Sub Heading: Academies back government despite virus fears.
Update: Kent Council issues what appears to be a non-statement on school opening. According to KentLive: Kent County Council breaks silence on planned schools reopening date - Matt Dunkley, Kent County Council’s Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, said they will still open in a safe environment. He said: “We are monitoring the national position carefully, following guidance from Government and working closely with head teachers in support of their preparations to further open schools to a wider cohort of children on Monday, June 1, at the earliest. "Our priority will be to ensure all children, young people and staff in Kent schools can learn and work in a safe environment and we will do everything necessary to support schools to achieve this.”
I rarely comment on national issues, but this utterly misleading headline above the only front page story on The Times today, has incensed me even though I am a subscriber. It draws its conclusion from just four macho academy trusts who haven't waited until details have been agreed, and ignoring many others with a contrary view.
Harris Federation is a large and high performing chain with 49 schools, although none in Kent or Medway, and is a favourite of government so is indeed worth listening to but not to this extent.
The next two, Oasis and REAch2 are well known in Kent for running two of the worst schools in the county for years and I have written extensively about both. One of their main features is complete failure to persuade parents they are capable of offering a decent education, so they are hardly likely to be listened to on this issue. Last year, of the 324 offers of places at Oasis Isle of Sheppey in September, 101 were made up of Local Authority Allocations. By October the number taking up these places had fallen to 251 pupils, with many of the missing 73 pupils, or over 20% of the total offers, having gained places at other local schools, most on appeal. This is an annual slump in numbers which last September saw the school effectively close one of its two sites. Low academic performance, frequent removal of Principals, very high exclusion rates and high turnover of staff, with a third of them being unqualified teachers last year, are features of the school. I wrote an article in 2019 which looked in some detail at the shocking failings of the Copperfield Academy in Gravesham and its sponsors REAch2, identifying the massive turnover of teachers and headteachers as the central issue during the Trust's six years in charge, never mind its being in Special Measures with amongst the worst KS2 performances in the county. For the coming September, 42 of the 71 places offered are Local Authority Allocations. I can see no way whatsoever, that the government initiative will be supported by the families of children attending these two schools.
I had never heard of the fourth Trust, Guildford Educational Partnership until today, but it turns out to be a small academy Trust in Guildford, with just three secondary and four primary schools. The sponsors of this article must be desperate!
Update Note: My article is primarily critical of the item in The Times, and four academy trusts who appear to have leapt in regardless, in their enthusiasm to follow the government's lead. The various comments below give different opinions on how to manage the crisis, as do views from headteachers in the local media such as St George's Sheppey, St Peter's Aylesford, Skills for Life Trust, Kent Association of Headteachers, here, etc. Governing Bodies and headteachers of individual schools are those legally and morally responsible for the consequences of their actions, taking their own circumstances and the risks involved into account. Any view of my own from the safe sidelines is irrelevant beside these.
The Times tries to make out that it is the teaching unions which are 'the enemy' in opposing the opening of schools, ignoring the multiple counter examples of schools and academy trusts featured in local and national media with a contrary view. I have spoken with the leaders of several of these in the past week and all are very worried about the safety of children, parents and teachers and their families, and the impracticability and safety of following the detailed government advice. None has mentioned the unions. Even more importantly the British Medical Association, representing the country's doctors, has argued that the number of coronavirus infections remains too high to allow schools to run safely.
I do not consider I have particular insights on this crucial issue of the health of the nation, but it is surely essential to maintained a reasoned approach, based as far as possible on evidence and with the consent of parents. Unbalanced and misleading articles such as this do nothing to help the debate.
For examples of my coverage of the misfortunes of the children educated at Copperfield Academy and Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey, follow the links and my website search engine.