Copland students challenge councillors over ARK forced academisation

Copland students on the picket line

Around 400 Copland school students have signed a petition* to Brent councillors over the forced academisation of their school. A headteacher from the Ark stable has already been appointed. Copland was the last non-academy/non-faith secondary school left in the London Borough of Brent.

The petition states:

PETITION TO KEEP COPLAND A COMMUNITY SCHOOL

We believe it unfair that we have not been listened to regarding the future of our school. We do not want our school to be linked to Ark Academies, We believe that school requires more resources and more permanent teachers.

As Brent Green Party's spokesperson on Children and Families I fully support  the students' petition. It is not just school students who are denied a voice on forced academies but also school staff, parents and the local community.

This is the letter that accompanied the petition:

Dear Councillors,

I am a student at Copland School and I amk sending this petition on behalf of hundreds of students. Probably everyone in the school would have signed it but we did not have permisison to go around classes with it. As soon as Ofsted visited our school last year we collected a petition of hundreds of names and handed it to Brent Council. No-one admitted seeing the petition and so it was ignored, We have now collected hundreds of more of signatuires and this time we have photocopied it and are sending it to every councillor.

I am not including my name and address for I know that our teacheres have contacted all of the councillors but have received very few replies so you will probably not reply to me either and I am frightened of what would happen if ARK Academy found out that I write this letter.

I have some questions:

1. Is it fair that our last petition was ignored?
2.Will you do anything about this petition?
3. Is it fair that staff were sacked at Christmas and now we have no mentoring department at Copland?
4. Is it fair that staff were sacked at Christmas and now our school library is often closed? It even closes at lunch!
5. I know that Brent Council have closed down libraries in Brent. Is it fair that those of my fellow students who have no internet at home cannot do their homework?
6. Is it fair that over their holidays many of our teachers have been sent letters saying they will not be needed next year because there are no students to do their subjects and we will be told that we cannot do certain subjects next year because there will be no teachers for these subjects?
7. Is it fair that Ark Academy is already deciding which subjects we will not be allowed to study (Business, Drama, Media, Music, Photography etc etc)?
8. We are not interested in councillors saying that they want to do the best for us. Prove it. We have made it clear all along that we do not want to become an academy. Support us, our teachers and our parents to keep our school a Community School.
9. Why when our teachers went on strike for 6 days and we joined them on the picket line did we only see one councillor there to support us? We want to thank that one councillor.
10. Will you make it clear in public that you will help us to stop our school from being forced to become an academy?

Sincerely,

Copland Student

*Wembley Matters has seen copies of the petition and can vouch for its authenticity.

The human cost of out-sourcing: Justice for the 33

Some of the 33 sacked workers outside Wembley Central today

A demonstration was held today outside Wembley Central station for 33 agency workers employed by Railpeople who were given notice of the termination of their contracts just before Christmas. The agency deployed them in the Wembley Central Group on various duties for London Underground.  The workers had achieved  7 100% consecutive Customer Service marks during the Olympics and now their Olympic 'legacy' is loss of their jobs.

They were turned down for alternative permanent jobs with London Underground (doing the same kind of thing they were doing on short-term, zero hours, no pension contracts). Instead they employed people who hadn't doen the jobs before.  HT apparently told them that although they were good enough to do the jobs as agency staff they weren't good enough to work directly for London Underground.

When London Underground took control of the stations north of Queens Park in 2008 that the casualisation of the job, particularly the use of agency workers, lead to a dispute as a result of which LU assured the RMT that the use of agency staff would be temporary, lasting a maximum of six months. Some of the workers have been with Trainpeople agency for five years!

The RMT has taken up their case and are demanding that all LU trained station staff working for Trainpeople agency should be transferred over to LU without having to apply for the job,

Bob Crow of the RMT made an impassioned speech putting the sackings in the context of privatisation and austerity, Navin Shah AM  cited equality (all the 33 are members of ethnic minorities) as the big issue and promised to take the case up with London Underground, TfL and the Major, and Councillor Nana Asante from Harrow pledged her support.

However the speech that stayed with me was from one of the workers who spoke movingly about the real impact on her and the sense of bewilderment she felt.