The community school currently known as Byron Court Primary School will open after the summer holiday as Harris Primary Academy South Kenton. The eradication of the Byron Court identity will be completed with the appointment of a Principal, Mr Hyneman, from within the Harris Federation; a new school uniform to be worn on September 4th, the first day of term, (see letter to parents below) and a two week half-term holiday in October for all but Year 6.
Campaigners against forced academisation had their hopes raised following what they saw as a positive end of term meeting with the new Labour Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson.
In a letter to the Chair of Goverrnors, Claire Burton, the DfE Regional Director, states that the Secretary of State, has confirmed the takeover by Harris from September 1st. She rejects the campaigners' call for a pause in the process to enable the school to show its progress through a re-inspection.
Many local stakeholders have voiced their desire for certainty, for the pupils, the parents, the staff and the wider community. This is particularly acute given how close we are now to the start of a new academic year. Pausing the process now will bring further uncertainty without a clear alternative. In all likelihood, it would lead to a longer period of upheaval, which is not in the best interests of the children at the school.
Ironically, Harris recognises progress already made in its letter to parents when they say they will support the school as it 'continues to raise standards.'
Regarding the Ofsted judgement of 'Inadequate', Burton says that the school had already been in need of support prior to the inspection although that judgement may have come as a surprise to parents:
My colleagues at Ofsted have confirmed that the Ofsted complaints process has been fully exhausted. I am aware of a further complaint to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO) which is independent of Ofsted. Nothing of substance has been upheld.
You will note that there is no mention of a re-inspection. This means that the next Ofsted inspection of the school will be of its Harris entity and the improvements made by the LA and current school leadership will not be captured. However, the improvements will be built on what has already been achieved as demonstrated by the recent Year 6 SAT results.
The decision raises questions about the new Labour Government's policy both on academisation, including forced academisation, and on the much criticised Ofsted that many see as overly influenced by academy chiefs and Tory education policy.
Meanwhile Save Byron Court and the NEU must be congratulated for their energetic and persistent campaign.
Jenny Cooper, of Brent NEU said:
Yesterday, the Save Byron Court campaign learned that Harris will be taking over on 1st September. This is a terrible decision for staff, children and community and we know it is based on an Ofsted complaints process and forced academisation system that are not fit for purpose and do not involve stakeholders. The determination of our members, reps and the local community meant that we sustained 16 strike days, countless rallies and protests, a 2100 strong petition, FOI requests ( still going), four complaints to Ofsted ( still going) and a successful delaying of TUPE three times plus a meeting with Bridget Phillipson and a further pause in the decision.
The Grunwick strikes are painted on our walls in Brent, and on our union banner; they remain an iconic part of local and national history. You do not have to win everything you ask for to win the moral fight.
The moral fight is won. We wanted our academy order revoked but we have successfully shown that it should be and have shown ourselves and others how to fight.
Thank you to all of you who sent messages of solidarity, visited the picket lines, gave donations, wrote letters, joined the protests and helped share our story.
The members are not defeated; they have found their voices and will not be walked over.
#WeAreTheLions
#TheWorkersUnitedWillNeverBeDefeated
Simon O'Hara of the Anti-Academies Alliance said:
It's obviously a heavy blow and there's no real way of escaping that feeling, but every single person who fought should hold their heads up very, very high. Don't get too down, we all live to fight another day. And we all will until the whole rotten system and those who run it, are brought down. You never went meekly like so many others. Phillipson needs to understand that while academisation exists, the (re)building of a comprehensive, inclusive, progressive and democratic school system is impossible. You're either for academisation or you're against it. The Byron Court campaigners will always be on the right side of history. Love the fighters in Brent.
Save Byron Court camapaign made the following statement on Friday August 2nd:
We are devastated by Bridget Phillipson's decision to proceed with the takeover of Byron Court by Harris Federation from September. Despite us exposing major issues with the Ofsted inspection, the many aspects of this opaque system that are rigged against parents and deny us choice and voice, and presenting the major rapid improvements made proving ours is not a failing school, we have been ignored by Bridget Phillipson in much the same way as her predecessor did. Specific concerns have not been addressed; we have been denied the opportunity of reinspection; we weren't even given the courtesy of a direct reply to us or our public petition signed by over 2,000 people.
There were many factors at play that led Byron Court to forced Academisation - turbulent leadership with an absent headteacher during the inspection; ineffective support and scrutiny from Governors and the LA; an understaffed SLT - yet despite this, with parent scrutiny, greater leadership capacity, and LA support, the improvements made at the school in one academic year were incredible.
The staff at Byron Court really believed in the school and in keeping it a community school, they too are victims of this unjust system, they too were failed by those entrusted with Byron Court - we needed them to fight for us, not to hand our school over to a corporate machine. Whilst we did get public support for a pause in this process from the school leadership and chair of governors, with only a week to go before the DfE deadline, it was all too little, too late.
8 comments:
Sadly most of us knew that this would happen and the empty posturing by Labour MP Barry Gardiner was an election stunt.
After all it was Labour who introduced the "compulsory academy route" and they were unlikely to change the process once it started.
Let's hope the change ensures that the children - whose schooling has been disrupted for months - get the best possible education from now on.
Blaming the MP is wrong, I'm sure he did all he could, but then all powerful Sir Keith doesn't have to listen to his MPs, he just rules like a Tory that he is and for the benefit of his new found friends and donors such as Harris.
The school should never have been expanded for the benefit of anyone but the kids.
Parents were so fed up with the strikes by the end of the year, when polled a large proportion wanted stability and happy for the academy to go ahead rather than empty promises from the local authority who let it get into this situation in the first place and also were in a rapid improvement group for years. Labour's position is neutral on school structures but focused on improving standards. Having said that, they should invest in the school system to improve schools rather than forced to academise. But in the short term, the academy will do what the la failed to do - rapidly improve the school for the benefit of the children. The school did very very well this year. But a fresh start, change, innovation is needed because without that, schools fail to consider how they can move with the times. As for the local politicians, this was always about securing more votes as the popularity of Labour was dwindling across the country. Its good the Secretary of State for Education listened to the campaigners but she was under no obligation to agree if she had a difference of opinion. The research shows little difference between academies and local authorities except there are some bad local authorities just as there are some bad academy chains and vice versa. Despite bad press, the majority of Harris schools are good or outstanding whereas previously failing, and social meida on twitter and IG shows they still have fun events, school trips, summer carnivals, a pta, film nights etc. So a lot of scaremongering and misinformation. Hopefully September will bring a fresh start and stability for the benefit of the children who have suffered while adults engaged in ideological battles.
Sir Keith? Please get the name right it's Keir!
The people outside the school consisting of unions and twitter supporters seemed to think they should have had more than a say than the parents. Let's not forget the actual number of parents who opposed were small. Most people want a better school for their children. Let's hope it delivers.
There are always two sides to the story. One that the campaign conveniently ignored because it didn't suit their agenda. More than 700 to 800 parents yet 150 or so in the campaign group. The 2000 or petition signed by people outside of the community. They don't deserve a say more than the actual parents of the school.
So sad to see the demise of Byron Court Primary, the expansion created an unsustainable
model which did not serve the pupils or staff adequately.
It seems the school sign has been finally changed during the holidays. The end of an era. Sad
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