Outstanding! We have resisted the pressure coming at us from all areas (particularely from the LA) to convert to an Academy. The people of this community have worked extremely hard together to reach the very highest level. Along the journey, OFSTED raised the bar on us but we remained committed. Together, as a community, we have not converted (and will not) ... read more and comment →
Someone sent me this short film today about girls' education in Pakistan, which the Taliban is trying to extinguish in order to further its dangerous, regressive political ends. I couldn't help thinking about my own daughter- travelling freely in a pre university gap year after a rich and fulfilling education at our local girls' comprehensive , Parliament Hill School, which educates ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Seyi Akiwowo: "Reading more about this topic still breaks by heart as if I am reading about it for the first time. I am so very grateful for the education I received, yes it was far from perfect, but what is perfect? Here is ......"
Comment + Debate Earlier this year I wrote this post about the Prime Minister's claim to Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, that academy funding was as transparent as funding for maintained schools. Mrs Hodge, also a member of the House of Commons Liaison Committee which interrogates the PM from time to time, had asked how it was possible to "follow the ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Rebecca - Cuckoo Hall is one of the three primary schools (two of them are free schools) which make up the Cuckoo Hall Academy Trust (CHAT), a small academy chain which has been given the go-ahead ot open a secondary ......"
Comment + Debate I have written a piece today in the Guardian about my local schools in the London Borough of Camden, and about our local primary school in particular. Here is a slightly longer version of the article. It is coming up to Christmas so I am going to allow myself a touch of sentimentality. A few weeks ago I felt a stab ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Tubby Isaacs: "So those LEAs who were supposed to get out of the headteacher's way are now in trouble for not doing more? Utter farce...."
Comment + Debate
If you haven't seen the comedian Rhod Gilbert (no relation!) visit Monnow Primary School near Newport, Wales, you have to! It's the funniest thing that's been on TV in a while. Gilbert visits this great primary school and is initially bemused about the whole set-up -- Planet Thunk, doing Maths in a forest, the teaching of reading -- but comes around ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Francis Gilbert: "Yes, I could agree more with you Janet. It's a great programme because it's funny and ireverent but also respectful......"
Comment + Debate
..in the TES read more and comment →
Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Is that the comment that not all schools have yet had 23 years of stable outstanding leadership with sufficient resource and support? Or did you have something else in mind Ricky in which case do tell...."
Comment + Debate
Embedding a deep understanding and passion for learning in a primary school is a tall order, but at Amesbury Archer Primary School, one mile from Stonehenge, we think we have something special. Today it opened the doors of its brand new seven class extension welcoming in an additional 100 pupils from the rapidly expanding new surrounding estate. I know all schools ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Linda dale: "The bones, the contents, the isotopic analysis and similar finds in the area are the evidence around which the status of the man has been constructed. Yes his personality traits are an invention but the find was of national and ......"
Comment + Debate
I am a parent of secondary aged children and I have taught in state secondary schools for twenty years, part-time since having children. I have just left my job and I am not sure that I want to find another job in a school. That does not mean that I have become less passionate about supporting state education, in fact ... read more and comment →
I would be really grateful for any shared experience or advice that others have of a breakdown in trust between parents and a school. Kevicc is a large community school (1800 children) in Totnes, Devon. Among other things it has the dubious distinction of being the school Toby Young went to in the 80s that he often refers to as the ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Andy: "Leonard, I compared the 2010 and 2011 data available in the public domain: see the embedded links. Unless stated the figures are year by year comparisons of the schools performance. Official estimated targets for pupils will be based ......"
Comment + Debate
Our school, Highbury Grove, is in one of the four most deprived boroughs in London, in terms of education and family income levels, with 44% child poverty (in London only Tower Hamlets has a higher percentage, figures from HMRC 2009). Islington has been known in recent decades for its poorly performing secondaries, which are traditionally shunned by its most affluent ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Melissa Benn: "Emma - Your post is incredibly inspiring. The breadth of activities and learning offered by the school, its refusal to expect anything but the best from its inner city intake and the individual stories that you give are all ......"
Comment + Debate