Wednesday 23 December 2009

Choosing who should run our schools

It seems that my Christmas wish for Weston Favell School to be left alone and remain outside of the clutches of a Tory County Council and a Labour Governments wish to turn them into an Academy against their will has come partly true!

Certainly the news out today that Weston Favells academy sponsor ULT had withdrawn from their intended take over of the school is good news, and it is the second academy sponsor to withdraw in two years of failed Council consultations on plans that the general public simply just don't want. The latest announcement came after the minister expressed "serious concerns" about the lack of progress at the ULT-run Sheffield Park Academy which is currently in special measures.


But be warned, in the new year no doubt the Council will only redouble their efforts to find someone else to sponsor their unpopular plans and they can then try again to convince us they only have the best interest of our children at heart, rather than simply washing their hands of what they decree failing schools. But with 1 in 3 academies now failing you would think the Council would be more cautious as to its choice of partner, and less keen to tell us that State run schools are always bad and Independent run schools always good

But just how much embarrassment are the Cabinet willing to take on this issue, whilst their sponsors fall like wobbly skittles in a bowling alley?

ULT's latest announcement coming on the back of damning reports of their failure elsewhere to turn the fortunes of schools around were not surprising, anyone with a modicum of common sense (So that obviously excludes the Councils Cabinet) could see their failures and poor record staring them straight in the face. 30 speakers who turned up and spoke to the infamous "were not listening" cabinet meeting and scores of others who wrote letter and emails could have told the Council that ULT were not fit for purpose, even the minister hinted at it but they just didn't want to listen.

(see http://tonyclarkeindependent.blogspot.com/2009/12/brave-stupid-or-simply-arrogant.html below )

So will they be more discearning in their choice in the future? I doubt it, just look at what they are up to just a couple of miles away at Unity College with the help of the Church of England where the school is being offloaded to another academy sponsor, The David Ross Foundation

(see http://tonyclarkeindependent.blogspot.com/2009/07/role-model-but-to-whom.html from July )

David Ross you may be aware is very friendly with one David Cameron, and is a major donor to the Tory Party (So far so good for the blue rinses at Strawberry Hall I hear you say) but he also courts rather a lot of controversy and this weeks press makes the County Councils choice for Unity's future even more interesting. About a year ago Mr Ross stood down from the Board of Carphone Warehouse after failing to declare that a loan was secured on his company shares, soon after this he was further asked to resign as an adviser to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

Bad press for someone tipped to be a future member of David Cameron's cabinet following a possible elevation to the House of Lords, and time for a period of reflection and for laying low I hear you thinking.

But this week in what is impeccable timing for Strawberry Hall, Mr Ross hit the national press again. The Daily Mail informs us that "within the next few days he can expect to be questioned by police about a fracas involving a young, blonde, Lithuanian woman. The lady made an allegation of assault after she called the police in the early hours of Friday morning to the Belgravia home of Mr Ross"

The Mail then followed up the story by revealing that "the woman at the centre of 'assault' at the home of David Cameron's millionaire friend David Ross is an escort girl"

"The Lithuanian blonde claims she was cheated out of money 'for services rendered' by a man at the house. She alleges that a scuffle broke out in the early hours of Friday, during which she was assaulted"


In a response Mr Ross, who has been helping formulate Tory schools policy, has told friends that the woman was not invited at all, and he threw her out when she confronted him.

It was suggested that the woman might have turned up at the house with several guests from a party hosted by pr guru Matthew Freud which was attended by Ross, David Cameron and his wife as well as other celebrities and political guests. Sometime later after arriving at Mr Ross's house she was told to leave by Mr Ross after she had alledgedly threatened him.


Now I have no doubt that the Metropolitan Police will get to the bottom of what occurred and Mr Ross may well be innocent of any wrong doing and be nothing more than the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but whilst the national press concentrate mainly on what they say "risks embarrassment for Mr Cameron" the possibility of any embarrassment for the Tory Party in Strawberry Hall is less clear.


Now call me old fashioned, but for me, when picking out future partners to take over responsibility for the education of our children, I want to know and to be assured by our councillors that they are a) up to the job (ULT failed on that score it seems) and b) that the head of any foundation applying to take on such a responsibility isn't going to continue to be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.


No doubt the Tory Cabinet on the County Council have asked themselves these very same questions? But up until now they have been very shy in revealing to us any of the answers.


My solution? Scrap these crazy plans to offload our state schools to the independent sector via the "academy" programme and start doing the job you were elected to do in giving proper support to our schools rather than treating them like commodities to be shipped off to anyone who will take them.


And listen more to the pupils, parents, teachers and governors who have a big stake in our schools, rather than government ministers and local bean counters.

Monday 21 December 2009

HO HO HO MERRY XMAS

For your seasonal delight, and to prove to Carole (my wife) that I am more than prepared to take the p*ss out of myself as well as others, I offer you a yuletide offering all of my own. With special thanks to all those on both councils who who made it all possible.

And just for fun I have added the words underneath so that you can all have a singalong:



STRAWBERRY HALL ARE YOU LISTENING?
WESTON FAVELL'S NOT FOR SHIFTING
DON'T TAKE US FOR FOOLS
BY OFFLOADING OUR SCHOOLS
WALKING IN A COUNCIL BLUNDERLAND

A BRAND NEW LEADER ON THE BOROUGH
WOODSIE'S ASTRA'S NOW A GONER
BRIAN HOARE'S THE NEW BROOM
ANDREW SIMPSON'S NOW DOOMED
WALKING IN A COUNCIL BLUNDERLAND

ON THE MARKET WE CAN BUILD A FOUNTAIN
AND PRETEND THAT WE'RE A GROWING TOWN
WE'LL SAY ARE YOU CRAZY?
THEY'LL SAY NO MAN
CUZ L&G'S THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN

IN THE SHIRE OF SQUIRES AND SPIRES
HARKER'S DEALS ARE ULTRA VIRES
WITH CARRILLION GONE
THEY TELL US NOTHING WENT WRONG
WALKING IN A COUNCIL BLUNDERLAND

ALL OUR COUNCILLORS VOTE THEMSELVES A PAY RISE
AND TELL US, THEIR NOT FAILING ANY MORE
MEANWHILE HOMES AND TOILETS ARE STILL CLOSING
OUR GOVERNANCE IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE

GONE AWAY ARE THE SHOPPERS
STILL NO DECISION FOR THE COBBLERS
BRIAN HOARE IS A STOOGE
AND JIM HARKER IS SCROOGE
WALKING IN A COUNCIL BLUNDERLAND

OUR LEADERS HEADS ARE BURIED IN THE SAND

WALKING IN A COUNCIL BLUNDERLAND............................

Merry Christmas

Tony

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Thank you for visiting "tonyclarkegreenparty" The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. They are made by me personally in my own capacity as free citizen and not as representative of any outside body or council that I may serve on or be employed by. However if anyone is offended by any of these comments or feels that they should be corrected then please contact me in the first instance at tony.clarke@email.com and I will do my best to consider your comments and correct any errors.

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