School gone into special measures and likely to become an academy...help!

[specialmeasures]

DS?s school has just been put into special measures and we?ve been told that it?s likely to become an academy. I?d really appreciate any info/advice on what this means, what we should be thinking about and on questions to ask at the parents? meeting.

The school is a cutesy village school in a pretty affluent area with strong parental support and a strong sense of community. The report essentially says that children come in above average and do well in reception so that when they start Yr 1 they are usually a year ahead of where they are expected to be. Then things start to go downhill. In KS1 the teaching and curriculum is inadequate. KS2 is mixed. The attainment is in line with the national average but given the starting point this means their achievement is inadequate. It also slates the management (the head hasn?t been seen since the inspectors left but is currently ?sick? rather than having resigned). It does say that behaviour is good and the children happy. DS is in reception and we have been very happy with the school so far but talking to parents further up the school it seems that people are broadly in agreement with the report. Certainly the school has gone from being seen as very good with good SATS and OFSTED 4 years ago to very average/low results in the last 3 years. A number of parents I?ve spoken to feel that their children have hardly progressed in yrs 1 and 2.

Sooo?. What do we do? DS is my oldest child and I have younger children who I would expect to be going there too. My initial feeling is to keep him there for now as he is well settled with a good group of friends, and hope that this shakes the school into making major changes. However, he?s due to go into the problem classes in the next two years. Also I don?t really understand the academy process. From the little I do know I am concerned as it looks like a lot of effort (taking attention away from the main problem?) to cut accountability and give greater independence to a school that is failing!

Sorry that is so long but would really appreciate any thoughts/advice (have - unimaginatively - name changed as the above would quite easily identify the school and me).

Just on the academy side of things, as the school is failing it will have to find a sponsor who will provide additional help if it wants to convert.

Watching with interest.

So, just to be clear, has the school got a 'Notice to Improve'? Has the school a year to turn itself around?

Is it a community (LEA) school?

There are two types of Academies - those that voluntarily convert, and those which are made to. You could check with your school which type your school would be? The latter will have a sponsor found for them by dear old Michael Gove and the Government.

I would not worry too much about going into special measures. It sounds like they have got a little complacent over the last few years rather than being a terrible failing shool. Going into special measures can sometimes be the best thing, it can give a school a chance to get rid of poor staff & shake things up a bit. As a non-academy school, they would be checked regulary and receive extra support & money, although I don't know what happens with an academy.

Thank you for the replies. LineRunner - it is a C of E voluntary controlled school at the moment (I think that is the right term - uses usual LEA admission criteria etc). I don't know whether it has a notice to improve - the report gives it 4 in everything but behaviour and says it is in 'special measures'.

The letter from the school says that the LEA policy is for schools in special measures to become academies so I think the school essentially has no choice. I'm not sure whether they are technically being forced or are voluntarily converting under duress!

I don't know much about the academy process save for what I've found scanning the internet last night... at first sight it looks a lot of work. I'm worried that the school should be focusing on recruiting (hopefully!), revising the way they teach fundamental aspects of the curriculum, overhauling the way the monitor and support staff etc and that instead they'll be focused on finding a sponsor, writing contracts etc. I can't see how the process helps the school that's already at a point of crisis.

4 for attendance too?

Just to correct LineRunner - a school that is forced to convert to academy status will only have a sponsor imposed if they fail to find one for themselves. They may, of course, only get a fairly short time to do so.

One other point I should make is that the rules put in place by the last government require any school placed into special measures to consider conversion to academy status so this is not new. The LA's policy does suggest that conversion will happen.

Notice to improve is a lesser step than placing the school in special measures. It is either on notice to improve or in special measures. It won't be on both at the same time.

There is a lot of help for schools converting to academy status. They should not, for example, have to write contracts. They should simply adopt the model contracts already available. The sponsor will actually do most of the work once one has been identified. The sponsor will also provide additional support for the school after conversion. Sponsors are often in a better position to provide support than the LA.

When a school goes into special measures the current senior management and governors have limited time to prove that they can turn the school around with whatever additional support the LA can offer. If they fail to do so they are likely to be replaced. Special measures means that radical action is needed. It will be disruptive. However, most schools that go into special measures do come out again and the proponents of academies believe there is evidence to suggest that conversion helps them to do so.

Thank you again for the replies.
Stranded, the report doesn't give a specific attendance mark. It's 4 overall and 4 for achievement (because they start well but come out average with inconsistent progress), 4 for teaching (KS1 being the worst), 4 for leadership and management and 3 for behaviour and safety (which is a bit unfair because they say nothing negative there, they say that it is calm, children are not disruptive despite not being challenged, they are safe and happy and have better than average attendance).

prh - many thanks for explaining that. The rumour is that it is the C of E that will act as a sponsor. I have to say that if teaching is poor then getting the church to step in doesn't sound like the obvious solution....

I really don't know whether I should be looking for other alternatives. He is youngest in the school but doing pretty well at the moment and I feel that a good yr 1 will be crucial for him.

Many thanks for the replies

I'm having the same issues, except all is well until Y3 and is then terrible. DS is in Y1 and is struggling a bit though.

I got some good advice on my thread further down the education page.

Thanks small ship, I had a look at your thread. It's very worrying isn't it, my instinct is to stay to support the school and to re-evaluate in 12 months to see if there is an improvement. My concern is that this may be naive and if things don't improve I may find that my chances of moving schools have been severely limited by others jumping ship first.

Are you also looking at becoming an academy?

I don't think so. Our area doesn't seem to do primary academies. They haven't really told us what's going to happen TBH.

After I read your thread, I rang our other local school to see if they had any spaces for my current y1 DS and DD due to start reception in September. They do, so I'm going for a visit tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'll do and like you, my initial reaction is to stay put, but I don't want to risk DS's education, he's not the type of child who will cope with a couple of years of crap teaching and then manage to pull himself back up to the required standard. He'll sink.

There are a lot of high performing C of E schools, so they have a lot of experience and resources. Each diocese already has an education department, and a ready next work of successful schools to provide guidance.
The Church has benn interested in education a lot longer than say a carpet manufacturer.

Schools in Haringey were given 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays to 'find a sponsor' or have their governing bodies disbanded and a sponsor of the DfE's choice forced on them, so I would take the 'school can choose a sponsor' line with a HUGE pinch of salt.

I do agree, specialmeasures, that would make more sense for the school to be focusing on teaching and learning rather than a change of governance at the moment. Especially as there is no evidence of sponsored academies guaranteeing school improvement at primary level and very patchy evidence at secondary.

Whilst you are still an LEA run school your LA has a responsibility to work with the school on creating, implementing and monitoring an improvement action plan. As you say, an academy sponsor doesn't have this accountability, and there seems to be a bit of a mystery as to what will happen to all the academies going into special measures.

As to what you should do, well, it depends on your other options, the practicalities, which teacher your son gets next year etc. Lots of variables.

I wouldn't worry about the academy thing at all. The schools leadership is terrible, therefore drastic things need to happen to turn it round.

As a parent you can't possibly know if the LEA or the CofE is in the better position to help. All you do know is that you want things to improve, and that you are unhappy with the status quo (which is support from the LEA)

The HT will almost certainly be replaced.

I think there's a very good chance things will turn round in 1 or 2 years. And as your child is so young that means he'll have loads of time to benefit from the improved school.

Rosebud05 is quite wrong when saying that an academy sponsor doesn't have the accountability to work with the school on creating, implementing and monitoring an improvement action plan. The sponsor very clearly does have that accountability. There is absolutely no mystery as to what will happen to any academy that goes into special measures. A number have already been into special measures and come out again.

An academy sponsor doesn't have the same degree of accountability as a local authority. They can jump ship if they like.

I'm not aware of any academies that have gone into special measures as academies and come out of it (though of course there may well be some). There are a number that were doing well as maintained schools and have gone in to special measures since conversion and some that have been in special measures for a very long period of time.

The point is that there is no evidence that a change of governance guarantees school improvement, and lots to suggest that it doesn't.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-17524180

www.southport.gb.com/southport/news_list/Birkdale_High_Academy_in_%26quot%3BSpecial_Measures%26quot%3B-51016018.htm

Back in 2008 DD's school went into special measures after a series of staff change overs and general disruptance in the school. IMO being put into special measures was the best thing that happened to the school. After getting 4's in that years Ofsted they were given extra funding and new strategies to enforce and the transformation in just a year was extra ordinary. Today the school is one of the most desirable in the area.

Sorry I can't comment on the academy side of things but all I will say is that when a school is struggling being put in special measures is usually the best thing for it.

An academy sponsor cannot easily jump ship. They are tied in by the funding agreement and have to give 7 years notice if they want to get out.

There are indeed some that have gone into special measures as academies and come out again. The Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle springs to mind but that is not the only one.

Thank you very much for the comments (and good luck with the decision Small Ships!). Thanks for the experience BringBack, I hope we'll be able to say the same thing. Actually the school does now have quite a positive feel about it after 2 months of foreboding waiting for the report. I think it does have the potential to turn around fast if the right management is put in place.

thanks for the comments on academies. It is certainly true that if we're going to have a sponsor then the C of E is not a bad one to have (and, as it's a C of E school all the parents have effectively signed up for that already so it's not as if we have some random businessman foisted on us). I'm not necessarily against the academy status but I can't find a particularly convincing explanation of why it's thought to be a good thing to push all schools in crisis into being academies. After all, lots of schools turn around with LEA help and there's no magic in a change of name and a sponsor. I'm mainly concerned that the school will be diverted to looking at the complex process and legislation rather than looking at why yr 1 aren't making progress in writing!

IF anyone can explain what the benefits are supposed to be I'd be really grateful. All I can see is that it gives more freedom to the school in terms of management and the curriculum but as the school has been judged inadequate on both fronts I'm not sure where the advantage in in that!

Thanks again for taking the time to answer

I'm coming back because we've been told that we will more than likely become an academy too.

I've filled in forms to change schools for my DC today, the school I saw was lovely and had space BUT in the space of 7 hours I've changed my mind and I think I want them to stay put! The council are going to love me I've spent all day pestering them just to do a u-turn.

specialmeasures, the idea that academy status gives schools more freedom in terms of management is only relevant to voluntary converter academies ie 'outstanding' schools which have chosen to leave their LA or LEA and are funded directly by central government. The very, very great majority of these are secondary schools, as primary schools are too small to have the capacity to manage all their own affairs independently.

If a school is judged to be 'inadequate' and is forced to become an academy, it will be sponsored. It is the sponsor that runs and manages the school - there's no increased autonomy for the school, quite the reverse in fact.

Academies don't have to follow the National Curriculum. This is sold as a 'freedom' but one person's freedom is, of course, another person's chains. Some people think it's a good idea to have a curriculum which all schools in the country follow, rather than allowing schools to focus solely on Maths and English to boost their SATS scores (so little or no history, music, art, drama, trips etc) or teach particular perspectives as fact eg creationism.

prh47bridge, are you a supporter of academies, then?

I am neither for nor against academies. I just try to correct inaccurate information when it is posted, regardless of whether it is by someone for or against.

I've got mixed views. In my LA area, some of the leadership of schools is weak. The Chair of Governors is merely a mouthpiece for the Headteacher.

I don't see the academies that have been created being any different.