In one last story of utter madness for 2009 we see that Department for Children, Schools and Families and the School Library Association are going to give each secondary school in the country at least 15 new books free of any charge in the hopes that the gift will get kids reading!
It turns out that ULT or rather United Learning Trust has pulled out of sponsoring two new Academies as its Sheffield Academy failed its second Ofsted inspection. However uncle Ed seems to be accepting of the ULT that the kids 'behavioural problems' are the reason why the Sheffield Park Academy has failed.
Either the compilers of the Evening Mails web pages simply don't care
any more or they are always running out of time or they are incompetent
but whatever the reason the outcome makes the paper look like a two bit
amateur outfit not a local news leader.
I should be the last person to be writing this report.
I do not have any children in this company's school so have no direct interest in its success or failure.
I am not employed by the company so have no direct interest in its success or failure.
I do not supply the company with any products or services so have no direct interest in its success or failure.
However I along with every other parent who had a child in either
Alfred Barrow, Thorncliffe or Parkview schools or every parent of a
child in Year 6 primary education between September 2008 and July 2009
were given some huge promises by Ed Balls, Moira Swann, Anne Attwood,
David Kelly, Neil Simco and of course Mr Blackledge.
Terms were bandied around like 21st Century Learning Environment, World
Class Education, Inclusive Community. These were all designed to
convince enough people that the people named above knew what they were
doing.
To save the Labour diploma.
Turns out that maybe, just maybe the Diplomas are not all that Ed Balls and Co have said they are "the qualification of choice."
Universities don't like them.
Business doesn't like them.
Even the kids don't like them.
But none of that opinion was ever going to sway Ed Balls.
The Evening Mail continues to be the medium of choice for the Academy company to get its message across to 'the community' but the Evening Mail continues to reduce the opportunity for comment on its articles which is laughable as its dead tree version tells readers to 'go online and have your say"!
So here are the good news articles reproduced in full without any comment from me so if you are so inclined to agree or disagree with the content feel free.
If you know of anyone who wants the job there's still two days to apply.
Delivered online 14th December and captured for posterity
It has been brought to my attention via an angry Year 11 of my sons acquaintance that at the Parkview site, she refuses to call it South site, it's work, work, work all the way to the bitter end of term.
Ed Balls that self appointed 'protector of children' has come up with a new scheme to keep kids from as young as five 'safe on the web'.
The fact is that the internet is exactly like the real world in that it is full of risk, danger, excitement, good people, bad people, good people with good intentions, good people with bad intentions, bad people with bad intentions etc etc.
Deary me.
It has come to light that Capita Plc has allegedly been overcharging schools for the use of it's services. This is a slightly different division of the behemoth that is Capita to the one that 'oversees' projects on behalf of Cumbria County Council and the one that provides the 'local government services' but it's still part of the same organisation.
It's pouring down again. It's dark and miserable again. Anyone would think this is a normal Barrovian winters day expect it's only the 5th of December.
Anyway to lighten the gloom a bit I've found these pictures on the Interweb thingy and...
Granted Kent is a long way away from Furness and Furness Academy doesn't seem to be riven by any of the problems that Strood allegedly is but in my opinion it's worth having a read of what is alleged to be going on down in the garden of England.
It never ceases to amaze me how badly run and how corrupt our government really is. What really sticks in the craw though is how profligate it is with taxpayers money when it comes to one of it's sacred cows, Academies.
I should point out that Furness Academy Limited is not a commercially sponsored Academy nor I am glad to say despite the involvement of way too many religious evangelicals in it's creation is it in any way a religious Academy unlike the ULT and Oasis sponsored Academies.
As there appears to be an 'Academy Watch' on Academy Watch trying to 'sniff out' Academy staff who may be commenting on Academy Watch may I make it CRYSTAL clear to all I have NO idea who is actually posting comments.
I assume that the Academy is trying to bring down the wall of silence to cover every aspect of the school instead of smashing the wall to pieces and engaging with the parents, pupils and staff who read this blog.
A sad but after my recent experience of a short and ultimately pointless e-mail exchange with one of the sponsors an entirely predictable one. I asked the sponsor to contribute to this site and lo and behold... I never got a reply.
The sponsors desk and the principals desk must be piled high with requests for information, and their inboxes must be filled to overflowing because none of them ever answer anything.
Anyway onto the Guardian's expose on the problems the Government has with getting cash from its religious and commercial Academy sponsors...