Politicians running schools

[2tirednot2fight]

Now how scary is this? Our police commissioner has linked up with his mates a soon to be ex MP and an ex Director of education. They are setting up a free school in my authority using tax payers money. I can't quite believe it, anyone else experienced anything similar?

No help here but like you would be very worried

My goodness just read the names of other trustees, they include a prospective new MP and a councillor too. All belong to the same political party, how on earth can this be okay?

People will buy the idea because who could possibly have better organisational skills and knowledge for the job? That's in an ideal world of course. In the real world, there's a danger that a venture like this will be based on far too much, possibly flawed, ideology.

There was a free school founded with the intention of filling what is a real geographical gap in secondary schools, locally. All very laudable, until it became clear that it has a heavily evangelical Christian ethos. We're just outside the catchment that they're providing free transport to, but still get all the promotional materials. I'm half tempted to turn up to one of the promo events and ask how on Earth they claim to fill a gap for us, as atheists, or for the mostly secular majority of the local population (not even getting started on the fact that I wouldn't even have wanted DS1 to go there if his SEN were even half as severe, nor would they have touched him with a bargepole, regardless).

Yikes, but personally I think the free money will dry up sooner rather than later. Opening them is one thing keeping them going is another. Teachers don't want to work in them as they lose all their terms and conditions, pension scheme etc.

That's similar to this ouryve the police commissioner is on the net as being involved with a branch if Pentecostal church. Like you I don't do religion but respect others that do choose to. I won't be touching the school with a barge pole either but I do think it scary to have a politically motivated group setting up a school. Their thirst for power rather than an urge to assist in education is the most lmotivating factor

That should end most likely motivating factor in my view!

It's OK that regular, qualified teachers don't want to work in them as they are under no obliigation to employ qualified teachers whatsover. Yup that's right the local politician's fervent friends get a free pass at indoctrinating educating our brown shirts youth.

If you think that's is bad take a look at the requirements the new Special Academies are expected to meet. No real teachers, no targets, no national curriculum requirements. I'll avoid going off on a REAL rant and just walk away muttering under my breath about "dumping grounds" at this point, before I start getting REALLY angry!

That sounds awful Bochead surely Gove is going too far now?

Our kids aren't wanted by the new academies (& in some areas ALL secondaries now have academy status!) - the special academy provision provided by that new bill that also passed the poorly piloted EHCP's instead of statements from September is the solution.

That of course is fine if you resent your child's class being disrupted by a SN child. Not so good if you are a SN child, especially as you can be given a place to one of these new academies without a statement/ehcp plan.

To be fair to the Welsh and Northern Irish - at least they saw academies coming and have refused them for their nations. However neither are totally going against the prevailing current. I STILL can't get my head round the fact that my sibling's cohort 20-30 years ago had far better educational prospects than SN kids today do. This is almost entirely due to the gradual encroachment of no-nothing politician's influence of the classroom as the years have gone by.

Yet the research base for our kids could be helped has exploded exponentially! Shame none of the fantastic info on evidence-based practice is allowed to reach the coal face. Just look at the general establishment opposition to ABA for an example of what I mean.

The further down the rabbit hole you go, the more rotten the whole system looks. Tbh it's why I opted out completely and now home ed. One sleep deprived single Mum isn't gonna lead the revolution I think our education system needs. For years now we've been importing the skills our nation needs, while our functional literacy and numeracy rates are appalling for a country with so many years of compulsory "education".