Well it's nearly the end of the first week of Furness Academy Limited
actually getting down to the business of educating the children in it's
care.
As with all new schools there has been a few problems with timetabling, some lessons missing, some kids 'double booked' for example which is too be expected given the short time the timetable compiler has had to integrate three totally different school systems into one as well as try and 'meld' four different curriculum's into the school day.
As with all new schools there has been a few problems with timetabling, some lessons missing, some kids 'double booked' for example which is too be expected given the short time the timetable compiler has had to integrate three totally different school systems into one as well as try and 'meld' four different curriculum's into the school day.
There is also the issue of staff from the three schools coming to terms
with an entirely new way of doing things a few weeks after finishing
their old way of doing things. It cannot be easy for any of them and
inevitably some of them will get things wrong. They are only human.
It doesn't help when the uniform policy is being rigorously enforced by the teaching staff. They are teachers first and foremost and not police officers.
The senior management have had a short time to work things through, too short a time in my opinion as the enormity of the task warrants careful preparation not the hurried preparation that they were shouldered with by HM Government and Moira Swanns compliance. I do not envy them. Had the government and the county listened to everyone and not rushed headlong into a faster planning process than doomed Richard Rose then it would have been much better for all concerned.
As it is Cumbria County Council and the DCSF were concerned more with teaching staff jumping ship over a longer run in than getting the Academy here and managing the staff exodus once it was open.
The most important thing from this point on is not the rights and wrongs of the creation process, not the rights and wrongs of one schools practices over another's, not the rights and wrongs of make up, uniform, colour of bags. These things don't matter. All that matters is the children's education and their prospects for success. The Academy cannot be allowed to fail there is too much at risk.
It is not a question of supporting or not supporting the school either. It's a question of supporting the individual children in my opinion. Despite them all dressing in identical clothing the children are individuals with different needs and react differently to whatever situation prevails. I have no doubt that everyone involved on the teaching side wants their charges to succeed not for the schools sake but for the child's sake. Many will put their own thoughts and opinions to one side to ensure that the children they are teaching get the most out of their time under their tutelage.
Hopefully there will be a degree of flexibility in the policies and protocols of the school management to allow for individuals to flourish at whatever level they are. Rigid rules serve no purpose except to alienate one section of the school population or the other.
Discipline is of course key to ensuring the Academy becomes the successful purveyor of education Mr Blackledge has promised. Without discipline there is anarchy. There is always a time and a place for anarchy but it has no place in a school full of children. Respect is another key that will ensure the individual succeeds. Respect has to be earned and it can only be earned if there is a 'two way street' in operation.
Much has been made of the failings of the creation process on this blog and in many other circles and lets not beat about the bush there have been real failings but as has become clearer and clearer the reason for these failings the unnecessary haste imposed by the government as it strives to exceed an Academy creation target it has set itself. Of the 66 other Academies that opened this September none are on the same fast track process as the one in Barrow. They all followed the DCSF's own Academy creation guidelines on timing etc and are therefore in the right position to deliver on their promises.
Furness has been handicapped by the shortness of the planning and is under close scrutiny both locally and nationally if the NUT ladies comments on Radio 4 are to be believed. What I or anyone else thinks of the chances of the senior managers or indeed the sponsor/governors in actually delivering on their promises is irrelevant. They have been given their jobs and have they in turn have given their promises to children and parents alike so they now need to be allowed to deliver on them.
I have no intention of using this blog to 'undermine' any member of staff, any senior manager, any sponsor/governor nor any pupil, parent, or indeed anyone involved in trying to ensure that the Academy gives their charges the best possible education.
What I will do is use it as a tool for people to contribute to and keep an eye on how the 'team' are progressing towards their intended goals. The title of the blog is Academy Watch and this is what it will do watch the Academy.
The reason for this 'close scrutiny' as some commenters call it is that Barrow has made a monumental sacrifice to allow the DCSF/CCC/Sponsors the opportunity to mould a new way of teaching for a significant proportion of the towns children. The promises have been made and recorded and it is only right and proper that if the promises fail to turn into reality that the process of failure is also recorded.
Equally at this point the promises can actually succeed and become reality. I have no problem with 'looking foolish' as Mrs Attwood said the 'detractors' would last year. I sincerely hope for the latter state of affairs to exist in the coming years. If the success is indeed the outcome then it is only right and proper that this path to success is recorded for future generations to learn from.
I will continue to try and translate gobbledygook into English whenever it rears it's ugly head but now that the Academy is actually 'live' the flow of gobbledygook should cease as the political masters have been sated. Whatever the County Council has in store for the primary education in this town is for others to document. Whatever deals are done in public or behind closed doors in the county or at national level name of Barrovian education is for others to document. I have spent far too long trawling through the public archives on the Cumbria County Council web site this past summer. My opinions of the problems and issues are well documented on here so there is no point in adding to them.
Again if there is anything at all, and I mean anything, that is wrong or inaccurate then please let me know by e-mailing me proof that it is wrong or inaccurate to the usual blog address blog@furnessacademy.com
I will not be publishing 'the wrong shoe' type of stories that are flying about in the Evening Mail. To be perfectly honest I find it bizarre that one of the strongest supporters of the Academy is so quick to publish what is a relatively minor teething problem and sensationalise it by placing it on the front page but then again the Evening Mail has to sell papers to survive so there it is.
I want to publish a balanced view of the highs and lows of Academy life. I can only do this if people carry on sending in articles and stories. It doesn't matter who they come from as long as they are accurate and come with a full name and e-mail address they will get published.
The only time you will see any 'purple or red writing' on anything is when it's a gobbledygook explanation.
I am now going to publically ask Moira Swann, Mrs Attwood, Mr Blackledge, any teacher, any pupil, any parent to contribute to this blog as many people read it who do not buy the Mail. You all have a relevant point of view and if you can put this point of view into the public domain many of the 'rumours' and 'speculative comments' would vanish. All anyone wants to read is the truth so please send your articles and contributions into me at blog@furnessacademy.com and they will be published on here without any comment or editing from me.
So that's it.
The direction this blog will now go in is laid out here except for one thing. My son will not be attending the Academy. He is going to be home schooled and my next post will explain why we as a family have chosen to make this his chosen personal learning pathway.
It doesn't help when the uniform policy is being rigorously enforced by the teaching staff. They are teachers first and foremost and not police officers.
The senior management have had a short time to work things through, too short a time in my opinion as the enormity of the task warrants careful preparation not the hurried preparation that they were shouldered with by HM Government and Moira Swanns compliance. I do not envy them. Had the government and the county listened to everyone and not rushed headlong into a faster planning process than doomed Richard Rose then it would have been much better for all concerned.
As it is Cumbria County Council and the DCSF were concerned more with teaching staff jumping ship over a longer run in than getting the Academy here and managing the staff exodus once it was open.
The most important thing from this point on is not the rights and wrongs of the creation process, not the rights and wrongs of one schools practices over another's, not the rights and wrongs of make up, uniform, colour of bags. These things don't matter. All that matters is the children's education and their prospects for success. The Academy cannot be allowed to fail there is too much at risk.
It is not a question of supporting or not supporting the school either. It's a question of supporting the individual children in my opinion. Despite them all dressing in identical clothing the children are individuals with different needs and react differently to whatever situation prevails. I have no doubt that everyone involved on the teaching side wants their charges to succeed not for the schools sake but for the child's sake. Many will put their own thoughts and opinions to one side to ensure that the children they are teaching get the most out of their time under their tutelage.
Hopefully there will be a degree of flexibility in the policies and protocols of the school management to allow for individuals to flourish at whatever level they are. Rigid rules serve no purpose except to alienate one section of the school population or the other.
Discipline is of course key to ensuring the Academy becomes the successful purveyor of education Mr Blackledge has promised. Without discipline there is anarchy. There is always a time and a place for anarchy but it has no place in a school full of children. Respect is another key that will ensure the individual succeeds. Respect has to be earned and it can only be earned if there is a 'two way street' in operation.
Much has been made of the failings of the creation process on this blog and in many other circles and lets not beat about the bush there have been real failings but as has become clearer and clearer the reason for these failings the unnecessary haste imposed by the government as it strives to exceed an Academy creation target it has set itself. Of the 66 other Academies that opened this September none are on the same fast track process as the one in Barrow. They all followed the DCSF's own Academy creation guidelines on timing etc and are therefore in the right position to deliver on their promises.
Furness has been handicapped by the shortness of the planning and is under close scrutiny both locally and nationally if the NUT ladies comments on Radio 4 are to be believed. What I or anyone else thinks of the chances of the senior managers or indeed the sponsor/governors in actually delivering on their promises is irrelevant. They have been given their jobs and have they in turn have given their promises to children and parents alike so they now need to be allowed to deliver on them.
I have no intention of using this blog to 'undermine' any member of staff, any senior manager, any sponsor/governor nor any pupil, parent, or indeed anyone involved in trying to ensure that the Academy gives their charges the best possible education.
What I will do is use it as a tool for people to contribute to and keep an eye on how the 'team' are progressing towards their intended goals. The title of the blog is Academy Watch and this is what it will do watch the Academy.
The reason for this 'close scrutiny' as some commenters call it is that Barrow has made a monumental sacrifice to allow the DCSF/CCC/Sponsors the opportunity to mould a new way of teaching for a significant proportion of the towns children. The promises have been made and recorded and it is only right and proper that if the promises fail to turn into reality that the process of failure is also recorded.
Equally at this point the promises can actually succeed and become reality. I have no problem with 'looking foolish' as Mrs Attwood said the 'detractors' would last year. I sincerely hope for the latter state of affairs to exist in the coming years. If the success is indeed the outcome then it is only right and proper that this path to success is recorded for future generations to learn from.
I will continue to try and translate gobbledygook into English whenever it rears it's ugly head but now that the Academy is actually 'live' the flow of gobbledygook should cease as the political masters have been sated. Whatever the County Council has in store for the primary education in this town is for others to document. Whatever deals are done in public or behind closed doors in the county or at national level name of Barrovian education is for others to document. I have spent far too long trawling through the public archives on the Cumbria County Council web site this past summer. My opinions of the problems and issues are well documented on here so there is no point in adding to them.
Again if there is anything at all, and I mean anything, that is wrong or inaccurate then please let me know by e-mailing me proof that it is wrong or inaccurate to the usual blog address blog@furnessacademy.com
I will not be publishing 'the wrong shoe' type of stories that are flying about in the Evening Mail. To be perfectly honest I find it bizarre that one of the strongest supporters of the Academy is so quick to publish what is a relatively minor teething problem and sensationalise it by placing it on the front page but then again the Evening Mail has to sell papers to survive so there it is.
I want to publish a balanced view of the highs and lows of Academy life. I can only do this if people carry on sending in articles and stories. It doesn't matter who they come from as long as they are accurate and come with a full name and e-mail address they will get published.
The only time you will see any 'purple or red writing' on anything is when it's a gobbledygook explanation.
I am now going to publically ask Moira Swann, Mrs Attwood, Mr Blackledge, any teacher, any pupil, any parent to contribute to this blog as many people read it who do not buy the Mail. You all have a relevant point of view and if you can put this point of view into the public domain many of the 'rumours' and 'speculative comments' would vanish. All anyone wants to read is the truth so please send your articles and contributions into me at blog@furnessacademy.com and they will be published on here without any comment or editing from me.
So that's it.
The direction this blog will now go in is laid out here except for one thing. My son will not be attending the Academy. He is going to be home schooled and my next post will explain why we as a family have chosen to make this his chosen personal learning pathway.