When Moseley School - a Specialist Language College hit rock bottom in 2006 with a risible pass rate of 15% for five GCSE subjects including English and Maths, parents, former pupils, professional and university educated members of the local community started to take an active interest in the governance and management of what was once a prestigious school in the 1970s. They discovered the Chair of Governors was actually a former teacher of the school who was working as an Assistant Head of School Effectiveness in another city, Effectiveness being the operative word here. Not only was the said individual the Chair of Governors but he was also Chair of the Personnel Committee and Chair of the Finance Committee. In other words, he had Full Spectrum Dominance (FSD) and under his watch the school was going downhill; and a culture of lame excuses, low aspirations and disregard for basic statutory requirements prevailed. Information of a strategic and statutory nature to help the Governing Body raise attainment was not shared in a timely manner with the rest of the Governing Body, for example the existence of a School Improvement Partner (SIP) or his termly reports; or timely access and training to the RaiseOnLine Tool.
Complaints were made to OFSTED, Birmingham City Council, the Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr. Les Lawrence, the Strategic Director, Tony Howell, local Springfield ward Councillors and the local Member of Parliament. OFSTED did not respond or put the school into a Category such as Special Measures (SM) or Notice To Improve (NTI). Nor did the Local Authority use its powers to issue a Statutory Warning Notice (SWN).
Thereafter, parents, former pupils, professional and university educated members of the local community who worked in highly responsible positions, some in major prestigious public and private sector organisations either joined the Moseley School Governing Body or undertook leadership positions on it. Five Governors had Doctorates. At least two had Masters Degrees. One was a medical doctor.
The longstanding Chair of Governors was ousted as other Governors lost confidence in his so called profession and expertise. The new Chair of Governors met with the Head of School Effectiveness, Jackie Hughes to complain about historical low attainment at Moseley School. Under new leadership, the Governing Body instigated long overdue change at Moseley School to bring it into the 21st century. The Governing Body challenged the school to explain why it was under-performing in respect to five GCSEs passes including English and Maths and Contextual Value Added (CVA) scores at both Key Stages 3 and 4, in comparison to other inner schools with similar pupil intake and in greater areas of deprivation; and how could the school justify having such a difficult specialism, that of languages when many children were up to three years behind in their chronological reading age and did not have an adequate grasp of English.
With the full support of the Local Authority, the Governing Body appointed the Head Teacher of neighbouring Queensbride School, Tim Boyes as Interim Head Teacher of Moseley School, initially for a period of two terms (Spring and Summer 2009). During the two terms, the Governing Body would undertake the process to recruit a new permanent Head Teacher for Moseley School.
However, Tim Boyes expressed an interest in the post. In March 2009, the Head of School Effectiveness, Jackie Hughes attended a Governing Body meeting and said that under National Challenge, Moseley School was considered a high risk school for a number of reasons including the perception that the Governing Body would appoint an inexperienced first-time Head Teacher! To address these concerns, a National Challenge Hard Federation with Queensbridge School would have to be esbablished and a few of the Moseley School Governors would join the Queensbridge Governing Body which would remain intact and be enlarged to run both schools. Guess who would be the Federation Head Teacher of both schools? Mr. T. Boyes!
The Governing Body saw through this because there were many other National Challenge Schools in Birmingham, with the worst being chaired, not by parents nor by members of the local community but by City Council appointed Governors (LA Governors). Local Authorities are not interested in attainment but about power and control of schools and have their placemen and placewomen on School Governing Bodies. The education establishment does not like Governing Bodies led by parents or professionals members of the local community and nor do they like parents and professional members of the local community having a say or influence in the education of their chidlren. They think they know best with their voodoo academic theories on education.
Towards the end of March 2009, Tony Howell issued a Statutory Warning Notice (SWN) containing false, petty and misleading allegations by Tim Boyes. Some of these allegations would not stand up in a court of law. The SWN required the Moseley School Governing Body to commit to publishing a joint proposal with the Governing Body of Queensbridge School to establish a National Challenge Hard Federation. The Governing Body appealed to OFSTED. However, Tony Howell could not wait to see off the Moseley School Governing Body and so he made a premature application to the Secretary of State, Ed Balls to have the Governing Body removed. The Moseley School Governing Body then hired the services of Education Law Specialists to force the Local Authority to withdraw its application.
Unfortunately, OSTED did not uphold the Appeal. In its verdict, OFSTED referred to allegations that did not appear in the original Statutory Warning Notice. Therefore, the Governing Body was not even given a fair opportunity to explain or rebut these highly contestable allegations.
While the Governing Body was busy with an appeal to OFSTED and fighting a legal battle against the Local Authority for issuing a premature application to replace the Governing Body with an Interim Executive Board (IEB), Tim Boyes recruited not one but two school deputies (Boyes' Buddies) with the support of two City Council officers, Andrew Dixon - the Lead Officer for School Collaborations and Federations (aka Hapless Dixon, Match Maker for Forced Marriages between schools) and Denise Cutting - Head of Workforce Development. Tim Boyes ignored repeated requests by officers of the Governing Body not to proceed with the selection, interview and appointment of School Deputies until a selection panel had been formed. He ignored the requests. He thought he could get away with it.
The Local Authority re-issued the Statutory Warning Notice and the Governing Body decided to comply with it. Shortly afterwards the Moseleians Association published a webpage stating:
- The announcement of the establishment of a hard federation with Queensbridge School.
- Association members may be concerned at the possibility that Moseley's unique identity may be subsumed into a blandly anonymous amalgamation.
- Moseley School was fortunate to secure the inter regnum services of another highly regarded City school Head, in Tim Boyes (from Queensbridge), whose appointment as head of the enlarged school has now been made permanent.
None of the above was true but it was quite clear that a Hard Federation was not about raising attainment but about Tim Boyes becoming a permanent head of two schools by any means possible even if it means smearing the Moseley School Governing Body.
Despite the turbulence, the Governing Body delivered improved results. In 2009, results were up 7% with 33% of pupils achieving passes in five GCSE subjects including English and Maths. It was its best ever results in years. The Governing Body - under new and representative leadership and comprising of parents and professional members of the local community - had been vindicated in securing new school leadership to tackle historical low attainment.
However, results for high performing specialist status school, Queensbridge fell 15% to 30%! Queensbridge School almost became a National Challenge School itself. The proposal to establish a Hard Federation was no longer tenable, so the Local Authority came up with another cunning plan. Despite improved results, Moseley School would close down and re-open as a National Challenge Trust School with Queensbridge School as one of the Trust partners.
Before the Governing Body had a chance to convene a formal meeting to discuss such a sensitive proposal (as it has an impact on staff terms and conditions), Tim Boyes made a premature announcement about the proposed Trust to members of staff. It was at this stage that the strained relationship with Tim Boyes finally broke down irretrievably.
The Governing Body made a formal complaint under Section 496 of the 1996 Education Act about the conduct of Tim Boyes and the Local Authority but like the Appeal to OFSTED, it was not upheld (education establishment clsoing ranks). The Governing Body was eventually removed in February 2010 and replaced by an Interim Executive Board (IEB) chaired by someone called Thelma Probert - who Tony Howell described in the IEB application form as a former Birmingham Headteacher...very experienced in leading school improvement.
The Governing Body's worst fears came true. Ms. Thelma Probert OBE was only the School Improvement Partner for Queensbridge School. She used to be the Head Teacher for Golden Hillock School where the best she ever achieved under her watch was a risible 24% for five GCSEs including English and Maths. In other words, nearly three-quarters of pupils did not make it on her watch. When she was Head Teacher of Golden Hillock School, she had a Deputy called Mr. T. Boyes!
When Moseley School was led by a salaried employee of the education establishment (Assistant Head of School Effectiveness in another city), the school was being run into the ground and hit rock bottom in 2006. When the Governing Body was led by parents and professional members of the local community, it instigated long overdue change, challenged the school and delivered improved and better GCSE results than Queensbridge School. The
parent / community-led Governing Body It was then replaced by an Interim Executive Board chaired by a salaried employee of the education establishment (School Improvement Partner, retired Head Teacher with a maximum pass rate of 24%).
Soon after bringing this blatant conflict interest and cronyism to light at a Springfield Ward Committee meeting held in September 2010, Ms. Probert resigned as the Chair of the IEB with immediate effect .
Nevertheless in 2010, Moseley School achieved a credible pass rate of 45% for five GCSEs including English and Maths but instead of returning Moseley School to normal governance and leadership arrangements e.g. by appointing a permanent head teacher, the IEB has started a six week public consultation process proposing to change the status of Moseley School from a Community School to a Foundation School.
But so has Queensbridge School! What a coincidence! Or is it? And why both schools and at exactly the same time?
Perhaps the idea is to have one Foundation running both Moseley School and Queensbridge School with Tim Boyes as Executive Head Teacher?
Now there's a surprise.
