Resisting the government’s drive to close schools
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 5:14 AM.
The government’s obsession with involving the private sector in the running of schools is set to plummet to new depths.
Tony Blair announced at the end of last year that he wanted to see a massive increase in the number of city academy schools from the current 46 to 400 by 2010.
Each city academy costs £25-30 million to open. Private sponsors invest up to £2 million in each school, while the government funds the rest. In return the private sponsors gain significant influence on how the schools are run.
There has rightly been criticism of existing sponsors such as evangelical Christian car salesman Peter Vardy. But perhaps more worrying is the involvement of corporate giants like UBS and Toshiba in making decisions about our children’s education.
The government claims that academies are used to replace “failing” schools. However a recent report by the Telegraph newspaper found that out of the 68 schools due to close or merge and be replaced by academies, only six are classed as failing by Ofsted, the schools standards office. The majority are improving, good or even excellent.
One such school is Islington Green in north London. At its last Ofsted report in 2003 the school was found to be improving.
Last week the school was praised by the Mayor of London’s office for significant achievements over the past year.
At a ceremony in central London, unelected schools minister Lord Adonis, who supports the closure of Islington Green, unveiled a London Underground style map that had been altered to celebrate London schools that have performed particularly well. Islington Green School was among them.
Over the past three years the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grade GCSEs including English and maths at Islington Green has improved from 16 percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2006. The number of pupils with five good passes in all subjects has improved from 28 percent in 2003 to 40 percent in 2006.
Yet on Thursday this week Islington council was set to make a final decision about closing Islington Green and transforming it into a city academy – because it is a “failing” school.
“How can Lord Adonis insist that Islington Green is so poor that it needs taking over by private managers as a city academy, and still unveil a map that indicates what an excellent school it is?” asked Nick Grant, Ealing secretary of the NUT teachers’ union.
While the government is busy throwing money into replacing good schools with city academies, those that have opened so far have achieved mixed results.
A report by management consultants Price Waterhouse Coopers last July found that the difference in standards between academies and the schools they replaced were “generally small”.
Former Labour minister Karen Buck added to the sense of failure surrounding many academies when she removed her son from the Paddington Academy in west London last month after just one term.
The school, which has cost the taxpayer £25 million, has a deficit of £900,000 – and the new building is yet to be completed.
Opposition to the closure of schools is growing. In Islington and Oldham, where the council is proposing to close or merge five schools, protests will see hundreds of teachers, parents and pupils take to the streets over the next few weeks.
Mac Andrassy is helping organise the protests in Oldham. “We have had two union meetings in the past week. They have both been really well attended with over 50 coming along to one,” he said. “The mood against the council is really strong.
“One teacher summed up the mood, saying, ‘This is not why I came into teaching. I want to work in the public sector’.”
No academy at Islington Green School
Lobby of Islington schools organisation committee, Thursday 18 January, 5.30pm. Meet outside Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1.
Oldham anti-academies protest
Saturday 27 January, 11.30am, behind Oldham Civic Centre, West Street.
Tony Blair announced at the end of last year that he wanted to see a massive increase in the number of city academy schools from the current 46 to 400 by 2010.
Each city academy costs £25-30 million to open. Private sponsors invest up to £2 million in each school, while the government funds the rest. In return the private sponsors gain significant influence on how the schools are run.
There has rightly been criticism of existing sponsors such as evangelical Christian car salesman Peter Vardy. But perhaps more worrying is the involvement of corporate giants like UBS and Toshiba in making decisions about our children’s education.
The government claims that academies are used to replace “failing” schools. However a recent report by the Telegraph newspaper found that out of the 68 schools due to close or merge and be replaced by academies, only six are classed as failing by Ofsted, the schools standards office. The majority are improving, good or even excellent.
One such school is Islington Green in north London. At its last Ofsted report in 2003 the school was found to be improving.
Last week the school was praised by the Mayor of London’s office for significant achievements over the past year.
At a ceremony in central London, unelected schools minister Lord Adonis, who supports the closure of Islington Green, unveiled a London Underground style map that had been altered to celebrate London schools that have performed particularly well. Islington Green School was among them.
Over the past three years the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grade GCSEs including English and maths at Islington Green has improved from 16 percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2006. The number of pupils with five good passes in all subjects has improved from 28 percent in 2003 to 40 percent in 2006.
Yet on Thursday this week Islington council was set to make a final decision about closing Islington Green and transforming it into a city academy – because it is a “failing” school.
“How can Lord Adonis insist that Islington Green is so poor that it needs taking over by private managers as a city academy, and still unveil a map that indicates what an excellent school it is?” asked Nick Grant, Ealing secretary of the NUT teachers’ union.
While the government is busy throwing money into replacing good schools with city academies, those that have opened so far have achieved mixed results.
A report by management consultants Price Waterhouse Coopers last July found that the difference in standards between academies and the schools they replaced were “generally small”.
Former Labour minister Karen Buck added to the sense of failure surrounding many academies when she removed her son from the Paddington Academy in west London last month after just one term.
The school, which has cost the taxpayer £25 million, has a deficit of £900,000 – and the new building is yet to be completed.
Opposition to the closure of schools is growing. In Islington and Oldham, where the council is proposing to close or merge five schools, protests will see hundreds of teachers, parents and pupils take to the streets over the next few weeks.
Mac Andrassy is helping organise the protests in Oldham. “We have had two union meetings in the past week. They have both been really well attended with over 50 coming along to one,” he said. “The mood against the council is really strong.
“One teacher summed up the mood, saying, ‘This is not why I came into teaching. I want to work in the public sector’.”
No academy at Islington Green School
Lobby of Islington schools organisation committee, Thursday 18 January, 5.30pm. Meet outside Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1.
Oldham anti-academies protest
Saturday 27 January, 11.30am, behind Oldham Civic Centre, West Street.
Lecturers’ strike to save A levels at Cambridge Regional College has to be the whole communities struggle for comprehensive education
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 11:30 PM.
The decision by Cambridge Regional College to end it’s A level provision is an attack on comprehensive education. The cuts will most affect those who are economically less well off by further limiting access to a broad and inclusive curriculum.
Lecturers from the new university and Colleges Union and the Association of teachers and Lecturers held a one day strike last Tuesday and are continuing their action with a work to rule policy in protest at the cuts and 12 full time job losses.
Cambridge Respect fully support the action and are helping to build a campaign that encompasses the broader issues faced as a result of Blair’s attacks on public education. The strikers have also received support from the NUT branch at the Long Road the support union Unison and staff from the Universities are now getting involved.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education to hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students.
The announcement follows the closure of a thriving evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form and adult courses at the regional college now also look in jeopardy as a result of government cuts and increased marketisation of the sector.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill will break up education and create a two tiered system in which the working classes will inevitably have less access to education.
Opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business can only lead down this path and what the FE sector is experiencing in Cambridge is just around the corner for the secondary and primary schools in the area.
FE providers are being pressured to offer courses geared towards employers needs. Cambridge has had a proud tradition of community education. Privatisation is a move away from an ethos that values personal enrichment,, the arts and the social befits of the community as a whole.
The story is the same at Universities. Anglia Ruskin has cut Modern Language and politics degrees and other courses. Along with increased top up fees this will further limit the opportunity degree level studies to many student and especially locals who rely on local provision.
With the right vision and commitment Local Education Authorities have it within their power to provide radical, comprehensive and free education. Respect Activist in Cambridge have been a key part in maintaining this vision.
We are linking up the issues and are building a campaign to protect and improve comprehensive education. We have helped set up a working group of educational Trade Unionists and are widening our campaign to include students and parents.
It is clear that government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
Lecturers from the new university and Colleges Union and the Association of teachers and Lecturers held a one day strike last Tuesday and are continuing their action with a work to rule policy in protest at the cuts and 12 full time job losses.
Cambridge Respect fully support the action and are helping to build a campaign that encompasses the broader issues faced as a result of Blair’s attacks on public education. The strikers have also received support from the NUT branch at the Long Road the support union Unison and staff from the Universities are now getting involved.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education to hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students.
The announcement follows the closure of a thriving evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form and adult courses at the regional college now also look in jeopardy as a result of government cuts and increased marketisation of the sector.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill will break up education and create a two tiered system in which the working classes will inevitably have less access to education.
Opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business can only lead down this path and what the FE sector is experiencing in Cambridge is just around the corner for the secondary and primary schools in the area.
FE providers are being pressured to offer courses geared towards employers needs. Cambridge has had a proud tradition of community education. Privatisation is a move away from an ethos that values personal enrichment,, the arts and the social befits of the community as a whole.
The story is the same at Universities. Anglia Ruskin has cut Modern Language and politics degrees and other courses. Along with increased top up fees this will further limit the opportunity degree level studies to many student and especially locals who rely on local provision.
With the right vision and commitment Local Education Authorities have it within their power to provide radical, comprehensive and free education. Respect Activist in Cambridge have been a key part in maintaining this vision.
We are linking up the issues and are building a campaign to protect and improve comprehensive education. We have helped set up a working group of educational Trade Unionists and are widening our campaign to include students and parents.
It is clear that government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
Fund A levels at Cambridge Regional College
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 at 9:58 AM.
The decision by Cambridge Regional College’s to end it’s A level provision is an attack on comprehensive education. The cuts are going to effect hundreds of students and will most affect those who are economically less well off.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students. Together with the end of evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form, including A levels, the cuts limit choice and are a further move away from a commitment to continuing and comprehensive education.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill aims to break up education and create a more tiered system, opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business. Some schools and colleges benefit from extra funding at the expense of others.
Centres are encouraged to offer courses geared towards employers needs and in many cases corporate sponsors are actively encouraged to invest in education in return for influence over the curriculum. This part privatisation of education is a move away from the ethos of community education and education as self-fulfilment. The government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students. Together with the end of evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form, including A levels, the cuts limit choice and are a further move away from a commitment to continuing and comprehensive education.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill aims to break up education and create a more tiered system, opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business. Some schools and colleges benefit from extra funding at the expense of others.
Centres are encouraged to offer courses geared towards employers needs and in many cases corporate sponsors are actively encouraged to invest in education in return for influence over the curriculum. This part privatisation of education is a move away from the ethos of community education and education as self-fulfilment. The government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
I took a break from canvassing this weekend to attend the National Union of teachers conference. Respect is different from our political rivals because we are actively involved in the trade union movement. Campaigning for stronger trade unions in order to create better conditions of service and, amongst teachers, for better investment and a more radical approach to schooling.
It is always a joy to get together others who really feel we can make a difference and who know the government agenda has its priorities wrong. It was especially exciting this year because of the growing presence that Respect has amongst teachers. There were two other candidates at conference and Respect members and supporters were a huge presence. We made a massive input as we were able to put across a political alternative to conference delegates who are completely fed up with mainstream politicians. The Government came under serious attack from conference speakers and many Respect members contributed to important debates.
This government provides us with a massive threat to comprehensive state education. The education white paper passed last month proposes to take state schools out of public control and move them into the hands of big business. Trust schools and City Academies allow businesses to have a say is the curriculum and running of schools whilst handing over control of the land and buildings. We have already seen how this is open for corruption as New Labours cash for peerages scandals has involved some of the backers of the acadamies project. Access to a good education is a right and market forces will create more inequality, only those who can afford it will get a good education. Poor student, those who are disadvantaged and students with special educational needs will loose out as schools become under pressure to maximise output.They will become more like factories turning out Mac-workers. Schools are already to much like conveyor belts as it is. Respect support the NUT, who want comprehensive schooling that places happiness, healthyness and co-oporation at its heart.
I spoke on pensioned and told the conference how the money was there to give all working people a decent pension at a reasonable retirement age and we passed he motion. I also spoke at a Respect fringe meeting that had 90 delegates attend. The mood was excellent and there was a real feeling that Respect can make an excellent breakthrough in the local elections and start regaining some real representation for ordinary people. Lots of other people spoke about Respect campaigns elsewhere in the county and there is a real feeling that the population is comming round to the feeing that we need an alternative to the three partiesof big bussiness.
I cant wait to start canvassing again tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do!
It is always a joy to get together others who really feel we can make a difference and who know the government agenda has its priorities wrong. It was especially exciting this year because of the growing presence that Respect has amongst teachers. There were two other candidates at conference and Respect members and supporters were a huge presence. We made a massive input as we were able to put across a political alternative to conference delegates who are completely fed up with mainstream politicians. The Government came under serious attack from conference speakers and many Respect members contributed to important debates.
This government provides us with a massive threat to comprehensive state education. The education white paper passed last month proposes to take state schools out of public control and move them into the hands of big business. Trust schools and City Academies allow businesses to have a say is the curriculum and running of schools whilst handing over control of the land and buildings. We have already seen how this is open for corruption as New Labours cash for peerages scandals has involved some of the backers of the acadamies project. Access to a good education is a right and market forces will create more inequality, only those who can afford it will get a good education. Poor student, those who are disadvantaged and students with special educational needs will loose out as schools become under pressure to maximise output.They will become more like factories turning out Mac-workers. Schools are already to much like conveyor belts as it is. Respect support the NUT, who want comprehensive schooling that places happiness, healthyness and co-oporation at its heart.
I spoke on pensioned and told the conference how the money was there to give all working people a decent pension at a reasonable retirement age and we passed he motion. I also spoke at a Respect fringe meeting that had 90 delegates attend. The mood was excellent and there was a real feeling that Respect can make an excellent breakthrough in the local elections and start regaining some real representation for ordinary people. Lots of other people spoke about Respect campaigns elsewhere in the county and there is a real feeling that the population is comming round to the feeing that we need an alternative to the three partiesof big bussiness.
I cant wait to start canvassing again tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do!
The Education Bill is a Disgrace
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Thursday, March 16, 2006 at 8:51 AM.
The bill encourages the market to make further inroads into education and will lead to more testing, streaming and selection on ability. Where Foundation schools and city academies – the forerunners to trust schools – have been set up, it has led to more exclusions, less pay for teachers, more involvement in a profit-driven ethos, and falling rolls in neighbouring schools.
However the passing of the education white paper also marks a watershed in modern British politics. If you were not already convinced that the parliamentary Labour Party has been hijacked by right wingers, then here is your wake-up call.
The fact that Blair needed the Tories to pass the paper illustrates the these are Tory reforms. John McDonald, well respected Labour MP and chair of the left wing campaign group, said that:
"Blair has now effectively resigned as the leader of the party."
The implication is that Blair is now running a coalition government with the Tories. Blair is systematically taking apart the socially progressive gains in education that even Thatcher was unable to get through, because of a strong oppositional voice. Some of those same voices are now behind this right-wing agenda.
Respect will continue to fight the new proposals on a local and national level.
However the passing of the education white paper also marks a watershed in modern British politics. If you were not already convinced that the parliamentary Labour Party has been hijacked by right wingers, then here is your wake-up call.
The fact that Blair needed the Tories to pass the paper illustrates the these are Tory reforms. John McDonald, well respected Labour MP and chair of the left wing campaign group, said that:
"Blair has now effectively resigned as the leader of the party."
The implication is that Blair is now running a coalition government with the Tories. Blair is systematically taking apart the socially progressive gains in education that even Thatcher was unable to get through, because of a strong oppositional voice. Some of those same voices are now behind this right-wing agenda.
Respect will continue to fight the new proposals on a local and national level.
Invest in children - Published 26/10/04
IT IS WITH great sadness, although not unexpectedly, that I read (News, October 22) of another closure threat faced by Coleridge Community College.
The staff, pupils, Ridgefield Primary and the community facilities all stand to lose because of Blair's commitment to furthering the Tory Party policies of tests, targets, finance initiatives and performancerelated pay.
Ofsted, the body that inspects schools at a cost to us of £200 million a year, inspires little confidence amongst education professionals, but its tests and targets are linked to the funding of schools and teachers' pay. As a result, Coleridge is not eligible for the same kind of funding or status as a school like Parkside.
Respect believes that the Government should not be funding our children and teachers in this way as it is once again creating a tiered education system.
In an authority with a growing population and two to three new secondary schools predicted to be needed in the near future, and with all of the nearest schools bursting to the brim, does it make sense to close such an undervalued community resource?
I think we should spend the Ofsted money investing in staff and resources for schools like Coleridge, invest it in children and not on inspecting.
Good luck, Coleridge!
IT IS WITH great sadness, although not unexpectedly, that I read (News, October 22) of another closure threat faced by Coleridge Community College.
The staff, pupils, Ridgefield Primary and the community facilities all stand to lose because of Blair's commitment to furthering the Tory Party policies of tests, targets, finance initiatives and performancerelated pay.
Ofsted, the body that inspects schools at a cost to us of £200 million a year, inspires little confidence amongst education professionals, but its tests and targets are linked to the funding of schools and teachers' pay. As a result, Coleridge is not eligible for the same kind of funding or status as a school like Parkside.
Respect believes that the Government should not be funding our children and teachers in this way as it is once again creating a tiered education system.
In an authority with a growing population and two to three new secondary schools predicted to be needed in the near future, and with all of the nearest schools bursting to the brim, does it make sense to close such an undervalued community resource?
I think we should spend the Ofsted money investing in staff and resources for schools like Coleridge, invest it in children and not on inspecting.
Good luck, Coleridge!
