Davison High School for Girls, Worthing, registers interest in academy status

Disappointing to learn that Davison High School for Girls, Worthing, have 'registered an interest' with the DfE in gaining academy status. However, it's positive to see some open communication from the governing body with parents. We will be watching developments there and will be keen to learn if the governing body can decipher any benefits from a change in its legal status. This is an Ofsted 'outstanding' school after all, and so is clearly running things very well already. We would urge parents and prospective parents of the school who are opposed to Davison becoming an academy, to respond in writing to the Chair of Governors, Ray Oxenbridge.

More questions for Michael Gove

Michael Gove’s second letter to Stephen Twigg consisted of an impressive looking list of all the activities undertaken by the Department for Education while he has been Secretary of State. However there is no mention of the results of this activity in terms of improved teaching and learning or better outcomes for children.

There are one or two items in the list for which the coalition government deserves credit, such as the £2.5 billion spent on the pupil premium. However, in the spirit of Mr Gove’s first letter to Stephen, we would like to ask some questions of him:

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New academies in West Sussex opening in September 2013

2012-13 transitioning academies

• St Lawrence, Hurstpierpoint - due to convert 1 July 2013.

2013-2014 transitioning academies

• Eastbrook Primary School, Shoreham - due to convert 1 September 2013
  
• The Mill Primary School, Crawley - due to convert 1 September 2013
  
• Downview Primary School, Bognor Regis  - due to convert 1 September 2013
  
• River Beach Primary School, Littlehampton – aiming to convert 1 September 2013
  
• Chichester High School For Boys  – aiming to convert 1 September 2013
  
• Chichester High School for Girls – aiming to convert 1 September 2013.
  
  
  
  
  Read the complete list for West Sussex here...

WSAW press release of 22nd April 2013 - Woodard Academies and the Durand Academy Fiasco

Press Release... Press Release... Press Release... Press Release... Press Release...

West Sussex Academy Watch

Monday 22nd April

Woodards Academies and the Durand Academy Fiasco

West Sussex Academy Watch condemns in the strongest terms the racist language used by Conservative county councillor John Cherry regarding the proposed boarding school in West Sussex for under-privileged London children. These remarks – bizarrely depicting a national hierarchy of potential achievement, and a “sexual volcano” to be unleashed by ‘escaped’ black school children - were a throwback to the biological racism of the colonial era and have no place in modern society. A spokesperson for the group said: “These disgusting comments are a distraction from the real issue. It is current education policy that has led to a shortage of school places and to the plans for this expensive boarding school in West Sussex. It would be far better if this money was invested in good new state schools in London and West Sussex so that families are not broken up for children to receive a decent education.”

Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, has heaped praise on Sir Robert Woodard Academy in Lancing for appointing its third head in as many years. This school was placed in special measures by Ofsted last year. In a recent Ofsted parents survey 33% of parents think the school is not well led compared to 62% who think their child is taught well at the school. Despite the adverse effects on the children, Tim Loughton continues to praise the instability that academy status has brought to this school.

In a bad week for the Woodard academy schools, teachers have been on strike at Littlehampton Academy. In a joint statement by NUT and NASUWT, they cited “the oppressive management policies at the school which is part of the Woodard Academy chain” as the reason for the action. West Sussex Academy Watch calls for Woodard Schools to review their leadership and management practices to ensure their staff are not subject to onerous micro-management, and so that pupils at their schools are able to learn in a stable, well led environment.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Academy Watch said: “These developments show once again that education is delivered best in a free, democratically accountable state system. Local Tories are hopelessly out of touch and West Sussex Academy Watch once again calls on West Sussex County Council to abandon its policy of encouraging all schools to convert to academy status.”

For comment or clarification please contact: 

WSAcademyWatch@hotmail.co.uk

Notes to Editors

·       For more information on the Ofsted Parent View results for Sir Robert Woodard, please see the following link:

http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/parent-view-results/survey/result/23039/current

·       For more information about our group please see the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSAcademyWatch

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSAcademyWatch

Blog: http://whaag.blogspot.co.uk/

Calling all parents

If you would like to add your support to the document and letter below, please go to http://www.thinking-about-education.co.uk/parents-petition/

Dear Mr. Gove,

OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT POLITICAL FOOTBALLS

We, as concerned parents, carers and citizens with an interest in young people, call upon the Secretary of State for Education to consider and respond to the following issues:-

1. We urge the Secretary of State to stop using inflammatory and derogatory language to describe children, parents and teachers, encouraging mistrust between people who should be working together to ensure a consistently good education for our young.

2. To listen to experts who have given their entire careers over to exploring and researching the best ways to teach young people. These cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and educational experts are not enemies of promise. We are dismayed that of the entire original panel asked to advise you on the structure of the new curriculum, only one remains. The experts in education all resigned as you both ignored and misrepresented their concerns. The only remaining panelist has no experience in the education of young children at all. The Cambridge Review of the Primary Curriculum; the most comprehensive and independent review of education for 60 years has been entirely ignored by your own and the previous government because of the critical stance it has taken.

Continue reading....

Our Statement of Purpose

West Sussex Academy Watch

Statement of Purpose

March 2013

West Sussex Academy Watch (WSAW) believes in a free and democratically accountable state education system which is responsive to all stakeholders.

We believe that investment in schools is often wasted on structural change according to the government policy of the day. Instead, investment in teaching in learning should take priority.

We accept that academies are now part of the educational landscape in West Sussex. The following five points will be the litmus test by which we hold to account existing academies; schools pursuing academy status; and West Sussex County Council, for its policy of ‘encouraging all schools to convert’.

1.     Once a school governing body has voted to pursue academy conversion they must commit to a consultation process which is built on democratic principles by being open, robust and meaningful, and which engages all stakeholders. Any consultation must take into account the wider impact on its local community as well as the stakeholders of their school.

2.     All consultations must include:

a.    A Public Meeting.

This must go beyond parents of children that currently attend the school and actively engage the wider community.

b.    A Parent and Staff Ballot.

c.     An Impact Assessment under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

3.     Schools wishing to become academies must demonstrate the capacity to improve not only themselves but other local schools too, whether they are academies or not.

4.     Schools wishing to become academies and existing academies must demonstrate how they will use their additional ‘freedoms’ and money to improve educational outcomes for children.

5.     Governors of schools wishing to become academies must demonstrate their capability and capacity to run autonomous, financially demanding, large, complex and ever-changing organisations.

West Sussex Academy Watch does not believe that any school should be forced to become an academy. This objection extends to shifting Ofsted categorisation which forces more schools to ‘fail.’

WHAAG press release

Unprecedented third strike by teachers at Worthing High, as academy bid grinds to a halt?

As teachers strike for an unprecedented third time at Worthing High in opposition to the plans for it to become an academy, WHAAG has asked the Department for Education to rescind the school’s Academy Order because of the misleading and invalid nature of the school’s academy application that we can now reveal.

At the crucial meeting on the 30^th May at which the Governing body voted to progress it’s application for academy status, it was legally necessary for the decision to be supported by the Worthing High School Trust Board.  Although a meeting of the Trust Board was held immediately after the Governors meeting and the Trust Board voted in favour of academy status, there were insufficient members of the Trust Board in attendance for the vote to be valid.  The Worthing High Articles of Association clearly state that a minimum of half of the Trustees must vote, and therefore, five members should have been in attendance for a vote to be valid. Only four Trustees were present at this meeting, as per the minutes of the meeting that we have seen.

This matter is now the subject of a legal challenge by the NUT and WHAAG have requested an investigation by the DfE or other appropriate body.

Mr Cohen the Chair of Governors has either knowingly progressed an invalid and misleading academy application or presided over mind boggling incompetence.  Whichever of these is true, we believe he should now resign and for the sake of all of the school’s stakeholders the academy bid should be stopped.

Worthing High’s academy bid under Mr Cohen’s leadership has been littered by examples of mismanagement and incompetence:

·      Botched initial consultation on academy conversion with stakeholders Flawed academy proposal with incorrect and misleading informatio

·       Flawed academy proposal with incorrect and misleading information

·      DfE requirement to consult further (31/08/12) has been ignored

·      Governor academy bid votes leaked to Tim Loughton MP (ex Children’s Minister) who subsequently broadcast these on Twitter

·      Series of governor resignations – of the original eleven governors who voted on the academy proposal on 30/5/12, only five now remain

·      Three days of teacher strike action

·      Two investigations at the school, resulting in Head teacher, Alison Beer’s, resignation