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.

Today’s print RTT has 4 letters (pp 28-9) re StRR’s exclusivity and academy bid and the RC doctrine of ‘hellfire’.

Also a letter from Rev Stockford of Christ Church Teddington emphasising the central place of personal sin in Christianity.

You can look up census figures by age on Edubase or by curriculum year in the official Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics release for January 2014.

Teddington had more boys in last year's Y7 (62%) while Orleans Park had slightly fewer (59%). But even in areas like Kingston with boys' schools to match the girls' schools (e.g. Coombe) you still have 64% boys at The Hollyfield.

But yes, you can look up GCSE/Ebacc/progress results by gender on the performance tables for 2013, under the 'English as an additional language and gender' tab.

Hi local mumsnetters. You all seem to have great expertise on the local school scene and I am hoping you might give me some advice. I am leaning towards Richard Reynolds high school for my DD who is in year 6 at a great local primary. She is a good all rounder, currently level 4a/5c in academics and loves sport. I had thought a few years ago we might go down the independent route but that was more from ignorance at much local state options have improved (we are in the RPA catchment and are Catholic Church goers so the church options of Christs and RR are also available). What I am trying to determine is how to compare these local state options with the likes of Putney, LEH, kGS, surbiton before I give away £300 on registration fees! Aside from the obvious on facilities- which actually aren't always better at the independents, what might I be getting for price tag?? How can I compare the outcomes of a hugely selective process with a comprehensive intake? Is there anything in particular I should be looking out for? I have seen the schools and impressed by nearly all. I noted that the state schools I am considering are nearly all a 60/40 split boys/girls. Need that be a concern? Grateful for any advice and apologies if I hijacked thread. Thank you!

Hi QBean - you are fortunate to have the choice of more than one school. St RR and Christ's are or are likely to be academically successful schools and the LA is still supporting them directly. With regard to gender balance, I'd say this fluctuates, and if Turing House gets a site and can open in 2015, along with Kingston Academy, it would help spread any imbalance. But it isn't necessarily a bad learning environment if that exists, so don't worry.

Comparing state schools with private depends, in my view, what experience you had yourself. I went to a state comprehensive and I consider myself enormously lucky to be a parent in this borough which comes about fourth in the country for Ebacc. But parents who themselves went a private school or grammar, especially in a wealthy area, might have different expectations.

I like local schools, too. Think about how much time your child would save not having to take trains or a tube there and back.

Afternoon all. Editor for Mumsnet Richmond here. Sorry to interrupt, but just a quick message to tell you that we have a competition running for a family ticket to Robin's Winter Adventure at Watermans on 23rd November 2014. Please do enter, it'll only take a few seconds.

local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_richmond_upon_thames/2216682-WIN-A-family-ticket-to-Robins-Winter-Adventure-at-Watermans-on-23-11-14

PS. We have more competitions coming up over the next few weeks too, such as tickets for the ice rink at Hampton Court Palace)

Interesting situation in London Borough of Merton. It granted itself planning permission to build the extension to a primary school on a public park called Dundonald Recreation Ground, including enclosing part of the park and taking over tennis courts used by a local club.The Friends of Park group and other local organisations supported by the Open Spaces Society are asking Eric Pickles to revoke the planning permission:
www.oss.org.uk/secretary-of-state-to-consider-revoking-planning-permission-to-build-on-dundonald-rec-merton/

There's a lot of discussion about the expansion on Merton Mumsnet. It's Dundonald Primary School by the way. It appears the primary school places shortage is as bad in Merton as everywhere else:
local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_merton/1228930-Merton-dumbing-down-Dundonald-Primary-School?pg=8

Friends of River Crane have issued this press release about the a REEC plans:
FORCE Press Release - October 2014
FORCE concerned at Richmond College re-development

The group promoting development of the Richmond College site at Egerton Road, the Richmond Education and Enterprise Campus (“REEC”) partners, have just launched another public consultation on the development. The REEC have sought community engagement in the development for the past six months through a Local Community Forum. But the principal environmental group on the Forum – Friends Of the River Crane Environment (“FORCE”), with a membership of around 500 local residents – is becoming increasingly concerned that the REEC is showing no signs of taking any notice of its input, and is instead promoting a development which will significantly degrade the quality of green spaces adjacent to the College. This will be to the disadvantage of residents throughout the Crane Valley and the Duke of Northumberland’s River (“DNR”).

FORCE has consistently maintained that the open spaces of the Crane Valley need to be considered as a whole, not in isolation from each other: residents don’t just use one space, but access a range of spaces, often in the same visit; and the density of the local population means that changes to one space have implications for a number of adjacent spaces. FORCE has pressed Richmond Council over a number of years to adopt a “masterplan approach” to the green spaces that recognises these interdependencies – but all to no avail.

FORCE is concerned that the Council is once again applying its piecemeal approach to the REEC development. Earlier this month the REEC group revealed, for the first time, that the planned development will result in the fencing off from public use of the entire Craneford East playing field. Just last week, the REEC revealed its estimates that some 200 additional housing units will be built on the current College site, to help fund the development. This increase in the number of residents, as well as students, will greatly increase the pressure on open spaces, at the same time as the number of local public playing fields will be halved.

FORCE has a number of concerns. It is concerned at the Council’s continued piecemeal approach to developments in the Crane Valley. It is concerned that the REEC proposals increase pressure on the open spaces whilst at the same time reducing public access to those spaces. It is also concerned that the REEC have, since their appointment last April, denied FORCE an opportunity to meet with their environmental consultants.

FORCE raised concerns with REEC about the limited scope of their assessment at the outset. FORCE has also regularly requested meetings with their consultants, to discuss both these concerns and the opportunities for environmental improvement and mitigation. FORCE has approached the consultants directly, via College and Council representatives, and latterly via leader of the council Lord True, but without any success.

A spokesperson for FORCE said: “FORCE is not against college development per se, and we have a long term and constructive relationship with Richmond College, working with them on several local projects. We only ask of REEC what we would of any developer – and indeed what the Council’s own local planning guidelines require – to provide net environmental and community benefits for the Crane valley as part of the development”.

“We are though disappointed in the way the development has progressed to date - and we are despairing at the refusal of the REEC over the last six months to allow FORCE, as a local environmental and community charity, to discuss these matters with their consultants.”

Interesting news about Dundonald in Merton LProsser. Dundonald has already expanded because it used to go up to age 8 and now is up to 11. It has no outdoor space of its own whereas Wimbledon Chase round the corner, as the old middle school (now also 4-11), has its own playing fields I think. Dundonald needs 579 sq metres out of a total 48,000sqm in the park. I understand the frustrations of the school, council and parent community, especially if the protestors don't send their children there.

The Dundonald protestors have run a high profile campaign bringing in parks and environmental organisations as it's been seen as a bit of a precedent for local authorities selling off/developing green spaces. The other side of the story hasn't come out very clearly. FORCE have been fighting in Twickenham for a long time trying to prevent the enclosure of half of the Craneford Way playing fields which were transferred to the college when it left local authority control but have always been completely open access for the public. 200 more housing units is a lot - I'm not sure if that number has increased since Haymarket withdrew.

It is a tricky balance between preserving the environment and working around the counter-productive politicisation of school planning. The agenda of this government conflicts with the duty of councils to plan for school places (even Lord True thinks so), so we are left with schools that have been forced to expand beyond what was envisioned when their buildings were constructed a century ago, in a borough where a free primary school that opened with just 12 pupils is allowed to set up a new secondary.

I just found some interesting links regarding the two main academy chains operating in the borough.

AET which runs RPA received a Financial Notice to Improve from the Education Funding Agency - there is 'volatility' in their financial projections. This may affect an outsourcing contract worth £400 million over 10 years.

And I noticed an advert for the Learning Schools Trust (Kunskapsskolan) for a part-time Study Manager paid less than £7,500 to 'supervise classes of pupils whose teacher is absent'. It also appears that one of the teaching unions, the NASUWT, has rejected the Trust's pay policy. In Hampton Academy's next monitoring visit Ofsted stated that 'Over 40% of staff at the academy in September 2013 will have left by September 2014. There are also significant changes to the senior leadership team. Four senior leaders from a team of eight will leave the academy in the next five months.'

From Minutes of 17th Hampton Academy Council Meeting 9th June 2014:
"...2014-15 budget, which would have to accommodate a reduction in income of £600k, so some tough decisions were having to be made, particularly about staffing as this was the biggest cost. "

Depressing news about RPA and Hampton. Have they lost funding because they were not full or spent too much on rebuilding or are they just badly managed generally I wonder? How many other schools do each of the chains run?

The Learning Schools Trust only has four schools - and as one has been judged inadequate I don't think they are full. It intended in 2008 to have 30 academies within 10 years and a handful of independents.

AET has nearly 70 schools of which over 30 are secondaries. According to Ofsted no more than half are good or outstanding yet. I think it also has had the same problem of schools being undersubscribed. Despite this, the Observer suggested that nearly £500,000 had been paid to private businesses owned by directors and trustees.

Unsurprising that half their schools are not good or outstanding, since they would not have been taking over outstanding schools, but those which has withered under LA control.
And as to teachers leaving, not always a bad thing, if those teachers are underperforming - after all the most likely reason for a school to be underperforming is poor teaching.

Unsurprising that half their schools are not good or outstanding - yes but those are Ofsted judgements at least two years after they have taken over. They have 11 schools judged inadequate but only 4 judged outstanding so Ofsted thinks the chain as a whole doesn't have the expertise to raise standards across the board - highly paid directors just don't teach. As it has a wide geographical spread (unlike Harris) it seems unlikely that it would be able to loan out its 'good' teachers to other schools very easily. Which is probably just as well for RPA as it is one of the chain's best schools and I'm sure the school wants to hang on to its staff.

And as to teachers leaving, not always a bad thing - that's true, as long as they are not replaced by unqualified 'study managers' and that the staff who remain have enough time to supervise inexperienced new staff or supply teachers who work for lower salaries. One of their complaints is that their performance pay policy assesses teachers against 'Kunskappsskolan Education Standards' but what are they? Are they objective, measurable and widely acceptable? And do they work?

Two LBRuT press releases:

Sixth form programme reaches important milestone, 31/10/2014:

Hundreds of students have returned from their half-term break to begin their studies at cutting-edge sixth form buildings thanks to Richmond Council’s multi-million pound school project.

The brand new sixth form centres at Grey Court School and Christ’s School were formally handed over by the Council this week. It marks a major milestone in the Council’s sixth form programme now students are studying within four of the five sixth form buildings within the sixth form programme. In November, pupils will begin their studies at the new centre at Orleans Park School which is the final sixth form due for completion. The other sixth form centres already in use are Teddington and Waldegrave Academies . .

Innovative new secondary and state-of-the-art SEN schools are one step closer, 31/10/2014:

A new secondary school and purpose built home for Clarendon special needs school will be one step closer to reality, if Richmond Council agrees to purchase the land for the school from Richmond upon Thames College at next week’s Cabinet.

The land purchase proposals follows good progress on the plans to create a Campus of Education and Enterprise on the Twickenham College site, as well as specific Government approvals in respect of the five-form entry ’Free’ secondary school . .

A Free School Trust has been established to run the secondary school, with membership that includes Richmond upon Thames College, Harlequins Rugby Club, Haymarket Media Group, Waldegrave School, Richmond Council and Achieving for Children . .

As plans for the new Education and Enterprise campus progress, residents are reminded to have their say on the proposals in the current online consultation, and at a drop in session on the 4 November (4.30-8.30pm) at the College. The consultation comes ahead of plans to submit an outline Planning Application for the Campus around February 2015.

For more information, or to take part in the consultation go to www.reec.org.uk The deadline for feedback is 7 November 2014.

I thought Waldegrave had dropped out of the REEC partnership? No?

Lidl UK have written to East Twickenham residents inviting them to support their plan to build a mini supermarket and 24 flats on the Ryde House office block site - a possible primary school site. There will be a public consultation on November 14 4-8pm at The Crossway (by St Stephen’s church), TW1 2PD.

Hate it when they call schools "Academies" with a capital A when they aren't called that - nearly as much as when people refer to them as Waldegrave "High", Teddington "High" etc. as though we were in California

A later part of the press release on sixth forms lays it on very thick about the traditional academic A-level subjects being taught but when I was at Teddington open evening at end of September I was told that over half of the students are studying Psychology A-level and that it was by far the most popular subject!

Lottie where Psychology is taught it is a very popular subject, and it is increasingly hard to get into the good unversity courses as well. I know some schools like Westminster regard it as not academic enough for them but they are very much in the elitist minority. A friend whose daughter studied it at Esher was in one of 23 classes. 20 studying it at LEH last year, almost as many as English. www.lehs.org.uk/examination-results/83.html 24 at Hampton. Any good uni course will require AAA, the best eg Bath, UCL A*AA. Most good courses give you accreditation with professional bodies and it would not be looked on unfavourably by employers, especially business.

Heathclif, my point was more about the fact that it wasn't one of the many entirely traditional subjects listed in the LB Richmond press release! Interesting to hear that it is considered a sound option in most places now. Economics was as far down the non-traditional route as LEH went in my day! It does appear that the Council line is very much that the new sixth forms are for the study of academic A-levels but I wonder if they are retaining the most academic students from their own 11-16s? Presumably there won't be any release of statistics about the destination of Year 11s by GCSE results or the GCSE results of new starters?

LProsser I suspect that that Council release was like Gove's sound bites, not actually aimed at anyone with knowledge and experience of education in 2014. It would not have been on offer at Lord True's Grammar either.

Psychology, along with Economics, Philosophy, Religious Studies is not on the RGs list of facilitating subjects because universities cannot make it a required subject for the degree until it is offered at all schools. or a large majority (cynically you might say the most selective). Those subjects are not on the list of soft subjects, that pupils are recommended to study no more than one of either. However it is increasingly hard to get on a good Psychology degree course without A level Psychology, especially if you have studied only traditional Humanities subjects. Good courses will require a Science of which Psychology can count as one.

I assume the press release does not highlight the incredibly narrow offering of A level subjects, let alone traditional subjects at Twickenham Academy?

Applied Art and Design, Biology, Applied Business, Design and Technology, English Language and Literature (not the most traditional specification) Geography, History, Maths and Physics.

Basically 5 traditional subjects, no Chemistry, no MFL, no Philosophy/ Religious Studies (another very popular option in academic schools). Obviously it is an offering tailored to intake with other vocational options and pupils can move but as far as the Councils "choice and diversity" strategy goes, it is not going to encourage the middle class parents they want to see going there nor is it going to meet their aim of attracting the best teachers who will want the challenge / providing the chance to develop teaching capabilities to A level in those subjects. Given many of those parents actually have no choice it just underlines the unfairness.

At the same time I gather the IB option at Richmond College is under threat as a result of the changes, an academic option that is popular with traditional schools like King's Wimbledon, and in which RC pupils got good results and a few Oxbridge entries. I am not clear if that is due to pupils choosing to stay put in the new sixth forms or funding problems (which is part of the reason more indies do not offer it?). I thought the core demand for the course was from expats eg those from the German School?

Yes, I had heard somewhere that this year might be the last year of the IB. A big shame - my friend's daughter has just finished it. I am still not very clear how many LB Richmond pupils went on to Richmond College before the 6th forms which is partly why I was wondering if there are any statistics? I only really know a lot of families in Teddington from which the overwhelming majority chose Esher. Esher still seems to be the destination of choice for many from Teddington School despite the 6th form, but not everyone gets in and a couple of friends' children have been told that they are not even on the Esher waiting list this year as it is so oversubscribed. A lot of people seem to discount Richmond College as it has "problems" and will be a building site for years. But I'm sure that's partly a location thing as easier to get to Esher from Teddington.