Together

I have just updated my profile so, if you're interested you can see what associations I belong to. The two of interest here are Leeds Schools Together [LST] and the Anti-Academies Alliance [AAA]. If you want to know why teachers get so worked up about academies and trusts, these associations both have websites.

The LST is made up of union members [mostly teaching and clerical unions], parents and other interested bodies. We are affiliated to the AAA, a national body, onto whose steering committee I have just been elected. Actually, everyone who stood, was elected, so this is not quite the honour it might seem. Honour! Chore, more likely I hear you say. Labour of love, I would retort. And thus we might argue for minutes.

Belonging to a group is ace. [We take our unions for granted now; people even sneer at them, thinking they are power-seekers when really they are here to protect us.] Just when you think you are the only school in the world threatened with closure; just when you think you're the only teacher who can see what's happening, well, belonging to a group makes you realise that you are not alone. And it helps you fight injustice.

And being in a national group is even more heartening because you realise that you're with like-minded people from all over England - mostly we're representing English towns and counties; I believe that the Celts have stopped trashing their own school children and their teachers and they have sent their Capitalists back to Capitalland.

Back in Leeds in the LST, representatives from different schools, some threatened with closure or academisation, some already under the knife, meet together every so often in order to support each other and in order to fight dangerous government initiatives.

Dangerous, I hear you say. Surely a government only wants the best for its children? What about Every Child Matters? Well, what happened to Every Child Matters? That was a slogan I could believe in!

The problem is that the government is not made up entirely of trained and practising teachers, and certainly not inner-city experienced. Look at the number of government ministers who went to Oxford University - Ed Balls, for one. You would think that the "best" education in the world would make for a knowledgable minister. I think a bit of the University of Life wouldn't have come amiss.

Now where is this blog going? Well, when I was governor at the City of Leeds/Primrose Federation, someone dreamt up the trite little phrase "Together, anything is possible", and worse, it finally got stuck on some signs outside our schools. I think it was at that point, and at this departure from reality that I knew we would have a fight on our hands.

But, if this little phrase means nothing, its converse is absolutely true. Because my own personal professional life experience consists of the absolutely misguided and pointless closures of first Foxwood/East Leeds High School and then Royal Park Primary, I made a decision to put my traumatising experiences at the service of any new school going through this process.

And time and time again, I see plucky little communities muster massive public support against the closure of their local school, and I see a private so-called education company totally disregard all the valid arguments against closure. Then I see the councillors who did not attend the public meetings vote to close schools that they know nothing about. And somewhere in London a government is counting, well counting anything that moves.

Together, the last three schools standing: Primrose, Parklands and City of Leeds are stronger if they fight together. So, let's fight together. For ourselves and for each other, for our children and our communities.

Counting at the Town Hall

In early January 2010 Adele Beeson, Independent candidate for Hyde Park and Woodhouse, inner-city Leeds, officially confirmed that she was standing for Council. On February 18 2010, out of a count of 2200 voters she got 150 votes. Labour won with 1054 votes, and with rather more than five weeks experience and campaigning behind them. All the candidates declared their support for City of Leeds School, so we can also declare that 2,200 people, in fact 100% of voters, voted for City of Leeds School to stay open. Of course, this is just a way of spinning it, but I think it makes sense. And, for those who like to count things, something of a result, I would say, which They need to take heed of.

Leafletting

We have been leafletting again. If it's not dark or raining this is by no means an unpleasant experience. I have developed a dog-in-house-fingers-out-fast-response, taking no chances with barks and bites. Most people are either receptive or polite about our campaign. There's still the entrenched "No way would I send my child to City!", and they seem to be supported by the Education Leeds spokesperson who said as much on the Radio Leeds breakfast Show last Wednesday [10 February].

I must say I had heard the rumours, then I went in to City as a peri, changed my mind overnight and sent both my younger children there. This doesn't mean to say it was perfect, but it was more than good enough, and better than the school that I had sent my two older children to.

When I worked at Foxwood, I asked head teacher, Bob Spooner why local parents made such an effort to bus their their kids out to John Smeaton, Boston Spa and the like. He said they don't want their children to mix with the rough sons and daughters of the criminals classes. I would say to say to these anxious Woodhouse and Hyde Park parents something sanctimonious like the "sins of the father" and so on. But the fact is that our school is full of the children of aspirational African and Eastern European parents. We have an A* English=as=an=Addtional-Language Department to help them without their problems impacting on the education of the native English speakers. and children of supportive parents are more likely to come out with 9 A-Cs than a drug habit. And they'll save enough money on busfares to go on more holidays.

However, if the truth is too inconvenient, I would say to those who don't want to have their minds changed: If City of Leeds is closed, the truancy and crime rate in the local area will increase, as will calls on mental health services.