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.

The report is here www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/136104 and the TA Heads response is here www.twickenhamacademy.org.uk/news/principalsblog/principalsblog.5.1a58d6e142325ca28280009948.html

To be fair the report does not as such make comment on the kunskapskollen model in the way that the HA one did but it is pretty damning about the standards of teaching, and monitoring of student achievement. In that context the Heads response is very complacent, focusing on how unfair the process is rather than actually addressing the constructive criticism. Doesn't inspire confidence.

It does require further improvement, but Ofsted did note progress already with better attendance, behaviour and Maths and English results. In this respect they are still improvements on the schools they replaced.

The principal was also correct in pointing out the concern of other heads about constant but no-notice changes to exams and performance measures, including early entry (see comments by Teddington head). Kunskapsskolan's model is based on 'stage not age' but they will have to adapt that further now. In Sweden it appears there is much more teacher assessment which has led to accusations of grade inflation.

Interesting commentary about Kunskapsskolan.

Some provisional national averages for Ebacc:

Overall average: 22.7%
Converter academies: 29.9%
Independent schools: 29.3%
Sponsored academies: 10.9%
Richmond LA average: 41.2%

All our sponsored academies still performed above average for the type of school - Hampton Academy's result was around 22%.

And a leading Conservative Local Government Association spokesman has blamed government policy on free schools and academies and free schools (which prohibits new LA schools) for shortages of places.

'"The easier solutions have all been used up by councils. And many parents who say that they want a choice of schooling for their children may find there is only one school that can take a child."'

The local Conservatives can't say that publicly when the LibDems keep blaming them for lack of primary place planning. But perhaps they feel the same.

Surely the free school and academies' (and voluntary aided religious schools) policy is equally the responsibility of local Lib Dems as they are in the coalition? I agree that not allowing local authorities to open new schools is silly, but, in LB Richmond, lack of suitable sites seems to be a much bigger problem which is partly down to the Council giving away Clifden and not coming up with any alternatives.

The new Fair Admissions Campaign map shows that religious secondary schools of all types take fewer children on FSM than their surrounding population would produce if admissions were open. 10% less for C of E schools and 24% less for Catholic schools:
fairadmissions.org.uk/map/

We have been lucky to avoid most of this in LB Richmond so far - no figures available for Sir RR yet.

Teddington School has found a new headteacher: Mr John Wilkinson from the Elmgreen School in Lambeth, an 11-18 community school said to be the first parent-promoted school in the UK.

Well done Teddington School - Elmgreen sounds like a great example of an inclusive local school started from scratch with very democratic local roots.

www.theguardian.com/education/2013/sep/23/school-blueprint-for-labour
www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2453592

'It is the foundation trust and governance model that really sets Elmgreen apart, not just from the current wave of free schools, but from many other existing voluntary-aided, controlled or foundation schools. Behind the governing body sits a foundation, to which any local parent of school-age children within two miles can belong. It currently has more than 600 members. They elect five directors to sit on the school's governing body. Seven elected parent governors and eight staff, local authority and community governors mean parents always have the majority, but the original aim of maintaining strong community links is also enshrined.'

GEMS Education has just lost another CEO after three months. Sir Peter Birkett has resigned after an investigation into grade fixing and finances at the Barnfield academy federation he founded.

Zenna Atkins lasted seven weeks. Anders Hultin lasted a year: he had previously set up Kunskapsskolan and later went on to run JB Education, a Swedish free school chain, until it was closed down by its private equity firm backer, leaving 10,000 pupils to find other schools.

There seems to be a lot of links from one for-profit education business to another, and Richmond is attracting a lot of attention from them - Anders Hultin from Kunskapsskolan (at the time they acquired TA and HA) to GEMS (then off again), Zenna Atkins from GEMS to Wey Education which tried to buy the Place Group which is partnered with Bellevue Education interested in a free school in Richmond.

Mum in London. I find it very worrying that these companies don't seem to be very stable. I wish these goings on were more widely known locally. Letter to RTT?

There's a discussion here about global, for profit groups backed by private equity using a trust vehicle to take over three schools in Oxfordshire. The questions asked are:

'how much will parents really know in the future about: Who runs their children’s schools? Who decides who runs their schools? How those decisions are made? What other interests lie behind the local face of the people who run their schools? Where the real power and accountability (and money) lies?'

Elected politicians are failing us if they are not asking and debating these questions publicly, and well before these organisations are allowed to propose schools.

The question 'who runs their children's schools' could be taken quite literally. The IES chief operating officer stepped in to lead IES Breckland when its principal resigned - if it was difficult to recruit qualified teachers, perhaps finding a principal is an even more challenging task. The first free school opened thus far by Bellevue Place Education Trust is being run by Bellevue Education's CEO. The trust that appointed IES also keeps it in the family too.

The Guardian reports that NAO report on free schools has been published

"Over £1bn will have been spent on the free schools programme by March 2014, yet on opening, 1 in 4 desks at free schools were empty and fewer than 1 in 5 secondary places are in areas of high or severe need. "

Yes, I think the first couple of free school rounds were about proving the concept, and aiming for a free school in every LA in the country, to counter the "it's just a London thing" accusation. The focus has now shifted more towards addressing basic need. However, the fact is that in some areas there just aren't groups coming forward to create free schools, so councils are having to use the section 6A route to invite proposals. I think it's take time for councils that need schools to get their heads around the new process (not surprisingly!).

Coincidentally (or not!) the Ofsted Annual Report is coming out today too. The BBC seem to be giving equal prominence to this and the free school report this morning.

From the BBC coverage of the free schools report ......

"It also reveals the DfE received no applications to open primary free schools in half of all districts with high or severe need for new places. This is significant because if local councils want to set up new schools they have to invite free school or academy providers to bid"

And, here's the full NAO Report.

The RTT has Space fears (p 23), an excellent letter from Rob Gray of Friends of the River Crane Environment ([FORCE) reminding residents that no planning applications have so far been submitted for the proposed new secondary school on the College site or the developments that will pay for it.

There are many planning and environmental issues to be resolved before planning permission can be granted. No doubt in the end it will a question of how much amenity should be sacrificed and how much over-development should be permitted to make the scheme financially viable to give us the extra school we certainly need.

cjs.

Lots of critical articles on free schools at the moment following the NAO report and Discovery New School's closure. But slightly different angle in this Guardian piece on local battle fronts for the DfE. One is Sullivan primary school in Hammersmith and Fulham which the Conservative council is proposing to close to make way for a CofE boys' free secondary school. I don't see how it's in the LA/government's interest to upset the local community in that way.

Background to the Sulivan primary story is here - LAs have closed or amalgamated community schools to allow VA school expansions so it's not an issue so much with free schools, but faith schools.

Free schools would be getting better press if the government had been more transparent, separated faith schools from the process, prevented private equity backed organisations from being sponsors, generally selected sponsors much more rigorously (why approve a Montessori school if it was adequate? Wonder what other Montessori schools make of the bad publicity). It should also have allowed the LA route as an option in places of need and supported by parents.

"Wonder what other Montessori schools make of the bad publicity"

There's some info on that in this other Guardian article.

Interesting - would love to know what Lord True (whose wife runs Barnes Montessori nursery) makes of this.

If they are closing the Discovery New School in Crawley there must be a site going. Wonder if the DfE or EFA has a provider in mind to take over? The project management group behind one of the Richmond primary free school bids (Place Group) has an approved proposal in Crawley in partnership with Mosaica. This was the American for-profit organisation that makes money out of its patented curriculum. But the Place Group seem to be behind nearly 20 approved bids which are quite varied, including a couple of the schools mentioned in the Guardian article on unsubscribed free schools. It was also behind Sandymoor and Rural Enterprise Academy which only had 40 filled places last year according to that article.

Today’s Guardian has Free schools: why the fight goes on by Zoe Williams:

Michael Gove's free schools project has been controversial to say the least. Yesterday, one of the first to open was ordered to close. Meanwhile, fierce local battles continue to rage . .

Chris, yes, that's the same article Muminlondon posted. It seems reasonably well balanced.

I think I mixed up Sandymoor with Stour Valley in relation to the Place Group. And while it has acted in a project manager role for many free schools, its more direct involvement in trusts are with Bellevue Education (on schools in Balham, Maidenhead and Islington) and Mosaica (on the Crawley/Gatwick free school). So far only the Balham free school has opened so no census numbers on that.

Just an aside on Elmgreen from where Teddington has recruited its new head (also a potential model for Labour if it continues free schools, although it was able to set up as voluntary controlled so is still maintained by the LA). It got a good Ofsted recently with outstanding leadership - so I'm sure they will be very sad to let their head go.