Liverpool Echo - School Assembly

Turning Merseyside schools into academies "recipe for closure"

2010-05-26T15:04:30Z

Merseyside primary schools are being given the chance to sever links with the council and become academies.
That is the plan of the new coalition government which wants to extend the academy programme started at secondary level by the previous Labour administration.
The new government stress "teachers know how to run schools, not bureaucrats or politicians".
Writing to schools Education Secretary Michael Gove confirmed he will open up the Academies programme to all schools including, for the first time, primary schools and special schools.
He also pledged to make the process of becoming an academy quicker and less bureaucratic, removing local authority powers to block schools that want to become Academies.
Subject to Parliamentary approval of the Academies Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on Wednesday, the first tranche of the business-backed academies, which are free to set their own curriculum and admissions policies, will open in September.
But Liberal Democrat Cllr Paul Clein, a former education boss in the city, has spoken out against the idea saying they will a "recipe for closure".
What do you think?

Weddings at Litherland high, a marriage made in heaven....

2010-05-24T14:55:58Z

They say your school days are the best days of your life.
So surely school is the obvious place to share the biggest day of your life?
Well that could soon be the case at Litherland High School which wants to offer weddings when it moves into a new £24m building in February.

The thought of getting married at school would no doubt be viewed by some as some sort of sick joke.

The bride walking down dingy corridors for the ceremony before negotiating the potholes in the playground as confetti mounts on the fading hopscotch is hardly the stuff of dreams.

Pink custard and jam roly-poly would hardly be worthy fodder for the top table.

But as Mr Donnelly stresses schools have changed beyond recognition.

Multi-million pound buildings with a remit to open their doors to the community.

Weddings it seems are just a natural progression.

If it means pupils get to demonstrate their photographic and video skills and money is ploughed back into school then I think it's an idea worthy of a raised glass.

Wallasey's Mount Primary School right to break tradition

2010-05-05T18:27:34Z

Schools have changed beyond recognition.
Retractable walls, whiteboards not blackboards, restaurant-style dining halls, outdoor classrooms, wireless technology - you get the idea.
Well now schools appear to be focusing their efforts on revamping the school day as well.
If Mount Primary School in Wallasey is to go by that is.
But why not?
If it cuts down on boredom and accidents and keeps pupils fresh and alert for afternoon lessons then I cannot see why this plan should be feared.
It may take a bit of adjustment for parents, but surely if it improves the schooling of their children then it's time to embrace change?

Why Itchy and Scratchy lessons at Liverpool's primary schools should not leave us scratching our heads

2010-03-31T08:03:52Z

So how should we tackle violence among the youth of today?
Easy, bring in The Simpsons. In fact let's bring in Itchy and Scratchy, the most violent characters it has, and show clips to Liverpool children aged nine to 11.
Now to many this may seem a bonkers idea.
But this is exactly what is to happen in eight Liverpool primary schools as part of a police-backed scheme aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour and aggression amongst the youth of today.

As part of the scheme children will also get emotive cards with various images ranging from a knife and sliced tomato to girls whispering and poking fun at a fellow pupil.
The children don't just watch The Simpsons or trade the cards, they are used as tools of debate and help the pupils consider the consequences of their actions.
Anyone who thinks children are not already viewing The Simpsons, and a damn sight worse, at home are themselves living in a fantasy land.
If it helps one child value the need to make the right choices in life, then I give it my vote.
Or as Bart Simpson might say: "Cowabunga!"

Have a pregnant pause before criticising Mersey schools' sexual health clinics

2010-02-04T09:00:00Z

In an age where pupils can get breakfast at school, take advantage of an increasing number of activies ranging from Samba to circus skills as part of what education officials like to call "extended services" it is clear schools are now much more than places to study.
On numerous occasions headteachers and council chiefs have proudly stressed that the wider community is part of its "family".
Well if proof was ever needed of that ,news 13 Wirral secondary schools are offering things like pregnancy tests to girls - without the need to secure parental consent - surely brings that. There are plans to extend provision across Wirral and Liverpool high schools are set to follow suit.

Whether you believe schools should be the setting for sexual health clinics is one thing.
But has society changed so much that pupils must nip to a school clinic in between lessons rather than seek support from their own families?
Schools cannot solve all life's problems.

Lennon's old stomping ground Dovedale an example of tick-box culture

2010-01-21T10:30:00Z

John Lennon attended the city's Dovedale primary school in the mid 40s and early 50s.
Now running as two separate infant and juniors yards apart - nearly 60 years on and Beatle mania still brings tourists to his old stomping ground for a memento photo.
But things have changed since John and fellow Beatle George Harrison attended the Mossley Hill school.

Whether it is schools banning parents from speaking to teachers without an appointment, teachers warned not to over fill coffee cups on health and safety grounds - the rulebook is seemingly now bursting at the seams.

Safeguarding and security is even part of Ofsted - and those schools failing to prove they are robust in this area face being marked down.

And it is amid, what the Campaign For Real Education calls a "climate of fear", we discover that nearly six decades on from John and George's days at Dovedale - signs have gone up warning tourists not to take souvenir pictures except at the front of the school.

This is so children playing in the background do not end up in the photographs.

The language barrier is cited as a reason why staff do not feel able to politely ask tourists to take snaps elsewhere.

But putting up 'no camera' signs could actually exascerbate and highlight a problem that in John and George's schooldays would have been dealt with in a less extreme way.

Right to ban the school Discos (and all other crisps)

2009-12-12T14:49:54Z

The Bradley family obviously have bags of entrepreneurial flair that Del Boy would be proud of.
But it is hard to feel too much sympathy for the fact Joel, 12, (pictured) has been suspended for dealing crisps at Cardinal Heenan school, West Derby.

Government directives mean junk food is banned from schools and is forbidden from vending machines and tuck shops.
Headteacher Dave Forshaw in punishing Joel is simply maintaining the school's aim of being a healthy school.
To allow pupils (or parents from a van outside) to sell such foods would be turning a blind eye to the regulations and no doubt have families of other students hammering on Mr Forshaw's door demanding to know how their children are able to munch on fat-laden snacks.

Are Merseyside schools becoming prisons?

2009-12-02T11:30:59Z

ECHO readers may remember we carried a story last month on Beacon CE primary, in Everton banning parents from speaking to teachers without an appointment.
The measure came in the wake of a new Ofsted framework which marks schools down if they are not adequately "safeguarding" children.

The story has been picked up by the Guardian's Henry Porter who gives an interesting national perspective on the apparent paranoia taking over schools.

On a completely different note the Key Stage Two tables again produced a fair share of success stories - exemplified in the efforts of pupils at Speke's St Ambrose primary.

But with more than a fifth of Liverpool children failing to meet the expected level in English we should not be celebrating too wildly.

Why Our Lady of Good Help school in Wavertree is right not to toe party line

2009-11-04T09:06:29Z

Party hats off to Sue Horncastle, headteacher at Our Lady of Good Help Catholic Primary School in Wavertree.

As we revealed she has written to parents reminding them that her staff are teachers and not party planners.
She has told parents that teachers do not mind handing out children's birthday invitations but the school draws the line at staff actually writing them and selecting the party guests!
This was a genuine demand from one parent who presumably read far too much into the school's name.
Yes schools pride themselves on being extensions of a family.
But let's get a grip, parents must take some responsibility for themselves and not wash their hands of their duties thinking schools will pick up the slack.
The school's actions must be saluted.
I mean where would it stop? Selecting the flavour of jelly and ice cream?
Teachers must be allowed to be teachers.

Gabby's Liverpool Schools' Parliament column wins plaudits

2009-10-14T08:33:08Z

THE new column in ECHO Education to give young people a voice has been approved by Liverpool's former education boss Paul Clein
Broughton Hall sixthformer Gabriella Holmes (pictured), a prime minister of Liverpool Schools' Parliament is bringing a youth perspective in her fortnightly column.

And Cllr Clein (pictured) is keen to congratulate the teenager - but has gently corrected her assertion regarding the history behind Liverpool Schools' Parliament which allows young people to feed directly into council policy.

Cllr Clein got in touch with School Assembly to say: "Good to see one of the Schools Parliament PMs writing a column today in Echo Education but I would wish to correct her statement that it was started nine years ago "because the Government wanted to give young people a voice".
"They didn't - we the city council did. In our first budget in 1999 we made grants available to schools to encourage start-ups of school councils because we had inherited only a handful in 1998.
"That worked well and the number increased very quickly from 12 to about 90. Nearly all our schools now have one.
"The following year we Cllrs. Richard Marbrow, Jan Clein and myself came up with what we thought was the logical next step - a bicameral Schools Parliament which we believed would empower the city's young people and give them an insight into how democracy works in practice.
"Since then we have given them an annual budget and made provision so that motions from the Schools Parliament are treated on the same basis as motions from councillors.
"We also consult them on any matter which directly affects young people and duly take notice."
He adds: "We are very proud of this initiative and the way young people in the city have got involved over the years. We hope some of them will turn out to be councillors of the future."
Sparking debate so early, Gabby may be already on the right road.

Liverpool education chief Cllr Keith Turner: Could do better

2009-09-22T20:08:22Z

In March Liverpool's education chief, Cllr Keith Turner was praising pupils who had notched up 100% attendance records as part of a city council Celebrating Success event.

Six months on it now seems clear that Cllr Turner should take a leaf out of their books.
His attendance, or rather non attendance, has caused a right old stink with the city's governors.
Since he was installed as Liverpool's executive member for education in May, 2008, Cllr Turner has been somewhat elusive - attending just one paltry termly meeting with chairs of governors who quite rightly wish to grill the elected member on school issues and council policies.
Diary clashes, as he states, are unavoidable.
But to miss one meeting is unfortunate, two careless, but four simply inexcusable.
If you want to hit home the importance of attendance to the city's pupils - then it has to start at the top.

* Check out our city editor David Bartlett's take on Cllr Turner's attendance record in his Dale Street Blues blog

Practical lessons needed to prepare pupils for real world

2009-09-05T07:04:27Z

MUCH has been made about the suitability of SATS tests and whether the National Curriculum is in need of an overhaul.
But one thing I would like to see is a more practical approach to lessons.

I remember spending hours studying pi in maths, yet I don't recall ever using it in later life.

So here are my suggestions for things that should be included in the school timetable.
Bed making lessons: How to master the tricky double duvet. How I would have benefited from that!

Stress / anger management: Take pupils to any Post Office between noon and 2pm. Only those who resist the temptation to mouth "You'd think they'd put more staff on" and tut loudly as they stand in the painfully slow moving queue can successfully complete this module.

Seriously though knowing how to change a tyre, re-wire a plug and defrost the fridge is as important as remembering 3.142 is the approximate value of pi.

What would you like to see taught at school?

Time to end SATS tests for Merseyside's primary school pupils

2009-08-26T07:04:29Z

SO the boys are still lagging behind the girls when it comes to the three Rs.
Key Stage One tables show that, like their national counterparts, seven year-old boys in Merseyside are being out shone by girl classmates when it comes to reading, writing, maths and not forgetting science.

But the fact that seven-year-olds of any sex are having formal tests at all is still problematic for me.
At that age shouldn't we be following the lead of many of our European neighbours and just let children be children?
My memories of being seven are kiss chase and British Bulldog in the yard and a pretty impressive contribution to the school production as Bashful in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Granted I will have done academic work in between.
But that's precisely my point, school did not feel like a testing factory.
Sure children go to school to learn, but it should complement and not substitute play.
One teaching contact told me some pupils are wetting the bed at the mere prospect of SATs exams.
While some headteachers have freely admitted children, albeit older students, have on occasions been taken from their sick beds to take exams so not to jeopardise a possible fall in the league tables.
Yes we need accountability, but you can get that from Ofsted or a visit to the school.
And while pupils' progress needs to be tracked it should not be at the expense of a well rounded childhood which allows children to develop at their own pace.

Free school meals stigma still on the menu

2009-08-07T09:22:06Z

PINK custard, soggy semolina and Turkey Twizzlers may be a thing of the past but sadly it seems some pupils remain too ashamed to get a free school lunch.

Figures show that thousands of the region's pupils entitled to free school meals are not taking up their allocation - meaning in Liverpool alone more than half a million quid worth of nosh is not being claimed for each year.

Now when I was at school I could understand why classmates on free school meals would feel stigmatised.

They would be asked to join disabled students (also ridiculously singled out) at the front of the queue and produce their flimsy plastic covered cards which entitled them to a daily dinner.

The headteacher may have well have shouted over the public address system: "Can all the less well off please stand up."

But nowadays the school canteen experience should be worlds apart.

Schools are always crowing about their fabulous menus and comfy eating experience which is meant to be akin to visiting a restaurant.

More importantly cashless systems mean those on free school meals should not be isolated.

However reluctance remains on the part of low income families to access the free school meals they are entitled to.

This is not small change either - just less than £2 per meal per day, per pupil is being forfeited .

But why?

Charities believe barriers and stigmatisation remain and free school meals for all is the answer.

Food for thought isn't it?

Either that or families believe despite Jamie Oliver's crusade they would rather fork out for alternative grub than make their children eat what's on offer at school.

Gateacre Comprehensive School's community service

2009-07-21T09:20:03Z

I had the pleasure of visiting Gateacre Community Comprehensive School for this week's School of the Week feature.
The focus was on its commitment to using arts and music to lighten up the community.
Here are some photographs we took to highlight the raft of projects going on at the school to make this happen.