Michael Gove

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:02 pm

The school wasn't thought to be doing very well, or something.

Note that the new chair of governors at Nightingale is a former council head of children's services. Quite a come down of a job. This is obviously being set up for a big profile. As if all schools would get someone like that, if only they'd convert to academies.

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:05 pm

Well, you have to get a fellow-traveller on board.
There has always been a provision to remove the governing body of a failing school, and the SoS has always had the right to appoint the new one, so it's quite likely that they will put someone in who will play ball.

Gove has now been eviscerated by the Hacked Off campaign via Brian Cathcart over his hagiographic speech on Murdoch.

http://hackinginquiry.org/comment/micha ... speration/

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:13 pm

I wasn't just meaning she was likely to be a fellow traveller. More that she's likely to be pretty able, having had a top job in a relevant field. There are only so many people of that rank to go round. So it's not going to be a typical situation.

So it's still an LEA school for now. They can't yet kick off all except 2 parents.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2896

Tim Shitman in the Mail naturally approves of Gove's intervention:

Michael Gove savages Leveson for 'chilling' effect on press freedom

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... z1n7v2bV1o

Bones McCoy · **Joined:** Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:08 am **Posts:** 7417

Since our press now sees itself as the courageous voice of free speech, I'll issue a single challenge.
Let's see Edition 1 of the Sun on Sunday print the Danish Cartoons?
Then come back on the chatshows and brag about your courage.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 5:55 pm

How about they lead on their owner's tax affairs?

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2896

Academy schools attain fewer good GCSEs, study shows

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:04 pm

Quote:

In the 40 academies with such an intake, 38% of pupils achieved five A* to C grade GCSEs in 2011, including English and maths, while similar schools in the rest of the state sector achieved 44%.

I don't know if this stat has been chosen to make the academies look bad, but if not, it's pretty damning.

where are the TPA on the waste of money of the academies programme?

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:38 pm

You could (and Gove will) point out that Academies often start from a relatively low base.
That said, they don't show any sign of the miraculous transformation we have been led to believe will happen.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:50 pm

Sure, but isn't improvement easier from a low base?

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:53 pm

Not really, it's further to travel and you may well have less-than-stellar pupils. And staff. Schools are underperforming for a range of reasons, not all of which are amenable to Ofsted's 'one more big shove' strategy for improvement.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:59 pm

But those problems are already reflected in their low scores. You take a couple of kids to C from D when very few have C already, then it looks like a very dramatic improvement.

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:07 pm

In value-added terms, yes, but Ofsted looks at the overall percentage getting those higher grades which won't have altered very much.
And it's a lot of work to get the changes in the short term.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 6:55 pm

Not if you can boot a load out to the LEA school.

Anyway, I think this is the killer.

Quote:

When comparing the performance of academies and standard schools that had fewer than 35% of their intake achieving A* to C grades in 2008, it was the schools that had not become independent that achieved the best results in 2011.

While the academies improved strongly in that period, going from 23.6% to 42.2% in terms of the numbers achieving five GCSEs from A* to C including English and maths, the same happened for those schools that were not converted, despite receiving less funding. Their results went from 24.3% to 43.4%.

35% is the threshold for failing schools, isn't it?

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Sun Feb 26, 2012 6:59 pm

It was, may have changed. It's probably about 90% now...

Michael Gove

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