Inspectors take opposing view, Schools take the Blame for Poverty

In 1994 when I was Head Of Music at Foxwood School, the inspector (who stayed all week with me) and who was a music specialist, watched me teach the music listening course that myself and colleague, Mr Phillips had devised between us, and told me that we should publish it. The school passed its inspection but was closed 2 years later.


Foxwood tutor group early eighties


In in 2003, a couple of weeks into being Acting Head of Music at City of Leeds School, the Ofsted inspector told me that you should "never, my dear, talk over music". Well, in the initial stages of the course, sometimes you have to, and the fact that three students merited their own separate TA should have indicated something to this woman about how well we were controlling behaviour! And I published my book on teaching music* a couple of years later.

Ten years later - after two proposed mergers, one with Carr Manor, and one with St Michael's, after a proposal to make it a 14-19 vocational centre, after two attempts to academise, after federating it with Primrose,  then defederating it, but leaving the sixth form with Primrose, after proposing an outright closure and sending students all round the city, after chucking out the acting head, and then half the governing body (including myself) and imposing an IEB, the school finally succumbed to academisation this year.

 

City of Leeds previous logo

However, during this time, no inspections were actually failed! My own two younger children got 8 or 9 A-Cs each as a hard core of amazing staff kept the place ticking over. And they will keep on doing it, while academy bosses stuff the kids into purple-edged blazers paid for by the public money that once paid for Special Needs and Music services etc, etc, etc .

I make two points here:
1. faced with an identical listening course, two inspectors took a completely opposite view, and
2. the very existence of published inspections means that children from deprived areas will always have their schools scrutinised and attacked for all the wrong reasons . Until we attack poverty, and not the schools that try their best to support poor children, they will continue to suffer, as will, quite unbelievably, the staff who choose to work, and used to find their job satisfaction and their calling working in areas of deprivation.


* Including SEN in the Curriculum: Music, published David Fulton's, shortlisted for TES award

Ignorance in Education

Listening to Any Questions this evening, I was struck, not for the first time, by how little people who are "in charge" know about schooling and education. My favourite, this time was trotted out by someone called Toby Young. He gave us the old: children from poor neighbourhoods are being failed by poor local schools, and don't do well academically at them, and so are doubly disadvantaged routine.

Luckily I don't suffer from high pressure, so offered the possibility of applying my head to a marble fireplace [there no brick walls near to hand], I decided instead, and also not for the first time to explain to this person, whose opinion, the BBC has seemed to like this week, and to anyone else of the same ludicrous persuasion, how ridiculous this statement is.

Poor children do less well because they are poor, not because the school they attend is failing them. Their lack of money may mean lack of material comforts, refreshing holidays, spacious houses, up to date equipment. Their parents do not buy them extra tuition; they tend not to have so many books etc at home; they may abuse their children [more likely in poorer neighbourhoods]; they may not put their faith in schooling; they may be inadequate parents in dysfunctional families. These children's parents may be in jail. They may have no parents.

When they arrive at their local school, poor children's experience of adults may well not be one of automatic respect. And offered the past tense of the etre verbs in French [agree or not agree], or an insight into phototropism in plants, or whatever [and here you will see I am looking at remote subjects which I myself adored as a child] there will some children who are dreading going home either to be raped themselves or have to listen to one parent hitting or verbally abusing another.

Teachers in schools in poor neighbourhoods have a difficult job, and I think the most rewarding teaching job in the world. They have to educate in all the conventional academic subjects. The children they/we have in our charge need to be able to hack it in the big world outside. However, our charges are not always in a state or a position to do justice to their academic potential. Some of them live in such cramped and stressful circumstances that they arrive in school, not just not fed properly, but without enough sleep. Often their parents have no idea how to be just that: parents.

It is our responsibility to offer stability, continuity, affection, understanding, patience, besides the academic subjects that we studied at university. And while it was very distressing all those years ago, when J. [in my GCSE class] sobbed her way through lesson after lesson, it was in the end a great relief that she chose my lessons to cry in, and an even greater relief to see her step-father jailed some time later.

Added to to the problems that the UK invented for itself, we now have children in our schools who are fleeing unimaginable persecution in other countries, yet face problems when they try to settle here. See this week's Guardian for two of our children's story http://www.guardian.co.uk/society, There were members of staff at City of Leeds School who added to their day job to support Wells's family in its fight against deportation.

And here's a nice little number: boys whose misogyny [from country of origin]complicates the relationship with female teachers.It took me a year to get Yr 9 boy, A. from East Africa to sit up straight in my Music lessons and stop calling me "man", whereas, by contrast, H. from Zambia is over-respectful with his "mam".


So, when I see people on the Vince and Toby Shows [aka Questiontime and Any Questions] saying, "We've got to try something different", my heart sinks. That is when when our poorer children are doubly disadvantaged.

Not really playing fair. Is this libel? Is this the death of democracy?

I've gone from being a hopeles digital immigrant to an reasonably competent website reader and user in five short weeks. So, after reading in the Online Guardian what Education was claiming about City of Leeds School, I checked for myself. And what did I find:

"City of Leeds [and Primrose High School] both face major challenges to improve teaching, attendance and behaviour standards and require urgent changes to meet the target."

Good Heavens, I said to myself. This is fiction. No wonder Ed and Vern are so keen to close it. It sounds like anarchy in the UK is alive and kicking and hanging out in Woodhouse and Hyde Park. I thought I'd check out the Ofsted report so I could publicly refute what really amounts to libel.

Hmmm, maybe not so digitally competent. Got fed up searching for the report. Take my word for it, check it out yourself, visit the school.

And I also read:

"Parklands Girls’ High School’s GCSE results have already exceeded the national target this year but due to a declining roll and difficult financial situation present a challenge for sustaining progress beyond 2011."

Now presented with this success, this would seem the natural response:

"Well done, Parklands, let's build upon this success. Now that your results are gone back up, the girls will soon come flocking back." Instead, Eddie Leo looks around for somewhere new to put the back of the net.

Then I read:

"Councillor Richard Harker, executive board member for education at Leeds City Council, said: “Public opinion is a vital part of the decision making process. We recognise that major changes for the three schools have been proposed and want to fully engage with everyone connected to the schools to gather their opinions. This consultation will ensure that all views will be taken into consideration by the executive board before a final decision is made.”"

Well, Councillor, in the recent by-election the public just voted 100% keeping City of Leeds open. So now how vital is public opinion? Or will Education Leeds just move the goalposts, as they are trying to do with Parklands?

To sum up, when the Guardian Online looked for information about the proposed closures, they turned to a website which provided inaccurate information. This is hardly playing fair, and I would argue it could be seen as libel. And, if the closures go ahead, what is the future for democracy?

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.

The Thomas a Becket of Schools and the Mother of All Parliaments

Just rereading the billets doux between our local education firm and comedy duo, Ed and Vern from the DCSF. Ed "thanks" them for their "dedicated support", and Vern is "grateful" for their plans to "accelerate the delivery of long term solutions." He goes on to note their "intention to close City of Leeds School" , and then welcomes "the immediate support that you propose for all the schools . . "

There's no support being offered here.it sounds more like the final solution to me! It's more like: Who will rid me of this turbulent school? And They've lost touch with reality. Interpreting facts to suit whatever.

In September Ed writes that he "particlularly pleased to see Parklands rise above the floor, " so well done there, Leeds. Oh no, it's January and Vern is happy to see Parklands become an academy. Looks like they're exceeding orders here, but it's going down well.

Back in September, having spotted that Intake has heroically achieved the magic percentage, Ed has to describe this as providing "a good platform for the new Academy", but really I don't think it needed this tragic turn of events - change and loss of teachers, change of uniform, loss of one of the most famous names in Leeds schools' history, living in a building site for the next couple of years, excluded from the central services.

So why, from a government, once so revered and respected, are two men sitting in an office, sending out letters, trying to make sure that they and their department are covered in glory, with their "ambitious programme to transform secondary school standards . . "?

And City of Leeds School stands in their way.

consulting

I've always thought that "to consult" meant to ask someone's opinion and then act upon it. As I said in my letter to the Yorkshire Evening Post [published 10.2.10], it's new meaning is "to tell the public, at some expense to the public, what one is about to do". Well call me old-fashioned but I think that if you have a really really bad idea, and you ask a lot of people what they think and they tell you that is a really really bad idea. Well, then I think that you should stop having ideas altogether. And, as for being paid to have bad ideas. It makes even less sense.

Over the past few years a group of people with no personal or historical loyalty to Leeds, have had some really really bad ideas, disguised them as proper educational philosophies and then foisted them on an innocent school-using public.

These are two of my favourites: 1. merging a single-sex state secular boys school [Braimwood] with a mixed church school [Agnes Stewart] on a site near neither of them, and making that school an academy, thus taking it out of council control or influence 2. consulting three schools [Farnley Park, Wortley, West Leeds] on the closure and merger of two of them, and explicitly suggesting to the third that because the new school will be too small for the merged schools, then they will collect the fall-out. Swallow Hill was always designed to be too small. What the consulters didn't expect was that a couple of hundred pupils would not meekly falls on their sword and decamp across the ringroad. So, having told Wortley what a rubbish condemned buliding they had, they then had to spend a whole load more on refurbishing it. What I mean is that we had to pay.

I think it's time that the some adults stood up to some other adults, before our children's respect for adults collapses entirely. And these adults know who they are!

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.

City of Leeds School

This blog has been set up to provide accurate information about the campaign to keep City of Leeds School open, successful, still at the heart of its community and including as it does, children bussing themselves over from all over Leeds and flying in from all over Africa and Europe.

My background is that I worked for 16 happy years at Foxwood School, Leeds [led by Bob Spooner:heateacher of genuine vision and genius], and only left because they closed that amazing place. The despair that I shared with other staff, and with parents and children from Secroft and Gipton was almost unimaginable.

Next I sent my youngest children to Royal Park School [led by Rita Samuel, renowned throughout Leeds for innovation and high standards], and even became a governor and after-school teacher there. I only stopped working there when it was closed. Years of despair followed, bumping into ex-pupils all round Headingley, Burley and Kirkstall, who couldn't understand why they had been separated from their friends and favourite teachers, and why they had to go so far to school now.

My personal interest is that these same two children of mine went on to City of Leeds, and left, both with 8 or 9 A-C GCSEs, including several As and Bs. Living in the area, I had heard the rumours about the school, but a when I started to do the odd music lesson there, I realised it was Foxwood all over again: great school, terrible reputation.