The Truth about Academy Schools. Public Meeting Chester. The verdict.

Last night’s public meeting at the Mollington Banastre hotel with representatives of the NUT, the NASWT, ATL and UNISON went well. I was speaking as a writer and a parent and promised I would make the transcript of my talk available on this blog – for those who couldn’t make it – or for those who want to add to and continue with the discussion.

Copy Follows:

I’ve been asked to give a short talk. Initially I chose ‘The potential impact of academies on parents and children’ as a heading and then quickly realised how ridiculous a title it was – more like a dissertation… so let’s narrow  this down to:

‘Towards an analysis of the potential impact of academies on parents and children’.

This title kind of implies that we’re on the way but we don’t have all the answers…(if like me you’re a stressed out parent and you nod off during this talk – you can catch up with it later on www.parentsguidetoeyfs.wordpress.com

I wrote a chapter for a book on education last autumn. The book is “Too Much Too Soon – Early Learning and the Erosion of childhood’. The chapter was called  “A Parent’s Challenge to New Labour’s Early Years Foundation Stage”.

I described how a new parent (or a parent who is new to a particular school) may not know how the school system (and the individual school) works. This is also highly relevant to any discussion on academies – parents are subjected to a great deal of propaganda – about the system itself and about systems-within-the-system such as the Early Years Foundation Stage).

Where does this propaganda come from? In simple terms it is created by

a) The government

b) The government and businesses sending PR and targeted press releases to the media which some  journalists no longer have the time to analyse properly as they should. Funding for investigative journalism is increasingly difficult to find.

c) Local authorities (following the government line)

d) And schools themselves (websites, PR) e.t.c.

Of course parents are savvy and inventive, they were not born yesterday – but many of us nonetheless find ourselves in an extraordinary vulnerable position as far as sending our children to a particular school is concerned. Personally I feel you never really know what a school is like until your child has been there for a good while or until you start to work there yourself, as a member of staff.

I’ve been asking parents about academies locally and writing about it. I spent a day in the company of parents from Shore fields Academy as they protested at the University of Chester and at Chester Town Hall. You’ll find an account of what they had to say on the blog mentioned above – I heard many different voices – most of them said the same thing: “There was no consultation” – “Not one person wanted this” – and having lived through the experience of seeing their school turned into an academy one parent summed things up: “What we are seeing now in our society is institutionalised corruption”.

Our daughter is six and she attends xxx primary school. I would not have said when she started there that it was a good school. Our current headmistress with whom I have had a great many interesting (and often difficult) discussions about education – together with her team – is succeeding in improving the school.

When my daughter started there some years ago – parents were kept at a distance – outside the gate – quite literally even when it was pouring with rain we were no allowed in to the school gates at pick up time. We didn’t even have a parent teacher association. There was a lot of bullying.

And then the culture started to change. School staff asked parents for their opinions, parents took part in all manner of events, maths days, school garden project, people started to relax more and work together more there were visible improvements. Parents teachers and head navigated their way through the painstaking process of forming a PTA and in the first year won a national award from the National Association for PTAs. I mention all this as in academy schools systems of governance in contrast appear to be undemocratic.

I’m not going to reiterate the detailed and excellent arguments put forward by the unions. I’ve noticed that some assume that I am against all academies and free schools per se. I’m not sure I am. What I’m saying is more pragmatic than that something more like “if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it”.

State schools can work and they do work. I believe that as long as parents work together with the school, as long as their suggestions  are really listened to, taken up AND mechanisms are in place for criticisms to be listened to and parents are not marginalised – they can be effective and happy places. Yes, we need to change govt. policies and I will never agree with some aspects of the state school system as it stands for example sending school to school at four is far too early (the arguments on the one are in the book I mentioned – fellow co-contributors include Barry Sheerman the former chair of the government’s education committee and many international childhood experts.

As a parent the thought that our state school might be turned into an academy is dreadful. As is the thought that when my daughter is ready to start secondary schools there will be no state schools left – only academies to ‘choose’ from.

As a writer I have received testimonies from parents (and teachers) who are experiencing unethical behaviour in academies locally. Here are some examples:

– One new teacher in an academy had been working for free  for six months (the equivalent of a workfare scheme in education).

– Examples of teachers completing student’s work themselves in order to meet targets

– Examples of classroom assistants being used as substituted teachers for project work inappropriately.

– Putting children with attention span problems in a 2 to 3 hour lesson

– Financial mismanagement – which favoured senior management salaries whilst leaving teaching staff without the necessary resources to teach effectively (no equipment for sessions e.. books)

– Academies cannot be put into special measures – so make an academy which fails and you are effectively creating a failing academy that can’t be failed. (N.B after having given this talk, someone queried this – so I would be glad of any comments to clear this one up).

– There are huge problems with behavioural issues – it is difficult enough to tackle bullying in a state school which has access to local authority resources but without local authority anti-bullying resources – the problem can get worse. One teacher in an academy said: “As a subject lead I experience some incidents/problems with my classes. however I am constantly interrupted by incidents in the department. I do not blame staff for his as the pupils have nowhere else to go – The punishment for verbal abuse and physical assault in totally unacceptable as i is for repeat behaviour and escalation in behaviour. Levels of abuse are tolerated, pupils are openly defiant there is complete confusion over roles and responsibilities.

I’m sorry that more parents from our school were not able to join the discussion tonight. I often think that most of the activity around a public meeting happens by word of mouth – when people go home  and tell their friends (at the school gate). Some are double booked we have a PTA meeting tonight.

Having spoken about the positive sides of PTA’s I need to add a word of warning as far as academies are concerned. There is a degree of pressure right now to reduce the role of PTA’s to fundraising and to try to exclude topics from the agenda that are perceived to be ‘political’ or ‘ideological’. We’ve come up against this issue quite a number of times in ours. One example: we objected on religious, ideological and political grounds to our child being asked to ‘dress to impress’ on the day of the Royal Wedding – and were promptly told by a fellow PTA parent that if we didn’t like it we should ‘go to Libya’.

PTA’s need to be aware that ‘dissent’ is the cornerstone of democracy itself. The model PTA constitution offered by the National PTA association states that PTA’s exist not only to fund raise but also their primary purpose is to ‘further the children’s education’. To my mind this should include a discussion of the wider influences on schools such as academies. Schools have a legal obligation to actively further the involvement of parents in their children’s education.

I believe that academisation, the setting up of free schools locally and nationally will not ‘raise standards’ but lead to a deterioration in the essence of what education is truly about – it will lead to an over emphasis and further obsession with target culture.

Education should be about asking questions and finding answers, investigation, creativity and yes, in a positive sense – discipline .

Education should be about substance and NOT spin.

My other half, my daughter and I are proud to be long-standing members of Cheshire West against the Cuts. I have to say apart from being extremely hard working, the people involved are compassionate and caring. I mention this fact for a reason. We need to fight the cuts on all fronts and I believe that truth and the moral imperative is on our side. At a packed meeting of Chester Disabled People Against the Cuts my husband Richard Atkinson described what the government is doing to essential services as ‘evil’. He is an atheist, but his speech would not have been out of place in my Wirral and Chester  Quaker Meeting.

He said the government cuts in the NHS health and social care were ‘evil’ because they were prompting people to accept the idea that is  somehow alright to stop seeing people as human beings at all. That it is okay to judge every adult and every child – according to whether or not they can do certain tasks – and in doing so reduce human beings to a set of ‘outcomes’.

There is much more to say about this obviously than is possible in ten minutes, but the truth about academies I believe is that they will do nothing to reverse this trend.

It’s really not that complicated. The following quote came from a resident of Haringey not connected with education.

“If  you have a flourishing school and if parents and teachers are happy with it, what is Mr Gove’s problem? It is his horrible Etonian ideology that wishes to privatise education so that his mates can get a cut: same with the NHS really.”

Copy Ends.

Public Meeting Chester: The Truth about Academy Schools

I’ve done it again – agreed to speak at a public meeting I mean.

In Chester this evening on “The Truth about Academy Schools”. Wasn’t at all nervous until people started saying: “Rather me than you” 🙂 ?

It’s organised by Chester Trades Council and supported by trades unions ATL, NASUWT, NUT and UNISON. The venue is the Mollington Banastre Hotel, Parkgate Road Chester and if you need the post code for your Sat Nav it is CH1 6NN.6.30 p.m for 7.00-8.30

Everyone is welcome apparently, parents, teachers, school support staff, any interested parties…for those that keep an eye on such things it is quite a posh venue – with free parking and refreshments. And, (I’m told) some sort of facility for children. So not having a babysitter is no excuse, guys and gals. The flier says: meet representatives of the Trades Council, ATL, NASUWT, NUT and UNISON. And me. Speaking amongst other things as a member of the largest non-unionised work  force in the U.K. (mothers).

Would have liked to have done more research but since the slot is only fifteen minutes maximum one has to curtail it to a certain extent. In my head and in the background I’d been trying to find the main link between the push for academy schools and pressures on children in the early years. I think I found it in a very fat NASUWT report called ‘Academy Schools Case Unproven’. Legally speaking and to be very basic about it young people have far fewer human rights in academy schools.

Of course, for all those mums dads and carers out there – just remember parent power counts for a great deal and in fact, although we are often ignored the government has to think twice about their policies if we shout loud enough. So if you can join us this evening. If you can’t I’m publishing my speech on this blog later this week so you can tell me what you think via the comments box. Wish me luck, eh and tell your friends. Here is a link to a flier:

Chester Public Meeting The Truth about Academy Schools

 

On the Free School Primary planned for Chester Cathedral (and shortcomings).

Okay I know, I haven’t written on this blog for a good while. Excuse being writer’s block brought on by various events, some or all of which were highly political. Also, being a bit of a blog perfectionist – posts sometimes appeared disparate and unconnected with each other. It made sense to me – but as far as the readership goes – I’ve got some joining-up to do perhaps?

It all seems to come together when you look at the Free School Primary planned for Chester Cathedral and the questions which no-one seems to be asking (yet).

The first question one might ask is: “How does the planning of such a school impact on other primaries in the area?”. (West Cheshire). Let’s just attempt a draft answer shall we? It seems to be the case that if the plan goes ahead less money will be available for other schools in the area. I have sources which indicate this is the case – so will update this blog post perhaps to include some of these.

The second question – most relevant to an early years blog – is – how will the (flawed) Early Years Foundation Stage be implemented in this school (?). I’m assuming  since the EYFS is ubiquitous and statutory requirement that this will be the case – unless the school plans to apply for an exemption…

Question number three: How did it happen that the front page of our local newspaper featured a report on the Chester Cathedral Free School Plan – which resembled a paid-for advertisement for such a school, rather than a journalistic analysis of whether or not such a school would be a good idea? See the Chester Chronicle’s Ambitious plans for first ever free school in Chester.

And question number five: Bearing in mind that it is Wednesday today – and I have only just got wind of a ‘public consultation event’ – scheduled for next Monday at the Chester Cathedral site –

(University cathedral free school Community Consultation event Monday 6th February 7pm 11 Abbey Square) how can this event apparently arranged at short notice – and the lack of adequate publicity offer the general public a chance for any really democratic consultation?

Question Six: How does the Chester Cathedral free school plan connect with the three-quarters-of-a- million pounds scandalously wasted on a proposed (and botched) – ‘improvement scheme’ described on this site? (See:  Chester Cathedral Free School background and history).

And last but not least: How does the Chester Cathedral Free School proposal connect with Michael Gove’s announcements this week? http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2012/jan/31/michael-gove-education-standards-video

More questions than answers…anyone out there – wish to comment?

Shorefields Secondary Anti-academy Protest hits Chester.

Arriving at the University of Chester around 11.30 a.m this morning, the passengers on the  double decker bus from Shorefields Secondary School filed out and assembled. Yet another protest against the drive to make their school an academy.  I listened to many different voices – most of them said the same thing: “There was no consultation” and “Not one person wanted this”. What we are seeing now in our society, one protestor said – is ‘institutionalised corruption’. Children, parents, trade unionists,  teachers and classroom assistants showed a united front and had brought with them a petition which they handed over the to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Chester via the reception desk of the University.

Shorefields Liverpool comes to Chester. Anti-academy protest. University of Chester. Photograph Frances Laing.

NUT Banner. Shorefields Anti-academy protest University of Chester. Photograph Frances Laing.

Parents told me something about the school. A school with good Ofsted ratings. A school particularly reliant on community support, a community school – with double the national average of children with Special Educational Needs and five times the national average for free school meals.

A school where price rises for essentials like school uniform are a difficult challenge for many, especially those with more than one child at the school. Under the new academy regime I was told a blazer would cost £40 and an outdoor p.e. kit shirt alone would cost £25.  

Protests have been covered extensively in the Liverpool Echo and the Liver press, but this time protestors were on a ‘Day Out’ in the style of the playwright Willy Russell, to show Cestrians what the academies story really is and how Chester University is at the forefront of the push to privatise our schools.

I was told the protests have seen five resignations by governors at the school.

Shorefields Anti-academy protest comes to Chester. Photograph Frances Laing.

One of the major funding issues with special educational needs was that in contrast to a local authority school – in an academy special educational needs funding is not ring fenced. Therefore if the school finances go down, there is no financial back up for this provision.

Shorefields Anti Academy protest outside University of Chester. Photograph Frances Laing.

University of Chester officials attempted to stage-manage the protest in PR terms leaving the majority of protestors in an empty hall – with all the banners propped up against the tables.

A hot drink had been laid on by the University of Chester but these seasoned   protestors clearly had no intention of being bought out by tea and biscuits (come to think of it, in fact there weren’t even any biscuits). With a polystyrene cup of University tea  in hand I heard how  pro-academy forces-that-be had been slowly chipping away at the school’s reputation. A school that had been described as ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Shorefields Anti-Academy Protest University of Chester. Photograph Frances Laing.

 Afterwards I accompanied protestors on the coach from the University of Chester to Chester Cathedral. (They had asked the Bishop of Chester to meet them to discuss their concerns).

Shorefields community clearly cares about itself and Shorefields butties were shared on board. Here was a community which was together. Not some theoretical kind of Cameron-esque big society but a real, big-hearted community in action.

Our own Chester city chiefs like to make a show of offering hospitality to visitors and each bus load of visitors can access a tour guide. 

In contrast – the Shorefields Anti-Academy Protestors coach featured a police escort up front courtesy of Cheshire West and Chester Council.  

Protestors kept their sense of humour, I had lost mine, I was just ashamed of our city at that point. The official reception seemed so shabby.  It seemed our University never had any intention of listening to these parents, teachers and children – it was just seeing pound signs – just wanted them to shut up and go away. And seldom if ever do we hear about any of these things in our own local press.

Shorefields Anti-academy protest police escort. Photograph Frances Laing.

Undeterred, protestors left their double decker bus and headed confidently for Chester Town Hall Square steps singing a cleverly crafted anti-academy cover version of  “We’re all going on a summer holiday”. It was a day to remember…and I felt privileged to be there.

Shorefields Anti-Academy protest heads for Chester City Centre. Photograph Frances Laing.

Local union officials stood ready to greet protestors on the Town Hall steps together with a spokesperson from the National Union of Teachers.

 I believe the protest made the national news. 

Shorefields Anti-academy Protestors Chester Town Hall. Photograph by Frances Laing.

Shorefields Anti-Academy Protest hits Chester Tomorrow.

As yet, not many local people in Chester are aware of the involvement of the University of Chester in the drive to create Academy schools.

Since the University of Chester has been instrumental in propping up a pro-academy infrastructure in terms of, I believe, finance and training – protestors from Shorefields School are taking their protest to the streets of our city tomorrow. The final arrangements for the protest against Shorefields being taken over by Chester University are as follows:

Because of the difficulties involved in marching across Chester protestors will hand a petition in at the University between 11.30 and 12.00.

They will then travel across town by coach to give a petition to the Bishop of Chester at the Cathedral at approximately 12.30.

Parents, friends, trade unionists and anyone else wishing to support the protest are welcome to attend and show their solidarity. Judging from local press coverage – the community in and around Shorefields have campaigned long and hard against being turned into an academy. It seems vital to support this protest and hear what people on the ground have to say about it. Who knows, your school might be next:

See also: Protest at Shorefields to stop the school being turned into an academy 

And: Why we oppose academies (A briefing from the anti-academies alliance).

In which the writer re-visits a socialist analysis of the English education system. Vgotsky at Marxism 2011.

This week I had the privilege of attending a packed seminar (around 100 people were present) with Jane Reed, NUT member at the cultural and political festival Marxism 2011. Jane introduced a seminar on “Vgotsky and how children learn”. All issues raised were relevant to the cuts in education : particularly the decimation of special needs provision and the much criticised Phonics test for five and six year olds – (the pilot alone will cost us a quarter of a million). You can obtain a recording of the session from Bookmarks bookshop.

Jane Reed speaks on "Vgotsky and how children learn". London, 2011

 

Speaking in an individual capacity Jane had been on strike this week. 

I’d never heard of Vgotsky before (although I’m a trained teacher in Adult Education). He was a Russian educational theorist and psychologist and his work is enjoying something of a revival right now amongst progressive teachers. It seems  highly relevant to Early Years Education and what is currently happening in the English educational system.

The session was an international one – with colleagues from the Czech Republic and Germany. Apparently the Vgotsky revival is showing itself in the States too (see the video below).

 

Jane’s talk focussed on the question: “What is education FOR?”. She spoke of an ideological attack which is currently taking place – which equates to an attempt to discipline teachers and students – an attack on teaching as a craft. She referred to a Department of Education quote: “students need to know their place again after 1968”.

 

Vgotsky wrote seven books in the 1920s and 30s in tsarist Russia and was particularly interested in children with special needs. His theories and practice are enjoying something of a revival amongst learning theorists and teachers right now –   not least because they emphasise the importance of ‘play’ AND the importance of learning in context – and the ways in which a child’s surroundings and the interactions in society and in a group –  influence how they learn.

 

Jane highlighted how Vgotsky’s theories and practice are directly relevant to early years education – the ‘tick-box’ system of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Phonics Test  for five and six year olds. The much criticised Phonics Test includes ‘non-words’ – words completely taken out of context. 

 

There were many contributions from the floor including points made by a maths teacher, a drama teacher, and more than one special needs teacher. I spoke too briefly- I mentioned the relevance of this blog and the forthcoming Open Eye book “Dissent and the English Early Years Education System” – which I have contributed a chapter to – entitled:

 

 “A Parent’s  Challenge to New Labour’s Early Years Foundation Stage”. Fellow contributors to this book include Dr. Penelope Leach and Barry Sheerman, M.P.

 

The seminar was recorded and recordings are being made available at the Bookmarks Socialist Bookshop London. A Vgotsky study group also emerged from the seminar.

 

More on Vgotsky at this link: Vgotsky versus Piaget and in the videos below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women take budget fight to Downing Street

Morning Star. Women take budget fight to Downing Street.

Public Meeting. Ellesmere Port Civic Hall. Cheshire West Against the Cuts. 16th. March, 2011.

Cheshire West Against the Cuts. Public Meeting Ellesmere Port Civic Hall. 16th. March, 2011.

What started out as a quiet week last week quickly became public and intensely political. Since my daughter was born five years ago – I’d scaled down public appearances and focussed on building a strong virtual presence. This blog has attracted  the attention of national mainstream press in recent months and years as regular readers will know. In touch with the Facebook group of Cheshire West and Chester Against the Cuts I was aware of a planned Public Meeting in Ellesmere Port.

The panel line-up featured Peter Middleman Regional Secretary of the PCS, Paul Nowak – Trades Union Council Head of Organising and Roger Bannister of Unison National Executive Committee (Chair: Kenny Cunningham West Cheshire Trades Council) but no women speakers. I made what I hoped was a jokey comment online about this, but then I had to put my money where my mouth was, muck in and join the line-up. With existing commitments I had less than half an hour to prepare. Don’t think I did too badly though as the audience of over a hundred people clapped at one point.

I deliberately introduced myself as having two jobs. One of them being a member of the ‘largest, non-unionized workforce in the U.K.’ – (mothers) which evoked some smiles of acknowledgement from the female delegates at the meeting.

There is a lot to say about what women are experiencing right now and I understand Merseyside Public Sector Alliance have supported the creation of a special women’s section to address the particular problems that women are facing. They say: “Women are two thirds of the work force in the public sector, often in part-time work. Job cuts will mean women and their families will face more poverty and inequality. With 500,000 public sector jobs to be axed as a result of the government’s spending review, it is likely that at least 325,000 of those losing their jobs will be women. In local authorities which will take the biggest cut – women make up 68 per cent of the workforce. The trade union movement needs to organise strike action to defend our jobs, pay and conditions”.)

Regular readers might be wondering why I’m picking these issues up on a blog entitled “A Parent’s Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage”. Backtracking somewhat and in the interests of joined-up thinking – the Early Years Foundation Stage is a statutory and compulsory curriculum introduced by the last New Labour government for children between birth and five. During the past two years I’ve tracked the impact of this curriculum on parents, teachers and children and become part of a social movement which realises : some aspects of this curriculum have been useful, but as a minimum the compulsory nature of the learning and development requirements needs to change – there is an urgent need for reform. Not only does this type of measuring take up a great deal of time and money – it distorts children’s learning and the way in which children’s abilities are perceived (see previous blog posts) putting unnecessary pressure on children, and in many instances setting them up to fail before they have even started formal education.

But the compulsory EYFS learning and development requirements and the profiling in the year in which children turn five are only two of the forces putting unnecessary pressure on children, parents, carers and teachers. There is also the government’s recent attempt to introduce league tables for five year olds on a school-by-school basis AND the highly controversial reading test for six (and five year olds). All of England’s teaching unions have come out in opposition to this test see this link. Teaching Unions Oppose Reading Test. All of these measures have two things in common:

a) They have been much-criticised by education practitioners and experts internationally AND – they are costing us MILLIONS. We don’t know how many millions exactly as the government have refused to tell us (see my Freedom of Information Act Queries) – although we can make a fair guess judging by the huge sums paid out to education consultants and companies hired by local authorities to deliver such services) and we do know that the pilot scheme for the reading test alone will cost a quarter of a million pounds. Common sense tells us that this money could be far better spent elsewhere. AND

b) Such measures exert pressure downwards on the youngest of children and inevitably foster an environment where the dreaded ‘teaching to the test’ becomes more common.

So – at the meeting I spoke for ten minutes on the international campaign to “Stop School League Tables for Five Year Olds” . The campaign met with such resonance I believe because people were morally outraged that a government would target small children in this way with such an inappropriate measure. Strength of public feeling and publicity led to the government withdrawing the plan quite quickly, although I’ve left the petition in place as an ‘insurance policy’ if you like because I believe the government will try to implement this measure again perhaps later in the year. 

 What astounds me is how far removed the present government seems to be from people’s lives. At the Ellesmere Port Meeting I made several points which illustrated this.

Cheshire West Against the Cuts. Public Meeting Ellesmere Port 16th. March, 2011

 Firstly the latest news on cuts in nursery places. If you are a parent with a child under five who cannot find or afford a nursery place – then with the best will in the world you are limited in what you can do as far as paid work is concerned. Basta.

 Secondly – there are the impending cuts in disability living allowances. My Other Half  has worked in Welfare Rights for thirty years currently for the Council who have seen one thousand job cuts already – as I mentioned at the meeting – he was awarded the Employee of the Year Award a few years ago and his team likewise gained several awards. I went to the awards ceremony and in the awards ceremony brochure he and his team were highly praised for the millions of pounds they had brought into the area with their work. Other Half filled me in on the frightening scenario we are now facing – and I read out his comments at the meeting:

“A quarter of all the government’s spending cuts are coming to benefits and tax credits. It has already started in October with cuts to help with mortgages causing more homelessness…it continues in April with deep cuts to housing benefits and tax credits which mainly affect people in work on low incomes (including our own family)..

 …it continues in April 2012 – with the abolition of long term incapacity benefit – which will affect a billion disabled people who will lose £90 a week or so from April 2012 – where at least twenty five per cent fo disabled people are going to lose their disability living allowance..(including me).”

 Thirdly – in the meeting I tried to illustrate the impact of impending or completed cuts in provision for children with special educational needs. For this I referred to Guerrilla mum’s blog. Guerilla mum and journalist Ellen Power has two children with special educational needs and has written an excellent book about “Surviving the special needs jungle”.

Ellen tells us: “I have commented regularly about the limp and woolly provision currently available to unstatemented children with SEN through the school action and school action plus categories of the graduated response process of our current system for meeting SEN. Yet the new system promises to scrap these classifications replacing them with a new tier of provision. Children will be ‘lumped together’ in this category, with some receiving pastoral care because they are disadvantaged, and others receiving support for SEN through ‘better teaching’ and schools sharing best practice. Also, the voluntary sector will be brought in to carry out so far unspecified roles. Remember, this new system will be implemented by health and education services that have undergone savage cuts and will draw heavily on untrained support from the voluntary sector. I don’t believe it is possible to improve provision for children with SEN and disabilities by cutting specialist services and replacing these with an untrained voluntary sector”. 

Cheshire West Against the Cuts. Public Meeting Ellesmere Port. 16th. March, 2011

The debate was lively and constructive – impossible to go into detail on all the issues covered – so this is a subjectively selective report of mine. I came across some astounding new information at the meeting via some NUT members:

The government is allegedly giving schools £20,000 each for simply considering academy status. If this is true it’s no wonder that consultation processes with parents and PTA’s are not what they should be.

Also heard from some former students of Christleton High School which has gained academy status. The price of school trips they said has already shot up – presumably making life even more difficult for children from low income families.

 As well as the huge demonstration which takes place this Saturday in London – there are many other ways of continuing to make your voice heard. Google March Against the Cuts. It’s the largest TUC backed march for decades. Sat 26th. And after the march it seems we’re going to need to keep making our voices heard.

Last but not least, there were several Labour Councillors at the meeting. They met with some criticisms of Labour’s seemingly ineffectual stance to oppose the cuts.

Say No to Reading Test at Five. New International Petition.

As readers will know by now – I have a five year old daughter. The English government has proposed the following policy: to introduce a reading test at the end of Year One at school. They say the reading test is for six year olds. However, for summer-born children – the way this would work is that a child like mine would in fact be five and not six when they are tested.

Say No to Phonics Test for Small Children – new international petition

So, I and many other parents have a vested interest in turning this plan around and encouraging the government to change their mind. There is no way that I will be allowing my child to sit through a reading test which has already been described by phonics experts such as Professor Greg Brooks as ‘a waste of money’. The planned pilot is due to take place in 300 schools this June, so parents – if I were you, I would check now to make sure your school is not amongst them and if it is start protesting now. A new international petition has been created on this theme:

Say No to Phonics Test for Small Children – international petition

There is also the point that we now know the pilot scheme will cost a minimum of a quarter of a million pounds. (See previous post).

The government has refused to tell us how much the scheme will cost in it’s entirety  – arguing that there are commercial interests involved and divulging that sort of information could endanger the wise use of public money.

Say No to Phonics Test for Small Children – new international petition

There are indeed commercial interests involved. The companies that produce phonics systems are set to make millions from this plan. On the backs of our children, as far as I can see. The money could be far better spent supporting special needs programmes, or better facilities for speech therapy in schools. Or indeed on saving our public libraries.

In response to the last post, questions are now being asked about exactly who the companies are who are designing and selling these programmes in schools. We don’t know for sure, but if you Google around this issue for long enough two huge companies stand out. One of these companies is very closely allied to Michael Gove’s drive to convert schools to academies. (Search for Michael Gove and Academies on YouTube)…

Cheshire West Against the Cuts. Protest. Conservative Party Offices Chester.

Cheshire West Against the Cuts campaign kicks off with a high visibility protest outside the Conservative Party offices on the main roundabout into Chester. Photo: Frances Laing.

Paid a flying visit to the Cheshire West Against the Cuts demonstration outside the Conservative Party offices in Chester today.

Twelve o’clock saw more than a dozen protestors arriving to site themselves at the main roundabout. Drivers started tooting straight away in support.

Shirley Clout, a local mother and protestor said “As a child my parents had a booklet on the shelf – the Beveridge Report. Everyone used to talk about how important it was. This government does not have a proper mandate to change how the welfare state works. They are putting the clock back. They haven’t consulted people properly“.

 

Union members including PCS and Unison joined the protest.

Placards included:

“Reject 40 per cent cuts in higher education”

“No tuition fees increases”

“Tax the rich. No education cuts”.