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School - BBC 2 - 9 pm

406 replies

HollowTalk · 06/11/2018 21:14

Anyone watching?

OP posts:
craftymum01 · 17/11/2018 00:33

Just watched this on catch up and I wish I hadn’t, can’t sleep now. I thought the situation in primary schools was bad, but this looks so much worse. Pastoral care is so important. I work in Sen and I simply couldn’t do my job without my amazing learning mentors. They are a life line for some of these children and are seriously underpaid.
I hope Michael Gove is reading this thread.

staydazzling · 17/11/2018 12:53

It's such a bad situation all round

spreadmarmznotmisery · 20/11/2018 20:01

I've just caught up with this and it's eye opening! Can't believe it.

It really does remind me of how my school was too.

MyNameIsNotSteven · 20/11/2018 21:23

Just watching this for the first time. The SLT seem like a shower. The assistant head has just run down the head of humanities mainly regarding behaviour - which appears to be partly due to poor leadership!

QuickWash · 20/11/2018 21:54

This programme is just horrific.

How can anyone in politics live with themselves.

And why and how does anyone work in education?!

NotAnotherJaffaCake · 20/11/2018 21:56

If you are watching this, as a parent, do everything you can to stop your schools becoming academies. It may be too late for you, and yes, there are some good academies, but the whole system is rotten to the core. We cannot accept a system that is not fit for purpose.

MrsChollySawcutt · 20/11/2018 22:10

This programme is just mind boggling. That a school in special measures can think it's in any way acceptable to join create class sizes of up 50! How is that improving the quality of education?

staydazzling · 20/11/2018 22:16

500 odd kids in an entire school? Shock my comp had approx 300 per year!

staydazzling · 20/11/2018 22:16

totally agree mrschollysawcut

Beingginger · 20/11/2018 22:28

My high school had 650 pupils, it was an outstanding church school. There were only 130 kids in my whole year.
DD school has just over 1200 pupils, with 200 intake a year.
My dc primary school pulled out of their MAT the day before conversion to an academy due to issues over finances.

winewolfhowls · 20/11/2018 22:49

I felt sorry for the head, I thought he was a good man unable to do good because of the academy restraints and money. The young man from the politics club was a sweetheart.

I didn't like the head of the academy chain or the deputy in charge of timetabling at all. They came across as very cold and without understanding of staff morale, stress, or people skills.
Best bit was the carebear? Week. Cos that's really going to make a meaningful impact on staff wellbeing you utter utter dicks.

purpleme12 · 20/11/2018 22:56

I didn't particularly warm to a lot of them in the programme to be honest.
This programme is extremely grim watching I have to say. Almost regretting watching it!

MrsChollySawcutt · 20/11/2018 23:09

I didn't like the academy CEO either and I felt sorry for the Heads who had to work for him. The cuts seemed be happening on a frequent basis - more than an annual budget round, making it impossible for the schools to plan their finances and heading to poor decision making.

God knows why the academy chain agreed to take part in the programme. It's certainly not good publicity for them or their schools. Shambolic and chaotic with finances being put before both the kids education and the staff wellbeing.

ASauvignonADay · 21/11/2018 07:07

I agree it was really grim Viewing and not sure why the MAT agreed to do it. It's not that bad in our school - money is tight and we've experienced cuts and do feel it, but it is nowhere near as bad as that school and I'd be sad if our parents thought that's what was actually happening day to day for us.

MyNameIsNotSteven · 21/11/2018 08:34

Yes the Care Bear initiative was patronising and crass. I'm glad that deputy head has left. Shame the CEO is still in place.

staydazzling · 21/11/2018 10:13

fell asleep last night rewatching ....its just soo grim..Sad no wonder more and more ppl choose to homeschool

MrsChollySawcutt · 21/11/2018 10:23

But not all schools are like this. My DCs state secondary is an amazing school that outperforms the local indies.

How can there be such a huge gulf of expectation and attainment when all schools receive the same funding and have access to the same pool of teaching staff?

Is the case that when a school are reached such a state of decline as Marlwood its just. It possible to turn it around?

staydazzling · 21/11/2018 10:25

i wanna give that poor teacher a hug

EdithSitwell · 21/11/2018 10:29

The lesson feedback was very poor. Perhaps it was heavily edited- I hope so. Where were the positives? Where was the constructive criticism and the support? No wonder the teacher was utterly demoralised. It's all so punitive nowadays. (Former teacher here and relieved to be out).

purpleme12 · 21/11/2018 10:38

I also thought the feedback was quite odd. She said what he needs to improve but there was methods as to what to do - although there are some companies/schools who will be rubbish about feedback. So who knows?

Don't schools rebrand when they've got a bad reputation? Different name different logo and uniform and everything?

Sosadtowatch · 21/11/2018 11:01

From what i have read schools do not have equal budgets, there is some form of funding criteria and South Glos comes off quite badly on this.

I am from the area, my daughter has just started primary school and Castle school would be the closet choice for secondary when that time comes.

Our headmaster sent a link to this article after the first Marlwood episode aired. Its aimed at primary schools in the area stating that the majority will be in the red within three years.

it also states that South Glos is the worst funded per pupil in England.

staydazzling · 21/11/2018 11:05

i was nearly in tears watching that

NotAnotherJaffaCake · 21/11/2018 11:10

There is a new National Funding Formula which aims to remove the discrepancies between LAs and pupil funding. Small schools lose out, as block grants have been replaced by per pupil funding. More pupils = more funding. Rural schools are also doubly hit, because your catchment is always going to be limited. Most of the per pupil funding allocations are deprivation based, so a nominally well off area, gets less per pupil than a deprived area. However, the deprivation indices are very blunt tools and means that areas with pockets of need aren't funded adequately to deal with those needs. If you have a high percentage of pupil premium pupils in your school, you'll get enough PP money to pay for an inclusion specialist and a raft of other things. If you have, say 10% PP pupils, and are in a rural school, you're stuffed - you don't get the money to do meaningful work, and you can't access all the support mechanisms that exist in large cities.

I was in a large, city-based primary the other day. They can afford to take pupils who have a lifestyle need to healthy eating/parenting/exercise schemes that are laid on in a local church hall. Total cost to them is the staff time to take those children to the venue - and because it's a university city, they have loads of students who are happy to work for a few hours after school to make it happen.

In a rural primary - good luck finding staff for a few hours here and there. Want to take your at need families to an event or course? Well, first of all you're going to have to hire a bus. Or taxi. Assuming you can find a course or event that's a sensible distance away, and where you won't lose 90minutes just getting there...

TeenTimesTwo · 21/11/2018 11:55

I left the programme yesterday thinking that Marlwood was in a no win situation.

With falling rolls meaning falling funding, so they can't recruit teachers (and who would choose to teach in a SM school?) it felt like things could only go downhill. I felt so sorry for the teachers, the head of humanities looked beaten.

I felt I could teach maths better than the PE teacher (maybe not, but at least I am confident in the subject).

The losing of pastoral care, which I think is very important. Having good pastoral care staff means teachers can teach and pastoral care can help with those who need it.

Everyone was being failed.

purpleme12 · 21/11/2018 12:04

I'm not sure whether I'll bother watching anymore I found it so grim viewing

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