To think Park View Academy, must be doing something right ( looking at their statistics)

[smokepole]

I have just looked at the Park View Academy's statistics and have been amazed. I expected to see appalling statistics, yet the statistics are fantastic!

92.5% of pupils English as a second language 59.8% of pupils on FSM yet achieves 75% 5 A*-C Maths and English.

There might be a problem with some religious zealots there, but clearly the school is achieving fantastic results. The school is giving its pupils an education far beyond, what the raw statistics say it should be doing.

The problems should have been dealt with in an efficient and quiet way, it should not have come to the media attention. The school deserves to be looked on as beacon of excellence for its outstanding results.

Just thinking about it, if I'd moved abroad to stay abroad I'd be doing my best to integrate my DCs into this new country. Not assuming that their life will always be separate (just in the local community) - or perhaps they jet between the UK and their home country so don't feel a need to integrate.

Interesting about funding kim.

Um Catholic schools are perfectly entitled to employ non-Catholics. My friend's atheist mum is a teacher and a Catholic school.

^teacher at a Catholic school

Catholic school may be allowed to only employ catholic staff, but i am pretty sure they are not allowed to teach their pupils that women of another religion are sluts and discriminate against girls they are teaching just because they happen to be female. it doesn't really matter what faith schools are allowed to do, these schools are not faith schools.

Having English as a 2nd language is a "group" within schools which the likes of OFSTED look at when analysing a school. EAL students may well have been born and brought up in this country and may well have perfect English.

dozie English as a second language doesn't mean that English is the second-best language they speak! Those Europeans you mention often have English as a second, third or even fourth language, it's just about the order you learn the language in and not ability. My Belgian friend has English as something like her third language and speaks English perfectly and teaches at a uni here.

I think that even faith schools have to advertise vacant posts and not just offer them to relatives. Of course because they are academies the teachers don't have to be qualified.

In my opinion any school which indoctrinates pupils into a religion cannot be outstanding.

kim faith schools have to follow the national curriculum. Pretty sure they can't say homosexuality is a sin? They can't teach creationism as science or anything, not that Catholics believe in creationism. And being able to CHOOSE to not employ a non-Catholic is different to 'not allowed' to employ a non-Catholic Faith schools have non-religious teachers all the time.

Interesting, so pupils who have perfect English, are they asked what language the speak at home? Seems a way of manipulating figures, perhaps they speak English at home but just say they don't.

Y Conference this is one of the main reasons I've always been opposed to academies. It's SO open to abuse and indoctrination of all kinds. State faith schools, ironically, would never have anything like this because they are so heavily monitored and HAVE to include diversity. It's why I am for state faith schools - get it out in the open so you can monitor and regulate it.

dozie yes you can speak perfect English but still have English as a second language - it's just being bilingual. I am pretty sure all pupils are asked what languages they speak at home, it's not like they target poor English speakers.

A friend of mine lives in the area.

She posted a link to the report on Facebook & one of her friends commented that he has visited the school a few times (think he might be either a supply teacher or music tutor) & has always found the atmosphere/ethos etc to be fine. A lively but polite environment.

kim religious teachers are also perfectly capable of not letting it affect their professional conduct. Btw there are plenty of non-religious people who object to abortion and gay people, and plenty of religious people who don't, including myself.

No but as mentioned above it can affect funding, so in the schools interest to increase their numbers of English as second language pupils.

I did not say it was an outstanding school, clearly there are issues regarding indoctrination and lack of teaching about other faiths and social beliefs. I was just saying that on ( limited evidence) that the statistics for achievement look outstanding , this was obviously what Ofsted found in its previous inspection, the background to the school and its problems are just coming out. However, the school has good points once the 'serious' problems, can be sorted out and hopefully it can become at least a good school.

The parents fill in a form about things like ethnicity and home language at my school. It's not really about the school manipulating the figures.

It goes down on a child's school record from the beginning of reception dozie. I wouldn't expect anyone to lie on the form, because it's not in the child's or parents' direct interests to do so - it only benefits the school for certain Value Added etc measures and funding.

It is a very flawed measure, because (as here) the educational disadvantage to a child whose parents happen to speak (say) Urdu at home, but who has been in English language schooling since the age of 4, is damn all by the time of GSCEs - in fact the bilingualism is probably an overall advantage. The OFSTED reports know this, which is why, when they state %ESL they always give a comment about how many of those children are at an early stage of English acquisition, eg because they arrived here very recently, and really are at a disadvantage.

The figures would need to be looked at in context though OP - what 's the VA? What about levels of progress?

Sky news has a report where anonymous female pupils at the school speak of a culture of fear and sexism. Doesn't surprise me, as most religion, including Islam, is profoundly sexist imo.