I would be the first to argue that SAT results are not the be all and end all in terms of judging school effectiveness and pupil achievement. Children and learning are much more complicated than that but as they are much used by school watchdog Ofsted they have been waited with bated breath by Byron Court school staff and pupils.
One of the main planks in their argument against a forced takeover by Harris Federation has been that the school should be given the chance to show improvement as a result of management changes and the support of local authority advisers and others.
Improved SAT and other test results were seen as a key aspect of showing improvement and thus avoiding the further upheaval that academisation would bring.
SAT results are not validated until December 2024 but the unvalidated figures show a massive improvment in some areas from the previous year and overall the school is achieving at or above the national average. Eary Years are affected by the fact that Byron Court does not have its own nursery and therefore children come in from a range of provision or no provision at all.
The figures have arrived in time to be presented as evidence in the upcoming meeting with the new Secretary of State.
When I spoke to Year 6 pupils with their parents outside the school after the SATs in May they seemed very confident in the test outcome. The results and a tribute to the children and their teachers and classroom assistants.
Blue figures in brackets refer to the percentage achiveing 'Great Development GD' and are not the previous year's results. They are tabulated separately.
Such good news! Really does make the case that this is NOT a failing school nor needs a giant academy chain to takeover
ReplyDeleteGreat news, it suggests that the school is good... and was probably fine at the time of inspection. Inspection s are so inconsistent and academy orders do more damage than good. Dave Clay
ReplyDeletePlease read the Ofsted Report. The judgement is not just about exam results and sadly the school was judged as inadequate on 5 different grounds - including Leadership etc.
ReplyDeleteIt does not help to simply produce partial information and ignore the review carried out by 5 independent inspectors.
Burying heads in the sand just because Trade Unions do not like Academies cannot hide the facts.
The children attending Byron Court deserve the best possible education and an independent assessment whether the School under current arrangements can deliver this.
If the school starts losing pupils because of recent Strike Action and the upheavals it will lose money and be in deep trouble. Delivering improvements then will become very difficult.
The school will lose shed loads of teachers if it's academised- is that good for the children?
DeleteJust because it was inadequate at the time of the inspection doesn't mean it is now. The leadership has changed. The results have changed. The governors have changed. The head has changed.
DeleteEdited comment (see Guidelines in side panel: Dear Anon 22 July 2024 at 12:12
ReplyDeleteThe school is already operating far below capacity and therefore it is short of funds which has already contributed to the school's demise.
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The school should never have been expanded in the first place with the prediction of falling rolls being forecaste well before the planning application was granted.
Byron Court should and would have been a great school without the expansion. What happens next, perhaps it should just close and be mothballed until it is needed, which ain't going to happen for many years.
The school should close? Where will all the children go?
DeleteAgain, comments without the children in mind. Closing a school is better than an academy? Shocking
ReplyDeleteIn reply to 22 July 2024 at 14:44
ReplyDeleteOne of the other close by primary schools of course. Take your pick, East Lane Primary, Sudbury Primary, Barham Primary, Wembley Primary, Preston Park Primary, St Georges Primary, Uxendon Manor Primary, Mount Stewart Primary - take your pick, most of them are not at capacity and are within a mile. Besides that, 60% of the pupils at Byron Court aren't from the catchment area. Didn't Brent Council admit recently that they have over the equivilent of seven primary schools too many? Don't get me wrong, I want Byron Court to survive, but that is unlikely being so far from public transport (excluding the Bakerloo Line) and surrounded by other good schools much closer to public transport links.
If you comment on something it helps if you know what you are talking about.
Then why waste so much time on saving byron court and having kids off school. Thought it was about the local community? And how special the BC community is apparently? They will still be there if it's an academy. Rather than disrupt the kids again and make them attend another school. Is that best for them? Ti start again where they may not have their friends or teachers there?
DeleteIf you comment, it's helpful if you don't make it personal and understand people are allowed a different view from you.
How about the ones wanting an LA school do that and let everyone else carry on at BC regardless of academy or La school. The school may not be at capacity but is already too big. It is not meant for 100 kids no matter what the la say.
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