Michaela Free School: not needed, not wanted, not interested...

I was only the sixth (and the last) person to attend the Michaela Free School Consultation this afternoon. The first on the attendance list was another opponent of the school so Michaela didn't do very well. There were more people from Michaela itself present than there were members of the public who attended throughout the 2 hours consultation period.

Nevertheless I had an interesting chat with Suella Fernandes, vice chair of the Michaela governing body. When I asked about the appointment of Katharine Birbalsingh as headteacher of the school and the process involved I was told that Katharine was the proposer of the free school so she was the headteacher - 'That's the way it goes with a free school'. When I asked, therefore, what quality control there was of the appointment, given the rigorous procedures involved in the appointment of headteachers in the maintained sector, I was told that the free school application had been 'vetted'  by the DfE.

Turning to the governing body I asked how they had been appointed, Apparently they are supporters of the bid and all 'passionate' about education. She did not demur when I said, 'So you are all self-appointed', that's how it is with free schools, apparently. I was told that apart from herself, a planning barrister, other governors included Chidi Amadi, an ex-pupil of Birbalsingh's and Dr Tony Sewell, CEO of Generating Genius. LINK

When I asked whether parent governors would be elected or appointed I was told they would be 'recruited'. As many free schools and academies have only one or two parent governors I asked how many Michaela would have. That was probably unfair as the governing body is still incomplete and hoping to recruit 'professionals' locally, and the vice chair could only hazard a guess off the record.

 Recruitment of teachers is clearly an issue with Michaela offering English, Maths, Science, History. Geography, Religious  Education, French, Spanish, Music, Art and extended day competitive sport, help with university applications, Latin, Mandarin, business and personal financial skills and social and cultural education.  It was clear from my conversation that staff recruitment had not got very far and I warned that some of these were shortage subjects where it would be hard to recruit.

With the school intending to open in September 2014 with four classes of 30 (presumably Year Sevens) I asked how the range of subjects could be covered by 'about eight teachers' and was told that this would be 'no problem at all'.

Pursuing the thought that parents were being sold a pig in a poke I pointed out that with local secondary schools parents could judge them from their examination results (except for Ark that doesn't have any yet) and Ofsted Reports, but all we had for Michaela were assertions in a glossy brochure: 'That's the way it is with free schools starting out'. But they wanted to offer parents a choice based on tradition and discipline.

With Michaela having been rejected in two areas of South London I asked how they had ended up in Brent. Initially I was told that this was because there was a need here and because of the challenges Brent faced with its multicultural population and people not having English as their first language. When I pointed out that Brent secondary schools were achieving well and amongst the top 10% of schools in the country with a proven track record, the grounds switched to the shortage of secondary places. I pointed out that the Council had published plans to deal with this but was told that Michaela was one of the ways Brent was tackling the shortage. When I pressed further the fact that there was a site available in Wembley at Arena House became the dominant factor.When I suggested that the real need was for a secondary school, open to all, in the south of the borough, Suella suggested that I find them a site.

When I asked about planning permission for a secondary school in Arena House I was confidently told by the planning barrister that it wasn't required. When I pointed out that this meant local people had no say in something that would affect them, yes, you've guessed: 'That's the way it is' but people could come along and tell them about their concerns at the next consultation. In the future there will be school students from Ark, Preston Manor, Michaela and the French School at the Town Hall concentrated in this small area of Wembley. When I said that residents were likely to raise a hue and cry the short response was 'Let them'.

I asked about play space in the new school and Michaela agreed there would be very little and they would look elsewhere in the borough for sports facilities. Apparently no agreement has been reached with the Ark about the use of their facilities. At first they did not seem to know about the Town Hall French School but them confirmed that they had been in negotiations for the building but had dropped out because it would not have been ready in time for September 2014. Instead Arena House will be refurbished - at what cost to taxpayers I do not know - but at a time when the poor state of Copland High School has made national headlines...

Suella Fernandes involvement strengthens Michaela's links with the Conservative Party. (Katharine Birbalsingh's career as a Govite was launched when she addressed a meeting at the Tory Conference). Suella is a daughter of former Brent Conservative councillor Uma Fernandes and herself stood as a Conservative candidate in Fryent ward. She attended a local Brent primary school, Uxendon Manor, but her secondary education was at Heathfield School in Pinner - a Girls Public Day School Trust establishment.

The next consultation is on April 4th, 6-8pm Powell Suite, Chalkhill Community Centre

Does Michaela's 'private school ethos' mean they can ignore safety concerns as enquiries blocked?

The only street entry/exit from Michaela Free school 

Photo: Nick Wright (via Facebook)

Reflecting concerns about teacher and children safety at the new Michaela Free School in Wembley Park, Jenny Cooper of the Brent Teachers' Association  has attempted a dialogue with the management.  It appears that not only have her concerns been ignored but Michaela has now blocked any communication from her

This is the sequence of events as recorded by email:

September 30th by email.
Dear Ms Birbalsingh,

I am writing to you in my capacity as Brent NUT Health & Safety Adviser and London representative on the National NUT Health & Safety Working Group as a result of concerns that have been expressed to me regarding fire safety procedures in your school.

NUT members have expressed concern that there appears to be only one entrance and exit from the building, through the wooden hoardings on the building site and that there appears to be no area for fire assembly purposes. This is a concern to the NUT for two reasons: potential danger for NUT members who may be working at the school and potential danger for the pupils.

To reassure us over these concerns, could you please send me a copy of your fire risk assessment? I am requesting this document under the provisions of the "Safety Representatives and Safety Committees regulations 1977", specifically regulation 7 which allows for inspection of documents and provision of information necessary to enable me to carry out my function. As an appointed Brent NUT Safety rep, part of my function is to promote health and safety in Brent schools on behalf of members that may be employed in those schools.

Hopefully I will be reassured by the fire risk assessment that everything is in place and that members' concerns have been unfounded. However, if I do not get sight of this document or a reply to this request, I will be forced to take this concern elsewhere.

Thank you for your help,

Jenny Cooper,

Brent NUT Health & Safety Adviser 

London rep on national NUT HSWG

NUT Safety rep on Brent Schools' Health & Safety Committee

No response was received so follow up email on October 16th:

Dear Ms Birbalsingh,

Do you have a response to my earlier email, below?

I will be actioning this matter in another way if I do not hear from you within the week.

Jenny Cooper

Response from Michaela

officeadmin@mcsbrent.co.uk

Your message can't be delivered because delivery to this address is restricted to authenticated Sender.
For more information about this issue see DSN code 5.7.12 in Exchange Online.

This is the same Michaela email address as Jenny had used before in communicating with the school and has not been rejected before. It appears that she has been blocked from raising these legitimate concerns.

Brent NUT told me:

We have been leafleting the parents about the H&S issues at Michaela. We leafleted the parents meetings for the new intake. When we were handing out letters to children at the end of the day to take home to all parents, some staff came out and asked why we hadn't written to ask about the situation with regards to fire safety and other issues. We replied that the H&S Advisor Jenny Cooper had written but there had been no response. That is why we were handing out letters as we were so concerned. This took the wind out of sails somewhat. We alerted Ruth Moher, Lead member for Education that we had not had any response and she is checking what is happening. A Brent Council H&S Officer is supposed to making a visit to the school and may already have done. Interesting that now Jenny has been blocked.

 

'Sergeant Major' with 'good voice' required to direct detentions at Michaela School - true or a spoof?

Is it a wind-up?  So hard to tell with the Michaela Free School, but this is what appears in Times Education Supplement jobs this week.  It is not currently advertised on the Michaela website and it is unusual to request a CV rather than an application form to be completed with full qualification and employment history as well as safeguarding declaration.

Hoax or real Michaela will get some publicity out of it and headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh (above)  enjoys that as can be seen from the school website.

It says something about the school and its methods that it is hard to tell whether the ad is genuine.

The Chair of Governors of Michaela is Suella Fernandes, Conservative MP for Fareham.

Job details

Job details

Employer	Michaela Community School
Location	Brent
Salary	£22k to £35k – with up to 14 weeks holiday per year
Contract type	Full Time
Contract term	Permanent

Job dates

Posted	26 Jan 2017 New this week
Closing date	23 Feb 2017

Days are 7:30am to 5:30pm, with Friday ending at 3:30pm
Do you like order and discipline?
Do you believe in children being obedient every time?
Do you believe that allowing children to make excuses is unkind?

If you do, then the role of Detention Director at Michaela Community School, could be for you.
This role isn't suited to a would-be counsellor or to someone who wants to be every child's best friend. This role is for someone who believes children need clear, firm discipline. This role is for someone who believes tough love is what children need to become better people and grow into responsible young adults.

We want someone who will analyse data, organise detentions, line-manage staff, be a sergeant major in the detention room, ring parents, be extremely efficient with time and paperwork, have heart-to-heart conversations with pupils and be inspirational.

You do not need any experience, but must be willing to learn on the job. You will need reasonable spoken English, but your written English does not have to be excellent. You must also be
hard-working, willing to get stuck in and own the job like it is the most important thing in the world to you.

We will train you if you are the right person for the job. So don't imagine you cannot do it. If you have presence, passion and a good voice, then we want to meet you!

The salary we are offering is far higher than a job like this would normally pay. This is because we want someone who is truly excellent. Even if we start you at the bottom of the range, the pay will rise quickly if you are good.

You are welcome to visit the school anytime, so please call us on 020 8795 3183 to arrange a visit.
To apply, please send a full CV with a covering letter to info@mcsbrent.co.uk.

Michaela's 'frightening and scary event'

 

Katharine Birbalsingh

Katharine Birbalsingh, pretty well self-appointed head of the Michaela Academy free school, has this week written to primary headteacher asking for their help in recruiting pupils to her new school. She wants Michaela's meetings advertised and letters put in the book bag of Year 5 pupils with information for parents about the school.

As by its very nature the school has no track record, exam results, Ofsted report and hasn't appointed  all its staff, parents would be advised to treat shiny brochures and grand words with scepticism.

Tom Stone wrote to local newspapers about his experience of a Michaela meeting but it was not published. Instead I publish it here as a Guest Blog:

I attended the consultation meeting on Saturday15th June  at Brent Town Hall concerning the new proposed Michaela  Free School. This was a very frightening and scary event,one that left me feeling  very cold and concerned.

To quote the Headteacher in her address to those attending, she promised "that the School will teach lots of stuff". No, suspend your disbelief, this is the new guiding mantra of the Michaela Community School.Yes, lots of stuff will be taught! This school will also apply  Eton/Public School type of pressure daily to its pupils,with tests every week and  the results will be published and known to all. Yes, we know the current prime minister was educated at a public school and so were a good few of his cabinet, but  just look  at how they are running the county ,hardly a good advert for private education surely! Pupils with confidence and self esteem issues and pupils with special needs  had better watch out too, your friends will  all know your test scores and use it to bully and harass you - great!

The latest research from Oxford Brookes University states that students who have been to state schools were more likely to  complete their degrees and that they were also more likely to get a good degree ,classed as a first or 2:1, than their privately educated counterparts. Why then was the Headteacher  at this meeting taking  so much delight in running down  the UK' s State Education. American type charter Schools -as praised by the Head, are hardly out of the  headlines in the USA-for all the wrong reasons!

Another fact to point out is this is not  going to be a local Community School, there were people from Harrow, Haringey and Islington at the meeting. It is not going to be a cosy  little haven of  Wembley schoolchildren, this  school will be taking in anyone foolish enough to choose it. A school with no grounds, a school  set up in an office building and a school that is not needed-it is directly opposite another Secondary school!

The Headteacher obviously preaches what she believes too. She  told the meeting that "kids will  just listen to teachers". No time  for clarification or discussion ,no time for interaction and working together.So it  then follows that the proposed Headteacher  did not allow questions from  the public after she spoke ! There also was no loud applause after the Headteacher spoke and the meeting was certainly not full to overflowing ,as claimed by  their recent propaganda leaflet. a strange  and odd meeting this was-oh and just to end with -the teachers in free Schools don't have to be qualified to teach! What next - doctors who don't have to study medicine!

The true cost of Michaela's failures in South London

The DfE spent £168,000 on the Michaela Free School before its move to Wembley and after it had failed to set up first in Lambeth and then in Wandsworth.  It has taken the DfE 18 months to answer the Anti Academies Alliance's Freedom of Information request.

The following is an extract from the DfE letter:

The Michaela Community School free school trust announced its decision to defer opening of the school on 24 February 2012. Prior to this decision, the school was aiming to open in South London. The Department for Education’s expenditure on the Michaela Community School project up to that point was £168,339.64. Michaela Community School is now on course to open in Brent in September 2014. Expenditure up to February 2012 includes much work that has on-going utility to the project. This includes the development of marketing and consultation materials which could be used as the basis for their current marketing and consultation in Brent as well as educational and staffing plans, governance arrangements, policies and procedures and other material which can be used by the school when it opens in Brent. It would be therefore be unreasonable to say that this money had been wasted.

I think I would take issue with that last sentence. No wonder Michaela has such glossy brochures to distribute as well as that huge poster they were forced to take down because they didn't have planning permission.  It would be interesting to know how much money they have had since  24th February 2012, including of course the cost of purchase of the Wembley Park building and its refurbishment (no sign of that happening by the way).

Sign of Michaela's desperation?

Wembley residents were aghast when they were confronted by this gigantic 'in your face' advertising hoarding opposite Wembley Park station this week.  The hoarding was fixed to the crumbling and possibly asbestos ridden Arena House, site of the proposed Michaela Community School.

Michaela is the free school brain child of Michael Gove acolyte, Katharine Birbalsingh.  The school failed to gain support at its recent consultation meetings and is now getting desperate for custom. Apart from the advertisiing hoarding they have managed to get on the front page of the Wembley and Willesden Observer this week with a plea for parents to get involved.

Despite being funded by tax-payers' money, to the detriment of other local schools badly needing cash for rebuilding, the school promises  'private school values' whatever that means. Krutika Pau, current Director of Children and Families, while admitting that the school was 'experimental' and had no track record, nevertheless thought it accorded with Brent schools' ethos.

The advertisement  boasts of 'private school values', 'traditional education', 'strong discipline' and 'healthy competition' as well as a long school day. The subtext merits further discussion!

The school is now seeking Year 7 applications for September 2014. Parents should be aware that they will be choosing a pig in a poke compared with other Brent secondary schools which have (with the exception of Ark whose pupils have not yet reached examination age ) examination results and Ofsted reports to back up their claims. Michaela has no evidence to back up their assertions - parents have to judge whether their 'bigging up' of their plans amounts to anything substantial or is a risk too far in terms of their children's future.

Michaela's claim of being an 'Exceptional' school (word obscured by trees on the strap line of the advertisement) is based on nothing more than assertion. What does the Advertising Standards Authority say?

Barry Gardiner says no demand for Michaela Free School and urges residents to make their views known

In a letter to a constituent, Barry Gardiner MP (Labour, Brent North) has said that he has seen no desire in Brent for the Michaela Free School which is run by Katharine Birbalsingh:

Although there is a shortage of school places in Brent, I do not think that a free school In Wembley is the best solution to this problem, especially as there has not been, to my knowledge, a call from the community to open such a school.

He goes on to urge residents to make their views known on the issue before tomorrow's deadline:

The school has not yet been approved by the DfE and as the consultation period is still open, I would urge you and other concerned residents to complete the online questionnaire so that the views of local people are taken into account. The deadline for submissions is on Monday 22nd April 2013 and the questionnaire can be found here: http://www.mcsbrent.co.uk/questionnaire/ .

Be aware that the questionnaire contains some seemingly fairly innocuous statements which few would disgree with but where agreement can be used to claim that the school is supported.

Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, had written to Gardiner on behalf of Michael Gove and claims that Michaela have had 'production meetings' with Brent Council officials:  

The proposers of Michael Community School are committed to opening a school with a distinct ethos and high expectations that will serve disadvantaged communities in London. The Department considered that their application to open a Free School was strong   and we have been working with them seince September 20122 to develop their school. As Free School projects develop, there are often aspects of the original application that evolve and change. Ministers will consider the final location, evidence of demand and revised plans for the school before making the final decision to open the school.

The Michael Community School is proposing to open in Brent for September 2014. Following an extebnsive site search, the Education Funding Agnecy has been helping the proiposers identify as site which ahs the ca[acity for their proposed school and can serve disadvantaged communities. We believe it is likely that the school will help meet rising demand for places across Brent. The Secretary of State will also consider any evidence that the school proposers provide that the school will improve choice for parents alongside any evidence of basic need for places before deciding whether to enter a funding agreement.

Brent Council has been aware that the Michaela Community School was looking at potentially opening in Brent since last summer. I understand that representatives of the school have had productive meetings with council officials. The Department will write to Brent Council during the school proposers' consultation to seek their further views on the school before a final decision on whether to open the school is made. (My emphasis)

The Secretary of State will ot make the final decision on whether to pen the Michael Community School until the school is ready to enter into a funding agreement. By that point, the school's proposers will have completed a public consultation on the opening of the school. The Secretary of State will also consider the evidence of demand for the school and the potential impact on other nearby state-funded schools.

Finally, we are fully committed to making the Free School programme transparent and accountable. The Department will publish the final pre-opening development cost of each project shortly after the school opens. The Department will also publish the final capital cost of each school once it has been established, which can be after the opening date as sometimes work continues after a school has opened.

Clearly it is important that we know what Brent Council has said during the consultation. The fact that only 8 people in total turned up to the consultation meetings and most, if not all, were opposed to Michaela should have given Brent Council the message that the school is not wanted her.

It is telling that we cannot know the cost, which might well contribute to our views on the project until after the school has opened.


  

 

Will Michaela Free School be ready for 120 Year 7s in September?

I visited the Michaela Academy site at Arena House in Wembley Park yesterday and was concerned at the state of the building which 120 Year 7s are expected to attend in less than a month.

I am awaiting responses from Michaela and Wilmott Dixon, the builders, to my enquiries about building progress. (For response see LINK)

Any delay will follow the failure of two other free schools, Gateway and Gladstone, to open in Brent in September, which left those Year 7 pupils to find places in other local schools.

On its website Michaela says:

Whilst the refurbishment of the entire building is scheduled to be completed by early 2015, from September 2014 we will have the use of a substantial portion of the site with all the necessary facilities and resources to enhance the education of our first Year 7 pupils.

In our first year at Michaela we will only have 120 pupils and eight teachers, and it has always been our intention to limit our use of the building to the lower floors, with the upper levels opening as the school grows.

The photographs below were taken yesterday evening and I leave readers to judge for themselves:

The 'playground' beneath the building

A classroom?

External view?

DfE: High Risk Michaela Free School will impact on Crest Academy Boys and Ark Elvin

The Department for Education has just published Impact Assessment for free schools in terms of their impact on neighbouring schools.

The full document is HERE. The assessment is for Copland before it became Ark Elvin. The Gateway Secondary Free School is also planned in the area and is recruiting pupils despite having no premises as yet.


Extract:

Michaela Community School will provide an equal chance admission to prospective applicants living within a 5 mile radius of the school through a lottery. The trust want to ensure that all local pupils have an equal chance of attending the school regardless of exactly how close to the school they live. However, it is thought that any impact on secondary schools beyond 2.5 miles from the school will be minimal and likely to be highly dispersed so the impact on individual schools is likely to be very small. The free school is therefore unlikely to affect the long term viability of any secondary school further than 2.5 miles from the free school’s site. 

Based on the assessment above, opening Michaela Community School has the potential to have a high impact on the following two secondary schools: 

Copland Community School  has a substantial surplus (99 surplus places from a capacity of 1,585). The school has a below average level of attainment and has an inadequate Ofsted rating. Given it is less than a mile from Michaela Community School, it is possible that a significant number of parents may be attracted to the new alternative provider. Lower pupil numbers would reduce the school’s income and may make it harder to secure improvements.

However, the growing level of basic need for secondary places in the area (basic need in Brent is expected to rise to a 986 place shortfall by 2018/19) makes it likely that the school will remain viable in the long term.

The Crest Boys’ Academy(sponsored by E-ACT) has a substantial surplus (78 surplus places from a capacity of 698). The school has a below average level of attainment and only has a satisfactory Ofsted rating. Given it is less than a two miles from Michaela Community School, it is possible that some may be attracted to the new alternative provider. However, this may be mitigated by the appeal of a single-sex education for boys which will be attractive for some parents. Lower pupil numbers would reduce the school’s income and may make it harder to secure improvements. However, the growing level of basic need for secondary places in the area makes it likely that the school will remain viable in the long term.

Brent Council accepted Michaela Free School as a 'fait accompli' in letter to DfE

In Brent Council's  letter to the DfE regarding the application by Michaela Community School to set up a secondary free school in Wembley, Krutika Pau reported on the views that came out of a meeting of a group of Brent headteachers, councillors and council officers who met with the Michaela proposers. She said  that Katharine Birbalsingh's 'highly laudable intention to provide excellent education' in a way that 'helps them overcome social disadvantage' accords with the aims of existing Brent secondary schools. However concerns are expressed about the 'experimental character' of the school and the risks arising from this and the fact that it does not have a track record.

The position of Arena House and the facilities offered, even after refurbishment, also concerned the Council and particularly the need for external play space.

In a key sentence Pau accepts that the school is a fair accommpli despite the fact that the results of the very poorly attended public consultation have not yet been reported:

It is fair to say that this local authority would not have invited the Michaela Community School into the borough as part of its school expansion plans but given that its opening is a fait accompli, we plan to work with the school both constructively and with vigilance.

In another (redacted) document released as a result of my freedom of information request, Sara Williams, Assistant Director, reports on her meeting with Tome Legge and Katharine Birbalsingh of Michaela Community School. The report is undated but before March 2013:

·         The purchase of Arena House has gone through

·     The school will open with 4 forms of entry in September 2014.  They will open in Year 7 only though they are open to suggestions for provision in Year 10 if we need it

·      Under the free school legislation, there has to be a period of consultation (Section 9/10?).  The timing of this hasn’t been nailed down yet.

·     Tom has agreed that the school will do a presentation to a group of Brent stakeholders as part of the consultation:  I will organise this once we know the timeframe of the consultation.  It needs to be handled carefully (including the invitation list) but will be a good opportunity I think.

·      The school will enter the authority’s admissions process

·      It will sign up to the Fair Access Protocol

·      They will send their admissions policy for us to vet

·      They want to balance the intake through banding like Capital City (good practice in my view)

·      They are interested in an admissions ‘node’ in the south of the borough (like Ark).  We are suggesting near QPCS as that school is very oversubscribed yet the transport routes to the undersubscribed schools are not good.  Carmen will talk to Mike Hulme about this to give him the heads up.

·      They will admit SEN pupils like any other school and aim to be inclusive

·      The curriculum will be depth before breadth – extra Eng, Ma, Sci with no D&T or ICT as discrete subjects

·      Music and art will be included in the curriculum

·      There will be an extended school day

·      They will look to rent PE space from other schools

·      They will recognise TUs if their staff want to be members

·      They will require QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)

·      They will have an LA rep on their governing body

·      They will have parents on their governing body

·      They will share performance data

They will let the premises to the community and encourage suitable community uses

 Williams notes:

The consultation is not a process whereby the local authority can realistically prevent the school opening – or this is my understanding from reading up on it.  Jean can you look into it and give me some wording on the legal position? 

LINKS

Krutika Pau's full letter with additional information on banding and catchment HERE

Sara Williams' full notes HERE