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Original poster

First free school to be closed (and it's not Al-Madinah)

94 replies

lalalonglegs · 13/12/2013 16:34

Apparently there is a free school that has been quietly doing even worse than the notorious Al-Madinah in Derby. The Discovery New School in Crawley seems to have had the same systemic problems and begs the question how many more schools will the government allow to be opened by the enthusiastic but incompetent? Report here

OP posts:
bundaberg · 13/12/2013 18:33

thanks lala and kepek

this certainly won't be the last you hear of us Grin

haven't spoken to a single other parent yet who is willing to send their child to another school. several have already turned down offers at other local schools which are either in special measures or "inadequate"... ie the only ones with spaces available!

ipadquietly · 14/12/2013 18:03

The thing that really rankles is that £1,500,000,000 has been spent on a handful of free schools.

We have a budget deficit of £50,000, which means that we are unable to hire an extra TA to work 1:1 with a needy child; we have to limit our CPD; school supplies and resource buying is restricted.

This deficit budget, which is causing us so much grief, could be paid 30,000 times with the amount that has been spent on free schools!!

Angry?
You bet. Angry

WorrySighWorrySigh · 14/12/2013 18:05

I agree ipadquietly, sort out the problems in the schools we have rather than opening up new schools.

Beastofburden · 14/12/2013 18:09

I have to say I was more worried about al madinah than a Montessori school.

hackmum · 14/12/2013 20:27

"we're allowed to open a montessori school, only we aren't allowed to run it as a montessori school because then we don't tick their boxes."

Seems to sum up the strangely contradictory policy this govt has towards education. On the one hand, more freedom (opening free schools, letting academies opt out of the national curriculum), and on the other, much more centralisation (compulsory testing at six, more stringent inspections from Ofsted). Makes no sense.

scottishmummy · 15/12/2013 11:44

It's a failing school,was already on special measures,it should close

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:35
Hmm

love how people who don't even have any experience of the school have such strong opinions Grin

the fact is, other schools get far longer to show improvement, we should be treated the same.

the fact that no-one wants to take their kids out speaks volumes to me

scottishmummy · 15/12/2013 21:39

And as parent of the school,you're biased.you've been clear on your allegiance to school

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:43

of course i'm biased.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be treated like any other school does it?

there is one near us that was in special measures for NINE years!
like I said earlier, our new head teacher was in for twelve days when they said that not enough progress had been made... how is that fair?

madeupstuff · 15/12/2013 21:43

Of course there's bias - but that's okay.

The allegiance isn't blind - we know that there have been problems and that too much time past without enough action.

*disclaimer, I am a parent of the school and happen to be DP to bundaberg. Oddly we don't even agree 100% on all of this.

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:46

our year 1/2 teacher was inspected at her old school for 2 hours, and judged an outstanding teacher

she was observed at our school for 20 minutes and judged inadequate.

oh yes... and it was the same inspector!

i'm honestly not one for conspiracy theorys, but something is not right here.

NewtRipley · 15/12/2013 21:46

hackmum

Totally agree.

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:47

*too much time passed

scottishmummy · 15/12/2013 21:47

So with all due respect,your parental bias clouds your judgement
I have no vested interest in this school,my opinion is unbiased
But naturally if I felt strongly I too would be getting active

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:49

really? so you think that all the parents at the school simply have clouded judgement and are blind to the fact that our children are being failed?

riiiight.

and your opinion holds more weight as you are unbiased, even though you know nothing about the school or the children's progress?

madeupstuff · 15/12/2013 21:49

Do you have the time to read the evidence and draw your own conclusions? (real question)

We are working on a proper write-up of everything now - we feel that people will read it and see that something isn't right.

BeerTricksPotter · 15/12/2013 21:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

madeupstuff · 15/12/2013 21:52

scottishmummy that question was meant to be aimed at you, but it's an open question.

It's not as if we are demanding that the school is perfect and should remain open forever - we just want the time that is typically afforded LEA-run schools to show improvement under our new management.

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 21:53

like what beertricks?

the school keep us well informed and I don't think I've shared anything here that isn't in the public domain aside from my post about our Yr 1/2 teacher which she told us in person!

madeupstuff · 15/12/2013 21:55

I would say that the communication at the school is good - they do share with parents whatever they can (and we do ask) - but there isn't really much to hide - just the publicly published sources are enough IMHO to show that it's not exactly fair.

Original poster
lalalonglegs · 15/12/2013 22:01

bunda and madeup - I think you have to ask, who benefits from the school closing down and who would want it to close if they felt it could be realistically saved? Not the government who have championed free schools and will take a lot of flack for setting up a (supposedly) inadequate one. Not Ofsted who don't gain anything from a school closing. Not the local authority who will have to find places for however many children the Discovery School has on its roll at the moment.

So, although I am incredibly sympathetic to you and the other parents and children, I just don't understand who you think is behind this apparent injustice or why.

OP posts:
BeerTricksPotter · 15/12/2013 22:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

madeupstuff · 15/12/2013 22:05

Here's the thing - the government seem to be being attacked for having free schools that aren't doing as well as they would like.

The government needs to show that they can be tough, even to their own pet projects and that they will be firm when they need to be.

It is my (and just mine, I'm not sure this is shared widely) feeling that it's motivated by a desire to make an example.

We have had one single term to demonstrate improvement, only half of that with the current management.

bundaberg · 15/12/2013 22:06

the govt want to be seen to be cracking down on "failing" schools, right now I guess we're an embarassment to them and they want us to go away.

there are, apparently, enough school places in the local area to place all the children from the school.

unfortunately what they fail to think about is that

  1. many of us have 2 or more children and are unlikely to get them all placed at one school
  2. pretty much all of the ones with vacancies are either in special measurements or require improvement

beertricks maybe I shouldn't have posted that. it was said privately, and I guess I shouldn't have repeated it online. Just seems to me that it shows how unfair this has been

Original poster
lalalonglegs · 15/12/2013 22:18

But it would be a much better story for the government - much more face would be saved - if Ofsted were to go back and say, "Yes, we did have concerns about the school but now there is a new management in place and we've seen their proposals and we think they have every chance of turning the school around." I don't see how they benefit from peremptorily shutting a school down unless they really can't see it being saved Sad.

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