I have decided to move these excellent comments to the front page to be read by all. Thank you 'Caring Parents'. Really appreciate your time to respond. Please email me (profile page) if I can support you in any way.
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Tony Blair set out his priorities for office “ Education, education, education”. Gordon Brown pledged to eradicate failure from England’s schools by saying those which let children down will be taken over or closed. He said local authorities would be encouraged to use new powers to intervene in failing schools. Minimum standards in England’s schools would be raised with all schools needing to have 30% of their pupils achieving five high grade GCSEs by 2012-13. Schools which failed to meet that target could face being taken over by interim management boards, or by other successful schools including independent schools, or being turned into academies. "No more toleration of second best in Britain - no more toleration of second best for Britain.", "No longer acceptable for any school to fail its pupils”. Mr. Brookes, the general secretary of the NAHT said as quoted on the BBC news web site October 2007: "We call on parents, children and young people to unite in getting behind their school to maintain their right to a good education which is crucial to life chances. Children must insist on their right to a learning environment that promotes success, and have zero tolerance of peers who try to take away that right by constant disruption."
This week the Lafford High School Governors agreed to seek a phased closure. The Lafford High School is NOT a failing school. Our child joined this school and we have had no regrets. The teachers are exceptional; the standards of teaching are very high. The teachers and staff know each child individually giving a great advantage for excellent teaching and excellent child /parent/s relations. In March 2007 The Lafford High School became the most improved school in the whole country.
The school has formed a partnership with St.Georges college. Parents were told that the Lafford was entering into an academy status which would save the school and give greater opportunities for all children. The last school meeting told parents the school was entering into exciting times with fantastic opportunities ahead. The Lafford high school news letter of Dec 07 stated “last years year 11’s achieved the best GCSE results ever, in the history of the school 59% of students gained 5 or more GCSE A*-C grades”, and this “places us in the top 5% of schools nationally”
So it’s down to numbers! The letter to parents states 19 children have indicated that the Lafford is their school of first preference. The letter does not give statement or indications as to the amount of children that would have been attending the Lafford high school in September 2008. The Lafford high school is a small school in pupil numbers it seems. Was it not Ofsted that argued the quality of teaching in small schools is generally better than in large schools giving an important place in the community, in short ticking all the ECM boxes. (Every Child Matters) . The letter states numbers in the local primary schools are also declining, so there is little prospect of any significant upturn at the Lafford high school.
Does this mean that Billinghay primary school is next on the list of closures? Have parents there been informed? The letter states, to seek a phased closure of the Lafford High school by the local council as it could no longer offer a broad curriculum that meets the needs of all children and that this proposal was supported by a senior member of the local authority.
We understood that the broad curriculum was part of the increasing opportunities as being in partnership with St. Georges College or by entering into the governments school academies programme, are we no longer in partnership?
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