Some stats behind the hype re academy chains like Harris

[DenmotherSmith]

I have two kids at a local Harris secondary school, and they love it. They are happy, motivated, have good friends and many excellent teachers. I find the staff responsive and engaging, able to treat parents like partners in their child's education. I am can only speak from a personal experience , not the preferred EDF method of read it in the paper, heard it in the playground, my nan knows someone who teachers there source.

For those of you that love a link check out this one about Harris Westminster six-form collaboration.

http://www.harrisfederation.org.uk/uploads/campus/38_31_13543-harris-westminster-sf-prospectus.pdf

[*CGPC*]

TE44, hopefully I can clarify the point around "purchasing" places.

Alternative provision Free Schools and academies (and, soon, all state APs) are funded at a per place base level by central government. This gives them some financial stability, as obviously the student population goes up and down much more than a mainstream school. Where a school, LA or other referring body wants to send a student there, they "purchase" a place by paying a top up fee. For Harris Aspire, the expectation is that most places will be purchased by Harris schools (presumably because they designed it to be the right size for the approx. number of referrals they make per year for students this school might be suitable for) but other schools, LAs and commissioners will also be able "purchase" places by paying the top up fee. This model of a cluster of mainstream schools running AP is increasingly common, so there's nothing unusual going on as far as I'm aware.

I should add that I'm in no way associated with Harris but I work closely with a lot of academies and Free Schools so spend a lot of time looking at this stuff!

TE44 Wrote:

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> http://cds.bromley.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId

> =4445

>

> I didn't realise Harris Aspire Academy for

> alternative education opened last Sept. If you

> scroll to 22c on link above.

> I find it quite confusing, it seems to be saying

> there will be a charge unless children are

> referred from a harris academy. Sorry if this has

> been discussed already, if so can you tell me

> where. Link below for Harris aspire academy.

> arris offering alternative schools and moving

> children from mainstream, must be closely

> monitered in light of the

> question around stats.

>

> http://www.harrisaspire.org.uk/653/your-questions

> -answered

[Fuschia]

My experience of ap for year 11 pupils is that they are transferred to the Ap prior to the January census and so their results count against the ap rather than against the school.

My reading of the Harris Aspire ap is that they do indeed transfer pupils off of the original school roll.

[TE44]

Thanks CGPC Are you saying that soon all state run AP's will be funded by central goverment, whhilst at the moment

it is by local authority. Is there any difference between pupil referral units (PRU) and alternatuve provision (Ap)

It has only came to my notice that a reccomendation was put forward that most pru's convert to academies by 2018.

http://education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/a00216844/fund-staff-leg-prus

[TE44]

Found it pupil referal units that convert to academies become alternative provision.

Click for links

http://www.education.gov.uk/b00229519/academy-funding-guide

[Fuschia]

www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/11012515.Council_asks_Department_for_Education_to_investigate__disappearing__pupils_at_academies

[Fuschia]

http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/Council-asks-academy-chains-explain-Croydon-s/story-20621044-detail/story.html

[landsberger]

Interesting article in the Guardian last month on this issue

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/oct/13/schools-harris-academy-teachers-ofsted

and the Inside Croydon blog

http://insidecroydon.com/2015/11/17/hundreds-of-teachers-leaving-harris-academies-each-year/#comment-23455

Thrown into sharp relief when you see the comment above from Sophiesofa

"My top tip for parents/kids looking round potential schools is to ask what the staff turnover is like. Don't just rely on Ofsted and results".

[uncleglen]

Inside croydon is a well known leftist attack dog...and the Labourites are against their schools being taken out of L.A. control. However, with a Tory government schools are vulnerable to the cuts at the front line imposed by Labour councils- so they are better off out of L.A. control.

Staff turnover in London is not a very good indicator because if you have worked in an inner city school, especially London schools with the inherent challenges - then you have a much better chance of promotion elsewhere......

[landsberger]

uncleglen Wrote:

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> Inside croydon is a well known leftist attack

> dog...and the Labourites are against their schools

> being taken out of L.A. control. However, with a

> Tory government schools are vulnerable to the cuts

> at the front line imposed by Labour councils- so

> they are better off out of L.A. control.

> Staff turnover in London is not a very good

> indicator because if you have worked in an inner

> city school, especially London schools with the

> inherent challenges - then you have a much better

> chance of promotion elsewhere......

Theses levels of turnover are some way above comparative schools in the UK, academy or not. The issue here is Harris.