West Lakes Academy Again

Naturally the chair of governors who is also a sponsor of the Academy says its all been taken 'out of context' but then again he would wouldn't he. I have reservations about Ofsted as I personally think as a body it is far too close to government influence to be as independent as it should be. But even if it is too close for it to have 'serious concerns' and go public with them suggests that things are actually far worse than they are.

So what the hell is going on in Cumbria?

To a neutral looking in it seems the government for whatever reason is determined to screw up the education of thousands of Cumbrian children. This may well be unintentional malevolence on it's part or equally it may be deliberate. This current government cannot 'lie straight in bed' so it's very hard to figure out what is really going on. But what is at risk here is staggering.
What has Cumbria as a county and Egremont, Carlisle and Barrow done so wrong to be lumbered with these unwanted, extremely expensive and increasingly ineffective schools and their equally ineffective sponsors?
It's as though Cumbrian's are being punished for some unknown wrong doing by a Government of egotistical nutters who thrive on micro managing. Perhaps it's just that Cumbria is as far away from London as it's possible to get so Ed feels he is free to practice his fast tracking away from prying eyes. Who really knows?
Someone must but I for one think it is wrong to put at risk thousands of kids education by 'experimentation' and micro managing.
The thing that really irks me is that we see teaching union leaders going on TV and stating that they don't support the imposition of Academies and they did nothing to try and prevent their imposition in Cumbria.

Anyway here the link and the article without comments. It speaks for itself!

Teaching watchdog Ofsted says it has "very serious concerns" about the standard of education at the new West Lakes Academy in Egremont.

But Mick Farley, the school's chair of governors, has hit back at Ofsted's inspection saying the final judgement is 'wholly inconsistent.'

Mr Farley describes the report, prepared by senior inspector Sara Morrissey, as "totally misleading, unjustified and unfair."

He says that the report fails to "adequately acknowledge" the issues and impact of the complaints surrounding former principal and chief executive Barrie Cooper, who was accused by staff of bullying and harassment. He left the school in July.

Ms Morrissey's judgement is the final part of a seven-page report compiled after the first monitoring visit to the academy by Ofsted.

Under the Government's flagship academy programme, inspectors visit such schools in their infancy to check on progress.

In her report, Ms Morrisey says the 1,035-pupil academy has not made the progress it was expected to do after being given substantial funds to kick-start improvements and additional support to fast-track its opening in September 2008.

The academy's management was also criticised after checks to ensure all statutory child protection requirements had been met were not "rigorous enough", a measure Ms Morrissey says questions the effectiveness of leadership.

Mr Farley says the report was largely balanced but the final judgement has created a 'sombre' atmosphere.

In a statement, he said the academy welcomes many of the inspector's findings including:

• students are making satisfactory progress in their learning, get on well and feel safe;

• teaching offers a suitable range of activities that engages students and motivates them;

• the academy runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis;

• the quality of teaching is satisfactory overall with no inadequate teaching observed;

• bullying is dealt with swiftly;

• governors have acted robustly to manage serious staffing concerns.

He said: "The substance of the Ofsted report contains few surprises and largely confirms what governors and staff knew and for which action plans are already in place.

"However the academy considers the main judgement to be wholly inconsistent with the substance of the report - an absolute non sequitur - and as such it is totally misleading, unjustified and unfair.

"And while the report mentions the extended period of turbulence over the last year, it does not adequately acknowledge the damage this caused to many staff and students.

"The then principal was suspended following a very substantial number of allegations of him bullying and harassing staff. After a detailed and independent investigation these allegations were proven and he subsequently left the academy. Some staff were left very distressed as a result of his behaviours."

Addressing safeguarding concerns, Mr Farley said: "The inspectors refer to safeguarding deficiencies, in fact a few incomplete CRB checks, which were also a legacy of last year and need to be set in that context and kept proportionate.

"The unfortunate administrative lapse that led to this has been addressed and as the report acknowledges 'there is no evidence that these failings have put the safety of students at risk'. Both governors and staff take safeguarding issues and the health and safety of students very seriously indeed."

Ms Morrissey recommends a return visit to the academy as soon as possible. She also says the academy's priorities for improvement are:

n ensuring that all requirements for the safeguarding of children are met urgently;

n use assessment information more precisely to plan learning activities that provide challenges for students, particularly the more able;

n improve post-16 provision (which has been recognised as being inadequate); and

n clarify the vision for the academy.