Harris Academies

[42n82noluv]

Can anyone share their thoughts (pros and cons) on the Harris academies please? The mere mention of them can bring out some strong feelings about their ethos.

We went to see local one. All very shiny and nice. Also went to see another local one that was due to open. I didn't take to the incoming head and he said how he hadn't been head for a school from scratch but had been for one they took over from the year after they took it on and was just about to put 1st pupils through GCSE's so that means 3 heads in 5 years at that school. The shiny one then had an interim ofsted saying 3 heads in 3 years. That really put me off them.

Very strict, if your child has a learning need definitely is not the school for them from our experience to date.

As a teacher, I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

There's a reason for the mad levels of staffing churn that @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky mentions, and that has a real negative impact on students.

Totally agree, head does an amazing sales pitch for the children that have an EHCP but do not deliver !

Useful responses, thank you.

My friend works in one, they moved house to make sure their kids didn’t go to a Harris school.

We live close to quite a lot of primary schools including one that was forcibly (via DfE intervention) and controversially taken over by Harris in 2012, when DS1 was in year 1 but thankfully not at that school. Some parents stuck with it and some sent kids to another popular local primary instead.

I would be put off by

• governance - I'm a school governor - my kids' community primary has several parent places though sadly for a long time these haven't been filled as many local parents choose to send kids elsewhere including Harris. There is also a governor nominated by the local authority (who may or may not be a councillor) and coopted governors - we have teachers from other schools, retired teachers with long and varied experience in education. So there's a mix of sources and experiences. The local Harris primary has one parent governor place and 4 "sponsor governor" places. Other governors are senior management in the Harris organisation. So there is little outside scrutiny, and if there are issues who can take a perspective from outside the organisation that runs the school?
• teacher turnover - see above
• uniform - it's been toned down a little, with sweatshirts instead of blazers at primary (from observations near school and on buses) but compared to other local primaries Harris has more logoed items, a more formal uniform and colours which restrict alternative options
• stories of questionable practice and probable cheating in OFSTED inspection (they employ practitioner teachers across the organisation who taught some classes instead of the class teachers during inspection) and in SATS
• ownership, ethos, policies - Lord Harris and the chain have a lot of links to government ministers and education policies, especially Michael Gove

Oh, and after they took over one of our local primaries and another in the area, they started interviewing families interested in applying there on Saturday mornings (a policy which may skew intake towards families who are for example, more middle class, motivated, academic, able to go to an interview on a Saturday morning), which may well make the school look "better" compared to others in the area. And in my area comparisons between schools very often relate more to intake than the quality of the school.

Good for run of the mill, average children. They will ensure they make the grade so school can boast results.

Utterly useless, and quite possibly law breaking when it comes to any needs (dodgy duel registration, outright lying during EHCP process, off rolling 'undesirable' children by any means necessary)

Not good enough for high achievers. They'll get good grades but the priority is getting as close to 100% those 5s.

For staff, I will never, ever, work for Harris again. I'd rather quit altogether.

They ask illegal questions of previous schools before offering places - like SEND and safeguarding information - but offroll multiple children illegally themselves without following fundamental safeguarding procedures.

When I worked at a Harris secondary between 2004-2006, I was asked to falsify coursework to ensure students all got Cs. When I refused, I was removed from teaching that class. Was called on my personal number when off sick to provide some assessment data. They are obsessed with data and results and don't see the students as individuals, in my view.

We have a brilliant experience of primary. Caring, professional and high standards. Also talking to other parents we had an exceptional home learning experience during covid.
Send issues have also be dealt with well and proactively.