Backing for free school (From Oxford Mail)
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Backing for free school
1:00pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Bicester By Sam McGregor
FUNDS of £11.6m have been announced for a North Oxfordshire free school at a former Cold War base.
The move comes weeks after parents were urged to support plans to create the school at the former US Air Force base at Heyford Park, Upper Heyford.
It would be open to pupils aged four to 18 from Bicester and surrounding villages.
Two governors have been appointed – former headteacher Carole Hawkins and Nathan Jones, a communications officer at Oxford University.
Plans for Heyford Park Free School are due to be submitted to the Department for Education February 24 and, if approved, the first students could start there in September 2013.
A former officers’ mess would be refurbished and extended to house the school, which would cater for a minimum of 165 pupils.Backers say it would create a third secondary school option for Bicester residents.
Heyford Park developer The Dorchester Group has also confirmed it will contribute the funds to aid in the running costs of the school.
Executive director Paul Silver said: “The free school would be a fantastic centrepiece at the heart of the growing Heyford Park community. We are committed to bringing high-quality education to the community and are pleased parents share our enthusiasm.”
Mrs Hawkins, from Aylesbury Vale, has 30 years’ experience in education including being headteacher of three schools.
She and Mr Jones, who lives in Oxford, will help appoint the school’s head and leadership team.
The Heyford Trust – a steering group made up of parents and residents from the area, the Dorchester Group, and education consultants Wey Education – was set up to push forward plans for the school.
Trust member and parent Michael Zeyfert said: “The steering group has agreed a vision that we believe reflects the needs and wishes of the Heyford Park community.
“If other parents agree and register their interest I am confident we will see the free school built.”
Free schools are state-funded schools that are set up in response to community needs.
They are subject to conventional government checks but do not have to follow the national curriculum.
For details or to register, go to http://heyfordparkfreeschool.org/
Comments(22)
eminoxford
says...
6:49pm Tue 31 Jan 12
eminoxford
says...
6:50pm Tue 31 Jan 12
eminoxford
says...
6:50pm Tue 31 Jan 12
Thinkingoutloud
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7:07pm Tue 31 Jan 12
simplicissimus
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7:15pm Tue 31 Jan 12
Strong is the baneful union grip on schools such as Banbury Comp, trumpeted by Balls (say no more, but "Balls ups Banbury" would strike me as every bit as valid headline as Ed's encomium was of the outfit that principal heads!). Rigour and progress fall far short of all spin to the contrary.
And that, despite Fiona Hammans having been a regional sec and still of great influence in her union, the ASCL, even at parliamentary level; or Geoff Branner (NASUWT national exec and regional sec) being on its staff, too.
cb1917
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10:21pm Tue 31 Jan 12
They are in effect private schools ... albeit in receipt of public money, run by a charitable trust whose trustees are appointed by those that run the school. When the school then turns to educational businesses to run them like Wey Education who state that they want to "take control of all aspects of the day-to-day running of such schools", then the control and accountability are even further removed from parents, staff and the local community. Like any other businesses, Wey Education and the Dorchester group prioritise their shareholders or other financial backers.
cb1917
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10:32pm Tue 31 Jan 12
MrsPloppy
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11:32pm Tue 31 Jan 12
Severian
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1:19am Wed 1 Feb 12
And for those people who live close enough to Bicester there is no need for a free school - The Cooper School is rated as outstanding by Ofsted - so why would you want to take your chances with a profit only motivated school??
Severian
says...
1:19am Wed 1 Feb 12
And for those people who live close enough to Bicester there is no need for a free school - The Cooper School is rated as outstanding by Ofsted - so why would you want to take your chances with a profit only motivated school??
simplicissimus
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1:45am Fri 3 Feb 12
cb1917 wrote:As with most areas, Chris, "local democratic accountability and control" has ceased working adequately in many state schools.
I have no problem with the idea that there will always be room for improvement in state schools. But the reality is that 'free' schools will not be 'state' schools subject to local democratic accountability and control.
They are in effect private schools ... albeit in receipt of public money, run by a charitable trust whose trustees are appointed by those that run the school. When the school then turns to educational businesses to run them like Wey Education who state that they want to "take control of all aspects of the day-to-day running of such schools", then the control and accountability are even further removed from parents, staff and the local community. Like any other businesses, Wey Education and the Dorchester group prioritise their shareholders or other financial backers.
Unions, including the NUT, seem to have colluded in the spread of this problem. Google "OxBOW Will Messenger Thomas Long vs Dr Timothy Field" for instance. That's just 1 former Trot and regional official turned LEA officer covering up eg poor school management issues by headteachers.
simplicissimus
says...
2:01am Fri 3 Feb 12
k/campaign/jfo/petit
iontim.htm
(read petition signatories' enlightening comments in the embedded linked Word document)
"This was the petition:
Tim Field is being sued for libel by Thomas Long, an Oxfordshire County Council Education Department personnel officer, backed by the full support of the National Union of Teachers (NUT). This has resulted in Tim having to make the sad decision to close the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line at the end of January 2004.
Tim started the advice line 8 years ago to help those suffering from workplace bullying and through it, he has personally dealt with over 8000 enquiries and over 7000 cases of workplace bullying. These calls have helped thousands of people identify and deal with bullying and also involved Tim counselling many targets out of committing suicide. As the libel action is about allegations of NUT failings that were reported to Tim via this Advice Line, the closure is sadly ironic.
Extract from Tim Field's Press Release of 4th January 2004: 'Field believes that the legal action against him is a specious misappropriation of the civil laws of libel with the objective of controlling, manipulating, punishing and silencing a critic of the actions and inactions of paid officers of the National Union of Teachers. On reflection Field says he can see that he wittingly and unwittingly blew the whistle on failings in both Oxfordshire County Council Education Department and of National Union of Teachers paid officers.'
http://www.bullyonli
ne.org/news/aug03.ht
m
NUT issues £100,000 libel writ against Tim Field
National Union of Teachers (NUT) solicitor Graham Clayton has issued a writ seeking £100,000+ damages against Tim Field for an alleged libel concerning Oxfordshire County Council personnel education officer and NUT member Tom Long (schoolbully/truancy
.htm). It appears that Graham Clayton Solicitors (the NUT solicitors) want to silence Tim Field by driving him into bankruptcy - a course of action which, if successful, would lead to the closure of Bully OnLine and all associated support work. How do NUT members feel about the NUT solicitor squandering their subscriptions on frivolous legal actions to silence those who highlight injustice when the NUT refuses to support its own members who are losing their job, career, health and livelihood because of bullying? What do senior officials of the NUT have to fear?
If you're a NUT member, former NUT member, NUT official or former NUT official who's unhappy with the way NUT solicitors and senior officials of the NUT are behaving, please get in touch: timfield@bullyonline
.org
If you know of teachers who are not yet members of a union but who are planning to join a teaching union, or teachers and NUT members who are not in receipt of this enewsletter, ask them to complete the form at successunlimited/boo
ks/irform.htm and I'll send them their own copy each month.
If you have experience of conducting a libel trial and are willing to share your knowledge, please get in touch: timfield@bullyonline
.org
simplicissimus
says...
2:09am Fri 3 Feb 12
cb1917
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7:21am Fri 3 Feb 12
simplicissimus
says...
9:46am Fri 3 Feb 12
Had they done a better job, perhaps standards might be higher. It is sad that the TUC to whom many professional teaching associations affiliate, still bankrolls the Labour party and its many atrocious policies, including in education and child welfare.
Labour did so much to damage social mobility, in its attempt to ruin best quality UK schooling, including the grammars.
Severian
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10:41am Fri 3 Feb 12
simplicissimus wrote:How will a ridiculously expensive new school be good for our kids? Bicester already has an excellent school (The Cooper) which DOES have local accountability and good governance ( and isn't run by the NUT!).
I'd urge (along with the likes of Roy Blatchford and similar experts of sound and proven judgment) strong support of this free school, if parents are to stand more chances of getting better schooling for their offspring.
If Gove really wants £11m spent on local education he should put it into the existing schools.
It's a shame that you are so in favour of a project which is totally political and has nothing to really do with improving education.
simplicissimus
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3:34pm Fri 3 Feb 12
The Tories have already proven they want to return to proper standards, instead of dumbing all down, as has happened significantly under the outgoing Labour Govt.
No party's ever perfect, but you benefit if at least you vote for 1 with policies to improve schooling.
Now can you explain how you delude yourself that somehow free schools are not about better education, or are bad politics.
Why, even Banbury Comp is going for the money. (IMO it shouldn't be permitted free school status, as you should not throw good public money after bad indefinitely. Banbury School needs splitting up. Smaller schools often work better.)
SOME unionists are seeing benefits, apparently. Whether these include political ones, and if so, which, you'd need to ask them.
Severian
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8:33am Sat 4 Feb 12
simplicissimus wrote:You simply come over as a rabid Tory, unthinking opposed to anything other than the world of Billy Bunter and Greyfriars. You might not have noticed ( or bothered to check) but Oxon is actualy controlled by the Tories not Labour.
Severian, you sound severely delusional. Labour ran its policies purely for politically self serving purposes, such as in education by grade inflation, dumbing standards in exams, to achieve a numbed, unthinking majority of the population. (Or economically and socially, by encouraging generations into benefits welfarism in return for likely votes; and ramping up Labour's deliberate policy of depressing existing workers' wages and exposing millions of jobs to newly incoming low- and semi-skilled job competitors; "rubbing the noses of the Right in diversity" Labourites called it, treacherously mocking their own historical voting core. The likes of Mrs Duffy - dismissed by Brown as a "bigot", all know this for fact.)
The Tories have already proven they want to return to proper standards, instead of dumbing all down, as has happened significantly under the outgoing Labour Govt.
No party's ever perfect, but you benefit if at least you vote for 1 with policies to improve schooling.
Now can you explain how you delude yourself that somehow free schools are not about better education, or are bad politics.
Why, even Banbury Comp is going for the money. (IMO it shouldn't be permitted free school status, as you should not throw good public money after bad indefinitely. Banbury School needs splitting up. Smaller schools often work better.)
SOME unionists are seeing benefits, apparently. Whether these include political ones, and if so, which, you'd need to ask them.
Perhaps you should stop reading the Daily Mail and pay attention to what is actually happening in the world.
simplicissimus
says...
10:41am Sat 4 Feb 12
Maybe this is precisely why Oxon's schooling lags so far behind most Home Counties'? ie that Tories haven't held sway sufficiently in that section of County Hall.
Maybe you should start reading more in the DM, as it reflects "Middle England" pretty accurately and what many or most voters think. To reassure you, I read all the press.
Don't you find the Express and DM rather mild? Rabid? Moi? I'm joining the Serpentine swimming club, just to defy this mild spell we're all enjoying. No hydrophobia here, then.
I do have a minor bone to pick with Gove, to agree with you a little, though. He should bring back grammars.
Severian
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9:28pm Mon 6 Feb 12
simplicissimus wrote:At least you have confirmed that there are unintelligent idealogues from all parts of the political spectrum. Anyone who thinks that the Daily Mail reflects public opinions really should go and see someone for treatment.
But our County Hall education was long staffed by the likes of Sue Tanner (former Labour city mayor John Tanner's wife), Trot or ex-Trot Tom Long, &c, &c. Many there who are in influential roles are still very much infused with pretty hard Left edudogma.
Maybe this is precisely why Oxon's schooling lags so far behind most Home Counties'? ie that Tories haven't held sway sufficiently in that section of County Hall.
Maybe you should start reading more in the DM, as it reflects "Middle England" pretty accurately and what many or most voters think. To reassure you, I read all the press.
Don't you find the Express and DM rather mild? Rabid? Moi? I'm joining the Serpentine swimming club, just to defy this mild spell we're all enjoying. No hydrophobia here, then.
I do have a minor bone to pick with Gove, to agree with you a little, though. He should bring back grammars.
simplicissimus
says...
12:55am Tue 7 Feb 12
cb1917 says...
3:43pm Tue 31 Jan 12
As an article in the Observer last Sunday explained: Wey Education told the stock exchange in December that a market opportunity brought about by "the deconstruction of the education function within local authorities" offers a clear potential to "make a substantial return to investors and improve education in the UK".
■ The same firm, run by Zenna Atkins, the former chair of Ofsted, hopes to make an "impact in a positive way" on the lives of 250,000 children over the next five years, while Wey's broker forecasts a turnover of £17.5m by 2014 and a £9.9m "bottom line", through providing services in the UK and abroad.
I hope that the staff and parents of the surrounding local authority schools will soon begin to show their anger at this money being taken away from their children.