Guest post by 'Ark Angel'
Full union meeting at Copland today as letters go out to
those facing the chop next April in the next stage of the cull: only about 50
teachers took ‘voluntary’ redundancy or
otherwise bailed out in the summer. This was not good enough and Targets Must
Be Met so some more will have to go. During and after the meeting a number of
points were raised including:
·
The fact that the Chair of Ofsted (which condemned Copland to forced Academy
status) is Dame Sally Morgan. Dame Sally Morgan is also an ‘Advisor’ to Ark Academies. Ark Academies is the business that
Copland is being flogged off to*. (This kind of potential conflict of interest
is one about which Private Eye magazine has been trying for some time without
success to get a straight answer from Ofsted).
·
The reputation that Academies have of a very
high staff turnover-rate as a result of poor conditions of service and a
bullying management culture. Reports of
teachers on one year contracts only being told on the last day of summer term
that their contract was terminated, with no chance even to say goodbye to their
classes .
·
The inflated claims of the ‘success’ of the
Wembley Ark Academy when they’ve only just got a third year of secondary students
in. Even Ian Duncan Smith could manage that, (especially if his school had an ‘Advisor’
who was also Chair of Ofsted).
·
The inability of Michael Pavey to provide any
solid supporting evidence for his decisions regarding Copland other than ones
which are inherently compromised by, for example, the historic exceptionalism
of Copland’s mismanagement at school and local authority level; events at
Crest; the ability of even Tory
Redbridge Council to defend democratic, locally-run education; and the dubious integrity of an Ofsted
organisation which is generally seen as an arm of Michael Gove’s DfE (with some questionable links to Academy
chains).
·
The timing. The tide is turning against
Academies. Sweden is no longer mentioned by Gove because they’ve gone off
Academies. Finland never had them despite being praised by Gove. Only half the
schools in this country are Academies and comparable countries to ours are
dismantling them. Soon they’ll be seen as an historical aberration. Like Betamax.
Or Simon Cowell’s trousers.
The mood of the meeting was resolute and determined. Action
against the Ark plans and the axing of staff looks like being stepped up.
Next stage of the cull will be Management.
*For Dame
Sally’s inevitable expenses scandal details,
see
LINK
No doubt Gove wants all schools to be better than average, a task he may find a bit tricky. If you don't understand why, ask a child who has studied averages What is happening at Copland is a tragedy, and our concern should be for the children studying there, or trying to do so, with an endless churn of teachers going on around them.
ReplyDeleteAnd the churn is set to continue. Ark will impose a new conditions of service contract, more onerous than the current nationally agreed one. As many as possible of the old, experienced teachers will be forced out so that no hint of the old collegiate culture will remain to taint the New Order. Inexperienced , cheap, young teachers will be taken on, and will soon leave to maintain the high rate of turnover found in many Academies. The usual cushions against bully-boy management (the collegiate nature of the job, working together rather than in constant competition, the support of the unions) won't exist. Pay will continue to be effectively frozen, incremental rises will have disappeared, reasonable-colleague managers will have finally been completely replaced by Apprentice-suited clones gabbling corporate-speak claims to be 'passionate' about residuals data, and the last independent-minded Head ready to stand up for his staff against the appalling little pimple Gove and his rough-trade chum Wilshaw will have long ago sailed off into the happiness of the ozone above Beachy Head.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it could all turn out ok........