School governors and academies

Did you notice what TY wrote about the SATS strike?
All parents who took their kids out of school are selfish.
"Thousands of parents get to indulge in a day of virtue-signalling while schools are left to pick up the pieces. Are the organisers aware that if unauthorised absences at a school exceed a certain threshold, that school is ineligible for an Ofsted outstanding grade?
Schools live or die by their Ofsted rankings."

So that explains it. I thought the Sats were all about the kids, not the schools, or so they tell us. He's let the cat out of the bag.
Of course, it was okay for the schools to be closed for voting yesterday.

She is aware that the evidence of failing academies is stacking up: 150 received improvement notices in one month recently!

Not quite the cure all she thinks...and now Toby Young has admitted (good) that he was arrogant to think running schools was easy!
He is leaving leading the Free School trust he set up.....

She'll put on her mad rabbit stare and frighten them into academies.

When does she leave?

I quite fancy Hunt leaving the NHS role, and Nicky being put in charge of that.

You have noticed, of course, that she says they will still all become academies; there just will be no law to force them. I wonder how they will force them instead.

So much for her "No reverse gear" - silly moo.

Third UTurn by the education department in a month. Good isn't she?

Is there anything at all this government hasn't back peddled on? I know of one - that is badger killing. Can't think of much else.

Hurrah indeed!

What a U-turn - I'd love to say common sense prevailed- but ....

Yup, embarrassing climb down. Maybe hoping to "bury bad news" by announcing this today.

Hurrah!
www.theguardian.com/education/2016/may/06/government-backs-down-over-plan-to-make-all-schools-academies

On a more serious note....

i2.wp.com/voxpoliticalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/160504tory-radicalised-children.jpg

On a lighter note re kids and learning - woman I know was out campaigning for the Labour party yesterday and two 8 year olds approached her to ask "was it anything to do with sex". We presume in their confused little minds they might possible associate labour with sex education classes and/or be confusing election with erection.
Less grammar and more sex and politics in the curriculum I say.

External tests set at the direction of the DfE are to prove political points.

Many of the aspects of the SPaG tests are new on the "curriculum". It is basically naming of parts and many scholars & pedants are still arguing about the terminology that the DfE has decided upon and whether they are correct. But that does not really matter.. you could call a 'fronted adverbial' a "carryl coolie" and as long as kids spotted whatever they had been taught it was and get a tick it is OK.

It won't make kids better writers. Just better test passers.

There is no need for SATs as a tool for teachers to understand the progress of each child's needs and progress - they do that daily as part of their job.

The SATs are purely and simply to grade schools. And they take no account of children with SEN - all are expected to reach the same standard or the school's SATs go down the drain and OfSted are quizzing us all mighty hard. It is an iniquitous system and I am fully behind those parents who intend to keep their children out of school on SATs day.

Not just coaching, there has been both suspected and confirmed cheating. Not by the pupils but by teachers including head teachers.

Secondary schools don't trust Year 6 SATS, junior schools don't trust Year 2 SATS. Of course the children are coached for the tests, so much depends on the results!

Silly me i thought SATs were to track the progress of the school and not the individual kids...
What are they supposed to be for please? I know secondary schools don't give them much credit (the Y6 SATS) because they know the kids were coached hard by the schools and have forgotten half of it by September.

Latest circular from Dept of Ed states that they have made a major error on the KS1 SATs papers, so for this year only schools will not administer these but assessments will be by teacher assessment, as was always the case previously - here is the error www.theguardian.com/education/2016/apr/21/spelling-test-blunder-as-dfe-publishes-upcoming-paper-online - really fills you with confidence in their capabilities doesn't it!

I love the statement in there that SATs are not used to grade schools - hmm. Take it from me, if an OfSted inspector sees a slump in SATs results, that will definitely influence how they grade the school.

Thanks, Kat.
On www.teachers.org.uk there is an article about a free school company which has links to offshore companies set up in Panama. and the BVI.

"Information derived from the leaked “Panama Papers” shows that Bellevue Education is part owned by a company which was set up by the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Bellevue Education is one of two companies behind Bellevue Place Education Trust (BPET) - a state-funded academy trust that runs free schools in London and the south east.
The Department for Education (DfE) and BPET deny that Bellevue Education has any influence over the running of the free schools. However, the NUT believes that there are still serious questions to be answered about connections between BPET and Bellevue Education. This NUT dossier outlines allegations made against Bellevue Education and provides evidence of the clear link between the company and the academy trust. The DfE must investigate and publish a full report as a matter of urgency. "

This is from the article on the NUT website. More of it on NUT expert view.

Do we really want more free schools or academy chains which can do this?
Health companies take profits out of the NHS; now education to be shortchanged by free school and academy chains.
It's all wrong.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

On our local news tonight a head teacher has resigned citing the narrowing of the curriculum, and the intense pressure being put on schools.

Nicky Morgan on her academy white paper. People have raised interesting issues but she assures us there is widespread support of the idea of making all schools academies - at least on the Tory back benches. Apart from the people on the Tory back benches who have Doubts.
If you think the idea of forcing small schools (many of them Good and Outstanding) to become academies is a daft waste of money, drop a line to your MP folks.

www.bbc.com/news/education-36081555