Tough questions from Byron Court parents at Brent Scrutiny Committee. Why did the Rapid Improvement Group fail?

 Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commitee: Byron Court presentation & responses

 

Two Byron Court Parents attended Scrutiny Committee thia evening to ask questions about what Brent Council had done to help the school when it was realised it was in difficulties, The Rapid Improvement Group (RIG) was set up in September 2022 more than a year before the Ofsted Inspection of November 2023.

Parents' Questions

Tanisha Phoenic: RIG history - we have put in an FOI request to help us understand how an Outstanding school with a teaching status in the borough has been left to languish, in the meantime, can the panel answer some of our questions:

 

Rig was put in place on Sept 2022, chaired by Shirley Parks. Why was RIG put in place? What issues were identified in 2022? Are some of these the same issues that Ofsted identified in their inspection?

 

What was achieved by the RIG between its inception and the Ofsted inspection in Nov 2023? How many meetings took place, what was the level of monitoring and support put in place?

 

Was it identified during the year that the RIG was in place that improvements were not being made? What interventions if any were made, were these issues escalated? If so, then where?

 

We understand that the support to the school via the RIG and SESS has not been as intensive as required i.e. meetings being frequently cancelled by Council officers. Has this in part led to the poor inspection rating?

 

Did the Council experience any barriers working effectively with the previous Headteacher and governing body?

 

We want to understand if a school mentioned in 3.3.2 that was rated “requires improvement” in 2022/2023  has had a RIG in place and been on “journey to good” - why has the RIG failed Byron Court?

 

Do the committee really believe that they have done all in their power to help the school and avoid what has now become a forced academy order?

 

 

Vina Vekria -  Assurances from now to academisation

 

Whilst we acknowledge that you are legally bound to comply with the academisation order, Gwen Grahl reaffirmed the council's commitment to supporting and improving the school and assured us additional leadership capacity would be in place after Easter. 

 

What if any guarantees can you give us that the council will be living up to its commitment to ‘protect/promote community schools’ as per the Labour manifesto? Will you commit to pushing for a reinspection?

 

We are campaigning for a reinspection of the school, what guarantees can you give that the RIG will do what is expected and required to achieve the rapid improvements needed?

 

What additional resources - mentioned by Cllr Grahl at the Cabinet meeting on 9 Apr - are being put into the school and when? Will this address the huge lack in capacity in the Senior Leadership Team?

 

Will the Scrutiny Committee agree to return to this item at their next meeting in order to provide details of actions put in place?

 

There was no specific reply to the RIG question or on resources as applied to Byron Court although it was claimed that RIGs were generally successful.   Cllr Grahl spoke about her letter to the Secretary of State and offered to meet with parents. Cllr Ketan Sheth (Chair) said the Committee would keep a watching brief and parents could submit questions to the Committee. Answering a councillor's question Brent officers said that they were confident that no other Brent school would suffer a similar fate to Byron Court.

This is the FoI request made to Brent Council:

Dear Brent Council,

I am writing to you on behalf of over 130 parents involved in the ‘Byron Court Parents’ Campaign group’. The group represents parents who are opposed to the forced academisation of the school following Ofsted’s report.

We urgently request under the Freedom of Information Act the following:

Date of the initiation of Rapid Improvement Group (RIG), details of reasons(or redacted) the RIG was requested/instigated
Date of RIG was put into place
RIG Lead and its members
Aims and Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) of the RIG
Minutes from RIG meetings
Details (or redacted) of improvements achieved

Brent Zoom meeting for parents and school staff on school re-openings

Parents' views on the lockdown and school safety - NEU poll findings

From the NEU

Poll of over 1,000 parents, commissioned for NEU, shows support for lockdown measures since March

33% do not immediately plan to send their children back to school once measures are relaxed
Strong support for safety measures which have not yet been met by Government, including
widespread testing and tracing, before schools re-open

Last week the National Education Union commissioned a Deltapoll of 1,024 parents of school-age children in England.

In March the Government announced a range of measures in order to help the United Kingdom through the Covid-19 outbreak. The survey asked parents how supportive they were of measures implemented on or around 23 March, and to a large degree they were supportive of the cornerstones ‘staying at home’ (87%) and ‘social distancing’ (91%). In relation to education, they also supported the general closure of schools (86%), keeping schools open to disadvantaged children (81%), the suspending of Ofsted inspections (80%) and the cancelling of GCSE and A-Level exams (65%).

Overall, 92% of parents agree that the closure of schools has been an important factor in containing coronavirus. 90% of those polled have kept their child at home in light of lockdown requirements, the remainder being key workers or parents of a child with vulnerability needs.

Putting safety first
 
On 1 May the National Education Union announced its 5 Tests, which must be met by Government before the re-opening of schools can take place. We have also signed a joint letter from the six TUC unions representing school workers, which was sent to the Education Secretary on 8 May, setting out the yardsticks by which we can ‘ensure the safety of children, parents, staff and the communities they serve.’

The principles are clear, and many of them were reflected in the questions put to parents. When asked which of a range of ‘tests’ needed to apply before schools can re-open, they said:

The Covid-19 new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend (82%)

Extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing must be in place (77%)

Scientific or medical evidence shows that it is safe for children to return to school (84%)

Covid-19 testing for all children and staff at your child’s school is conducted (67%)

When asked if teachers should have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when schools re-open, 59% agreed. This view was significantly higher amongst respondents in London (74%).

Parents also expressed a reluctance to send their children back to school as soon as it re-opens. Just under half (49%) said they would, with a third of the total sample (33%) intending to delay the return.
These views were consistent across primary and secondary sectors.

Commenting on the findings of the poll, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

With an aspiration to open schools more widely in less than three weeks from now, the Prime Minister is squandering a great deal of parental goodwill.

The NEU has supported the lockdown, but the past few days have revealed the Government’s garbled approach to the next phase. In his haste to use schools as a symbol of recovery, the Prime Minister has merely succeeded in revealing the incoherence at the heart of his strategy. His ‘sketch’ must be redrawn.

Now that the Prime Minister has set himself on a course out of lockdown, he needs to act fast to reassure unions, school staff and parents that when schools do open it will only be when our shared and widespread concerns for personal safety are fully met.

Islamia Primary School (VA) parents call on Brent Council to help them secure a permanent building

Islamia Primary School

Parents of Islamia Primary School in Brent have launched an on-line petition asking Brent Council to provide a permanent building for the school after 10 years in limbo. Parents say that the children's education suffers from an inadequate building with Key Stage 2 pupils having to cross the busy Salusbury Road four times a day to reach the annexe. They have seen other borough schools expand with new build and free schools set up and feel that their children's needs have been neglected.

The school was founded by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens before his conversion) with his own resources and after a long struggle became voluntary aided. It is known for the good results it achieves and is substantially over-subscribed.

The petition which is accessible on the Brent Council website HERE is reprinted below.

Support Permanent Building for Islamia Primary School VA (2 form entry)

We the undersigned petition the council to 1. Stop ignoring the needs of Islamia Primary School and its pupils. 2. Treat Islamia Primary School pupils, parents and staff fairly. 3. Secure Islamia Primary School with a permanent offsite building to house all its 420 pupils.

Context:

Islamia Primary School did Brent Council a huge favour by taking on all pupils from the Avenue School in 2007 and has made huge sacrifices over the past 10 years, operating under very difficult conditions.

21% of our pupils (90 pupils) continue to make four journeys a day across two busy roads to access the annexe building.

Due to the failed new build programme, a CDT room, art room, two additional classrooms, the kitchen and canteen were all demolished with nothing put in its place except a temporary marquee.

This arrangement has been in place for 10 years and our school has remained in limbo ever since.

The Facts:
Over the past 10 years, Brent has failed to adequately house 420 pupils from Islamia Primary School, whilst opening more and more schools and expanding almost every school in the borough.

1. Brent closed The Avenue School, 5-7 The Avenue, London, NW6 7YG, and transferred the pupils to Islamia Primary School in January 2007.

2. New £8 Million build was due to be completed by 2012 but did not happen due to delays from Brent and pressure from local group ‘We Love Queen’s Park’.

3. In 2012, a new 3 form entry school was proposed by Brent as part of the South Kilburn Regeneration project for a 2018 opening. This building has since been ear marked to house existing schools Kilburn Park Junior (2 form entry) and Carlton Vale Infant (2 form entry) and Nursery for a 2019/2020 opening.

4. Brent Staff Development centre (Gwenneth Rickus Building) closed in 2013 and was given to Leopold Primary School in 2015 for their expansion plan (840 pupils).

5. In February 2013, Brent council sold the Brent Town Hall building to The French Education Property Trust who transformed it into an international French school called the Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill, which opened in September 2015.

6. New £8 Million build was revived and was due to be completed by 2016 but did not happen again due to unacceptable conditions placed on the Foundation, which included putting a cap on numbers for the Independent Girls Secondary School.

7. In 2013, Brent granted permission for a new free school (The Michaela Community School) to open at Arena House in North End Road (previously College of North West London Wembly Park Campus). It opened in September 2014 and will have 840 students by 2020.

8. In September 2014, Ark academy submitted a free school application to the Department for Education, to open a new 3 form entry primary academy in Wembley. Brent agreed for Ark to open Ark Somerville Primary Academy (2 form entry) on the car park of the York House to be opened in September 2019.

9. In September 2015, a new school (Kilburn Grange School) opened on the site of the newly refurbished state of the art College of North West London (Kilburn campus) on Priory Park Road, which was also temporarily shared with Marylebone Boys’ School (a free school from Westminster).

10. In September 2016, Brent Council granted Marylebone Boys’ School (a free school from Westminster) permission to demolish an existing nursery building to create a “purpose-built, modular” building on land at the junction between Brondesbury Park and Christchurch Avenue (480 students). The temporary building remained for two years until July 2018.

11. In July 2017, The Carlton Centre, Granville Road, Kilburn was advertised for a 5 year lease. Although Islamia Primary School made a formal bid, the property was given to the Penny Appeal charity for a non-school related community project.

12. Although Islamia Primary School has been using Winkworth Hall since 2007, it was informed by Brent in November 2018 that it could never purchase Winkworth Hall even if it was totally vacant.

13. In November 2018, Brent confirmed plans for a new 6 forms of entry secondary school to be built on the site of Chancel House, Neasden Lane. It will be a free school with Wembley High Technology College, an academy, as its sponsor

Sign the petition HERE

Action Plan for Brent SEND children services to be approved tonight

The Brent Health and Wellbeing Board will tonight consider a Written Statement of Action following concerns expressed following a joint inspection of the authority's and Brent Clinical Commissioning Group provision for chldren with special educational needs and disabilities. The officer's report states:

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Although some aspects of the inspection were very positive, a Written Statement of Action has been requested. Brent Council, Brent CCG and health providers have worked together to address these concerns and respond to them so that children in any setting can get the right health advice and treatment to support their education. The most challenging of these concerns to address is the waiting times issue that has arisen due to wider shortages of specialist NHS staff. Brent CCG has appointed a specialist Designated Clinical Officer to oversee and speed up the programme of health reforms. 


The inspectors required the local area to provide a Written Statement of Action in regard to the following concerns:

·      strategic leadership of the CCG in implementing the SEND reforms 


·      the fragmented approach to joint commissioning causing gaps in services 


·      the lack of opportunity for therapists to respond to draft EHC plans before they 
are finalised 


·      poor access to services for some vulnerable groups; in particular, to audiology, 
OT and speech and language therapy, limited opportunities for parental involvement when designing and commissioning 
services. 

The draft Written Statement for  Action can be found HERE.

It has to be submitted by October 23rd

 


Fair funding for all schools - meeting March 29th Cricklewood

Parents and pupils are joining with teachers and governors to protest about the forthcoming cuts to school budgets which are being implemented through changes in the National Funding Formula for schools. Government sources have denied reports from Tory back bench MPs that they are about to postpone the changes so all the more reason to maintain the pressure.

www.fairfundingforallschools.org

Pupils, parents and staff  from Kenmont Primary held a protest against the cuts earlier this week. Despite the school  being in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham many of Kenmont's pupils come from the Brent side of the Harrow Road.

EDUCATION - INVEST, DON'T CUT March & Rally Nov 17th

The cuts being implemented by the Conservative Government put education at risk. Increased funding is desperately needed to safeguard our children’s education. We are asking the Government to change course and invest, not cut.

What the NUT wants:

• School funding – Extra money in the system to support reform of the funding system – and more money for all schools to fund higher costs and the impact of inflation.
• Post 16 funding – Restoration of cuts already made – and real support for sixth form colleges.
• Send and early years funding – fair funding for these vital areas of education
• Funding in Wales – an end to the funding gap.

Invest Don’t Cut Education Funding Rallies

The rallies are an opportunity to make policy makers listen to our concerns about the impact of education funding cuts, and act on our demands to increase education funding. Spread the word and encourage colleagues, friends, family and neighbours to attend and support our aims.

London NUT March and Rally - Thursday 17 November 2016
Assemble for March: 17:00, Whitehall, (Opposite Downing Street)
Rally: 18:30, Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, SW1P 3DW

London parents overwhelmingly support councils' role in school standards and provision

From London Councils

Parents across the capital believe that a joint effort from headteachers, governors, central government and London boroughs is essential to keeping standards high at London schools, according to an exclusive YouGov poll commissioned by London Councils.

YouGov’s Ask The Parents survey questioned London parents about how important various players in the educational landscape are. The poll revealed that the majority of parents believe that headteachers, governors, London boroughs and central government all have an important role.

Cllr Peter John OBE, Deputy Chair of London Councils and Executive member with responsibility for education, said:

Understandably, the vast majority of parents see headteachers as being the most important players in ensuring the quality of education remains high. But a large proportion of mums and dads in London also see the government, boroughs and governors as having a vital role. 

In particular it is positive that 79 per cent of parents surveyed believe that London boroughs help to drive up standards in local schools. This number has risen by 5 per cent since last year’s poll. 

This suggests that parents across the capital believe that the success of the London model of education is linked to headteachers, boroughs, central government and school governors working together to ensure children gain the skills to excel in adult life. This model has delivered enormous improvements in London’s schools over the last 20 years.

The challenge for everyone with a stake in London’s education system is to drive further improvements. This is vitally important given the competitive London jobs market, which demands more and more from school leavers. This will involve working together to mitigate the impact of expected reductions to school budgets in London as a result of the new National Funding Formula.

YouGov’s poll for London Councils also found that:

• The majority of parents think London boroughs should have the power to influence and intervene in underperforming state, academy and free schools.
• 82 per cent of parents surveyed agree that London boroughs should be able to influence schools in their area to find more places or expand.
• The vast majority of parents (75 per cent) agree that London boroughs should have the final say in the location of new schools within their authority boundary. Only 11 per cent disagree with this.
• Most parents think London boroughs should scrutinise school accounts, with 79 per cent of those surveyed saying that boroughs should oversee the accounts of maintained schools. 72 per cent of parents polled felt boroughs should scrutinise academy accounts and 73 per cent said boroughs should have a role in overseeing free school accounts.
• 71 per cent of parents asked feel that the UK government should increase the amount of money it spends on education and schools.
• Almost two thirds of parents (65 per cent) agree that free schools should be set up in areas of basic need (i.e. looking at shortfalls between future demand for school places compared with existing capacity). 

 

'Away with test driven dull - let's have a colourful primary curriculum' say parents

From Let Our Kids be Kids campaign

Please write to your MP in a brightly coloured envelope as part of our Primary Colours campaign.

Primary Education is creative, bright, varied and colourful... teachers inspire a love of learning through a joy filled curriculum.

High Stakes SATs testing threatens this with a dry, dulled down, black and white, test driven curriculum not wanted by children or by teachers.

MPs get hundreds of letters... let's make ours stand out and be sure they get the message that enough is enough... Let Our Kids Be Kids!

DOWNLOAD LETTER HERE: https://letthekidsbekids.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/letter-to-mps2-primary-colours.pdf

Parents declare #THISislearning as they take on the government's testing agenda

With Tory MPs lining up to question the government's forced academisation policy, a primary headteacher resigning in protest at the government's plans LINK and the NUT balloting for action real momentum is building up against Cameron's government.

Now parents are joining in and they are taking on the government on the content of education and the emphasis on testing as you can see from this blog first published HERE

On Tuesday 3rd May, thousands of parents are planning to take a stand against a school system which is more interested in testing our children than it is in nurturing in them a love of learning. They will be adding their voices to the growing unrest that already permeates the teaching profession, and joining the call from the National Union of Teachers to cancel the SATs for 2016. By keeping their children home from school on that day, they want to send a clear message to the government that enough is enough, and that their children – all children – deserve more.
We want to take things one step further.

As well as fully supporting the kids’ strike on 3rd May, we want to use that day and the run up to it to flood the internet with inspirational learning moments: images, stories and activities that show just how much more there is to learning than the narrow focus of the SATs allows. Whatever the age of your child, whether they are at school or nursery or educated at home, we would like you to help us show the government what learning really looks like using the hashtag #THISislearning.

If you’re a teacher, we would love to hear your thoughts too: this government has marginalised the expertise of education professionals for far too long.

If you have a blog, you can link up your posts below to create a hub of inspiration in the run up to 3rd May and share what you and your child(ren) get up to on the day itself. If you are not a blogger then don’t worry – you can share your ideas and activities on your social media accounts, using the hashtag #THISislearning on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can find out more about why we’re taking this action by reading Maddy’s post No, Mr Cameron, No, which inspired us with the fantastic response it received from parents and teachers alike, and the follow up, This is learning, Mr Cameron, as well as my post Why SATs are Bad for our Children, reflecting on the current situation from the perspective of ten years of teaching as well as life with a three year old.

You can also join our Facebook group to keep up to date with latest developments, and please comment below or contact either of us directly if there is anything else you want to know.

Sophie: Sophie is…
Maddy: Writing Bubble
#THISislearning

We would love as many bloggers as possible to join in! Here are just a few suggestions for taking part:

• Link up any post (old or new) about inspiring children to learn, including fun activities people might like to try on May 3rd.
• Please grab the #THISislearning badge from my sidebar for your post to spread awareness of the campaign (copy and paste the HTML code to add it to your site). We will share your posts on Twitter in return.
• If you share your post on social media, please the hashtag #THISislearning. If you tweet us a link to your post @writingbubble and @sophieblovett then we will RT.
• Link up your post below – just click on the blue button that says ‘add your link’ and follow the instructions. We look forward to reading your posts!

Caroline Lucas: We need to bring our schools back under local democratic oversight, not erode democracy further through forced academisation

As teachers leave in droves as a result of  workload stress and unachievable changes in pupil targets the government has deepened the crisis its policies have caused with the decision to force all LA schools to become schools academies by 2022.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, today slammed Government proposals to force all schools to become academies. 

She labelled the proposed changes as 'deeply undemocratic' and said that she fears that forced academisation could 'lead us down the path of privatisation of education.'

Caroline Lucas said:

Forcing schools to become academies – and leaving them unaccountable to local communities – is the wrong approach. Local authorities are needed to ensure good planning and fairness across a local area. They can provide for the efficient pooling of resources, including legal help and support services for pupils with special educational needs.

From a Government that bangs the ‘localism’ drum this attack on local authorities is particularly shameful. People in my own city, Brighton and Hove, have resolutely opposed academies. Forcing parents, teachers and pupils into accepting these changes by Government dictat is deeply undemocratic.

This is part of a sustained attack on local government.  Funding has been slashed, services have been cut and now they are seeing this outrageous attack on their vital role in local education. I fear the Government want to lead us down the path of the privatisation of education.

There's no evidence to suggest that academisation solves problems in education and there are concerns raised by Oftsed that academy chains have serious weaknesses.

You have to ask just how much of the funding for academy conversion will be paid to lawyers rather than invested in schools?   As well as continuing the fight against cuts in school budgets and the shortages of school places and teachers, we need to stand up for local education.  Properly supported and funded local authority schools can best help meet our young people's educational needs and deliver school improvement and social justice.

The Chancellor is careering forward in entirely the wrong direction and against the interests of children and communities.  We need to bring our schools back under local democratic oversight, not erode it further.

Oakington Manor proposal to become an academy - parents' view sought by teacher unions

COME TO THE MEETING ON MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER

The Governors of Furness and Oakington Manor are looking at becoming a multi academy trust. The Unions have sent in a response stating why there should not be an academy trust and asking for an extension to the consultation. We are particularly concerned about this as the Oakington Brent Audit Report of June 2015 said, ‘weaknesses in the system of internal controls’ … ‘put the client’s (school’s) objectives at risk’. It goes further; ‘The key areas of weaknesses related to high value expenditure, income administration, stock management and pension administration’.

Brent insisted on a proper bidding procedure and due diligence regarding ‘high value expenditure’. This is entirely proper. For the Governors to say this as a reason for NOT wanting to stay with the LA is entirely inappropriate. Staff in both schools have asked lots of questions and are waiting for answers. Oakington staff were told to be quiet by the Chair of Governors at their meeting to discuss the proposal. Parents were not happy with the proposal at the parents meeting. Will it help or hinder your child’s education? Analysis of primary school results indicates that academy conversion actually slows progress.                                 

Open Meeting for staff, parents, governors, councillors and community to discuss

What is going on and why?

Monday 7^th December at 6.15 pm

Tokyngton Community Centre

St Michael’s Avenue, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 6SA

Let parents and staff have their say on whether the school should become an academy. A full debate to hear both sides of the argument and then a secret ballot for staff and parents.

There should be an opportunity for a proper debate with both sides of the argument for and against an academy being equally presented to staff and parents. This should be followed by a properly conducted independently overseen secret ballot, with the same information included. This is the only way that parents and staff’ views can definitely be known.

All welcome. Bring other parents. Ask your councillors to come. You can bring your children

Hank Roberts, ATL National Past President and Brent Branch Secretary Email: hankr@hotmail.com Mobile for Jean: 07843282450

Lesley Gouldbourne, Brent Teachers Association (NUT) Secretary Email: lesley18g@gmail.com

WE SAY NO ACADEMY AT OAKINGTON. WHAT IS YOUR VIEW?

COME TO THE MEETING ON MONDAY 7^TH DECEMBER at 6.15pm

Parents call for support as teachers strike again at St Andrew and St Francis Primary against forced academisation

Teachers will be strking again on Tuesday March 24th and Wednesday Match 25th at St Andrew and St Francis Cof E Primary School in Willesden.  This time parents ahve issued their own letter supporting the action against forced academisation.

The teachers' letter to parents says:

How much does the IEB presently running St Andrew and St Francis school care about parents and what they think? The answer is not at all.

We offered to call off further strike action if they were prepared to have a proper democratic ballot of parents to find out if they wanted the school to be forced to become an academy OR NOT. But the IEB refused. We again said the unions would pay for the ballot. The IEB still refused.

Parents have told us that the reason most parents did not take part in the original IEB so called consultation is because they did not get enough information to make a decision one way or the other. They were given no arguments why a forced academy was a bad idea. It was not made clear that the Government was forcing St Andrew and St Francis to become an academy.

Parents are now more aware as they have been given the arguments against and so have heard both sides of the argument. Well over 300 parents so far have signed the petition against an academy. If you haven’t yet signed please do.

Further reasons to say NO to an academy are:

.        1)  “Parents are sidelined from all important decisions from saying whether the school 
should convert to the running of the academy”. (All Party Select Committee Jan 2015) 


.        2)  “Nearly half academy trusts have paid millions of pounds in public money towards 
the private businesses of directors, trustees and relatives”. (Nat: Audit Office 2014) 


.        3)  Despite the government promoting academies only 20% of schools have converted. 
That’s why the government is forcing schools to become academies. 

 


The next strike will be for two days on Tuesday 24th March and Wednesday 25th March. We deeply regret the disruption to your child’s education but strike action is not undertaken lightly and, as we said in our last leaflet, is very much the last resort.

Teachers have the future of your child’s education at heart. The IEB clearly does not, as otherwise they would have agreed to a staff and parents’ ballot.

We still demand an independently overseen secret ballot of parents so that you are given a proper say in the future of your child’s education. We also demand that they include an elected staff and parent representative on the IEB. So far they have said NO.

Please join us on Tuesday 24^th outside the school in Belton Rd between 8.15 and 8.45

Bring your own placards, whistles, drums etc.

LET’S MAKE A NOISE AND SAY NO TO AN ACADEMY!

This is the letter from the parents to other parents at the school: