The worst thing that happened in education was LMS . LEA's are being decimated leaving all power in the hands of heads who often don't see the bigger picture .

Zoe Moran's picture
 2
I have worked in education in one capacity or another all my working life . Taught travellers for a number of years , ran return to learn course for adults , worked in the Youth Service and served as a Governor on many local schools .
Very lucky to have opportunity to be Chair of the Education Committee when Luton became a unitary authority in 96 .
Only a strong LEA can plan and deliver an integrated education policy for an area . Heads , especially secondary heads tend to run fiefdoms where building up reserves and beating their neighbours in the league tables becomes their main goal .
I have first hand experience of an Academy as one of the kids I fostered had the misfortune to attend one ! Highest excluder in our town .
I now work for our Behaviour and Tuition Service working with children and young people not in school for whatever reason . Half the tutors have been made redundant as schools haven't bought back the service ; cheaper to provide a BSA .
I am watching the services we built up between 1997 and 2009 being demolished and it makes me very sad .
Now we have the opening of our first free school , the only private school in our area , taking their own waiting list first and just 20% of the other places will be up for grabs .
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Comments

Janet Downs's picture
Tue, 06/09/2011 - 13:36

Zoe - your post demonstrates the danger in academy conversion. When academies decide not to puchase a particular service, whether it be music provision, say, or your own Behaviour and Tuition Service, then that service dies.


Zoe Moran's picture
Thu, 08/09/2011 - 20:20

Thanks for your feed back Janet, unfortunately it's not just the academies who no longer want to buy back our service .The young people are being kept on school roles and offerred tuition by teachers who are not qualified to work in this country and are 'cheaper ' than a Council provided service . We used to have a process of 'managed moves' where students who had had problems in one school could make a new start at another one . This has now been rejected by Heads .
I worry about what will happen to our most disaffected pupils when there's no service there to pick them up !

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