Richmond Borough Schools Chat 5

[BayJay2]

Welcome! This is the latest in a series of threads about Richmond schools, which was first triggered by the council's publication of its Education White Paper in February 2011.

Please do join in the chat. There’s a bunch of us who’ve been following the thread for a long time, and we sometimes get a bit forensic, but new contributions are always welcome, and if it’s something that’s been covered before we can always direct you to that part of the thread.

We generally talk about local education policy, the impact of national policy, the performance of the borough’s schools, and admissions-related issues. We began by talking about Secondaries, but tend to talk a lot about primaries too, so the title of the thread has evolved this time to take that into account.

If you have a few hours to spare and want to catch up on 2 years of local education history, then below are the links to the old threads. We have to keep starting new threads because each only hold 1000 posts. The first two threads run in parallel, as one was started on the national Mumsnet site, and another on the local one:

1a) New Secondaries for Richmond Borough?: Mumsnet Secondary Education (Feb 2011 – Nov 2011)
1b) New Secondary schools for Richmond!: Mumsnet Local (Feb 2011 – Nov 2011)

1. New Secondary Schools for Richmond 2: Mumsnet Local (Nov 2011 – May 2012)

1. New Secondary Schools for Richmond 3: Mumsnet Local (May 2012 – Nov 2012)

1. New Secondary Schools for Richmond 4: Mumsnet Local (Nov 2012 – Oct 2013)

1. This thread: Richmond Borough Schools Chat 5: Mumsnet Local (Oct 2013 - ????)

Finally, to find out how to add links, as well as smilies and emphasis, see these Mumsnet guidelines.

Looking at the RPA staff list - does not seem to have changed from last year, so maybe not so shiny & new .
Crawfordsburn - why do you say they are getting their act together?
If you know what the results, are, please share!
They ought p be better than last year, since the GCSE takers would have had one more year under the 'new regime' than the previous year's.
Please share!

For info, the Government has published a list of Free School applications submitted in Wave 7 in May. The King's bi-lingual primary application is the only one for Richmond. Hounslow has applications for two primaries and a secondary.They haven't yet announced which ones are going to be pre-approved, but that announcement must be due soon.

Applications for Wave 8 are to be submitted by October 10th, but I'd be surprised if the approvals for that wave were announced before the General Election.

Thanks for info on Orleans and Waldegrave Bay Jay. I have now tracked down a photo of the Teddington Year 12 on Twitter and it looks like about 90!

Great forensic work LProsser
Would be much easier if all the data was on the LBRUT website...
Interesting about Teddington, because quite a few Sheen parents I have spoken to are now taking a keen interest in property to rent buy in Teddington

Spoke yesterday to a Grey Court parent who told me that GC have recruited specialists with solid A level experience.

I wouldn't be surprised if in years to come the 6th forms are polarised into a few centres of excellence that can offer a wide range of subjects.

I think that was predicted by the LibDems who opposed the idea.The answer to that was to be consortiums of schools working together. That does depend on students being prepared to commute to different schools for different lessons. I can't see how teachers can be shared where the schools are individual trusts, unless they come from Richmond Music Trust for example, but that may also be possible where there are two schools in the same chain, such as Hampton and Twickenham Academy. Whether there are other benefits of a smaller sixth form that outweigh having a larger range of courses on one site at Richmond College is debatable. Pastoral care may be better, even if the subject range is limited.

The Guardian has: Choosing a secondary school: a teacher's guide for parents: Ignore the Ofsted reports and glossy brochures, instead check out the darkened classroom they don't want you to see:

' . . Ofsted reports: Essentially, these have all the value of wet toilet paper . .

Visit the school: There is no substitute for getting your boots on the ground . . Speak to the students. Many schools will use students as guides on open evenings. Talk to them about their experience. Students tend to be honest about such things – occasionally brutally so. If the school doesn't let you near its students, that's not a good sign.

Visit the classrooms . . you can quickly tell whether a classroom is being proudly looked after, or utterly neglected . . Find a darkened room and poke your head in to get a view of what the rooms normally look like. Pretend you were looking for the toilet if anyone spots you . . '

Also on any visit, you should witness interactions between the staff and students – possibly your own child if you brought them along. One emotion that cannot be faked is genuine warmth. How do the teachers speak to and about the students? How do the students talk to and behave around the teachers? . .

A very bullish [but somewhat illiterate] press statement from the Council:

Hundreds study A-levels in borough for first time:

A broad range of A-levels are being studied for the first time more than 500 young people following the Council’s ambitious schools’ sixth form project.

The Council’s multi-million pound sixth-form project has transformed six schools across the borough. All have 21st century facilities such as IT suites, science labs, and catering facilities. The schools include Teddington, Waldegrave, Christ’s, Grey Court, Richmond Park Academy, and Orleans Park.

Richmond Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Schools, Cllr Hodgins, said: It is a proud time for Richmond now that all of our six form centres are open and we are able to offer A-levels in our secondary schools for the first time. Richmond provides a first-class education for children and young people – and this sixth form project offers more choice and will help to improve standards and facilities.

What can possibly go wrong?

Since writing on 17th Sept I have received a school newsletter that says that there are about 100 students in the Teddington sixth form including a few that "have returned home" after starting at local colleges! Nothing seems to have gone wrong yet. I don't think there is a lot of need to commute between schools unless you are taking a more unusual A-level subject. Don't really see why teachers can't be shared between local secondaries in the sense of working different days in different schools.

But isn't the problem that they are employed by individual schools trusts, rather than the local authority? They could, I suppose, be on two different contracts - but they'd have to pay their own tax, NI and arrange their own pension contributions, presumably. I might be wrong.

Interesting to see that the new Catholic free school in Brixton with fully 'inclusive' admissions has opened with only 17 students. The school has a Catholic 'ethos' but is not backed by the local diocese. It seems to fall between two stools.

The writer of this Guardian article argues meanwhile that we can't be opening half-full single-sex or religious schools when there is a demand for mainstream co-ed schools. His school in Barnet seems to have taken a similar pragmatic approach of Turing House - seeing both a need and a demand for a mainstream school. Too much 'choice' is a waste of resources. But schools and councils still need to work together.

Another example of a religious free school which has failed to attract pupils is the Leeds Jewish Free School.

For info, the latest wave of free school approvals has been announced, though I can't see any in Richmond or Hounslow : www.gov.uk/government/news/35-new-free-schools-providing-more-than-22000-places-announced

There is one in Hounslow - Floreat Brentford Primary School where the trust is run by Cameron's ex-adviser James O'Shaughnessy. He's an advocate for profit-making in schools and has worked for right-wing thinktanks. He started his trust a year ago and was selected by Wandsworth council to set up a new school in their area despite having no prior experience in running schools. Perhaps Hounslow would have picked a different sponsor, given the choice.

Other main sponsors are Ark, Harris, Bellevue Place (as in Richmond and other places), Edison Learning, Chapel Street.

Mum in London - the shared A level subjects are fairly limited eg. German and Fashion & Textiles taught at Waldegrave, music at Teddington, so I think those teachers are just employed at the schools where the subject is taught and also teach other years in those schools. I don't think there is much teacher sharing going on in practice as there have been enough students for most subjects in all schools.

Maybe the school where the pupil is taught buys in the course from the school where the teacher is based. But I see what you mean.

The latest blog from HA says sixth formers are studying further maths next door at Hampton Boys - sounds like a great initiative.

Turing Newsletter today, saying decision on site will be made by the council late November and info to the public will be sent 'by the end of the term'... not saying much really.

Also, on a different note, the headteacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Tedd has resigned, he's staying until Christmas (going back to class teaching in a Surrey school) - this is from a school newsletter from today.

I wonder if the HA student at Hampton School taking Further Maths is having to pay anything? Or the academy itself? It's precisely the kind of collaboration private schools should be offering pro bono. But I know someone who was 'invited' by Eton to be taught a language not on offer at her local school, as part of their bit for the community, who was shocked to be sent a bill a few weeks into term. Even though her family decided to pay up, because it was still a good opportunity, the boys in her class rather childishly ignored her for a year because they also assumed she was a 'charity case'. I hope the school and the boys are more enlightened now!

There's a bit of info about the Hampton Independent State School Partnership in this Charity Commission doc from 2013, but it doesn't mention the further maths - presumably it started after that. Not sure if the 2014 report is published yet.

Oops - forgot the link to the report.

And some more info here. Talking about GCSE revision courses it says "All courses are free to the pupils and part-funded by the DCSF as part of the London Schools Challenge scheme", so perhaps the A Level scheme works the same way.

Thanks and good in principle. But I thought London Challenge funding ran out in 2011.

I suspect that the website is very out of date, given that the DCSF no longer exists.

Page 6 here www.lehs.org.uk/force_download.cfm?id=333 outlines that funding is now by the schools and the LEA. The relationship between HA and both LEH and Hampton is a long standing one. LEH girls have for some time offered mentoring to GCSE pupils and attended joint revision courses. HA pupils are involved in more diverse activities like the model United Nations, CCF and drama and music activities as well. I would be surprised if Hampton charged this pupil, more likely became aware of him via other activities. I am assuming it is a bright pupil who will contribute a good grade to their stats , it would be a novel form of bursary......