Massive change from council controlled schools. Winners and losers?

[Seeker33]

I tend to think major changes have winners and losers.
How is it going with the move to free schools and academies.? In your opinion.

I think it leaves room for eccentric heads.

There is a reality here. We need extra school places and schools now and in the next five years because of the increasing population. Actually we will need more places for a lot longer because in 5 years the baby boom in primaries will have hit the secondary schools.
So it is does not matter what version of school it is, whether free, maintained or whatever we need those school places.
The issue for me is that we need currently to be concentrating on primary school places and in the areas that need new school places. The worry is that too many of the schools are secondary. Whether they are in exactly the right place is impossible to know because of the shifting population in the UK, but hopefully most can be built on the basis of real need not imaginary need.

Most schools near us are academies. No real change for pupils. The local primary free schools (4) are all run by credible educational organisation - no concerns really

I was just thinking about this today.

I think free schools are our only hope of fresh thinking. Only hope of HTs who don't spend their whole lives trying to impress Ofsted. Only hope of teachers not being so stressed and overworked they can't see the wood for the trees.

UK education doesn't have to be in the state it's in. A lot of the problems are not caused by lack of funding but by politics and ideology. The teachers and HTs politics and ideology.

I very much hope a few free schools are different enough to be truly better than nearby schools.

Mrs-I don't believe problems in education are due exclusively to lack of funding but they are certainly not down to my politics or ideology. Very few current education policies are for the good of children therefore not endorsed by many teachers. The problems are caused by government ideologies that are formed without any input at all from teachers on the front line (the group put together to replace levels is such an example). We are ticking boxes because someone in an ivory tower says we have to-massive increase in workload but not benefitting students-what is the point?
I would prefer local authorities to be able to open new schools as they have experience and too many free school leaders don't have enough experience (our local free school is not opening-huge outcry as the site was not confirmed).

I mean things like your workload being too much because you have to mark every single piece of writing a child does. Which leads to either over work by the teacher or deliberately not setting a lesson requiring writing.

This is an ideology / politics problem. Children can write without it being marked.

It's not a govt problem. It's the SLT who decide the marking policy of the school.

But they're scared of OFSTED. And aren't prepared to make a sensible marking policy and explain it to Ofsted when eventually they come.

Are you writing an article about it? very oddly worded question.

Mrs Shellshocked - Free schools are under the same Ofsted pressure as state schools.
As for marking, a primary school near us recently lost its Outstanding rating, when you read through the report the major criticism is that work is not marked thoroughly enough, it does not show a dialogue between the teacher and pupil.
I am all for free thinking in schools, and if that is the genuine philosophy behind free schools then the government should allow that curricular freedom to all schools.

But who cares about the Ofsted rating? So what if the school is no longer deemed to be outstanding by Ofsted.

Why does everyone jump to ofsteds tune so much? Why doesn't the HT say to Ofsted 'this is what my school does - because...'

And so what if they're no longer outstanding?

Because if you get less than good you may be forced to become an academy.
The biggest advantage of being outstanding (and then maintaing good progress statistics ) is that Ofsted visit you less frequently, allowing you breathing space away from them and the allows schools to concentrate on teaching the children

The answer MsShellShocked is that any head teacher who takes that attitude is not likely to be the head teacher of any kind of school for very long.
There is a need for the head teacher to be innovative in what they do at the school but there is a large difference between innovative and improves attainment etc and just doing what they like.

Free schools close occasionally. Who picks up the pieces? Where do those children go? No new LA places.

Schools have to dance the ofstd tune for threat of being converted. Although what happens to failing academies!?

I prefer local controlled schools - they are more accountable in my view.

Free schools close occasionally. Who picks up the pieces?

Schools of all kinds close occasionally. Other local schools have to find space for the displaced pupils regardless of whether the closing school is a free school, academy, community school or whatever.

Although what happens to failing academies!?

The sponsor (if there is one - the school itself if there isn't) must put in place an improvement programme. If the Secretary of State isn't happy she can appoint additional governors or replace the governors with an Interim Executive Board. The school may be transferred to a different academy trust (effectively putting it into new ownership) or it can be closed.