Lincolnshire

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Melissa Benn: End-of-term thoughts……

Sometimes, the terms we use or the terms we have foisted upon us - even by the most well meaning writers and commentators - need a little bit of deconstruction. Take the piece in today's Education Guardian , part of a long running serial following two sets of pupils over several years in selective Kent. The pupils are ... read more and comment →

50 comments

Latest comment by Paul: "That's a fair comment Rebecca. As I'm sure you know with your enormous expertise about forums, the usual sign of "socks" occurs when someone is losing an argument or has a point of view they strongly wish to push which is ......"

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Fiona Millar: This is what can happen when you give schools too much freedom

This won't be a long post. I would urge you all to read this story and also this report from the DFE on what was going on at the Priory Academy Trust in Lincolnshire. I understand from local parents that the government was reluctant to release the report, and I can see why given the appalling misuse of public money by ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by andy: "Rosie: I would suggest that all schools have the option to allocate a section of their funding stream to educational based spending as they feel necessary/appropriate. However, to the best of my understanding they cannot force parents to ......"

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Sarah Dodds: Lincolnshire Update

I have been meaning to blog for quite some time, but the time has been way to short. For those who have been following the Louth campaign, it has been a very interesting time. The proposed merger of the secondary schools in Louth has been scrapped. This caused a mixture of feelings within the group. Some people were quite pleased that ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Sarah Dodds: "Thanks Alan - do keep me in the loop...."

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Alan Gurbutt: How will schools be held accountable for the success of their pupils in selective counties?

In response to raising participation age the Government announced new destination measures when students leave school to be recorded in the league tables showing progression for post 16. Schools will be held accountable for the success of their pupils by a plan to publish information about the progression to university and jobs. However, there should be more focus on the ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Alan Gurbutt: "The consequences of not being selected at 10 years old were put to me by a top academic almost a year ago. He told me that it was unlikely that children would make it to university because the odds were ......"

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Janet Downs: Academies programme puts small rural schools at risk

Parents in rural counties where schools are widely dispersed might be alarmed at what is happening in one of England’s largest counties. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) has decided to advise all schools to opt out of its control and become academies, preferably under a single trust run by CfBT, an educational charity based miles away in Reading. LCC estimates that ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Small schools have been shafted for years, mainly due to the culture of Ofsted which usually totally fails to understand their strengths. At primary level their response was to spend years contributing to the review of the primary curriculum to ensure ......"

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Rob Shorrock: Lincolnshire County Council and the fear factor

I am a local councillor and school governor in Grantham. I am appalled at the way Lincolnshire County Council has decided with minimal consultation to encourage all schools to become academies. What is worse, is that the existing school improvement agency for the county, CfBT, will become the trust sponsor. This leaves schools with no independent and impartial body to ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "If you want a rubrik for how a consultation is done properly, I'd suggest phoning Cockermouth School up and asking them if they can send you one. It involved separate consultations for staff, students, parents, parents of feeder schools ......"

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Sarah Dodds: VICTORY IN LOUTH

"I bring good tidings for all those hard working campaigners up and down the land fighting the academies programme. We have had the most extra-ordinary result in our campaign in Louth, which can be attributed directly to the strength of the governing bodies. We have four schools looking to merge into one new academy. We also have a county council who ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Mel Kelly: "Tony, in 2010 Ark Schools controlled 8 academies - and they underspent the budget for the 8 academies by 7.5%. They state their policy is to invest underspends. They invest 60% of their funds in the Cayman islands and use Ark's ......"

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Henry Stewart: Where we are …the Louth story so far….

(Due to technical difficulties, I have posted this on behalf of Sarah Dodds) I would like to play a guessing game. The quotes below I heard on one day, in one place, within the course of our SOS campaign. The aim is to guess where I heard them. · “I would not touch an academy with a barge pole,” · “most ….(people here) ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Sarah Dodds: "Quite Fiona. The heads in Lincolnshire are left with no real choices...and this is about school autonomy?..."

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Janet Downs: Lincolnshire advises all its schools to become academies – but parents not consulted

Lincolnshire County Council  is abdicating all responsibility for the county’s schools by advising them to become academies under the aegis of CfBT, an education charity which already runs Lincolnshire’s school improvement service. The Conservative council admits that the number of converted schools will leave the council with insufficient money to support the rest, especially the small village schools.  Opposers of academies ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Stephen Mayo: "Perfect! Many thanks...."

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Alan Gurbutt: Some thoughts on school admissions and the Eleven Plus examination

Concerns over school admissions could have been pre-empted by scrutinising pre-existing education inequalities in surrounding political and social context that have formed the fabric of subliminal acceptance of discrimination by Eleven Plus examination. Current issues can be viewed as a legacy left over from the 1944 Education Act that tried to establish a tripartite education system based on the work ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Nigel Ford: "I'm not sure how academy status impinges on grammar schools except for financial gains. My brother and his wife (who had a mixture of private and state education) live in Tonbridge and are parents to twin girls at Primary school who's ......"

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