letter to Michael Gove

[muminlondon]

from Michael Rosen in the Guardian

This contains a really important question: why does Michael Gove want to impose a prescriptive curriculum and yet enouraging schools to turn into academies where the curriculum won't apply ? If the curriculum is to be that much improved why should academies be allowed to opt out?

I love Michael Rosen.

He's pin pointed one of the many, many reasons that Gove is a complete twat.

Yes- do we know when Gove will be responding?

He's probably calling him a Trot and flouncing off in his usual grown-up debating style.

I would just like my DCs to have a fully staffed school, with teachers who turn up, aren't having a breakdown, and have some idea of what the lesson plan is.

That would be nice.

Gove's messing around with education is why we're all in the verge of breakdown, LineRunner.

Underwater, the teachers at my DD's school seem to be left to sink or swim by their own Headteacher, too. I can't imagine doing that job without significant support from the top.

I have no idea what Mr Rosen means. Could someone explain the point he's trying to make?

I think he means that Gove is being a bit stupid in trying to tell schools what they should be teaching, whilst at the same time trying to make as many schools as possible become academies on the promise that they can pretty much teach what they like.

In fairness Mum, he is a Trot

Not any more, I don't think, CustardCake. Indications are that schools who are being given a notice to improve under the new Ofsted regime have a year to improve, under threat of being taken over and turned into an academy.

I hear on the local grapevine that this may be happening to my DC's school.

I hope I'm wrong.

CustardCake: except when they FORCE them to become academies by saying they are "failing schools".

I've not thought much about it at secondary level, but surely in primary schools the main thing is to teach them to read and write and do sums. and have a good attitude to learning.

Trouble is though, if you are a forced academy you probably have one of Gove's mates heading up the board, and telling you exactly what to teach in every lesson. (Though it may not be the same curriculum that everyone else has to follow, it would more likely be their own pet subject)

Lots of former Ofsted people have jumped onto the even more lucrative academies gravy train as well, I hear.

And vice versa, linerunner. Ofsted now seems to be populated by ex-ARK employees or current advisers.

choccy, given the scale of how many schools is trying to force academy status on (and the legislation he rushed through parliament to, in cahoots with Ofsted, enable him to), I sincerely doubt that Gove has enough mates to populate all the boards there will be.

Plenty of people liined up to make money out of it all, though.

This a scandal!

Education - academies, tuition fees
NHS - any suitable provider, commissioners
Social care - privatisation, direct payments
Social housing - shared ownership
Need we go on? A clear pattern of partial backdoor privatisation of all public sector

Here here JuliaScurr
May I add the sell off of forests and woodland, which thankfully was at least for now stopped. I live in fear of what next. I heard the other day on the news that the government has commissioned a report saying that the 15 hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds were not beneficial....so my guess is that they will try and take that off us next.

If anyone is interested, they could look up what is happening to primary schools in Haringay at the moment. They are being forced to become accadmies, because they are not deemed outstanding! A friend of mine is working with them to fight Gove (who has personaly demanded they become accademies). It is a ridiculous!

craigs, Haringey primary schools are being forced to become sponsored academies. Academy chains with no experience of working in diverse communities and some so new that their schools have never been Ofsteded are being wheeled in.

For those of us in the poorer, east side of the borough, that is. The 'outstanding' schools in the west side have the luxury of choosing to convert or remain with the local authority.

I noticed that subtle name change on the performance tables 2011 site - there are now 'sponsored academies' and selective-schools-which-Gove-wants-to-expand-on-the-sly 'academies' (his foot hovering over the accelerator, blah blah).

In contrast with the 2010 Compare Schools website where the new academies were called 'converter academies'. But now that there's voluntary conversion and forced conversion he wants to reinforce that distinction between the 'good' and the 'bad' academies.

Would it be unfair to call Gove a very bad name on MN?

LineRunner, it's never bad form to call that man a bad name.

muminlondon, I'm not sure that I follow your argument. Do you mean that Gove wants schools that he's forced to become sponsored academies to be 'bad' ? It isn't just 'underperforming' schools that are coming under presssure - ARK, for example, have been trying to persuade governors at lots of schools, like Brentwood in H & F.

It's just that I would like Gove to have to next go into parliament knowing he was called a cunt on MN.