New Co-Ed Harris Academy on Kelsey Park Sports College site.

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Permalink Reply by John Murphy on January 25, 2011 at 9:26

MP BOB STEWART

Morning everyone. Now that the Government have formally approved the new Harris Academy Beckenham http://www.harrisbeckenham.org.uk/, its appropriate to get the views of our 2 Beckenham MPs.

 

While Jim Dowd did give as an endorsement of Harris - stating Harris was the best option he had seen for Kelsey - Conservative MP Bob Stewart has been quiet stating only its up to the Governors what happens to Kelsey.

He cannot use this excuse for the new Harris Free school - his own Government have formally approved it and he must have an opinion. Does he agree with his own government or not?

Fiona is emailing both the Beckenham MPs today to try and get comments from them on the Harris Free school but it would be helpful if more people could email MP Bob Stewart.

Fiona and I are in Jim Dowd's constiuency so Bob could - technically swerve the question by saying we are not in his constituency. If anyone wants to help and is in Bob's constituency he is at:bob.stewart.mp@parliament.uk

Thanks, John

 

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Permalink Reply by Balwinder Singh on January 25, 2011 at 12:58

Councillor

 

Once more you show you don't really understand the basics of being an effective school governor.

 

When you were engaging in  special pleading to  explaining away your  low results - people on here referred to the low pupil progress or value added in 2009. Yes the results were low -but not because, as you suggested, that  the kids were needy. Needy kids can get low results but high progress or value added. This would show that given their circumstances and situation they are not doing badly for their ability. The problem is that this was not true for students at Kesley Park in 2009. Results were low and the progress they made was also low.

 

Now in 2010 headline results on the face of it improved and you were keen to argue that this was a big improvement (for the disadvantaged kids you had previously spoken about). Well if it was such an improvement -we had every right to see high pupil progress or value added. The fact is that the pupil progress or value added was just as mediocre as before. So what we have seen is a rise in results not because kids have done better, but a rise in results because the kids in that year group were more able. The value added clearly proves this but your response also clearly shows that you dont understand it and you are a Governor charged with improving the school. How can you do that if you don't get it?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Bateman on January 25, 2011 at 13:41

‘A COMEDY OF ERRORS’ THE GRAND FINALE – ACT 1

Well well! In the last week, Bromley LA have completed my FOI request.

You will recall from earlier postings that I have been trying for quite some time to obtain evidence of a proper ‘competitive process’ behind Bromley LA’s decision to find an academy solution for Kelsey over a year ago.

I submitted a FOI request on the 1^st November 2010 asking for copies of initial correspondence between Bromley CYP Services and ‘..a number of potential academy sponsors.’

Last week, I received 2 emails – I’ll try to be brief.

The first one received on Monday 17^th Jan with 5 attachments:

1. A copy of the agenda dated Friday 2^nd October 2009 (with no accompanying letter, incidentally) for the meeting between Bromley LA and Harris. As you have guessed, this is the same agenda which Harris had never seen until they were contacted in relation to my FOI request (Nov/Dec 2010).
2. A letter from Gillian Pearson to the Brunel University dated 12^th Oct 2009 asking if they would be interested in ‘co-sponsoring’ an academy project.
3. A letter from Brunel University to Gillian Pearson dated 22nd Oct 2009 saying thanks but no thanks.
4. A letter from Lord Harris to Stephen Carr (Leader of Bromley Council) dated 5^th Nov 2009, thanking him for the meeting with Gillian Pearson and Ernest Noad a few weeks previously and stating that given the hundreds of Beckenham residents applying each year to the existing Harris Crystal Palace, The Harris Federation would be very interested in Kelsey Park as an academy project.
5. A letter from Stephen Carr to Lord Harris dated 16^th November 2009 thanking him for his interest.

He goes on to state:

“It remains our priority, as a Borough, to identify a potential academy model which can deliver the necessary transformation to Kelsey Park which will involve additional resources to facilitate the driving up of standards including importantly the much needed capital investment. Our preference is to secure a strong co-sponsor partnership and governance arrangements which involve the Local Authority. It is my view that an academy development on this basis will ensure that the school can sit within a framework of local accountability, sustain an effective relationship with other schools across the Borough and offer an even wider spectrum of choice to reflect local needs.”  

 

Part of the reason that The Harris Federation (and other groups like it) is so successful is that it is free of Local Authority controls and constraints. Free to focus full-time on the education and welfare of its students.

 

So, no evidence of any formal or competitive sponsor process there. I see only evidence of Bromley LA’s overpowering will to co-sponsor; seemingly at the exclusion of educational performance.

No mention of the children and what might be best for them!

 

I was also informed that there was further information to follow.

(The best is yet to come! No wonder they left it as long as they possibly could before sending it to me.)

 

Email number 2 arrived on Friday 21^st January with two further attachments.....

 

Back soon!

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Permalink Reply by Balwinder Singh on January 26, 2011 at 8:45

Carrie

 

What an utter disgrace, what an inept bunch of unprofessional council officals and complacent conservative councillors. They try to bundle kesley Park off with Boris Johnson without consulting them - just because they want to keep control and ensure the school keeps taking the "students other Bromley Schools wont take". Why is bromley council so weak that it cant ensure that they take their fair share? Why is the Education Department powerless against ensuring its own schools do the right thing?

 

Then they all of a sudden the Council give the Governors  full control of making the decision-so they can still get the outcome that they want but distance themselves from the decision.

 

In their educational parlance they call this  "an inclusive appraoch". Read that as soft soap words for dumping Kesley Park with all the difficult kids they don't want and then trying to portray it as something virtuous that Kesley Park is doing- ie failing to improve quickly in order to allow the other schools to have things they way they want it. Meanwhile the Bromley officials and councillors collude in this nonsense.

 

Councillor Noad said in public that there had been a competitive process - Bromley seems to have no evidence of this at all.

 

Between Noad, G Pearson and MP Bob Stewart we are terribly badly served by our so-called elected and accountable officials.

Well done Carrie.

Carrie Bateman said:

‘A COMEDY OF ERRORS’ THE GRAND FINALE – ACT 1

Well well! In the last week, Bromley LA have completed my FOI request.

You will recall from earlier postings that I have been trying for quite some time to obtain evidence of a proper ‘competitive process’ behind Bromley LA’s decision to find an academy solution for Kelsey over a year ago.

I submitted a FOI request on the 1^st November 2010 asking for copies of initial correspondence between Bromley CYP Services and ‘..a number of potential academy sponsors.’

Last week, I received 2 emails – I’ll try to be brief.

The first one received on Monday 17^th Jan with 5 attachments:

1. A copy of the agenda dated Friday 2^nd October 2009 (with no accompanying letter, incidentally) for the meeting between Bromley LA and Harris. As you have guessed, this is the same agenda which Harris had never seen until they were contacted in relation to my FOI request (Nov/Dec 2010).
2. A letter from Gillian Pearson to the Brunel University dated 12^th Oct 2009 asking if they would be interested in ‘co-sponsoring’ an academy project.
3. A letter from Brunel University to Gillian Pearson dated 22nd Oct 2009 saying thanks but no thanks.
4. A letter from Lord Harris to Stephen Carr (Leader of Bromley Council) dated 5^th Nov 2009, thanking him for the meeting with Gillian Pearson and Ernest Noad a few weeks previously and stating that given the hundreds of Beckenham residents applying each year to the existing Harris Crystal Palace, The Harris Federation would be very interested in Kelsey Park as an academy project.
5. A letter from Stephen Carr to Lord Harris dated 16^th November 2009 thanking him for his interest.

He goes on to state:

“It remains our priority, as a Borough, to identify a potential academy model which can deliver the necessary transformation to Kelsey Park which will involve additional resources to facilitate the driving up of standards including importantly the much needed capital investment. Our preference is to secure a strong co-sponsor partnership and governance arrangements which involve the Local Authority. It is my view that an academy development on this basis will ensure that the school can sit within a framework of local accountability, sustain an effective relationship with other schools across the Borough and offer an even wider spectrum of choice to reflect local needs.”  

 

Part of the reason that The Harris Federation (and other groups like it) is so successful is that it is free of Local Authority controls and constraints. Free to focus full-time on the education and welfare of its students.

 

So, no evidence of any formal or competitive sponsor process there. I see only evidence of Bromley LA’s overpowering will to co-sponsor; seemingly at the exclusion of educational performance.

No mention of the children and what might be best for them!

 

I was also informed that there was further information to follow.

(The best is yet to come! No wonder they left it as long as they possibly could before sending it to me.)

 

Email number 2 arrived on Friday 21^st January with two further attachments.....

 

Back soon!

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Permalink Reply by Vi Grimes on January 26, 2011 at 9:04

Fiona

I know many people locally who are terribly disappointed with MP Bob Stewart.  The view amongst many I know is that he has been a disgrace. He has failed to support the policy of his own Government. The Policy is clear. It is NOT about whether there are enough places in a locale -this kind of policy in the past has allowed councils to force people to send their children to unsatisfactory schools.

 

Value for money is not just about cost, it is also about the quality of service provided for the money. Obviously Noad and Co who don't have to use the service do not see this.

Many local people are not happy with the quality of service provided by Kesley Park. If kids in future go to a Free school then Kesley Park will experience quickly falling numbers, their budget will drop and the budget of the Free School will rise. No waste of money there. If Kesley Park becomes unviable Bromley will have a very valuable plot of land to sell off and will make a great deal of money on it. No waste of cash there either. AND we will have an excellent Harris School locally.

 

There is no doubt Bromley and our useless local conservative MP Bob Stewart will behind the scenes be arguing that there is no need for a Free School because there are surplus places. The beauty of this is that the policy is about whether there are enough GOOD places. The fact that many people choose not to send their kids to Kesley Park, leaving it with empty places is clear evidence that there IS a shortage of good places locally and this is just what the policy is designed to address.

 

Its not about surplus places -its about GOOD places.

 

Cant see Mr Gove and Co supporting Bromley or renegade MP Bob Stewart on this after their lack of co-operation with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Murphy said:

MP BOB STEWART

Morning everyone. Now that the Government have formally approved the new Harris Academy Beckenham http://www.harrisbeckenham.org.uk/, its appropriate to get the views of our 2 Beckenham MPs.

 

While Jim Dowd did give as an endorsement of Harris - stating Harris was the best option he had seen for Kelsey - Conservative MP Bob Stewart has been quiet stating only its up to the Governors what happens to Kelsey.

He cannot use this excuse for the new Harris Free school - his own Government have formally approved it and he must have an opinion. Does he agree with his own government or not?

Fiona is emailing both the Beckenham MPs today to try and get comments from them on the Harris Free school but it would be helpful if more people could email MP Bob Stewart.

Fiona and I are in Jim Dowd's constiuency so Bob could - technically swerve the question by saying we are not in his constituency. If anyone wants to help and is in Bob's constituency he is at:bob.stewart.mp@parliament.uk

Thanks, John

 

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Bateman on January 27, 2011 at 1:46

THE FINAL CURTAIN  - ‘THEY DID IT THEIR WAY!’

 

On to the final email from Bromley in relation to my FOI request. This apparently ‘completes the request’.

 

Well we finally have the proof we were looking for. There was NO DUE PROCESS, competitive or otherwise in Ernest Noad and Gillian Pearson’s selection of the LDA scheme for Kelsey last year.

 

I have attached a letter from Gillian Pearson to the LDA dated 9 Oct 2009. Please take a look.

 

As I said previously, no wonder they saved this one ‘til last!

 

Four things:

 

1. The first paragraph mentions that Ernest Noad followed up with a letter dated 05.11.2008, the announcement made by Mayor Boris Johnson in 2008 to open 10 academies in London (LDA scheme). The letter ‘generated a very positive response from the Mayor of London (16.12.08).’

 

This was almost a whole year before any other potential academy ‘partner’ was contacted to discuss Kelsey. Nearly A WHOLE YEAR!

 2.  The 3^rd paragraph mentions meetings during summer 2009 with a Peter Fair from the OSC (former    DfE) to secure funding and ‘..shape an appropriate specification and agree PROCESS and timescale through which to secure potential lead sponsors (note plural!); for Bromley, this includes the LDA’.

 

I suggest at this stage, it included ONLY the LDA!

 

We know they formulated the dreaded specification but WHAT PROCESS WAS AGREED? We have seen not one shred of evidence to suggest there was any due process whatsoever. What a joke!

 

3.       The 4^th paragraph is the best! ‘We have stressed the importance to Bromley Council of identifying an Academy...’ that will provide a guaranteed Outstanding education to students and future students at Kelsey Park ???  Oh no, that isn’t what she said! ‘...framework in which the Local Authority can be a partner co-sponsor.’ Painful reading isn’t it?

 

NO mention of what it can do for the school or the children!

 

She then goes on to mention the importance of a transition to an Academy ‘..whereby the accountability to the Borough and the local framework of schools can be sustained.’ Yawn!

Back to that old chestnut.

 

4. In the last paragraph she mentions that the OSC had advised her that the LDA were too busy setting up the first two academies (Enfield and Edmunton) to take on Bromley. She claims ‘This was extremely disappointing as a co-sponsorship Academy involving Bromley and the LDA remains an aspiration for this Borough’. I’ll bet it was; at the exclusion of any other criteria!

Not content with the OSC telling her that the deal was effectively off, she approached the LDA direct. So determined was her intent to work with them.

 The response to this letter  from the LDA was the other attachment which ‘completed’ my FOI request last Friday.

The letter from the LDA dated 4^th November 2009 showed her efforts paid off. They were ‘surprised’ and seemingly irked, that the OSC had told her that the LDA did not have sufficient capacity for a third academy in Bromley. They obviously cooked something up together because in April  2010, Bromley sought ‘urgent ministerial approval’ of the scheme, prior to the General election. As we know, it was declined by the OSC (DfE.) Thank Goodness for small mercies! With the LDA now dissolved, Lord knows where we would have ended up!

I have more to add on this subject, but I don’t want to go on too much. I would like to hear your feedback and thoughts on this shameful affair.

If I was a Governor at Kelsey, I would find this all very disturbing. Where is your 'family' when you need it? Firmly stabbing you in the back I would say!

Attachments:

• Letter to Peter Rogers, London Development Agency[1].pdf, 1.2 MB

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Permalink Reply by Paul Sanderson, on January 27, 2011 at 8:13

1,000th.  Done it.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Clarke on January 27, 2011 at 8:56

I saw Carrie's post last night and wondered who'd grab the 1000th post on this thread. I have to congratulate all contributors to this discussion; who would have ever thought it would create such a debate which has gone on to be reported in lots of national and local newspapers let alone their accompanying websites. It's shown that locals can be empowered and change their surroundings and it's lovely that sites like this can enable the public to put over their views, thoughts and actions and effect change. If nothing less this thread has given 1000s of parents an insight into local education and the machinations of schools, academies and local councils. It has been viewed over 100,000 times since its start and will no doubt be a marker for other residents across the country in to what locals can do about the schooling of their kids and getting the 'outstanding' education they have every right to.

I look forward to the 2000th post, so again well done all

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Permalink Reply by Fiona Murphy on January 27, 2011 at 10:07

Jon

Big thank you for letting us use your fantastic site. It is a very powerful tool which has empowered us all; I have no doubt we would not have come so far without it - it is viewed far and wide.

 

The way things are going we may well hit 2000! Incredibly I am still getting emails from Cllrs/MP's which talk about taking things slowly and not rushing! Rush? How long do they need? This has been rumbling along since the Labour Government tried to get Harris into KPSC in 2008!

Fiona

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Permalink Reply by Fiona Murphy on January 27, 2011 at 10:20

Me, Me, Me.

Carrie

Thank you for attaching the letter Gillian Pearson sent to the LDA. The thread which runs throughout the letter is and I quote:"the importance to Bromley Council"

Not whats important to the Governors, they are not mentioned.Not whats important for the children, they are not mentioned.No. Whats important to G Pearson and Cllr Noad.

Are the Governors not horrified at this lack of democratic accountability?

So we know Bromley Council pull the strings at KPSC - is anyone going to be surprised when the school announce a co - sponsor?

Fiona

 

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Permalink Reply by Vi Grimes on January 27, 2011 at 12:34

 

Reading this evidence from Carrie I am quite shocked. So Noad goes behind the back of the school to stitch up a shotgun wedding with Mayor Boris and then thwarted tries to get the result he wants under the guise of governors making the choice -for which he will distance himself afterwards -saying it was down to the Governors to choose, nothing to do with him. That only seems to be true where the choice matches what Noad and co deem suits their political ends of keeping control.

 

At no time do Noad or Pearson or Colonel Bob MP put children first or what is best educationally. Nobody wants satisfactory for their children -other than those who dont have kids they have to put through the school. 

 

No proper process, no objective criteria. What shambolic amateurs.

 

Colonel Bob hops about in the background keeping his head down and failing to support his own Government's policy.

 

What about us all electing active councillors who support their constituents and active MPs who understand their own party policy?

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Permalink Reply by Silvia on January 27, 2011 at 12:49

Dear Carrie,

thank you, thank you , thank you for the faboulus investigative work you have done.

I also wonder what  pupils at Kelsey think of all this; they are most certainly the principal  victims of these shenigans.

 

Thanks again for the hard work

 

Silvia

 

 

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