your school’s educational policy.

Obviously you need a school minibus which is modern, safe, and itself a positive advertisement for the school – which is why Benchmark focuses on leasing minibuses. The policy means that you don’t have to collect the money for the minibus from years of fundraising.  All you have to do is ensure that you have the monthly leasing fee available – and then you can proceed.

Benchmark has created a Facebook and Twitter page especially for teachers where we post and tweet a constant stream of activity and location ideas for whatever it is you or your colleagues wish to achieve by undertaking learning-outside-the-classroom.

To get notifications of school trip activity and location ideas, and how LOtC can be used to benefit your students’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk .

Why a new school minibus doesn’t have to be
expensive to the point of being unaffordable.

Many schools are finding that the most effective way of ensuring that their pupils are involved in educational visits is by having their own school minibus.

However, when you think of a minibus for your school, your first thought may well be that they are so expensive to the point of being unaffordable.

This is a common perception, however many schools are now finding that a new school minibus is possible, but not by buying them, instead they lease them.

Leasing means that the cost of the minibus is spread over time with fixed monthly costs, and can be accounted for in the budget. The PTA can still contribute by raising money to pay for the monthly payments, but there is no longer that long wait for the capital to be accumulated.

What’s more, through the leasing arrangement there’s a second benefit, for all the maintenance of the minibus can be taken on by the leasing company, thus keeping the vehicle fully operational at all times.

Additionally, where school trips are paid for by contributions from parents and the PTA, it is possible to allocate a part of those payments towards the cost of the minibus.

In other cases the minibus can be funded through a small monthly deduction from the school’s allocated income.

Not only will a new minibus help the school to expand education beyond classroom activities but it will also be a statement to prospective parents about the breadth and scope of the school’s vision.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses and because of this we are able to offer very competitive prices.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

Why is the national fleet of school minibuses growing at such a rate – and how are schools managing to finance such growth?

According to recent surveys one of the main reasons for the recent growth in the number of school minibuses is that schools are acquiring them in order to connect with other schools.

Schools have reported that they derive huge benefits from having closer links with other schools, whether it is a case of playing competitive sport, participating in a unified schools’ orchestra, or sharing the use of the facilities at a neighbouring school (be it a gym or top of the range D&T equipment).

And as this interchange between schools becomes increasingly popular, more school minibuses are needed to cater for this demand.

Furthermore, schools are finding it easier now than ever to finance their school minibus thanks to the various leasing arrangements that are now available and which enable them to avoid having to make a large upfront payment.

Benchmark Leasing offers schools the option to lease a minibus, which has proven for many to be cheaper than making an outright purchase (especially if one takes into account the re-sale value of a school bus at the end of its working life or hiring a coach each time).

What’s more, Benchmark Leasing offer a full maintenance programme, so no matter the outcome of the vehicle’s services and MOTs, the cost of repairs won’t affect the lease price.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

And you can find more reasons for the year on year increase in the number of school minibuses in the UK on our blog – www.minibusleasingblog.co.uk.

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

A school minibus can be driven by any member of staff who holds a standard car driving licence. This is providing that the gross weight of the vehicle is below 3500kg (equivalent, as it happens, to the weight of a blue whale’s tongue).

As a result, many teachers are able to offer more learning outside the classroom opportunities to their pupils as they don’t need to rely on the appointed school minibus driver/s with a minibus license who might be unavailable at the time.

What’s more, taking smaller groups of pupils outside the classroom to undertake their learning can make a huge impact not only on their academic progress, as the learning is made more personal to them, but also on their personal development.

If you are unsure which model of school minibuses can be driven on a car driving licence, Benchmark Leasing have a range of minibuses that are available for leasing and that fit the required specifications.

A popular minibus among schools to whom we lease is a 12 seater Ford Transit Minibus (TDCi Trend) which comes with air conditioning, metallic paint (if required), heated front screen, electric mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, and fog lamps.

Our leasing package for this vehicle is a 2 year agreement of payments of just £299 + VAT per month. This particular leasing package includes full maintenance, including replacement tyres, servicing, Road Tax, MOTs, and 6 Monthly Safety Inspections.

This special offer is only available while stocks last.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

Given that the majority of school minibuses on the road are over five years old, the following approach can be particularly valuable.

Given the choice, most of us would choose to drive a new minibus rather than an old one.

Given the choice most of us would choose not to have to do all the maintenance work (including tyres, clutch, battery, etc) on the school’s minibus.

Now both of those choices can be met through having a leased minibus that comes complete with a maintenance contract.

The great benefit of leasing is that the purchase of the bus doesn’t come in one lump from school funds. Rather the bus is paid for as it is used by the school.

So you get a double benefit. A new minibus which is less likely to have problems plus the option of having a professional undertake all the standard maintenance and servicing.

This effectively reduces the onus that is put on the person who is nominated in the school’s transport policy to look after the minibus. Indeed, it was to overcome issues and difficulties such as this that we introduced full maintenance as part of our minibus leasing.

Not only do the schools that use our service get a new minibus without having to use current capital to buy it, but they also get our certification that the bus has been checked by qualified engineers.

All in all you get a wonderful new school minibus, which is beautiful to drive and with no maintenance concerns at all.

If you would like to know more take a look at our website – www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

Alternatively email us at Minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or call us on 01753 859 944.

Increasing the number of opportunities your pupils get to undertake multi-sensory learning outside the typical classroom environment.

One multi-sensory approach to learning, which is perhaps more effective than any other, is that of offering your pupils the opportunity to undertake their learning outside the typical classroom environment.

Indeed it is likely that you have already witnessed the enormous benefits that learning outside the classroom has on your pupils’ progress and development. Yet opportunities for such learning can be far and few between.

This is because organising school transport for learning outside the classroom can be difficult in terms of finding a vehicle that is suited to the needs of your pupils. It can also be difficult to fund such trips on a regular basis.

Fortunately, Benchmark Leasing offer a leasing package for converted and specialist school vehicles which for many schools has proven to be a much more cost effective option. It is an arrangement which makes it possible for schools to fund the vehicle through a small payment each month – which has the added benefit of improved budgeting and cash flow.

We work with the most respected and expert vehicle convertors and specialist vehicle suppliers to create a bespoke vehicle with a flexible arrangement, equipped with everything that your pupils require. From wheelchair access, including ramps and lifts, to the fitting and removal of additional seats.

All our vehicles respond to the VOSA/VCA legislation that came into force in April 2013 and are tested and approved by an accredited test institution to meet the safety standards described in EEC directives ECE-R14/06 and council directive 76/115.

What’s more, a full maintenance programme is included in the leasing package, so no matter the outcome of the vehicle’s services and MOTs, the cost of repairs won’t affect the lease price.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk