Friends of Moseley School

24th March 2010

At a packed meeting of the Hall Green Constituency Committee last night, Birmingham's comedy double act, the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Cllr Les Lawrence and his sidekick Tony Howell failed to make an appearance to discuss the dissolution of Moseley School Governing Body to elected members and concerned parents and members of the community. Cardboard cut outs of the Cabinet Member and his officers would have sufficed. At the Sparkbrook Ward meeting last week, the Cabinet Member gave every indication that he would attend the Constituency meeting to discuss Moseley School. Elected members felt that Cllr. Lawrence and his officers were being disrespectful and passed a strongly worded resolution. Cllr. Lawrence and his officers bottled it. They cannot defend the indefensible such as having Miss. Thelma Probert OBE as a Governor of the Moseley School Interim Executive Board - to raise standards allegedly. As former Head Teacher of Golden Hillock School the best results Thelma could deliver was 24% for five GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths. Lack of moral fibre comes to mind. If senior officials cannot stand the heat then they need to get out of the kitchen.

23rd March 2010

In his letter to some parents, Tony Howell claims that the appointment of the Interim Executive Board (IEB) at Moseley School is essential to lead the major changes required to improve standards significantly at the school.

This is quite a bold claim. Why?

One of the proposed IEB member is Miss Thelma Probert.

She used to be the Head Teacher for Golden Hillock School for over a decade. Under her watch, the highest she ever achieved for Golden Hillock School was 24% for five GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths in 2004. Meanwhile the National Average in 2004 was 43%.

In 2002, she received an OBE (Order of the British Empire). Not bad for her academic record and for being in breach of the most basic statutory requirements in education.

Ms. Probert has also served as a School Improvement Partner (SIP) for six Birmingham Schools. The SIP Programme was the substance behind Tony Blair's noble but failed attempt to improve state education, education, education. If Local Authorities appoint retired Head Teachers – with a questionable record in academic attainment – as School Improvement Partners then it highly unlikely schools are going to improve significantly. (Most of the Moseley School Governors never met its School Improvement Partner and when they did catch glimpse of his termly reports, it was too late). This probably explains why after ten years and massive investment, the government decided to introduce yet another initiative to improve state education - National Challenge Programme. When the government announced National Challenge in 2007, Birmingham founds itself with 40% of its secondary schools under the National Challenge category. This is underachievement on an industrial scale and one of the worst for the size of Local Authority.

Under the government's National Challenge Programme, schools have to be achieving 30% for five GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths. Moseley School achieved 33% in 2009 and is predicted to achieve 40% in 2010. Perhaps the Governing Body should have been honoured with a GBE for instigating long overdue change at Moseley School and helping to exceed the government's minimum floor target.

The Interim Executive Board and changing Moseley School into a Trust is not really about raising standards but something else. Standards have been improving without a hard federation with Queensbridge, without a Trust and without a permanent Head Teacher.

Thursday 11th March 2010

In his letter to some parents, Tony Howell states that Birmingham Local Authority asked the Government to replace the Moseley School Governing Body with an Interim Executive Board because the governors refused to consult on a proposal to change the status of the school to Trust status.

What Tony Howell fails to conveniently mention are the names of the Trust partners. Who are the Trust partners, what track record do they have in running and transforming inner city comprehensive schools and in promoting community cohesion (a statutory requirement of a Trust)?

One of the Trust partners proposed by the Local Authority is Queensbridge School. Is Queensbridge School a High Performing School? How does its GCSE pass rate for five GCSEs including English and Maths compare with the Birmingham average or the National average over the last few years? The answer to this simple and obvious question can be found here. It does not require a rocket scientist to see something is not quite right with what Birmingham City Council is proposing for Moseley School.

There is something else that Tony Howell neglected to tell those parents who did receive his letter. He neglected to tell them two key facts that he cited in the application for an Interim Executive Board:

Queensbridge School was being considered as a Trust partner.
Queensbridge’s provisional results for 2009 have not outperformed the Fisher Family Trust D prediction in the same way as previous years. Although the school just missed its target there has been a 14% decrease in students achieving five A* - C passes at GCSE including English and maths compared to 2008.

One of the reasons why the relationship between the Governing Body and Birmingham City Council broke down is because the Local Authority wanted Queensbridge School to be a Trust partner when its track record is not exactly that impressive.

Tony, it is better to tell parents, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth unless of course you know you will have difficulty defending your radical proposal for Moseley School in the public domain. Will Queensbridge School be a Trust partner? If so, then there are 30 other secondary schools in Birmingham that have performed better than Queensbridge School over the last six years. Why don't you consider one of them?

Monday 8th March 2010

Before going on holiday, Tony Howell decided to write a letter to parents and carers of all students at Moseley School. He explains that the Secretary of State approved the Local Authority's application for an Interim Executive Board to improve standards significantly at the school. He fails to mention why he did not seek the Secretary of State's intervention in 2006 when the school hit rock bottom with 15% for five GCSEs including English and Maths or those secondary schools in Birmingham whose GCSE results fell in 2009 and have yet to reach the 30% minimum since the government launched the National Challenge Programme in 2007. Perhaps he found the leadership of the Governing Body more to his liking in 2006? One will never know. A rebuttal to his flimsy letter and the gaps that he has chosen to leave out in his short narrative, will be made in due course.

Meanwhile, some pupils are complaining that they did not receive Tony's letter to give to their parents / carers. In the current economic climate, the City Council is probably looking to save on postage costs in order to pay for the £1,000 per day temp who was recruited by Mr. Howell without following due process. Wish you were here Tony.

Saturday 5th March 2010

Nearly two weeks after the Governing Body of Moseley School was removed, the beleaguered Strategic Director of Children, Young People and Families of Birmingham City Council, Tony Howell has finally decided to write to parents and guardians of pupils of Moseley School.

Before then, parents and pupils had no idea that their representative Governing Body had been removed. It would appear that Birmingham City Council wanted to keep it that way.

Tony Howell was forced to write after an intensive leafleting campaign by a new local pressure group called Save Moseley School (SMS) led by Parent Governor, Dr. David Simones-Jones, informing parents, pupils and local community organisations of the Governing Body's removal and the underlying motives behind it.

Within a few days, Dr. David Simones-Jones and his wife Mary had collected over 100 signatures from concerned parents and exasperated members of the community from all over Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Springfield. Credit where credit is due to Dr. Simones-Jones for taking the lead and initiative.

Tony Howell has confirmed Save Moseley School's worst fears, namely that there is NO parent representation on the Interim Executive Board (IEB). However, a parent will be appointed in due course (probably after key strategic decisions have been taken about the future structure of the school).

NO EDUCATION WITHOUT PARENT AND TEACHER REPRESENTATION

In his letter to parents, Tony Howell denies that Queensbridge School will take over Moseley School but fails to tell parents that it was the Local Authority's intention that it should - until that is - when 2009 GCSE results were released. Queensbridge results for five GCSEs including English and Maths fell by 15% to just 30%, or was it 29.6% or 30.4%? Every Child Matters to the nearest one decimal place in the competitive world of school league tables.

Once these disastrous results were released the Office of the Schools Commissioner (OSC) expressed consternation. The proposed hard federation with Queensbridge was off. How could any Governing Body worth its weight in gold consider federating with a school which is itself hovering on the government's unambitious 30% floor target for five GCSEs including English and Maths? Queensbridge and Moseley share the same Head Teacher. He has his work cut out trying to turn around two inner city schools. HM Treasury must be pleased with the considerable cost savings from this working arrangement.

Before then the Moseley School Governing Body had agreed to a hard federation with Queensbridge following a failed Appeal to OFSTED - of which Tony Howell claims he was unaware - when he made a premature application to remove the Governing Body in May 2009. Such was the haste to remove the Governing Body even if it meant not following due process. The Governing Body had to hire the services of Education Law Specialists to force the Local Authority to back down and withdraw its application for an IEB.

The killer question now is, in the proposed Trust will Queensbridge School be a partner?

If so, then the Trust arrangement will allow Queensbridge in through the back door.

What could not be achieved through a hard federation with Queensbridge School, is now being pursued through a Trust.

No wonder independent minded parent and community governors had to be removed.

Friday 4th March 2010

Over 250 signatures were signed by parents and members of the community today outraged at the removal of an effective, professional, representative and diverse Governing Body. Parents and members of the community have expressed no confidence in the Interim Head Teacher and are demanding his immediate removal.

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Sparkbrook ward Councillor, Salma Yaqoob backs the Governing Body. Over 30% of Moseley School pupils are from Sparkbrook ward. Meanwhile, the silence is deafening from Springfield (formerly Sparkhill) ward councillors from where nearly 40% of Moseley School pupils hail. Rumour has it, that they will come out of hibernation one month before the elections.

Monday 1st March 2010

News breaks out that the Moseley School Governing Body has been removed. In its defence, Birmingham City Council claims that the Governing Body was issued with two Statutory Warning Notices over a period of eight months in 2009.

Well that's three years too late.

What did Birmingham City Council do when Moseley School hit rock bottom with 15% for five GCSEs including English and Maths?

No Statutory Warning Notices then.

What about other National Challenge Schools in the City whose GCSE results fell in 2009 and those that have yet to reach the 30% target of five GCSEs including English and Maths? Double standards appears to be official Council policy.

Friday 26th February 2010

Parent Governor Dr. David Simones Jones leads protests outside the gates of Moseley School, College Road entrance about the removal of the Moseley School Governing Body.