mrchas

MICHAELA COMMUNITY SCHOOL ** THE OPEN DAY IS POSTPONED ** we regret to inform you that due to circumstances beyond our control the OPEN DAY scheduled for 21st May 11.00 - 14.00 at Sport Action Zone (SAZ) Lilian Baylis Old School, Lollard St, SE11 is POSTPONED. We hope this event will now take place in June. Once we have a new date we will post it here We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

@new mother i can assure you the anti academies post is genuine... i was at the meeting.... original document http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/headlines/lambethprotestagainstfreeschoolproposal Mr Chas

Michaela Community School (MCS) - opening Sept 2012 Saturday 21st May 11.00 - 14.00 Community Open Day @ Sport Action Zone ( SAZ ) Lilian Baylis Old School, Lollard Street, London SE11 6PY Come and see the sports activities that will be on offer to us ! The steering group will be there to greet you and answer questions. Bring your children and TELL YOUR FRIENDS ! The facilities are amazing ( see weblink ) http://www.sportactionzone.com/ Kind regards from the Steering Group Michaela Community School ( MCS ) http://www.michaelacommunityschool.co.uk

My last post that may interest parents on this thread, is a long and detailed "speech" by MIKE BAKER http://www.mikebakereducation.co.uk/ It is a detailed and insightful analysis of where the Academy movement and the whole school system is heading Tipping point for academies and the whole school system 06 May 2011 The following is the main text of my speech at the Academy Network conference in Birmingham on May 5th 2011 www.academynetwork.co.uk/ Just before Easter I wrote in my Education Guardian column about how this was something of a landmark moment for academies. For while the teacher union conferences were busy condemning academy conversions, up and down the country school governors were (I guessed ? and subsequent correspondence suggested I was right) pondering whether or not to take the leap and convert. One school governor wrote to me to say they were indeed ?agonising? over the issue over the holidays in order to make a decision before the end of the summer and before the current financial offer runs out. That governor told me the Church of England has suddenly decided that academy conversion is the only way to go and is advising its voluntary-aided schools to do so as a matter of urgency. As this particular chair of governors concluded - in her area at least - the decision to convert was looking like a ?no brainer? and she expected all local schools to go that way by the autumn. Looking more widely, a recent survey by the Association of School and College Leaders in April showed that almost half of all secondary schools had either converted or were actively considering doing so. A further 34% were undecided (and that?s probably changed just in the last month or so) and only 19% remained defiantly against the change. So why are so many taking this route? In most cases, it has to be said, it?s not ideology, but pragmatism. In the ASCL survey, of those considering change, 73% believed it would help them financially. And, as we know, with much tougher economic times now upon us, this is an even more important consideration than usual. For many large secondary schools the financial cushion that academy conversion offers is substantial ? even if it may not last much beyond the first year. Warwick Mansell had an interesting piece in The Education Guardian the other day that gave some detailed case studies of how some schools were hundreds of thousands of pounds better off by becoming academies. This confirms the picture I?ve also been getting from schools I?ve visited. As Warwick wrote, the money schools are getting to replace their share of central funding for services such as behaviour support, school improvement, and administration ? the LACSEG or local authority spend equivalent grant (to give it its full catchy name) - is in most cases worth more than they are spending out to replace those services. In part that?s because some of those services are now coming from the YPLA. And in part it?s because many schools do not have great need for some of the services they were previously paying for. This is particularly true for ?outstanding? schools and those which - because of their student composition - do not have great need for services such as behaviour support or welfare and truancy backup. So, I think we are now at a tipping point when all but the most reluctant will feel unable to resist the tide (if that?s not mixing my metaphors too much). Once several large secondary schools in an area have converted, taking their share of central budgets, what capability will local authorities have left to support schools that remain with them? It has to be said that many primary heads are enthusiasts for academy freedoms ? but many are not. But they feel they may be left with no choice. So, here we are, just one year on from the General Election (voting was a year ago to this day ? a year is a long time in politics!). And, for all the talk from Michael Gove, about ending central direction and leaving policy to individual schools, the fact is that he has pulled some critical levers and the whole system is moving in the direction he wants. He may not be fat?but he is certainly the controller. And make no mistake about the enormity of this change. It is easy to under-estimate what is happening, in part because it builds on what has been happening steadily ever since the 1988 Act started to give schools greater autonomy over budgets and other decision-making. The shift to school autonomy has been mostly welcome and has been incremental. But now we are, as I say, at a pivotal moment. This is nothing short of the dismantling of the 1944 Education Act, which set up a ?national system locally administered?. And while Local authorities retain certain important roles in law, there must be a real question about their future ability to fulfil that role. That is particularly worrying for those schools that are big users of central services such as behaviour support or school improvement. But for all schools the future now looks like one in which the school/LA relationship will be replaced by school-to-school relationships. That might happen within federations. Or it may be within school groups, under a particular brand, as I am sure we are going to see the steady growth of school chains like ARK, E-ACT or The Harris Federation. We may also see more vertical federations as primary schools look to their secondary neighbours to fulfil some of the role of the former LA. Schools will buy support packages from other schools or school groups. Education departments as such will cease to disappear in may local authorities. In their place there will be many more education service companies and organisations offering targeted support and functions. To get the best out of their purchasing power, schools will need to operate jointly or in groups to coordinate their finances and to achieve better deals. How will that be done: there are lots of solutions - joint bursars, executive heads, shared procurement committees ? and they will vary across the country, according to circumstances? And, just as universities are finding in Higher Education, one solution to financial hardship will be to develop more shared services for everything from catering and payroll to HR support and specialist services like Ed Psychs and behaviour Support. And ? legally, of course ? academies are the same as independent schools. That might feel a bit odd for those of you who?ve spent your professional lives in the state sector. But it should not be too odd. An academy is in effect a mid-sized corporate or charitable legal entity, and that should be familiar to governors who?ve worked in any substantial organisation outside the public sector. Conversion also cuts the ties with LAs, although most councils are still permitting academies to pay for services if they want them, although they are under no obligation to provide them anymore. There are many other issues, I know, which you may want to know more about: from pensions to employment laws, legal requirements to auditing practices. And hopefully today you?ll get the answers you need. In conclusion then, it?s a brave new world we?re entering. Personally I feel many schools will thrive on it. But I also fear there will be casualties. And there is a question about who will be there to monitor schools to catch them before they fall too far. I think there is a real risk that the school system will become more fragmented and disparate?.and probably more unequal. School leaderships are quite right to do what is best for their own institution ? but I do worry about the bigger picture. There are some likely flash points ahead too ? perhaps the most obvious being over national pay and conditions, something the unions are determined to protect, despite Lord Hill?s recent insistence that the ability to set pay and conditions for staff is one of the key autonomies for academies. So, all in all, there?s a lot of questions for us to discuss today. How can schools or federations work together to get the best support services that are out there? How will they need to change their own structures to fit this new world? What reassurances should they be giving to their staff, parents and students? Can they go it alone or should they be looking for the support of federation or seek to be part of a well-know school chain brand? You have the privilege and the pleasure of leading schools in what the Chinese would call ?interesting? times. I?m sure they?re going to be exciting times. And challenging times. You?ll need to innovate and to adapt?even more than you no doubt do already. But ? hopefully ? you?ll leave here today with some valuable advice, some good new contacts, and with the fellow feeling of a problem shared.

Sorry All Cut and paste mistake I do apologise I lost a line The Anti Academies Alliance http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/headlines/lambethprotestagainstfreeschoolproposal Delingpole was in the Telegraph

ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO AN ARGUMENT... Lambeth protest against Free School proposal On Thursday 5th May there was a meeting to promote a 'Free' School in Lambeth known as the 'Michaela Community School'. We received the following report "At last night's meeting to promote the free school we heard from a line up of very posh people about how schools should operate: they should teach 'the basics' (that's literacy and numeracy to you and me), but also have a balanced curriculum, put children in for Oxbridge and teach Latin, wear a uniform and be polite. With such an esteemed collection of educational experts we were expecting there may be some radical suggestions but sadly there was nothing new. We had heard all these proposals before. In practically every school in the country. I can't imagine there is a school in existence which doesn't have every one of their ideas on an action plan somewhere. What was not revealed was the fact that the chair of the meeting, Suella Fernades, their legal expert, stood as a Tory MP in Leicester against a high profile black Labour MP. One of their key speakers was Neil Mahapatra, a banker who stood for the Tories against Tony Blair in Sedgefield. Finally there was Katharine Birbalsingh, (who was given a standing ovation at the Tory party conference). She was dismissed from her previous post, has never been a Head teacher as far as we know, but has been designated as the head of this new school. Difficult to see how many on this panel can justify being interested in a school in Lambeth when they live hundreds of miles away but easy to see why they might want the publicity. Over 20 of the people attending the meeting were there to oppose the plan, including many teachers and Head teachers. When questions were allowed from the floor, after an hour and a half of listening to the organisers of the plan, only 4 people were allowed to speak. One of them asked why he should be interested only in his own child if it meant destroying education for other Black children. This is at the heart of this free school project. It would directly pit this new school in competition with local schools. Not only that it will take funding from them. Free schools are funded from the BSF cuts. This is money that was allocated and promised to local schools to refurbish them and improve the facilities for our pupils. For someone to talk about improving the education of Black children by indulging in a project that is taking money away from schools that serve our black community is astounding. For a Tory project to come into the heart of Lambeth, when the Tory cuts have seen the sacking of our ethnic minority achievement team, the closing of our adventure playgrounds, the shutting of our libraries, is also breathtaking cheek. Those of us interested in education want a real dialogue about how to tackle racism in schools and ethnic minority achievement. The Tory cuts will have a devastating effect on our black community. Tory free schools are not the answer. We call for all those opposed to this plan and interested in a constructive dialogue about race and education to come to a steering group meeting on Wednesday 18th May at 5.30pm."

PROPOSED FREE SCHOOL LATEST NEWS Here is the website where prospective parents can register their interest , You will get on the mailing list and be kept informed http://michaelacommunityschool... STOP PRESS --------------- ''OPEN DAY" on Sat 21st May Lilian Baylis Old School , Lollard St, London SE11. Meet the steering group and view the sports facilities that will be on offer. Open from from 11am to 2pm. Sports facilities brilliantly described here http://www.streetgames.org/dru...

Free Schools: the stake in the heart of the Progressive vampire BY JAMES DELINGPOLE Fiona Millar: not happy with Free Schools Last night I saw the future of education in Britain ? and it worked. The occasion was the launch of Katharine Birbalsingh?s free school in Lambeth, South London. As a local parent I was naturally very interested in this because at the moment round these parts you have two options when your kids turn 11: either you consign them to the dustbin of whichever failing state school you?re unlucky enough to get them into. Or you consign yourself to an old age of misery and penury by forking out for one of the many excellent local private schools. Having just been in America, I know that in the States (Canada too) parents face very similar problems. And it has nothing to do with poor/ethnic kids finding it harder to learn, or with wicked government underfunding, or any of the other weaselly excuses trotted out by the progressives who?ve held the education systems on both sides of the Atlantic hostage for the last three or four decades. The problem has purely to do with entrenched ideology. In short, the liberal-left will do everything it can to hamstring knowledge-based, academically-rigorous, disciplined liberal arts education because it creates achievers not victims. I saw these progressive Enemies of Promise at the meeting last night and crikey what a malign bunch they were. You know that awful tortured expression you see on Dracula?s face when he?s ambushed in his coffin and, as the stake is driven into his heart his eyes open in fear and horror while he screams his final scream of abominable evil? Well that?s just the reaction I witnessed last night from the activists who?d turned up en masse to try to sabotage Birbalsingh?s dream academy. And what a wonderful school it?s going to be. Seven speakers from the foundation committee stood up in turn to talk about the school. If this were South Park you could satirise it as ?people of all colours and creeds holding hands under a rainbow? but this is Brixton and it was a joy to see: a snappy Asian private equity man who?s taking care of the financial side; a white publican in tears at the misery the progressive system had inflicted on his kids; a young white schoolteacher outlining a curriculum brimming with rigour and Oxbridge aspiration; Tony Sewell, built like a black heavyweight boxer, talking unapologetically about elitism; the white, fiery Oxbridge-educated head of maths talking about the extra, private-school-style late afternoon classes which over five years will add up to a whole extra years? worth of education; then Katharine Birbalsingh herself in her lovely lilting Guyanan accent enthusing about the school in a way you just know is going to make her one of the best headteachers in the country and politely but firmly putting down hecklers as only a battle-hardened veteran of state education is able. Every time one of the panel got up and spoke I wanted to clap and cheer because I know from the experiences of my friend Toby Young just how much time and selfless dedication it takes to set up these schools, and because I know how badly South London?s education system needs the beacon of excellence which this new school will be. It?s called the Michaela Community School ? named in honour of an inspirational colleague of Birbalsingh?s who recently died of cancer ? and it deserves all the support it can get. It deserves it all the more so since you can be sure that Lambeth?s aggressively Left-wing council and the activist mob who tried to hijacked last night?s meeting will do everything in their power to destroy it. Though the school has already found the perfect site ? a disused school next to a stretch of parkland with sports facilities and everything ? Lambeth council will throw every obstacle in its way it can. If I hadn?t witnessed it for myself last night, I?m not sure I would have believed it. Here is an inspirational ethnic teacher proposing to set up a school in one of London?s most deprived, educationally disadvantaged boroughs which will: be open to all regardless of race or religious domination; teach to Oxbridge standards; instil discipline (with a uniform, natch) and good manners; grade children to encourage aspiration and competition; bring out the very best in its pupils in a way that the state system so patently doesn?t do at the moment. It will be free of charge and it will set standards which other schools in the area can emulate. Oh, and as Birbalsingh pointed out last night, nobody is forcing anyone to send their kids there. If they want their kids to go into showbiz they can try the Fame Academy. Or (Birbalsingh was too politic to say this) if they want their kids to learn about Mary Seacole, knifing techniques, grievance awareness and one-parent-housing-benefit application, they can choose from any number of splendid schools in the area which specialise in just these fields. Yet still there are groups out there so perverse that they wish to destroy Birbalsingh?s wonderful enterprise. Not for the first time I was reminded of the parallels between the battle Toby Young and Katharine Birbalsingh are fighting over education, which Nick Cohen, Andrew Gilligan and Douglas Murray are fighting over Islamism, and which some of us are fighting over eco lunacy. In his marvellous book What?s Left, Nick Cohen (a lefty, bless him) set out to ask the question: why is it that the international left, whose raison d?etre used to be to stick up for the rights of oppressed workers, women, homosexuals and other minorities was now cheerleading for the kind of Islamofascists who wanted to deny women education and crush homosexuals under walls? The same might be asked of the kind of people who are opposing Birbalsingh?s school. We currently live in a country where seven per cent of the population receives the best education in the world (the British private school system) but where the other 93 per cent receives (unless they?re really lucky) one of the worst. You?d think no one in their right mind could possibly wish to stop someone setting up a State school which aimed to copy exactly the formula that makes private schools so successful, and whose main beneficiaries were going to be those deserving poor and ethnic minorities the liberal-left is supposedly committed to helping. Yet this is what Birbalsingh?s opponents are trying to do. I call this not just misguided. I call this actively evil. There is no excuse for what they are doing. It is plain wrong.

Kennington is currently under consideration Flyers are now available for distribution !!!