Copland strike against redundancies well supported today

Copland Communuity school was closed today except for examinations in a joint union  strike over redundancies. Mick Lyons, Past NASUWT President, Stefan Simms, NUT Executive and Hank Roberts, ATL Immediate Past President congratulated the staff for their continuing to stand firm against ARK and for their colleagues and the pupils.

Brent Greens will fight for the restoration of local library provision

A member of the libraries campaign has suggested that I publish the speech I made at the Preston Library Campaign hustings last week. This is the gist of what I said:

I am speaking primarily as the Green Party spokesperson for children and families, because I am particularly concerned about the impact of the closures on young children. I did child care for a pupil of Preston Park Primary who used the library regularly, did her homework there and always felt secure with helpful staff available. But of course it is not just Preston Library but five others that have been closed.

 I have seen eager children arrive at Neasden Library, only to turn home crestfallen when they realised it was closed for good. Without internet access at home they were dependent on that library to use a computer for their homework.

 Libraries are important for book borrowing, homework and a social space but most importantly are  'local'  - where older children can visit independently, families drop in and elderly people access with ease.

Labour realised belatedly that t the closures were a mistake and this led to a change of leadership and recent attempts to recover lost ground. However the damage has been done and a 'fresh start' cannot make up for that.  We believe in publicly funded, properly staffed, local libraries and will fightfor the restoration of local library provision.

Greens care about the quality of life and not just the quantity of goods. This is important not just in terms of  libraries but in educational provision public spaces and housing where we intend to enhance everyone's quality of life rather than focus on acquisition of goods.

Greens have been consistent in their opposition to the library closures as can be seen from the videos we produced above and from this piece I wrote for 'Voices for the Library' back in January 2011 LINK:

I have been a member of a public library continuously since before I started school (in fact the old Kingsbury Library now replaced). When I move house joining the library is the first thing I do once the electricity and gas are connected and the furniture in. As one of a large family with parents unable to give me a lot of attention, the library was in a sense my home educator, and librarians actually quite important in encouraging me to widen my reading tastes. Without a library I think I would have not progressed much educationally.

Currently I see queues of young and older people outside the Town Hall Library, waiting for it to open, not all just to keep warm but somewhere they can advance their education. Library staff could probably tell you that young children use local libraries after school as a place to do their homework, but also an unofficial safe place to be picked up by their parents when they finish work.

A lot of the youngsters on the Chalkhill Estate use the library, encouraged by the school and by class visits, and there is also a high usage of the internet there, for learning but also for job seeking. This is essential if we are to tackle the gap between those who have access and those who do not. They are fortunate in being near a library not down for closure – although it will be less accessible when it is moved to the new Civic Centre.
However youngster who currently use Barham Park, Cricklewood, Neasden, Tokyngton, Kensal Rise and Preston libraries, all down for closure, will be less fortunate. The proposal for the remaining six libraries to be ‘community hubs’ with other council services located there does not replace the local accessibility of these small libraries.

Brent libraries are also the source of much cultural input including Black History Months events and other activities that bring a diverse community together including language and nationalist test classes. The Town Hall library is currently running a reading club for primary school children and others have homework clubs for children without access to books or computers at home. As the recession bites this will become even more important.

As Greens local libraries are important to because we believe in easily accessible community resources which do not involve car trips. A local library is a place where children of 10 and over can easily walk to on their own rather than rely on lifts from parents – this encourages one area of independence in a period where children are more and more dependent on adults with few opportunities for independent activity.
Libraries even save paper, and therefore trees, through multiple lending of one book rather than individual purchases of many books – and the authors get a steady source of income, albeit it small, from public lending rights.

Martin Francis
Brent Green Party spokesperson on Children and Families and school governor

Copland challenge under Equalities Act

The Anti-Academies working party at Copland Community School have sent the following letter to Muhammed Butt and Michael Pavey, councillors and representatives of the parties and independents contesting the local elections:

I am sending this letter on behalf of Copland’s Anti Academy Working Party. We believe that there has been a lack of proper consultation over the future of Copland Community School. We believe that the people who have been appointed by you to run our school do not have the interest of the children of Copland at heart. The running down of the school library is evidence of this but there are many more examples that we could give.

You chose people to run our school who do not represent our school community. We believe that what you have allowed them to do is in contravention of the Equal Opportunities Act of 2011 which states that “a public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it”. We believe that you and the Interim Executive Board (IEB) of Copland School have failed to do this.

We refer in particular to the Somalian Community at Copland School. No effort was made by the IEB to consult with this group. Our anti academy group translated our literature into Somalian and other languages but the IEB did not. When this was pointed out to them they belatedly put a notice on the school website saying that parents could use Google translate to read their literature. When they did this Google translate did not have the ability to translate into Somalian. We did translate our literature into Somalian and we have had support from Somalian parents and from a representative of the Somalian Community in Brent. 

The Equal Opportunities Act 2011 states that a public authority must “encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low”.  Neither you nor the IEB at Copland School did this. 

We have another proposal for Copland School. Lycamobile have expressed an interest in sponsoring our school. Their proposal is generous. The representatives of Lycamobile with whom we have met are more representative of the people of Brent that those who make up the IEB. We want all parents to be informed that there is another option for Copland School. We believe that our option will be more beneficial for the children of Copland School than ARK Academy. If you promise to have a fair vote and our proposal is not chosen we shall accept ARK Academy. If you do not then we shall consider legal action.

 

Mr Shyam Gorsia

Chalkhill kids get on their bikes as school invests in cycling

With safe cycling in Brent under scrutiny at the Brent Cyclists hustings tomorrow I though it  might be worthwhile to look at some positive things happening on the Chalkhill Estate.

Chalkhill Primary School has used 'Healthy Schools' money to buy bike and scooter storage:

There are two of these covered bike racks with helmet storage

Scooter rack

Sustrans have used their police connection to get some unclaimed stolen or abandoned bikes for the school and the school has spent a grant of £2,000 to buy 10-12 bikes for use by children without bikes.

The teacher in charge has trained in Cycling Profiency and there train chldren and others. He works with Sustrans on bike safety and there is a Dr Bike safety and repair service.

 Cycling Club runs before school every Wednesday. Children can use the large playground to improve their skills and control before other children arrive, The children who attend have named themselves the 'Bike-it Crew',

The school runs a special Bikers' Breakfast with a free breakfast, film and other events.

Cycling is also integrated into the sports and PE curriculun with children taking the bikes out for on and off road training.

Meanwhile 5 minutes up the road from the school additional cycling facilities are taking shape. The children were consulted by the designers of the facility which consists of a BMX track, family cycling track and a scooter course.

BMX track under construction in St David's Close

Part of the circular Family Bike Track

Brent Bikers & the Ballot Box: Hustings Wednesday 14th May in Wembley

Brent Cyclists, the local group of the London Cycling Campaign, are organising a public election hustings for candidates in the Brent Council elections, to take place at:

 

7pm on Wednesday 14 May at CVS Brent, 5 Rutherford Way, Wembley HA9 0BP

cycling.

London Cycling Campaign has been running a capital-wide campaign in the run-up to these elections, under the slogan “Space for Cycling”. Local campaigners have identified one change to the streets in every ward which would make their area better for cycling, and in the hustings Brent Cyclists will be asking candidates to respond to their local ward demands for Brent, and to the wider policy area of improving conditions for cycling and walking. The hustings will be open to the public, and it is hoped to have representatives from all the main parties there, as well as independent candidates.

 

Brent Cyclists Co-ordinator David Arditti said:

Our campaign is about making our streets more pleasant places for everyone. We need better streets in order to liberate the suppressed demand for cycling; most people say they would cycle if there was protected space for cycling, but the cycle lanes in Brent are very poor and give little protection, and the minor roads are generally hostile rat-runs full of parked and moving cars. 

 

The policies that we need are a combination of providing dedicated, protected space on main roads, removing through-traffic from minor roads, and providing routes through parks and open spaces. These policies would allow children to get to school by bike, allow the elderly and disabled to use electric bikes and powered wheelchairs easily, and everyone else to do the short journeys for which the bike is the most efficient option, in comfort and safety. Or town centres and shopping areas would also be improved and be helped to thrive by creating better cycle access. There is funding from the Mayor of London available, and now is the time for our local politicians to take a lead on providing for cycling.

The public can support our campaign, by emailing their council candidates through www.space4cycling.org

ARK intransigence provokes Copland strike over compulsory redundancies

The teaching unions (NUT, NAUWT, ATL at Copland Community School have sent the following notice. Copland is due to be forced to be academised and taken over by Ark later this year.

The three teacher unions at Copland Community School in Wembley will be taking strike action again this Wednesday over threatened compulsory redundancies. Two teachers face losing their jobs. The current Headteacher, Richard Marshall and the Unions have been meeting on a weekly basis with the joint aim of preventing this occurring. These negotiations have significantly reduced the original number of proposed compulsory redundancies as well as agreed very useful proposals on how to prevent the loss of the remaining two jobs. These include covering a maternity leave and extending the deadline for compulsory redundancies until December. It is well documented that there is a turn over of staff when a school converts to an academy.

But ARK, who are seeking to take over the school in September, have refused to

agree to any of these proposals.

ARK, known for their anti union stance, are prepared to see the school closed rather than negotiate, are prepared to see the pupils education disrupted. The teachers will be on the picket line again on Wednesday from 7.30 am showing their collective anger at this stance.

Tom Stone, NASUWT Secretary said, “I find the intransigence of the ARK management in not agreeing any of these eminently sensible proposals, unbelievable. We have had weekly meeting with the aim of preventing any redundancies. ARK is prepared to disrupt the children's education when such a small step would solve this situation.

Hank Roberts, ATL said, “If ARK do take over the running of the school in the autumn this does not bode well for the staff or pupils. The children's education has already suffered too much without sacking their teachers.”

Lesley Gouldbourne, NUT said, “We have been working so hard to prevent any strike action. Yet even when we and the school come up with an effective proposal, ARK refuses to agree. It is outrageous that this is allowed to happen when they are not even running the school.”

The teachers are planning to strike again on May 21st if there is not agreement to prevent these compulsory redundancies.

Brent not commenting on Tewari allegations as Wembley Matters refuses to pull Audit Report

I understand that Brent Council is refusing to comment on the Davini allegations LINK as it would 'not be in the public interest'.

At the end of last week Fiona Ledden, head of Brent Legal and Procurement wrote 'requiring' me to take down the leaked documents. This is the correspondence:

Dear Mr Francis

I am most concerned that you have quoted on your website a number of documents that have been redacted and made available to a respondent in litigation, which is yet to be heard before a judicial panel. The documents are confidential and provided to the relevant party solely for an Employment Tribunal. The case has not yet commenced and releasing documents before the tribunal has started to hear the evidence is highly inappropriate.

I am requiring that you take down the documents which you have attached until the close of the proceedings.

I will be taking this matter up with the relevant party’s representative and during the hearing itself, I consider these documents to remain confidential until the tribunal lifts that confidentiality.

Yours sincerely

Fiona Ledden

Director of Legal and Procurement

London Borough Brent

Could you please tell me under what powers you are 'requiring that you take down the documents...'
Thank you
Martin Francis

Dear Mr Francis

My reasoning is that, except in certain circumstances that do not apply here, a party to whom a document has been disclosed in litigation may only use that document for the purposes of the proceedings in which they were disclosed. It is clear that these documents have been leaked from the court bundle, and therefore I request that you remove the attachments that you have placed on the blog.

Regards 

Fiona Ledden

Director of Legal and Procurement

London Borough Brent

It does not appear to me that you have any powers or authority to 'require' me to take down the attachments and I believe that the wider public interest is served by them remaining on Wembley Matters.
Regards,
Martin Francis

Over the weekend I edited the attachments so as to concentrate on the main issue, the Draft Audit Report, and that remains on the blog.

In my opinion this is a case of straightforward 'whistle blowing' backed up by the published document. We, the public, Brent taxpayers and council tax payers, have a right to know:

• How our money is spent
• How effectively the spending is monitored
• Whether employment practices are fair
• Whether all employees are treated equally regardless of their position in the authority
• Whether elected councillors have full knowledge of these matters
• What oversight councillors have over senior officer decisions on employment and disciplinary matters with the Corporate Management Team

Police ask Green blogger to remove UKIP tweet

From the Guardian LINK

Police have asked a blogger to remove a tweet that fact-checked Ukip policies but did not break any laws after receiving a complaint from a Ukip councillor, prompting concern over attempts to stifle debate.
Michael Abberton was visited by two Cambridgeshire police officers on Saturday. He was told he had not committed any crimes and no action was taken against him, but he was asked to delete some of his tweets, particularly a tongue-in-cheek one on 10 reasons to vote for Ukip, such as scrapping paid maternity leave and raising income tax for the poorest 88% of Britons.

Abberton, a Green party member who writes a blog on science and green politics, described the incident on his Axe of Reason blog.

"The police explained that I hadn't broken any law – there was no charge to answer and it really wasn't a police matter.

"They asked me to 'take it down' but I said I couldn't do that as it had already been retweeted and appropriated, copied, many times and I no longer had any control of it (I had to explain to one of the officers what Twitter was and how it worked). They said that they couldn't force me to take it down anyway."
However, to show goodwill Abberton removed all instances of the offending tweet.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "A Ukip councillor came across a tweet which he took exception to. The name of the person on the tweet was identified and that individual was spoken to. We looked at this for offences and there was nothing we could actually identify that required police intervention. Clearly, the councillor was unhappy about the tweets. If every political person was unhappy about what somebody else said about their views, we would have no politics."

As for being told not to tweet about the visit, the spokesman added: "I don't know if he'd have been told that. It's certainly not the advice I would have given him. A gentleman has a right to free speech – absolute total right to free speech – we can't tell people what they can and can't say on the internet, as long as it's within the law. We certainly don't go to people's houses and say: 'You can't tweet about this'. This is not 1930s Germany."

On his blog, Abberton made it clear that the two police officers were extremely professional and polite, but he did wonder why they had visited him at all.

"It wasn't until after they left that I questioned why they had visited me in the first place. A complaint had been made but with no legal basis. Not a police matter. So why did they come to my home in the middle of a Saturday afternoon? Also, seeing as my profile doesn't have my location – how did they know my address, or even the town I live in? … Why would a political party, so close to an election, seek to stop people finding out what their policies are or their past voting record? And is it not a matter for concern that a political party would seek to silence dissent and debate in such a manner?"

Julian Huppert, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, who was contacted by Abberton, said he was awaiting a detailed response from the police.

"It seems astonishing for the police to get involved, there was nothing abusive or threatening in the tweets so I do want to know why they acted, and I want to know why the police told Abberton not to tweet about the visit."

Huppert said he was pleased that Ukip's policies were coming under scrutiny.

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green party, said: "This police action is both disturbing and surprising. That an apparently general complaint from a political party about not liking what was said about them could have led to a police visit that many would find intimidating is an extremely serious incident that demands immediate investigation. Free speech is a precious right that we must defend."

Bennett said the party's only member in the House of Lords, Jenny Jones, would write to Theresa May, the home secretary, to ask her to investigate.

"What a waste of police time, energy and resources," Jones said. "Their job is to investigate crime and catch criminals, not restrict free speech."