Labour campaigns on housing at scene of their 'No Common People' development crime

It seems rather inappropriate for Brent Labour Party to set up a stall this Saturday coming outside Sainsbury's in Willeasden Green to campaign over housing. They will be accompanied by Claude Moraes MEP and other candidates for the European elections.

Claude and his friends would do well to pop along the road to the building site which used to be the Willesden Green Library. Brent  Labour Council gave away the land to developers who are building luxury flats in exchange for a small cultural centre.

The agents marketing the flats in Singapore boasted in their advertising (in case foreign buyers should be tainted by the poor) that none of the flats were affordable housing or for key workers. LINK

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.

Last chance to ensure it's not 'Last Orders' for the Queensbury Pub

 
Message from Save the Queensbury campaign

Planning officers are recommending that The Queensbury is demolished. A decision will be made on Weds 12th March.

If you submitted an objection to the planning application to demolish the Queensbury you will receive a letter (or may have already received one) from Brent Council. Unfortunately the recommendation of planning officers is to approve the plans – but this is just a recommendation, the final decision will be made by the elected councillors who sit on the Planning Committee. The planners’ report with its recommendation can be found here. Its a long report, we’re still reading and digesting it but there is plenty in it to challenge.

There are 2 important dates:

Saturday 8 March: At approx 11.15am the Planning Committee will visit The Queensbury for a site visit. Your presence is also requested so that they see the strength of feeling in the community. This is not a demonstration (only one of us will be allowed to address the committee at the end of the visit) but home made signs and banners will be welcome. Be as creative as you like!

Weds 12 March: The decision will be made at the Planning Committee meeting which takes place at 7pm at Brent Civic Centre (directions here). Again your presence is needed.
Anyone wanting to travel together to the Planning Committee meeting on 12th March should meet at Willesden Green station at 6.15pm

Please support this last effort to Save the Queensbury. Too much has already been lost to developers in Willesden Green and this building and what goes on inside is a vital community asset.

6 out of 10 Brent pupils get offer from their first preference secondary school

Brent Year 6 pupils heard yesterday if they had received an offer of a place from their  preferred secondary school.  Parents can indicate up to 6 preferences  in order. The picture is somewhat complicated in Brent by the fact that the Gateway and Gladstone Secondary Free Schools are still taking applications through their own admissions system.

This is the situation regarding Brent, with its adjacent boroughs and the London Average for comparison:

LA	1st preference offers %	2nd  %	3rd %	4th %	5th %	6th %	Not offered any pref
Brent	64.88	14.79	7.52	3.54	1.25	0.75	7.25
Barnet	71.66	13.26	5.41	2.04	1.01	0.60	6.02
Camden	62.22	19.18	7.76	2.82	0.77	0.51	6.74
Ealing	65.33	16.27	6.47	2.73	1.45	1.08	6.66
Hamm’th	58.45	16.57	7.73	4.33	1.95	1.02	9.95
Westminster	58.42	15.56	9.69	5.70	2.47	0.60	7.56
London Av	69.08	14.88	6.10	2.73	1.42	0.55	5.24

The 7.25% of pupils who did not receive an offer from any of their preferred schools are likely to be offered places at Crest or Copland.

There is still much uncertainty over children offered places at Gladstone and Gateway which have still not acquired school sites six months before they are due to open. Michaela has a building but no work has yet started on its refurbishment.

Pickles puts shock 'Stop Notice' on Brent Cross development

The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood development  is celebrating the shock news that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, has issued an Article 25 so-called “stop notice” preventing Barnet council from granting  planning permission, entering into any agreement or passing any resolution that could influence the site’s planning status without ministerial authorisation.

Coalition co-ordinator Lia Colacicco said:

I had to pinch myself when I saw the email.   Since 2010 the presumption has been to pass everything, so this was a welcome surprise. Many of us wrote to Eric Pickles asking him to call in BXC for a public inquiry given its impact for miles around– and our MP Sarah Teather and Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, also wrote regarding the disbenefits to Brent which have been ignored. We mentioned irregularities in the process, public transport, TfL’s objections, the loss of Cricklewood’s only green space and other green spaces in the wider area, and the selective use of transport assessments.  But above all the impact on the surrounding  areas, particularly the 29,000 extra cars a day.

We deplore the loss of the promised street layout in this new 'town centre', and its last-minute replacement by a bog-standard indoor shopping centre. We also are horrified by the 'secret' new basement voids, that can be quietly turned over to yet another three layers of car parking.  

We have been calling this a dinosaur development because it was conceived in the 1990s - and it shows. There is nothing exciting, visionary or futuristic about it, only basic sustainability measures – just the highest density most profitable option.   North Londoners deserve something exceptional. This is a huge victory for us and our dream of a public inquiry is one step closer.

The group are now hoping that the Secretary of State will reject the recent amendments and call a Public Inquiry. The group is at pains to point out that they are pro regeneration, and pro new homes but against the recent amendments and the missed opportunity to spend some of the £200m planning gain money on better public transport, including possibly light-rail (trams or DLR) for the area.

 The Campaigners

The “Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan” comprises twelve residents’ associations plus the Federation of Residents’ Associations in Barnet (representing the 12 largest residents’ associations in Barnet), Brent Cyclists, the North West London Light Railway (NWLLR) group, Brent Friends of the Earth (FoE), Barnet & Enfield FoE, Camden FoE, Sarah Teather (MP for Brent Central), Dawn Butler, (former MP for Brent South), Labour and LibDem Councillors from Brent and Camden, Navin Shah (London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow), Darren Johnson (London Assembly Member), Jean Lambert (London MEP), Brent Green Party, Barnet Green Party, Alexis Rowell, (former Chair of Camden Sustainability Taskforce), Brent and Barnet Trades Union Councils, and Bestway Group. Plus several councillors.

The Coalition web site is at: http://www.brentcrosscoalition.blogspot.com/

Copland appoints 6th head in 5 years out of the Ark

Guest blog by 'Antediluvian' 

Having earlier had to extend the job application deadline by 2 weeks for reasons which can only be guessed at, Copland has now found a new head teacher for September when the school is scheduled to be taken over by Ark Schools, an academy chain.   The new head, currently a primary head at Wembley Ark, will work with the associate head designate, Delia Smith, currently head of Wembley Ark (and who she already works with), and is a product of the Future Leaders programme which was  co-founded by  Ark.  (Previous Future Leaders products at Copland  have been very impressive in their ability to spout the standard nostrums about passion, driving change, transformative visions, making a difference etc  etc, though not sufficiently impressive to conceal an absence  of both independent thought  and, it has to be said, emotional  intelligence. It has been remarked before that, if these are going to be the Leaders  then the Future doesn’t look too bright).

The announcement by Ark of the appointment of an Ark-trained Ark product as the new Ark head is likely to increase staff concern that this year’s  ‘staff reorganisations’ (4 so far and more to come),  the decimation of the 6^th form and  the introduction of the new, unattractive slimline Austerity Curriculum are part of a planned  near-complete purging of staff and students preparatory to a running  down of the school while the new building is erected.  In this 2 year interim period,  radical Arkification  can be expected in which any grizzled old Copland diehards will be got rid of to allow re-stocking  with young, compliant, conformist and obedient  Ark-product teachers in preparation for the phoenix-like ‘re-opening’ in 2016. After this, unless the school intake radically alters, expect a new Ark school name, an aspirational new Ark uniform, enhanced verbiage levels,  an embarrassing ‘vision statement’, rapid staff turnover ( termed  ‘teaching unit refreshment’) and  ultimately  a possible  slight improvement in exam results, ( yes I know there is no evidence that academies in general or Ark in particular have any beneficial effect on educational standards,  but doesn’t that contrast piping on the blazer lapels look classy! ). 

Things look grim indeed and with the recent biblical weather, the country plagued with floods and even a film called Noah currently playing in cinemas, it might seem that a certain school brand’s time has come and any resistance is futile. However, Copland teachers should take the longer view and find solace in the fact that, despite countless exhaustive searches over many years in and around the Mount Ararat area, there has never ever been found  any remaining  vestige, trace, remnant, scrap or relic of anything remotely resembling an  Ark.  

(‘And the redundancy notices went out two by two, two by two, two by two………..’)

Brent Council approves £18m budget cuts and HS2 action

Brent Labour Councillors last night unanimously voted for a budget incorporating £18m cuts amidst Liberal Democrat protests against what they saw as an unconstitutional use of  a procedural motion to limit debate.

Moving the budget Labour Leader Muhammad Butt attacked the Coalition for cutting local government funding and justified the budget on 'dented shield grounds' arguing that he would not repeat the mistakes made by Labour Councils in the 70s by bringing in administrators unsympathetic to local concerns.

The Lib Dems put forward an amendment that put forward additional expenditure on libraries (to fund working  with volunteers), highways, parking, street cleaning, festivals, school crossing patrols and providing a 50% discount to special constables - to be funded by cutting some senior staffing costs and ward working and using reserves to fund one-off spending.

The Council's proposal to petition parliament on HS2 was approved although Cllr George Crane said there was a 'strong possibility' that HS2 would rescind compulsory purchase orders in South Kilburn. The Council would continue with its action until the HS2 move was confirmed. Crane added a further recommendation to the report which covered regular consultation and updating with South Kilburn residents. Representatives of residents had been denied the opportunity to speak at the Executive.

Greens issue radical education challenge to 3 main parties

Regular readers will realise I have been away for a few days. I have been in Liverpool for the Green Party Conference where we debated Education policy on Saturday:

The Green Party has sharply differentiated its education policy from that of the three main political parties in revisions adopted at the weekend.

Moving the revisions I said:

The neoliberal project is based on the premise of unlimited growth and unrestrained exploitation of the earth’s resources and sees society purely in terms of the market, competition, private acquisition and consumerism. This leads to the marketisation of education through the privatisation of schools, erosion of democratic accountability and the narrowing of the curriculum policed by testing and Ofsted.

Our rejection of this model enables us to put forward an education policy that is child-centred and provides everyone with the knowledge and skills to live a fulfilled life, restores local democratic accountability, teachers’ professional autonomy and children’s right to a childhood.

The revised policy that was overwhelmingly approved with only two or three votes against commits the Green Party to:

·        Abolish the current SATs and the Year 1 Literacy Screening Test and rigid age-related benchmarking

·        Recognise the great variance in children’s development in the early years and the need to offer developmentally appropriate provision including the important role of play in early learning

·        Strengthen the role of local authorities in terms of funding and the enhancement of their democratic accountability

·        Oppose free schools and academies and integrate them into the local authority school system

·        Restore the right of local authorities to build new schools where they are needed

·        Adopt an admissions policy that recognises every child and young person’s entitlement to access a fair, comprehensive and equal education system, regardless of their background

·        Embrace a diverse range of educational approaches within that system

·        Replace Ofsted with an independent National Council of Educational Excellence which would have regional officers tasked to work closely with LAs. The National Council would be closely affiliated with the National Federation for Educational Research (NFER)

·        Ensure every child in the state funded educational system is taught by a qualified teacher

·        Reject performance related pay

Existing policy on the Curriculum which replaces the National Curriculum with a series of ‘Learning Entitlements remains unaltered.

Commenting after the policy changes were adopted I said:

We know that many despair of the current policies of Michael Gove and Tristram Hunt’s pale imitation and the great and reckless damage they are doing to the education system, teachers’ morale and children’s well being. We have clearly set out an alternative vision that replaces competition with cooperation, coercion with partnership, and fragmentation with cohesion.