A political slant on Gladstonbury Festival

The only time these politicians are popular

Cllrs Butt, Mashari and Hirani do the rounds

A run up to pelt Cameron with wet sponges

An unnatural political relationship

DfE's most expensive Free Schools

From Education Investor LINK

 DfE figures reveal England's most expensive free schools

The Department of Education (DfE) has given new free schools almost £60 million in extra funding to support them to the end of their first year, figures published over the weekend revealed.

 

This money is in addition to both per pupil revenue funding, and to the capital used to acquire sites for new schools.

 

The figures, published following a ruling by the Information Commissioner, cover 77 open schools, as well as 10 which were withdrawn from the programme. 

 

They show that the government spent £20 million on schools before they opened. This includes £441,000 in funding given to schools that never opened at all.

 

In addition, the government provided £40 million in "post-opening funding". The DfE said the money was required to "cover essential initial costs, such as buying books and equipment; and to meet the costs arising as the school builds up its cohorts over time".

 

The figures also showed a wide variation in the distribution of such funding. 

 

On average, each school received around £770,000. But a handful received only £25,000, while one – Reach Academy Feltham – received more than £2 million.

 

A few weeks ago the government also updated the document revealing capital spending on free schools.

 

It showed that the first 23 such schools to open had required £85.8 million to acquire sites, an average of £3.8 million per school.

 

The most expensive had been King Science Academy, which had required £10.5 million in capital funding, as well as £1.2 million in extra revenue funding. 

 

Bristol Free School, meanwhile, had also topped the £10 million mark, requiring £9.6 million in capital and £743,000 in pre- and post-opening revenue funding.

Grant whistle blower Snowden asylum say European Greens

The recent revelations about the borderless spying activities against so-called friend EU countries and their institutions by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the British secret service must lead to a rapid political response according to European Greens.

Rebecca Harms and Dany Cohn-Bendit, Co-Presidents of the Greens/EFA group in the European parliament want to use the debate and resolution already scheduled for next week's Strasbourg plenary session to launch an investigation.

Commenting on the revelations, Rebecca Harms said:

"A special committee of the EU parliament must be launched immediately. We must not postpone the decision to after the summer break. The EU should cancel the agreements on Swift and PNR with the US. Before starting negotiations on a future trade agreement (TTIP) with the US, we need a debate about the infringement of international law by PRISM and Tempora. The last few days have shown how urgently we need an international agreement on data protection."

Daniel Cohn-Bendit added:

"Whistleblower Snowden has stood up for human and civil rights, especially those of European citizens. Granting him asylum now is a question of European values.. To leave him stuck in limbo in a no-man's land is ignoble and damages the EU's image.

"We will propose Snowden for the European parliament's Sakharov prize."

Jewish support for Bin Veolia in Brent Campaign - the letter not published by local press

Neither the Kilburn Times nor the Wembley and Willesden Observer published a letter sent a few weeks ago on the issue of Veolia and the Brent Public Realm contract. In the light of the barring of discussion of a Lib Dem motion on the subject at the last Brent Council meeting and subsequent coverage in the Times of Israel LINK I publish the the letter below.

Despite a Freedom of Information request Brent Council have still not answered two of the three questions posed  LINK  They have confirmed that the three short-listed companies for the £250m 16 year contract are Veolia, Enterprise and Serco.

LETTER TO EDITOR Human rights and the public realm contract

We are writing to ask your readers to support our campaign to persuade Brent Council to act to defend justice and human rights. The Council is about to award a contract worth more than £250m over 16 years for the collection and recycling of waste, street cleaning and parks maintenance. This is  money paid in general taxation and council tax by Brent citizens that could go to a firm accused of grave misconduct in its abuse of justice and human rights in the occupied territories of Palestine.

 

Veolia, one of the  bidders  for the contract supports Israeli settlements  on Palestinian  land, which are illegal under international law, by:

 

1. Sharing in the building and running of the Jerusalem Light Railway between West Jerusalem and the illegal settlement in Pisgat Zeev.
2. Running bus routes that link illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to Israel and that discriminates against Palestinians.
3. Owning and operating the Tovlan landfill site that dumps rubbish from Israel and its illegal settlements on to Palestinian land.

 

We have presented legal evidence on these issues to Brent Council in a campaign to persuade them to exclude Veolia from the current procurement on the grounds of its ‘grave misconduct’.

 

This included a statement from Richard Falk of the UN which said: “Veolia is an inappropriate partner for any public institution, especially as a provider of public services.”

 

However, Brent Council has gone ahead and short-listed Veolia, along with Serco and Enterprise for the contract. Council officers have refused to answer our questions on the procurement process the most important of which are:

 

1. Why did you decide not to exercise your discretionary power to exclude Veolia?

2. What legal or other advice led you to this decision?

3. Have the allegations of grave misconduct been put to Veolia and if so what was the response?

 

We think these are reasonable questions that deserve an answer. In a number of recent procurement cases Veolia has withdrawn from the bidding process when the third question has been put.

 

Our campaign is cross-party and community-based and involves people of many faiths and none. Readers can get involved by signing our petitions on line or on paper which are available at http://www.brentpsc.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Brent Council, representing a borough with a diverse population from many ethnic and religious backgrounds, should stand up for human rights and social justice and exclude Veolia from the procurement process.

 

Beryl  Maizels

Leon Rosselson

Sheila Robin

Jews for Justice for Palestinians on behalf of the Bin Veolia in Brent Campaign.

Mahmoud Sarsak's testimony should make Brent Council think again on the Veolia contract

Following the denial of  the Lib Dem's democratic right to put a motion on Veolia and Palestine at the Brent Council meeting on Monday there was an event that should make Brent's Labour councillors think again.

The Palestinian footballer and human rights campaigner Mahmoud Sarsak brought greetings from 'the people of Gaza under siege and Gazan prisoners and Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails' when he spoke to an attentive audience at the Willesden Green Pakistan Community Centre..

Mahmoud, whose hunger strike attracted international attention, said that the illegal occupiers of Palestine wanted to oppress and discredit any Palestinian talent in any field. Israel wanted persuade people that it was a cultured place in contrast to Palestine. Palestinians wanted to share their culture with other nations as a way of supporting their humanitarian cause.

He described the Israeli strategy as one of imprisonment, exile and ultimately death. Following his arrest on July 22nd 2009 when, replete with the necessary pass, he was crossing Israeli land to the West Bank to take up a place in a local football team, he was imprisoned.

Mahmoud described the prison as:

A graveyard for the living where they kill people's dreams 

He was placed in tiny cell and  interrogated  for 45 days and allowed very little sleep. Tortured both physically and psychologically he had been tied by arms and legs to a chair and subjected to 15 hours uninterrupted interrogation. One technique was to expose prisoners to extreme cold via an open refrigerator. He described how some prisoners fainted were then revived and returned to the freezing conditions, others made seriously ill were taken to hospital and after recovery returned for further interrogation.

Another technique was what Mahmoud referred to as 'the banana' after the shape made when hands were tied to legs and  and the prisoner left for hours. All this was an attempt to get prisoners to confess to what they hadn't done in order to justify the arrests to the international authorities.He said that he had been subject to other tortures but 'these were too ugly to speak about in a public meeting'.

Speaking calmly and with dignity, Mahmoud said. 'They tried to get me to confess but I hadn't done anything'. The detention by Israeli intelligence had taken place under 'illegal fighter' laws of the Israeli Justice system aimed at Lebanese and Hezbollah fighters which were not recognised internationally.

Mahmoud said that bizarrely the Israeli authorities wanted to convince people that he was not Palestinian and not a footballer - but a Lebanese fighter.

Pausing and surveying the hushed audience Mahmoud said, 'When you go to jail you are exposed to human suffering you would never imagine'.

He described how he had witnessed the interrogation and intimidation of 14 or 15 year old children which was clearly against international law. He said:

Children should be protected and enjoy childhood and an education. For Palestinian children it is a different story.

Remarking that children are resilient and would survive to have a future, Mahmoud said that older prisoners were neglected, became ill and were slowly dying. It was very painful to watch helplessly as your brothers slowly died, deprived of the painkillers that would have been available outside jail.

Mahmoud movingly described the death of his cellmate of 9 months from stomach cancer. He had called the doctor repeatedly but each time the doctor had said it was just 'stomach ache'.  After his death the Israeli media had said it was a case of suicide. A case of kidney disease had been refused admission to hospital and there was currently the case of a prisoner with abdominal cancer that was worrying Mahmoud because it appeared that the international community would not do anything to help the victim:

Mahmoud said:

Outside jail you hear stories...inside you see them. You are treated as a number. You have no right to a family or care. No right to socialise. Some prisoners have been in solitary confinement for 11 or 14 years without ever talking to another human being.

After seeing this with my own eyes I had to do something myself. Not just sit - I had to act. This is where the story of my hunger strike began.

When I started comparing my freedom outside with my life inside jail I had to decide whether to live in jail without dignity and probably die or die with dignity. I decided I had no choice but to go on hunger strike, especially when denied the truth.  

I nearly lost my health but nothing compared (after his release) with getting my freedom and seeing my mother again. 

Despite what the international community knew about Israel's abuse of human rights, including bombing football stadia in Gaza in 2009 and 2012, its apartheid against its own citizens and restrictions on who Palestinian teams can play, Uefa had 'rewarded' Israel with the right to hold the Under 21s event, Mahmoud told the audience.

He had taken part in the campaign to 'Show Israel the Red Card' to stop Israel holding the Under 21 finals, as a footballer and a humanitarian, using many strategies and trying to explain the history behind the issue. Since the 1917 Balfour Declaration Palestine has been bleeding. The UK and USA have helped Israel extend their state on Palestinian land and 'denied us our freedom, culture and heritage'.

Israel was trying to kill hope amongst the young and talented but this will not work -  hope can never be killed. Mahmoud  said 'the world has forgotten not just me but 5,000 prisoners' and cited the example of Norway's actions as one that other countries should follow.

As chair of the meeting I thanked Mahmoud saying:

As long as there are courageous, empathetic and insightful people like you to testify, hope will never be killed. I hope your message will be heard not just in this small community centre but throughout the world. We are privileged to have heard you speak this evening.

Brent Lib Dems protest at being gagged by Brent council officers

Press release from Brent Lib Dems:

 In an unprecedented move Brent councillors were on Monday (24 June) blocked from discussing a properly tabled motion put forward by Liberal Democrat councillors.

The motion, proposed by Willesden Green councillor Ann Hunter, sets out concerns about Veolia’s activities supporting Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory which are considered by the United Nations to violate international law. Veolia has a record of building and operating a tramway and bus services which discriminate against Palestinian residents.

Veolia is currently on the shortlist for Brent’s public realm contract. If successful the company will receive tens of millions of pounds to run waste and recycling, street cleaning, grounds maintenance and burial services on behalf of Brent Council and BHP.

The Liberal Democrats want the council to be able to take into account the record of companies which are involved in violations of human rights when deciding who to give business to.

Brent Council already takes a stance on ethical issues when procuring some supplies – for example it has decided to be a Fair Trade borough and encourage the purchase of fair trade goods. The Liberal Democrat group believes it is a logical extension of that principle that when buying services the council should be able to exclude companies who break international law or violate basic human rights.

Councillor Hunter said:

Earlier on Monday evening we honoured Nelson Mandela, a man with a great record of fighting discrimination, promoting truth and reconciliation, and an inspirational advocate  of freedom of speech. Mandela has always been utterly forthright in his condemnation of any system which divides people by race. That is what this man stands for and why we honour him.
 

In Brent we are proud to be a borough where residents from all different backgrounds live, work and travel together We are truly a rainbow borough.
 

Veolia shares in the building and running of services which Palestinian residents are not allowed to use. Just imagine if on our way into London we had to divide: Asians on one bus or tube, White British on another, Jews on another and Afro-Caribbean residents on another. 
 

Of course, here that would be illegal. We should not put local taxpayers’ money into the pockets of companies which act in this way.

Councillor Paul Lorber, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, added:

I am shocked that council officials intervened to prevent us even discussing this issue. It has been lawfully debated elsewhere. Councillors are elected to speak out for the residents of Brent. If the Labour party or council officers wanted to put forward a different view they should have had the guts to do so in open debate instead of trying to stifle the democratic process.

Is this Ikea or the Civic Centre?

Brent Town Hall Council Chamber

Characteristically, as befits their attitude to Brent's heritage, councillors barely registered that Monday's Council Meeting was the last to be held at Brent Town Hall (formerly Wembley Town Hall) before the move to the Civic Centre.

The ballroom dancers having their last dance at the Town Hall on the same evening seemed more aware of the significance of the occasion and I encountered several couples later that night, in dishevelled finery, swaying gracefully, if rather tipsily as they went home from the Paul Daisley Hall for the last time.

I had a look behind the scenes today at the councillors new quarters and I must confess that the Ikea style furnishings seemed to lack solidity compared with the oak wood panelling and aged wooden desks of the old Town Hall.

The great atrium and imposing staircase of the Civic Centre lead through to halls and offices in 'the drum' which have an overall colour scheme of grey and actually seemed quite poky in comparison with the Town Hall. The grey, spotted carpet, in the councillors' office area, already looked grubby and stained in places, but is perhaps awaiting an industrial deep clean. The Council Chamber carpet is  a rather loud turquoise.

The Civic Centre Conference Room/Council Chamber - councillors' offices are behind the translucent panels

There is no public gallery as such but these are seats for officers and public

The replacement for the Paul Daisley Hall - ballroom dancing?

Into the grey zone - a committee room

The Labour Group's Office

The Mayor's Parlour

There is also a sort of members' common room furnished with armchairs but little else at present. I have only seen the staff offices from a distance but I am sure for many workers this will represent an improvement in working conditions compared with the old buildings they have vacated, and that is to be welcomed. The hot desking does not appear to be popular and open plan offices with the boss sitting amongst the workers may not be to the taste of some.

There will be a live video feed of council meetings but I hope that will not mean a restriction on the public being able to sit in the council chamber to observe meetings in progress. The broadcasts are unlikely to challenge the supremacy of East Enders although there is potential for Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala to become a cult hero on the internet.

The Wembley Library was a welcome centre of colour and activity and some students I spoke to liked it but were worried about the difficulty of getting there compared with the Town Hall Library. They also lobbied for sound barrier glass between the main library and the children's library!

The food at the Melting Pot restaurant was tasty and reasonably priced but I was shocked when I asked for a glass of tap water to go with my lunch that 'We don't have tap water'. A Civic Centre that boasts its green credentials must surely rectify that as soon as possible if it is to escape ridicule.

Christine Gilbert to head up Brent Education Commission as school improvement changes take place

Last week I briefly attended the farewell party for eighteen or so people who are leaving Brent's School Improvement Service, including Faira Ellks who has led the service for many years. Some had accepted early retirement, others redundancy, some have set up a consultancy and a few had been employed by Brent schools who will sell their expertise, such as Reading Recovery,  to other schools..

As I looked on I reflected on the years of experience and expertise in the group that has done so much to improve Brent schools, that will be lost as a consequence of this cull. Yes, a core service will remain but its quality is uncertain and yes, Brent headteachers have formed a Brent Schools a Brent Schools Partnership to support each other, but its quality is untested.

Interestingly these concerns were echoed by Rebecca Matthews, the new interim head of School Improvement, at the Brent Governors Conference this week. She said that the BSP raised issues that include:

• lack of clarity on aspects such as accountability and leadership
• the capacity among senior leaders of schools to undertake the tasks involved
• the threat to a school's own standards when its senior leaders are engaged on collaborative activities with other schools
• measuring and evaluating the impact of such interventions
• engaging all schools so that they looked beyond themselves

As someone said at the farewell party, 'Schools won't know what they are missing until it is gone'.

Matthews also outlined the challenge of Ofsted's new emphasis on all schools being rated Good or Outstanding and the potential of a sudden drop in the rating of schools rated 'Good' under the old Ofsted criteria when inspected under the new framework, particularly if they had been coasting or facing new pressures since the previous Ofsted.

The authority itself faces the challenge of diminishing resources both human and financial which means a reduced core School Improvement team and the challenge of dealing with the mixed economy of school categories - maintained, academy, free - with lack of powers over the latter.

Rebecca Matthews said that as a consequence of diminishing resources a new core offer to schools would be made which would include:

• A closer focus on 'need' rather than a universal offer
• A lighter touch with 'secure' schools with the bulk of support going to schools in need of improvement
• Brokering school to school support arrangements
• Regular meetings to judge and recognise progress rather than once a year meeting
• An emphasis on the speed of improvement

To address the wider challenge facing the authority a short-term Education Commission for Brent would be set up. Interestingly in the light of the appointment of Sara Williams as acting director of Children and Families, this will be headed up not by her but by the council's Interim Chief Executive, Christine Gilbert (former head of Ofsted) and Robert Hill from the University of London Institute of Education. They would look at the context of the performance of Brent schools, examine inspection evidence, visit schools and take evidence from stakeholders, including governors. They would identify the 'scope for innovative support for improvement' and work with the BSP and Teaching Schools on a sustainable shared model.

The Commission will report in November 2013.

In a way this can be interpreted as the authority attempting to claw back responsibility for  school improvement from the group that set up the BSP. With Ofsted and the DfE focusing on the role of local authority's when their area's schools are under-performing the LA has to demonstrate that it is proactive.

Cllr Michael Pavey, lead member for Children and Families, had a Q&A session,  in a candid reply to a question from me why Camden had managed to keep the maintained sector intact but Brent hadn't, said that the authority had 'allowed the best schools to walk away' and now faced losing 'our failing schools because of government legislation'.  He repeated his belief that the imposition of an Interim Excutive Board and academisation was the only viable solution for Copland High School because it was failing its pupils and the local authority did not have the resources to support it.. When asked about how Copland had been allowed by the local authority to get into that state he said, 'I can't say. That was before my remit'.

Unfortunately the situation at Copland, and precisely that last question, is likely to put Brent Council's school improvement arrangements under the Ofsted and DfE microscope. However, it also raises questions about the government policy where foundation schools, academies and free schools have autonomy with reduced powers of direct intervention by the LA whilst that at the same time they have an overall responsibility for the education and well-being of children in the borough.

Pavey agreed with a governor who said that governors had not been involved in the development of the Brent Schools Partnership despite having a strategic responsibility for school improvement, and should be better represented on the Brent Schools Partnership.  Only one place on the headteacher dominated management committee has been allocated to governors.

Interestingly,in his workshop, Luca Salice, Vice Chair of Camden Schools Forum, discussed the imposition of  IEBs by the local authority, not as a way of bringing about academisation, as in the Copland case, but as a way of the LA preventing a school academising against the wishes of teachers and parents.