School budgets under pressure

Brent Council has written to local schools regarding budgets over the next few years. It is clear that there are difficulties ahead in terms of maintaining staffing and resourcing and  therefore the overall quality of provision:

The current economic climate and government announcements point to the fact that cash-flat funding settlements are likely to continue for schools over the foreseeable future. I would like to alert all schools of the need to construct budgets for at least the next 3 years on the assumption of cash flat settlements in order to identify any financial difficulties over the short and medium term.

The DfE requires under the Schools Financial Value Standard, that schools should be producing a 3 year budget forecast. Ideally, you should be using some kind of budget forecasting tool, to highlight any potential deficit issues, so that governors can start to implement, at the earliest opportunity, any possible cost reductions that may be necessary to maintain a balanced budget. If at any time you think there may potentially be deficit issues at your school, then you should contact the Schools Finance Team.

Vote for the 'People's Pain in the The Arse"!

With Jenny Jones in Wembley

I hope that whatever party you support you will outcome and vote today despite the dismal weather Our democracy, with all its faults, has been hard-fought for and we cannot afford to let it slip through our fingers in such difficult times.

This is my last opportunity to answer a couple of questions that have come up during the campaign.

One obvious one is what can one Green councillor out of 63 councillors do?  A good place to start my answer is to tell you what our Labour councillors have said about me. Apparently they think I am a 'pain in the arse' because of the campaigns I have been involved in (against the closure of libraries and nurseries, the redevelopment of Willesden Green without proper consultation, lack of a strategic plan for primary school provision, and the spurious leafleting licensing scheme, to name but a few). If that is what earns the title 'pain in the arse' then I retort: "I am the people's pain in the arse", much more fun than being the people's princess.

However, the clue in their perception is that I ask awkward questions, insist on full disclosure, and want proper debate on controversial issues and this I will be able to pursue as an independent Green councillor. Not so much a pain in the arse as a rocket up the backside of this complacent council.

A telling comment was made by a member of the Executive when I encountered them on a rainy day canvassing on Barn Hill. I was chatting in a friendly way to a younger member of the Labour Party when the Exec member came up and said, "Do you realise he's the Opposition". I swear I could hear the capital 'O' in her voice along with the definite article.. With no Lib Dem standing and a lacklustre and nearly invisible campaign by the Conservatives, who appear to be relying on automatic support from their traditional supporters 'on the Hill', this is true in the context of the by-election. However, it is also true in a broader sense as the Greens in Brent have consistently, week after week, issue after issue, been the most vocal opposition to the Labour Council's attacks on local people and their services and nationally the lone voice of Caroline Lucas has consistently challenged Coalition policies.

As I am also able to work with others on common issues I will work constructively, as other Green councillors do across the country, on proposing sensible policies on issues such as environment, support for local businesses and high streets, public transport, cycling, crime, education and training and employment.

If you vote for the Labour candidate you will be voting for the 40th Labour councillor out of the 63 member council. His election will make no difference whatsoever to how the council runs things. Because of the Labour group's rigid control from the top and the cabinet structure which gives all power to the Executive he will have little influence, along with other backbenchers, on policy and will be expected to rubber stamp Executive decisions.

He will be limited to casework, taking up individual residents' concerns and having a say on the spending of Ward Working funds. Without being on the council, Greens already do that, and I have extensive casework experience from previous work as a trade union representative and working with families in need when I was a primary headteacher.

We need a Green breakthrough locally and this is a chance for Barnhill voters to make a difference.

 I am now off to do a final round of leafleting...

VOTE GREEN ON ORANGE TOMORROW

AND IF YOU LIVE IN BRENT'S BARNHILL WARD

VOTE MARTIN FRANCIS - GREEN PARTY

The Orange Ballot Paper is the most important one in the GLA election.  It is based on proportional representation so EVERY VOTE COUNTS.  The more votes we get on that list the more Green Assembly members we get to influence and hold to account whoever is elected Mayor.

"We're going on a Gove hunt, what a beautiful day, we're not scared!"

Michael Rosen, broadcaster and writer, publishes an entertaining blog HERE as well as monthly letters in the Guardian.


This one LINK is particular relevant as some Brent schools consider converting to academies:

Dear Mr Gove,

 Letter from a curious parent

I know you're proud of your policy of creating academies, but something happened on 23 April that pressed my panic button. You told the Commons education select committee that eight academy schools have been served with "pre-warning notices" because they are severely underperforming. I immediately thought, how come? Aren't academies the solve-all, the system that will rid us of "underperforming" schools? For the record, let's say it out loud: we now know that academies can and do fail. Perhaps, though, I should suspend my judgment, because the great advantage of the academy system is that the moment something goes wrong, the parents' complaints will be heard and the secretary of state will be on to it?

Let's look closer. First, we're not allowed to know what or where these academies are. With local authority schools, we have accountability and transparency with online Ofsted reports, sometimes followed by local newspaper headlines and TV fly-on-the-wall documentaries, but with academies, we have the schools that dare not speak their name. And we have the academy accounts that dare not be made public.

Even so, should I have confidence that the matter is being handled competently? It doesn't seem so. The education select committee chairman, Graham Stuart, tried to work out whose job it was to deal with what parents think about these underperforming academies. Was it the Young People's Learning Agency – now closed – where parents with children in local authority schools used to go with their complaints, or perhaps the Education Funding Agency?

No one in the world, least of all you, seemed to know. When some parents (who are presumably under some kind of gagging order to not reveal where this is going on) called the YPLA, they were told this wasn't in its remit. The Special Education Consortium seems to have approached the EFA to find out if this was in its remit. Nope. The EFA said that dealing with complaints about academies wasn't its problem either. I'm sure you would agree that it's a shame these parents can't talk to the press about their frustrations in this matter.

The problem was: it was no one's problem. Not the YPLA's, not the EFA's, not yours. It's not good enough, is it? In fact, it's a scandal. Can I make an observation? Over the last 20 years, your predecessors and you have been very keen to point the finger at what they say are "underperforming" schools. You have even taken action to force through a conversion job, turning a "failing" local authority school into a seemingly un-fail-able academy (not so un-fail-able, huh?). Yet when we look at your own process of governance, we find it's underperforming. It's not enabling parents' complaints to be heard. That makes it not fit for purpose. What's more, you didn't know about it. You're underperforming as well.

That to one side, should we be confident these academies will improve? All we hear from you is that if things don't get better, "action" will be taken. What is this action? I read this week that you're very keen to up the involvement of the Church of England in education. Perhaps you have a plan up your sleeve where clerics from areas where congregations have shrunk could be redeployed taking over failing academies?

While we're on religion, can I ask you about the Bibles? I have a clear memory of you saying that you were going to put Bibles in every school. Did you buy the Bibles? If not, why not? Alternatively, if you did buy the Bibles, where are they? In a self-storage depot? I can see them now: thousands of brand-new Bibles jammed into steel boxes in Safestore just off the A1 near Biggleswade. Maybe they're waiting for your team of CofE recruits. And how much is it all costing? I do hope it's not another case of underperforming.

Leaflet Licence Call In motion published

The Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee will now be held at a later date due to a technical issue regarding the timing.

This is the Liberal Democrat motion:

Item heading 11. Control of distribution of free literature on designated land

Reason(s)

(1) The report does not quote the relevant passage of the act, nor explain that interpretation of the act would be a matter for the courts.

(2) The report does not explain the evidence base for the problem. There should be a context paragraph explaining why they think the problem will get so much worse, why existing measures are inadequate and what action other London boroughs are taking.

(3) The report should either time limit these powers or make explicit that they are being requested permanently. At the moment the report implies they are just for the Olympic period from the way it is worded.

(4) The issue of enforcement, in particular the circumstances which would lead to action by council officers, is unclear.

(5) Equalities issues are dealt with inadequately: for example many small businesses in Brent are owned by members of particular ethnic minorities and small non-commercial group which are not charities or political organisations may be disproportionately affected given the level of fees proposed.

(6) The report does not sufficiently make clear whether small organisations which are not charities or political organisations and do not cause litter will be compelled to take out licenses and risk fines. 

Actions the Executive could take:

Clarify how the controls will be enforced and who they will affect.

Consider whether further information is needed about the equalities impacts of the decision

Recommend that if the council goes ahead with the proposal it should consult on and adopt a code of practice for enforcement of the controls, including guidance as to how officers will use their discretion, particularly in the case of small unlicensed distributors (commercial and non-commercial) who are not causing littering.

Lib Dems request Call In of Leaflet Licensing Plans

Alison Hopkins, new elected Liberal Democrat councillor for Dollis Hill and several other Lib Dem councillors have requested a Call In of the proposals to license the distribution of leaflets and flyers in designation streets in the borough.

If successful the Call In would be heard at the Call In, Overview and Scrutiny Committee scheduled for Wednesday May 9th.

Look out for lost Liverpool supporters this weekend

It looks as if we will be seeing lots of coaches in Wembley on Saturday for the FA Cup Final or lots of lost Liverpool fans trying to find their way home after this statement from the British Transport Police:

Virgin Trains is warning Liverpool football fans that there are no realistic options for return train travel from London after the FA Cup Final on Saturday 5 May. 

Major route improvement works by Network Rail over the Bank Holiday weekend will mean extensive route closures.

Passengers from Liverpool to London on Saturday 5 May will need to travel via Manchester or Chester, or use Stoke-on-Trent station but the decision by the Football Association for a 17:15 kick-off means there are no options for fans to return north the same day after the game.

With the route out of London closed on Sunday 6 May, the earliest that fans could return to Liverpool would be on Monday 7 May.

A Virgin Trains spokesman said: "We always try and help football fans get to and from matches on our network, and did this very successfully for Everton and Liverpool supporters travelling to the semi-final. However, on this occasion, as we explained to the FA, the choice of both a 17:15 kick off and the staging of the FA Cup Final on a Bank Holiday weekend when Network Rail had already planned essential route improvement works means we cannot offer fans the level of train service they have come to expect."

There appear to have been no advance warning to fans from the police, Brent Council,  the FA or Wembley Stadium about the street drinking ban as there was for the the semi-finals. On that occasion the police turned a blind eye to the public drinking but the late kick off on Saturday gives more than 4 hours extra drinking time compared with that much earlier kick off.

Now Kilburn Library to close for 16 weeks

Following the closure of half our libraries and just before the closure of Willesden Green Library for redevelopment Kilburn Library is to close for refurbishment for more than three months.

The Council's press release appears to be a cut and paste job - spot where they have got their libraries mixed up:

Kilburn Library will be closing for refurbishment from Monday 21 May 2012 until Sunday 9 September 2012. During this time the library will be redecorated and redesigned, with a brand new children's library, heating, lighting, furniture and extra computers installed.

The library is scheduled to reopen on Monday 10 September 2012.

Customers wanting to renew their items can do this by phoning our automated 24 hour service on 0115 929 3388 (these calls are charged at a national rate) or by renewing online.

The nearest libraries to Ealing Road are:

• Willesden Green Library
• Harlesden Library Plus.

During the exams study period from Monday 21 May until Friday 6 July 2012, study spaces will be available at BACES Carlton Centre, Granville Road, Kilburn NW6 5RA. The centre will also have internet and wi-fi facilities.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.