- NO to underachievement
- NO to statutory breaches
- NO to lame excuses
- NO to Thelma Probert
Coming soon...
An OFSTED Inspector Calls by J(ames) B(rown) Priestly
Be careful what you wish for.
Preparing for an OFSTED Inspection
Fooling OFSTED Inspectors
Why has attendance gone down?
When did Curriculum Cmte first meet?
Dumb and Dumber
Coming soon...
Spot the deliberate errors in the consultation process and what are they?
Why Foundation status?
How to complain against Foundation status?
Officials Secrets Acts
Thelma Probert OBE - Chair of the Moseley School Interim Executive Board (IEB), resigns
Instead of returning Moseley School to normal governance and leadership arrangement e.g. appointing a permament Head Teacher, following a credible pass rate of 46% for five GCSEs including English and Maths, the Interim Executive Board (IEB) composed o fmainly anonymous people, 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?
Read What's all the fuss about?
Statutory Guidance on changing from a Community School to a Foundation School
Coming soon...
What is the difference between a Community, Foundation and a Trust School?
Why should parents of and the local community served by Moseley School be extremely concerned about the proposed change in status to Foundation School (and then to Trust School)?
Why does Interim Head Teacher, Tim Boyes and his cronies on the Moseley School Interim Executive Board (IEB), Queensbridge Governing Body and Birmingham City Council want to change the status of Moseley School from a Community School to a Foundation School (and then to a Trust School)?
What will the change in status mean for current and future parents of pupils of Moseley School?
Who will own Moseley School's considerable assets if it becomes a Foundation School (and then a Trust School)?
B'ham School League Table (2007-2010) NEW!
Head Teacher stripped of OBE NEW!
What Queensbridge parents need to know NEW!
OFSTED Inspector bowls a googly Coming soon...
An OFSTED Inspector Calls by J(ames) B(rown) Priestly Coming soon...
Secondary school GCSE results 2010
Primary school KS2 results 2010
The Law on public consultation
Government white paper on Education
Coming soon...
What legal rights and say do parents have in the education of their children?
Understanding school league tables and different exams e.g. academic, vocational, GCSEs, iGCSEs, BTECs, Diplomas, Foundation Paper, Higher Paper, English baccalaureate, etc.
What is hot housing?
Understanding specialist status
NO to Tim Boyes as Interim Head, Permanent Head or Executive Head of Moseley School. He saw himself as the permanent Head Teacher of Moseley School in the now aborted Hard Federation - Honest Mistake, Honest Gov! He played an instrumental role in the removal of a representative, professional and effective Governing Body that instigated long overdue change at Moseley School following years of underachievement and statutory breaches. Moseley School needs it own permanent Head Teacher (not Tim Boyes) and its own representative Governing Body made up of stakeholders and independent minded people (not cronies).
NO to Queensbridge School as a partner in any shape or form. Queensbridge results for five GCSEs including English and Maths plummeted to 30% in 2009. Over the last six years, its results have never exceeded the Birmingham or National Average (50%).
NO to Trust Status. National Challenge Trusts are intended for schools where fewer than 30% of students are achieving five GCSEs at A*-C’s including English and Maths and it is agreed that its replacement with an Academy is not an option. In 2009, Moseley School’s results went up to 33% and are predicted to reach 40% in 2010. Unions are opposed to Trusts. The Trust may change the admissions criteria and may sell off some of Moseley School’s assets.
NO to Trust partners who have below Birmingham and National Average GCSE results and / or no experience or track record in running complex inner city schools or promoting Community Cohesion.
NO to Discrimination & Double Standards. Governing Bodies of those schools that have yet to reach the government’s minimum target of 30% have not been removed.
NO to the disposal or transfer of any of Moseley School’s enormous and lucrative assets including land and buildings to third parties. Moseley School occupies a huge amount of valuable land (18 acres) in a popular residential area. It has two large wings (East and West), a Sixth Form, sports field, cricket pitch and Health and Fitness Centre for community use.
The parents of today and the future (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years) of Springfield, Sparkhill and Sparkbrook need every single inch of land on the current Moseley School site for future expansion. Inner city wards have high birth rates and high numbers of young people who need access to educational facilities. Sparkbrook ward does not even have a secondary school of its own.
Moseley School currently caters for 1,350 pupils. Swanshurst Girls School caters for 1,800 pupils. Moseley School can be easily expanded to cater for far more pupils but only if none of its considerable assets are disposed of to third parties.
One third of children do not get their first choice in secondary school place. Inner city children have to travel across the city to get secondary education and this can involve catching two buses. The success rate for appeals against secondary school place allocation is very low in Birmingham at 3.6% compared to 22% for the national average.
NO to Birmingham City Council interference. Birmingham City Council is part of the problem. Over the last two decades, officials have been presiding over a culture of underachievement, statutory breaches and disempowering parents and community. The education establishment cannot be trusted to meet basic statutory requirements and the needs of our children. Parents and the community can do a better job running schools.
NO to lamentable excuses. In January 2010, the Head of School Effectiveness in Birmingham cited lamentable excuses for underachievement such as English As An Additional Language (EAL) and deprivation. Before a child even goes to school, Birmingham City Council officials with their culture of excuses and low aspirations have condemned the child to a life of underachievement.
