To ask why so many people are against schools turning into academies?

[rainydaysarebad]

Realised DD is starting school in September and I have NO IDEA about the schooling system or how a school is run.

Why are people against academies? Aren't they like private schools? (Realises this may be a stupid question).

What about grammar schools that have turned into academies? Are they still good schools?

One more question not related to thread title: Can a child from another county apply to a grammar school by sitting their 11 plus exam? Do grammar schools take children from other local counties?

This is what I'm worried about for Secondary for DS2. ALL the Secondaries that are reachable by public transport will be Academies, with the SAME admission criteria and the same board for all admissions, as it will be an Academy Consortium.

Speaking to ex-P last night, and given that DS2 has been illegally taken off both SA+ & SA, we are he is going to pay for a Private EP and apply to the LEA ourselves for a statement.

The Primary was notorious for not putting DC forward to see the EP even when they WERE LA controlled - not just my DD, but she saw the EP every 6 months in her previous LEA, then moved here in Y2, and despite reports from YR saying that she needed to see the EP every 6 months, she didn't see the EP AT ALL from Y2 till the end of Y6, despite my best efforts.

She made NO progress through the whole of KS2.

We WON'T let that happen to DS2 as well, even if it bankrupts us in the process, I am on benefits and Ex-P is on a very low income, but we will be fighting this all the way to get a statement, if they are doing away with SA/SA+.

He NEEDS the help inj order to progress.

antiacademies.org.uk/

www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/breaking_news_downhills_primary_school_to_become_an_academy_1_1416962

Julia
Gove has had it in for Haringey LEA since the day he became Minister.
NOTHING they could have said or done would have changed that outcome.
He regards his work as completing what Maggie started with the dismantling of ILEA.

And as he and his Journo wife will send their kids to Private school he actually does not give a shit what impact his policies have on the rest of us.

Talkin same with every sodding policy of this miserable sodding government

Julia
agreed, BUT as the academy program was started under Bliar and Broon, what is the alternative?
scary isn't it
my admiration for the Belgians who had no government for 13 months grows by the day.
at least if the buggers are hamstrung they cannot do "initiatives"

SA+ students only get around 2 hours' support every week anyway. The sen register as we know it is being done away with but as yet we don't know what will replace it. My gut tells me it won't be favourable towards sen students
Nationally , it is SA+ students who fare the worst academically. There needs to be more funding for them to succeed. However, the largest need in the SA+ category are BESD students who need more specialist support, of which the training/funding for staff is virtually nil currently. The whole thing is a mess.

Contact your local Parent Partnership for help with obtaining a statement.

As for academies, as others have said, it all depends on who is in charge. I expect the goalposts to move on exclusions/sen students to change once we are all academies though.

There has been no Parent Partnership officer for my area for 4 FUCKING YEARS. And they won't let you talk to the one from the neighbouring area...

SA+ students NEED those two hours though - when they should be getting far more than that, to take away the paltry two hours they DO get is verging on criminal.

Thank you LeonieDelt, for confirming what I suspected. And for confirming that what I am going to do is the right thing. God knows where we will get the money for a Private EP report from when we are struggling to pay our bills and eat, but it needs to be done.

It gives the school more control - they can change things about more.

Also they will no longer be covered by the local government insurance so things like floods and fires will cost them a lot more to fix.

CouthyMow, I'm simply giving you my perspective. Perhaps approach a charity which advocates for parents/young people with whichever need your dc has? I'm sorry to hear the Parent Partnership is no longer available in your area.

Please remember that it is likely your dc will be in lessons with other TAs who are funded to be there for statemented students but generally they 'float' and help other students too.

Good luck.

Sorry, Northwentsouth - it's not YOU that I am annoyed and frustrated with, it's my LEA, and the fact that EVERY other area in my LEA has a PP officer, except ours, where the post has been vacant for 4 years. The cynic in me says it's because our area is the area in the whole LEA with the biggest school place shortage, and the schools with the worst records for acheivement for DC's with SEN, and the schools where people request help from a PP officer the most.

What is even more concerning, is the fact that because the schools KNOW there is no PP officer, and therefore no-one to advocate on behalf of the parents, they are getting more and more out of control, taking DC off SA/SA+ illegally etc.

But the TA's that are there for a DC with a statement SHOULDN'T be floating around the class helping - the DC with a statement NEEDS that time, and my DC should not be taking TA time away from another DC who NEEDS it, and has a legally binding document stating that they need it. I think it's WRONG to do that - if a DC has a statement saying that they need 1-2-1 the whole time, that TA should then be spending the whole time with that DC IYSWIM.

I would feel uneasy about my DC with SEN taking help away from another DC with SEN, that their parents will have had to fight long and hard to get in the first place. And I have commented as much to the primary school, as this is how DS2 gets 'floating' help, and it is taking away TA time from my friend's DC who has a statement for full-time 1-2-1, and NEEDS every second of that TA'stime, but isn't getting it, as the TA is shared betweeen another 4 (at LEAST, that I know of...) DC...and I KNOW how hard she had to fight to get the bloody 1-2-1 in the first place as I had to help her do so!!

Ok, firstly I would seriously urge you to approach a charity/advocacy service. If you let me know your dc's needs and the area you live in, I'm happy to locate one if I can. Secondly, in my experience a number of statemented children neither need nor want total 1:1. Yes, some classes do have one TA for a number of students but this is usually entirely manageable if the students are seated appropriately or even taken out as a small group.

Whilst I really do sympathise, we as professionals really, really do have the students' best interests at heart. Honestly. Have you spoken to the senco about your worries?

Let me know if you need help finding someone who can guide you through the process.

It means our school system is slowly becoming privatised, this is not good for children or society, if the main concern is profit.

North - DD has : Partial Deafness, Leaky Heart Valves, Learning Difficulties/GDD, HFA, Hypermobility Syndrome. She is on SA+. She is currently in Y9, and we have had a letter saying that she will get 25% extra time in her GCSE's. She currently has floating TA support in every lesson, 2 hrs a week 1-2-1 help with her English, and 3x 30 minute group sessions with Maths & Social skills help.

DS2 has: Partial Deafness, Learning Difficulties/GDD, ASD, Hypermobility Syndrome, Hypotonia, and Chronic Asthma that has caused his attendance to be a touch over 88% this school year with me sending him in when I shouldn't have half the rest of the time. He is currently in Y3. He has just been taken OFF SA, Despite working a full year behind the expected levels for a Y3. So is getting 'occasional' floating support from this other DC's TA. and nothing else. This other DC DOES need FT 1-2-1, I know him personally. He has Aspergers and ADHD, AND Learning Difficulties...Using his TA time makes me feel VERY uneasy, especially as I helped his Mum GET the statement in the first place!

I live in Essex. Tried Charities, none can help, keep pointing me towards the non-existant Parent Partnership, as the LEA is meant to be obliged to offer that service...

The SenCo takes great delight in avoiding me, it usually takes 3 months from when I request an appointment with her to actually seeing her...

Couthymow: its very unhealthy for a child to have a completely full time never-ever leave their side or help others 1:1. How is that child supposed to socialise with their peers if every second of their school day they have an adult with them? TAs helping other pupils can be good for the child with 1:1 - gives them a bit of a break if nothing else. I don't know how it works in primary, but in secondary children who are SA or SA+ don't get any set time anyway, the only children who actually get a fixed amount of TA time are the pupils with statements, and as I'm sure you know some LEAs give them out more easily than others.

If the schools and LA are so unhelpful can you move?

Issues with academies:-

1. Lack of accountability - you really think M.Gove is gonna intervene when YOUR kid is illegally excluded, or bullied, or has unsupported SEN's?

1. Increased centralisation making education more of a political football than it already is. It's a myth that academies will have more control of their own affairs - academies are a convenient way to manage from the centre.

1. SEN services becoming harder for individual children to access. Economies of scale make things like quality staff training for dyslexics etc harder for individual schools to obtain in a cost effective manner.

Many, many children have a short term issue that just needs a little extra expertise or support for a short time at some point in their education - so this will impact far more children than I think the Gove brigade realise. Sadly many of these services will be invisible to parents on a day to day basis, until the day THEIR child needs them and they just aren't there any more.

1. Financial management. I believe that HT's should be able to focus their energies on ensuring high quality teaching, not on bean counting. For every school that gets the finances managed right, there will be one that messes up - and who'll be left to mop up?

1. The loss of a universal right to education for all children in the UK. Academies have increased rights of refusal of sen children, creating a risk in some areas of no school accepting a child at all or the one remaining la maintained school in an area becoming an SEN "sink" as it's the only place left that these kids can get places.

1. Fear that starting with expensive uniforms and voluntary contributions we'll see the creeping privatisation of education - it's been enough of a disaster in other areas (trains for example) for us all to fear this.

1. The ethics of some of the private companies coming forward to run schools. Not all those coming forward wanting to run schools have the welfare of our children as their ultimate bottom line. I'm not comfortable with that.

Oh lovey, I'm so sorry you seem to have been let down. I did find this: www.parentpartnership.org.uk/find_your_local_pps/east_of_england/essex.aspx which appears to be a parent partnership for Essex. Apologies if it is not.

Does dd use other resources as a norm in the classroom (laptop, scribe etc) and has she been tested for her reading ability? If she uses a resource in normal lessons she is entitled to do so in her exams too. Additionally, if her reading age falls within certain perameters she will be entitled to a reader for her exams.

As for ds's support, without seeing how he copes in the classroom I cannot comment accurately but from what you've told me I'd be pushing for a statement. What are his levels?

Nope, can't move, am in Social Housing. I understand what you are saying about it being unhealthy for a DC to have FT 1-2-1, it was something his mother and I considered when fighting for his statement, but it isn't JUST for him - it's to protect the other DC in the school TOO. This DC has been repeatedly excluded often illegally without paper notification but that's another story... due to hurting other DC, right from the first term of reception, and the TA hovers nearby-ish (often not near enough IYGWIM) during break & lunch. She gets a break during class time when the DC in question is doing work 1-2-1 with a different teacher outside of the classroom.

The DC on SA/SA+ should still have time GIVEN to them, it's just not legally binding IYSWIM, and the budget for the help is devolved to te school's budget, rather than being 'ringfenced' for that particular DC as it would be if they were statemented. They should have an IEP at least twice a school year (minimum), stating what their targets are, and what the school is going to do in order to help them acheive those targets (like individual TA time, work in a small group etc, and how often per week).

Been dealing with SA/SA+ for 12 years now, since DD was at pre-school...

Problems have got MUCH worse since SA/SA+ budget was devolved to schools, about 4-6 years ago here in Essex, as it goes into the 'main' school budget, and isn't ringfenced for helping those DC's on SA/SA+ as it used to be, so some schools will spend every penny they get for DC's on SA/SA+ on actually HELPING those DC's, while others will spend a fair percentage, if not all of it, on buying 'sail shades' for the playground (genuine, got the info from a FoI request...), or books for the library to benefit 'all' DC. Just not those that can't bloody READ them... (again, another FoI request...)

If becoming an academy was such a great option, they wouldn't need to force schools into it as they have.

Exactly. Gove has had to use a combination of bribery and bullying to force schools to convert. I would also prefer if he would just openly say that he's desperate to privatise the education system asap, rather than pretend his agenda is about school improvement.

www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/ipse/research-projects/current-projects/p105.cfm

Research above from Met Uni published last week - City Challenge, run in conjunction with LAs was more effective at raising standards in socially and economically deprived areas than sponsored academies.

Re Downhills. They're still campaigning - are seeking judicial review proceedings and are fund raising for legal costs.

savedownhills.org/

That is the local PP - but there is no officer for our half of our town...

DS2 is working (according to the school, but they have a history of falsifying NC levels in order to take DC's off SA/SA+ or reduce the help they give that DC) about a full school year behind in all areas except Maths (he is quite good at maths, and his level would be higher than the 3B he has got this year if he had help with drawing graphs and charts etc...). The rest he is at either level 2C (writing) or 2B (everything else) in. However, these NC levels, looking online at the descriptors, are way above what his work is actually SHOWING.

My Ex is going to pay for a private EP report (can't get to see an EP at this school unless you sell the HT your firstborn) so that we can apply yet afuckinggain for a statement that the school will ACTIVELY OPPOSE, as they do with ALL DC's that apply for statements. They hide paperwork that proves how far behind the DC is, falsify records to make it look like DC are further ahead than they actually are etc.

They couldn't do that with the SATS, and at the end of last year, he didn't get a level at all in the Writing, level 1C in Reading, Level 1B in Maths. YES he has made significant progress in Maths this year, but I KNOW that.

The teacher has said that although his reading age is slightly ahead of his chronological age, his comprehension is some way behind his chronological age...

His handwriting does NOT make a level 2 - it is JUST legible, it is not joined up, he still is unsure of 'b' and 'd', his spelling is still VERY phonetic, and he has only rejoined his normal class since the Easter term after being taken out for a whole-school catch up of RWI (as they were using a non-approved phonics programme before this year, for the previous 8 years, with disastrous results...), and his teacher is expecting him to somehow KNOW all the work they covered in the first two terms WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING TAUGHT IT!!