IDPE 2023 Membership model frequently asked questions
1. Why isn't the new membership model based on the number of development staff at the school?
IDPE have chosen to base the fee around number of pupils, as income is generally based on pupil numbers, therefore the smaller the school, the lower the income and therefore the lower the affordability to spend on resources.
Schools with more pupils are more likely to have a larger pool of alumni, and therefore more likely to receive more income into the development office, enabling those offices to afford more towards their membership fee.
Pupil numbers is publicly available information which is easy to obtain and to manage within our database.
Basing the fee on the number of staff in an office would open IDPE up to having to re-calculate the fee each time a staff member leaves or joins, which would be difficult to administer across the membership.
2. We are a very small development office, but our school belongs to a large group, are there any group discounts available?
IDPE have tried to create a model whereby our average subscription fee is less than 1% of the average development office's annual spend.
IDPE are also increasing the amount of training and resources that are included within the membership at no extra cost. Please take a look at our member benefits, where you can see what you will be receiving for your subscription fee that is not available to non-members.
New for 2023 is our group discount, whereby if you work at a school that shares some administration with 5 senior schools or more, you could be entitled to a 20% discount for each school in your group that joins IDPE.
3. Our development office works with a boys school and girls school under the same name – will our subscription increase?
If you are one development office, that has access to two pools of alumni across two separate senior schools (separately identified per the DfE website), under the new model you would have to pay a small charge for the smaller school (£80 if IND, £50 if State), this extra charge will enable you to invite staff from either school to our training at the discounted member rate, and also enable them to access the members online resources.
4. Do we have to pay additional subs because we have affiliated prep schools?
No, IDPE understand that senior schools may have affiliated prep schools, pre-prep schools, primary schools or even nurseries. In order to simplify the model, we are only counting the number of senior schools in the membership model when it comes to groups or centralised development offices.
5. We are part of a Multi-Academy Trust, but the development office only serves one school, what will our subscription cost?
You will only be charged the single school subscription rate.
6. We are a development office serving a number of schools in a Multi-Academy Trust, what will our subscription cost?
Where your development office serves more than one school, you will be charged according to the number of pupils at the biggest school, and there will also be a small charge per subsequent senior school (£80 IND or £50 State).
7. What happens if there are changes to our school during the year?
IDPE will look at the pupil numbers per the DfE website (or equivalent) in the Autumn each year, and it is this number that the subscription fee will be based on for the following year.
8. Our school recently merged with another school, will this affect our subscription?
a. The schools that have merged with us are prep schools
b. The schools that have merged with us are senior schools
Where schools have merged but remain separately identified per the DfE website (or equivalent), this will be treated as:
- Either; a centralised office where the two schools have one development office, the subscription charge would be based on the pupil numbers of the biggest school, plus an additional small fee if the smaller school is a senior school
- Or; a group of schools with shared administration, but separate development offices, both of which could be eligible for 20% discount depending on the number of senior schools in the group
Where schools have merged and are now not separately identified per the DfE website (or equivalent), the subscription charge will be based on the new pupil number total.
9. We are part of a group of schools that have a shared value and ethos. Is there a group membership for us?
To be eligible for the 20% group discount, the schools would need to have a shared administrative function, and be invoiced centrally with a minimum of 5 senior schools in the group.
10. We are an independent school working in partnership with local state schools, can they benefit from the IDPE membership?
IDPE Membership is available to all schools across the UK and abroad. There are a wide range of resources and training tailored specifically to state schools, you can access a list of the benefits for all here. We also have a state school fundraising toolkit which is available for free to help state schools on their fundraising journey.
11. We are a really small school looking for support with school's development but the subscription fee is still prohibitive, what options are there for us?
As part of our mission to help all school's IDPE offers access to a number of resources for an individual fee including parts of our professional development programme, benchmarking reports. We also have a free state school toolkit available through the website. You are welcome to contact us to discuss your requirements, please call Caroline Pix, Membership and Engagement Manager, to discuss.
12. Why are IDPE changing the membership model?
IDPE have been using the same 'one size fits all' approach since we began over 20 years ago, however as schools are expanding and merging it no longer felt fair that every school was charged the same.
13. What if I can't afford the changes?
IDPE understand the increasing budget pressures schools are facing, therefore we welcome an open conversation with schools that may be struggling financially, there are always ways IDPE can help members, please email Caroline Pix to discuss what support IDPE may be able to offer.
14. I work for a foundation supporting multiple schools. My subscription is going to increase quite considerably, what additional member value can you offer me?
Each school covered under the membership can access the member benefits as outlined here, this includes being able to access our training programmes at the discounted member rate.
IDPE understand the increasing budget pressures schools are facing, therefore, where the subscription fee has increased significantly, IDPE would like to help reduce the burden by applying the increase in fee across two years. Please email accounts@idpe.org.uk if you would like to enquire further.
15. How do you define a senior school?
When IDPE use the term senior school, we are referring to the school with pupils that are aged between 13-16. We understand for some schools this will be referred to as secondary school.
16. We are a stand alone educational institution and serve pupils who are not between the ages of 13-16, what is our subscription fee?
For any UK based stand alone educational institution serving pupils of any age the subscription fee is based on the number of pupils per the DfE website (or equivalent).
For institutions outside the UK, the fixed international rate would apply.
17. What if we are at the top of the band, then go over the threshold temporarily, what would our fee be then?
Where your school has exceeded the threshold by a small margin, which is believed to be temporary IDPE will charge based on the pupil numbers in the previous year, if the school pupil numbers are still above the band the following year, IDPE will then increase the charge accordingly.