Head apologises as council sacks Bicester college governors (From The Oxford Times)
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Head apologises as council sacks Bicester college governors
9:30am Thursday 21st February 2013 in News
Jason Clarke
BICESTER Community College’s governors have been sacked, just weeks after the school was put in special measures.
Oxfordshire County Council’s demand to replace the 18-strong board of governors has been approved by the Department for Education. A new five person interim executive board (IEB) is now in place to oversee the Queens Avenue school.
The move comes as principal Jason Clarke apologised for the problems.
The school was put into special measures earlier this month following a critical report by Ofsted, which rated it as inadequate in all areas.
In a statement Mr Clarke said: “It is deeply regrettable that we find ourselves in this position and I offer my sincere apologies to all members of our community that I allowed it to happen ‘on my watch’. As we move forward, our pursuit of high quality learning will be relentless.”
The interim governing board, appointed by the county council, will be led by Bob Wintringham, former chairman of governors of Faringdon Community College. Other members include Ofsted inspector Bob Adams; Jill Judson, former headteacher of Oxford’s Cherwell School; Michael Waine, former headteacher, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for schools and BCC governor, and David Dunne, who was board chairman at Bicester’s Cooper School.
Comments(75)
standingupforwhatsright
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12:13pm Thu 21 Feb 13
CAMBERWELLCARROT
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12:41pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Severian
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12:52pm Thu 21 Feb 13
CAMBERWELLCARROT wrote:I think Michael Waine was an Associate Member of the governors at BCC, rather than a full governor.
Interesting to see one of the old governors reinstated maybe because he is also a councillor - I think there maybe a bigger picture here. Be interesting to see how things develop.
That meant he was asked to attend certain meetings and contribute to the discussion, but had no voting rights.
Usually this is because the governors decide that someone might have some skill or knowledge that they don't have, and so they join in as an "extra pair of hands".
Bicester Federation of Learning (The Cooper School and Glory Farm) has one of these types of governor too.
Want justice for our kids
says...
12:54pm Thu 21 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949
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3:32pm Thu 21 Feb 13
If the governors have been taken in by someone that can talk the talk, they are to blame, but their influence is nothing like the headteacher's.
It is therefore only a matter of time before he should go too.
However, governors are relatively easy to get rid of, but heads are harder. There will also be a financial issue here, as OCC will not want to have to pay out for an unfair dismissal claim. It might be a while until a lot of people get their wish.
If the IEB feel he has to go, they can of course facilitate events.
citizensunite
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4:20pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Severian
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4:52pm Thu 21 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949 wrote:You are of course right, but only partially. If a head isn't up to scratch the Board of Governors has both the authority and the power to take action (and certainly an obligation to act too).
A school is run more by the head and his SLT than the governors. Yes they do have some say in how things go, but ultimate responsibility is the head's as he/she is there every day.
If the governors have been taken in by someone that can talk the talk, they are to blame, but their influence is nothing like the headteacher's.
It is therefore only a matter of time before he should go too.
However, governors are relatively easy to get rid of, but heads are harder. There will also be a financial issue here, as OCC will not want to have to pay out for an unfair dismissal claim. It might be a while until a lot of people get their wish.
If the IEB feel he has to go, they can of course facilitate events.
What was clearly the case was that the BCC governors were happy with the old state of affairs and were patently unwilling to do anything about the state of the school.
The IEB now has the ability to take whatever action they think is necessary, and I doubt they will follow the same line as the BCC board.
Alyalyaly
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5:53pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Not impressed that Michael Waine has done another shift , tactical move Mr W going over to Cooper when you did , I thought you was too busy to commit to being a Governor .
One thing I have heard is that the IEB can reinstate some of the old governors , lets home they don't .
I have noticed they haven't got any Parents involved , lets hope they rectify this as a matter of urgency !!!
Alyalyaly
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5:55pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Amnesia
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6:42pm Thu 21 Feb 13
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
Bob 1900
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7:22pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Amnesia wrote:What do you base this comment on 'right people for the job' I think not! I have a son who attended the school in Bartlets time what a joke! I have a daughter that is currently attending the school, who is florishing. All I have seen over the past few weeks are people who enjoy **** for **** sake. I attended the parents meeting and found the parents rude arogant and full of their own self importance with a captive audience, support the head teacher and shut up.
It is the right decision for education in Bicester. What a shame the governors didn't realise this a long time ago. I suppose that said far more about them than anyone else could.
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
Severian
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7:47pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:Support the Head Teacher of a school which received almost the worst Ofsted report ever in Oxfordshire?
Amnesia wrote:What do you base this comment on 'right people for the job' I think not! I have a son who attended the school in Bartlets time what a joke! I have a daughter that is currently attending the school, who is florishing. All I have seen over the past few weeks are people who enjoy **** for **** sake. I attended the parents meeting and found the parents rude arogant and full of their own self importance with a captive audience, support the head teacher and shut up.
It is the right decision for education in Bicester. What a shame the governors didn't realise this a long time ago. I suppose that said far more about them than anyone else could.
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
Parents aren't arrogant they are angry. And with good cause if you believe even a quarter of the comments made on the BA website.
Since the last Ofsted inspection loads of staff have left and results have taken a nose dive.
You will find that people who are going to shut up and support the current head are in a very small minority.
Bob 1900
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8:24pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Severian wrote:The minority in deed were the loud mouthed parents who disrupted a meeting for their own questionable motives. There is nothing worse than a throw away comment and generlisation-loads of staff have left- 12% less than Cooper and 17% less than Gosford, check your stats 'Muppet'
Bob 1900 wrote:Support the Head Teacher of a school which received almost the worst Ofsted report ever in Oxfordshire?
Amnesia wrote:What do you base this comment on 'right people for the job' I think not! I have a son who attended the school in Bartlets time what a joke! I have a daughter that is currently attending the school, who is florishing. All I have seen over the past few weeks are people who enjoy **** for **** sake. I attended the parents meeting and found the parents rude arogant and full of their own self importance with a captive audience, support the head teacher and shut up.
It is the right decision for education in Bicester. What a shame the governors didn't realise this a long time ago. I suppose that said far more about them than anyone else could.
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
Parents aren't arrogant they are angry. And with good cause if you believe even a quarter of the comments made on the BA website.
Since the last Ofsted inspection loads of staff have left and results have taken a nose dive.
You will find that people who are going to shut up and support the current head are in a very small minority.
worried parent 65
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8:26pm Thu 21 Feb 13
worried parent 65
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8:35pm Thu 21 Feb 13
concernedtat
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8:44pm Thu 21 Feb 13
concernedtat
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8:54pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:support a head teacher who isn't up to the job? seriously.... you should consider yourself very lucky that you have had no problems with your daughter at school, cause those of us that have did not get the support from him...
Amnesia wrote:What do you base this comment on 'right people for the job' I think not! I have a son who attended the school in Bartlets time what a joke! I have a daughter that is currently attending the school, who is florishing. All I have seen over the past few weeks are people who enjoy **** for **** sake. I attended the parents meeting and found the parents rude arogant and full of their own self importance with a captive audience, support the head teacher and shut up.
It is the right decision for education in Bicester. What a shame the governors didn't realise this a long time ago. I suppose that said far more about them than anyone else could.
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
anyone can feed their governors aload of rubbish... to hold them totally accountable is a total laugh he should be gone
Bob 1900
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8:58pm Thu 21 Feb 13
worried parent 65
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9:04pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:yeah that's right you've wound a few people up! Everyone here is trying to make the school go in the right direction and create a place where our children can learn and make a future for themselves while being safe at the same time. what an idiot you've just made of yourself well done!
Job done-easily wound up. Back to my day job of teaching our glorious youth !
standingupforwhatsright
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9:48pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:You are clearly very lucky that this hasn't affected your family the way it has affected others, myself included. I wish i was in your position right now, you know the one where the camera pans around and it's all smiles around the homework table? 6 months ago the mornings in my house were like scenes from 'The Exorcist' (no my daughter doesn't need one thankyou). She dreaded going to school. This wasn't 'normal' teenage 'I can't be bothered to get up' kind of dreading school but REALLY dreading going to school. Now she is a completely different child, laughing & joking & back to the girl she used to be (well nearly). She was predicted D's & E's at BCC but now she's predicted B's & C's. This isn't an error made by Gosford but REAL assessments
Amnesia wrote:What do you base this comment on 'right people for the job' I think not! I have a son who attended the school in Bartlets time what a joke! I have a daughter that is currently attending the school, who is florishing. All I have seen over the past few weeks are people who enjoy **** for **** sake. I attended the parents meeting and found the parents rude arogant and full of their own self importance with a captive audience, support the head teacher and shut up.
It is the right decision for education in Bicester. What a shame the governors didn't realise this a long time ago. I suppose that said far more about them than anyone else could.
I have absolutely no doubt all the selected IEB members are the right people to put the school back on the right track to recovery.
of progress. Some people think this is a witch hunt.... if only it were! I wish every parent & child had the privilege of not knowing how bad things are but unfortunately we don't. You don't know how lucky you are!
Alyalyaly
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10:05pm Thu 21 Feb 13
notoobullying
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10:11pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Alyalyaly wrote:Strange, you must be privy to information that is not out yet. As to my understanding the decision of the IEB to either go Academy or federation has not been decided yet.
What I can't understand is that the IEB have only 18 months to sort this sorry excuse for a school out . Does that also mean the federation with Cooper will also be formed by then, or after then ? Thank God the powers to be didnt go down The Acadamy Route
Then again it would not surprise me in the least seeing as the names of the IEB members have been leaked when the school staff did not even know, i hope whoever is leaking information from county gets found out and sacked. It certainly does not help anyone if the correct course is not followed.
JanetJ
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10:14pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:I do hope you are not teaching English Bob1900. Your spelling
Job done-easily wound up. Back to my day job of teaching our glorious youth !
and grammar on previous posts leaves a lot to be desired.
Severian
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10:34pm Thu 21 Feb 13
notoobullying wrote:The decision on what the IEB is going to do hasn't been made public as far as I can tell. The fact that the names of the board have been released can only mean that someone at OCC has been briefing the press directly - and good practice to me would mean that all students get a letter sent home to tell their parents what is happening.
Alyalyaly wrote:Strange, you must be privy to information that is not out yet. As to my understanding the decision of the IEB to either go Academy or federation has not been decided yet.
What I can't understand is that the IEB have only 18 months to sort this sorry excuse for a school out . Does that also mean the federation with Cooper will also be formed by then, or after then ? Thank God the powers to be didnt go down The Acadamy Route
Then again it would not surprise me in the least seeing as the names of the IEB members have been leaked when the school staff did not even know, i hope whoever is leaking information from county gets found out and sacked. It certainly does not help anyone if the correct course is not followed.
On the academy front going Academy is not always a great solution - it will take ages to set up (if they can find a sponsor), and there are no guarantees that it will be any better than before (as has happened at the Oxford Academy in Littlemore).
As for the 18 months I think this is how long a school will be in Special Measures for - according to Ofsted if the school still requires special measures after 18 months of monitoring it will have to be reinspected.
Severian
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10:36pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:If you are genuinely a teacher that would go some way towards explaining the lack of educational achievement in so many young people these days.
Job done-easily wound up. Back to my day job of teaching our glorious youth !
Myron Blatz
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11:35pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Severian
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12:51am Fri 22 Feb 13
Myron Blatz wrote:What is really sad is that two schools in Bicester which both get the same amount of money per pupil have such different outcomes.
Something is fundamentally wrong, and not just with Bicester, but many other schools - including the once-showcased Oxford Academy in Littlemore. What is baffling is that this is happening despite the £millions which have been thrown at them. The saddest part of all is that it's the children who are suffering, their parents who are having to pay the price for State education, and the thousands of really good teachers who have left, or will be leaving their chosen career because of bureaucratic bungling and poor decision-making by politicians and educationalists alike.
We really need to bring BCC up to the same standard as Cooper, so that every child in Bicester has an equal chance of a really good, safe and fun education, no matter where they live or which primary school they went to.
It isn't a question of money - it's all about the management, staff and governors working together for the good of the students.
Let's hope the new IEB can sort this out before too long.
Amnesia
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8:16am Fri 22 Feb 13
Thank goodness the matter is on the way to be rectified and I now look forward to the day when both Bicester schools get 'Excellent' reports.
veryangryparent
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11:00am Fri 22 Feb 13
Below is a list we think is reasonably accurate of staff who left last academic year. This is a VAST amount of talent that the board of governors and SLT let walk through the school gates, and yet they chose not to do exit interviews.
I understand that the SLT viewed this as 'natural wastage' and that it gave them the opportunity to recruit a 'dream team'.
To have this amount of talent leave and then to be still confident they have the right '3 year plan' in place takes a special kind of arrogance:
Mrs Arif-Vardy
Mrs Barker-Boyd
Mrs Berg
Mr Buller
Mrs Bushnel
Mr Carrol
Mr Chambers
Mrs Cooke
Mr Dennis
Mr Djelalli
Mrs Fleetwood
Mrs Gothard
Mr Hamer
Mr Holme
Mrs Holmes
Dr Lawson
Mrs LeBrun
Mrs McDonald
Mr Masterson
Ms McStraw
Mrs Morley
Mrs Morrow
Mr Partington
Mr Peak
Mr Powell
Mrs Randle
Mr Rendle
Mrs Rotheram
Mrs Simmons
Mrs Sleeman Barker
Mrs Williamson
I may have missed the odd name. Feel free to correct/amend, but don't feel free to suggest this is an insignificant staff exit: this was exactly what it reads like - a mass exodus.
notoobullying
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11:39am Fri 22 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949
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11:47am Fri 22 Feb 13
Braganca
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11:50am Fri 22 Feb 13
veryangryparent
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12:34pm Fri 22 Feb 13
And you're saying more of the staff left the previous year? You mean the situation is actually worse than portrayed? Staff started leaving in droves the previous year and the SLT didn't do anything about it?
Yes, thanks for your input there @notoobullying, glad to see you're helping to improve the quality of information. Did you get as far as my note on the bottom?
Anyone else want to add/correct this list of 31 names? Oops - @notoobullying thinks it should only be 25 names. Not too many at all then.
I see some of the posters are as helpful as ever.
Instead of querying whether a member of staff is a holier-than-thou teacher or a mere cleaner, shouldn't we keep our eye on the ball and notice an awful lot of staff in general have left? Or is @notoobullying hoping to whittle this list down to zero?
My message is simple. A lot of talent has walked out of the school gates. The previous board of governors didn't ask them why. That was a mistake and they've paid for it.
The new management need to arrest this talent drain and understand where the current leadership skills are failing.
notoobullying
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1:04pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Whilst there are some good teachers to have left for varying reasons, there are also some bad ones. There are also retirements, sadly one of that list was an early one due to health and passed away during last summer. There were non teaching staff * so how could this TALENT have helped the education).
There will always be turnover of staff, I have no seen the figures for previous heads or schools nearby.
However I would state this, the IEB is now in place as we have all read, rather than keep throwing Inaccurate information around....(which I know the facebook group are SOOOO fond off doing), maybe it is time to actually let the IEB do their job. Because frankly your group are begining to sound like a stuck record, and it got boring a long time ago.
If the IEB think the SLT should stay or they should go, it will need the community as a whole to help the school move forward, if they do not then the IEB will also fail.
Whether or not a disproportionate amount of staff have left, it is time to draw a line under it and let the IEB do their job!
veryangryparent
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1:29pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Similarly, I know nothing of your facebook group - is that where uneducated adolescents try to be as rude as possible to each other? They could learn from these posts.
You do however raise a fascinating point - namely that non-teaching staff do not make up the talent that helps education.
You would seem to imply that teachers are the real talent. I'll sign up to that. The problem is that the current Leadership seem to be unable to retain this talent. Does my post make more sense to you now?
Severian
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1:44pm Fri 22 Feb 13
What they need now is the support of parents, staff and students to start putting things right as quickly as possible. And it can't come soon enough in my opinion.
Alyalyaly
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4:15pm Fri 22 Feb 13
notoobullying wrote:Please get your facts right and search the web , it's all there in black and white . Thank you very much !
Alyalyaly wrote:Strange, you must be privy to information that is not out yet. As to my understanding the decision of the IEB to either go Academy or federation has not been decided yet.
What I can't understand is that the IEB have only 18 months to sort this sorry excuse for a school out . Does that also mean the federation with Cooper will also be formed by then, or after then ? Thank God the powers to be didnt go down The Acadamy Route
Then again it would not surprise me in the least seeing as the names of the IEB members have been leaked when the school staff did not even know, i hope whoever is leaking information from county gets found out and sacked. It certainly does not help anyone if the correct course is not followed.
Alyalyaly
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4:34pm Fri 22 Feb 13
notoobullying wrote:I'm sounding like a polly parrot now BUT please use a search engine correctly and all the information is there!!! It does take a while but it always comes up trumps for me . As some of you are aware I stated the name of the head of the IEB on a different post on here a few weeks ago and yet again not only was I correct and I found the information via searching . So please don't state comments that are not FACTUAL , unlike mine . Thank you . Shame really because I have found some more amazing Factual things , but I have decided to keep it to myself !!!!
Alyalyaly wrote:Strange, you must be privy to information that is not out yet. As to my understanding the decision of the IEB to either go Academy or federation has not been decided yet.
What I can't understand is that the IEB have only 18 months to sort this sorry excuse for a school out . Does that also mean the federation with Cooper will also be formed by then, or after then ? Thank God the powers to be didnt go down The Acadamy Route
Then again it would not surprise me in the least seeing as the names of the IEB members have been leaked when the school staff did not even know, i hope whoever is leaking information from county gets found out and sacked. It certainly does not help anyone if the correct course is not followed.
concernedtat
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5:18pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Bob 1900 wrote:cocky and arrogant just like Clarke.... with your attitude I seriously hope your not a teacher, cause if so well then that just explains the Ofsted doesn't it
Job done-easily wound up. Back to my day job of teaching our glorious youth !
suejonesparent
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5:29pm Fri 22 Feb 13
woofy61
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7:09pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Parent12
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7:38pm Fri 22 Feb 13
We will be watching for signs of attempted re-entry through the back door of these miserable apologists. They should be banned from ever being governors of anywhere ever again.
Alyalyaly
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10:46pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Parent12 wrote:Amazing and spot on comments , couldn't agree more .
Good riddance to the apologists for poor standards who sat nodding their heads at governors' meetings and insulting us with their lies about how good it all is even after the report proved what we as parents all knew already. The head staying on is inevitable because he has nowhere else to go (not a great CV!). That, and the fact that doing the right thing would be the best lesson our children learnt from all of this, are compelling reasons why the board should seriously consider sacking the head.
We will be watching for signs of attempted re-entry through the back door of these miserable apologists. They should be banned from ever being governors of anywhere ever again.
CAMBERWELLCARROT
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11:43am Sat 23 Feb 13
ahead on its ofsted report. I would welcome a totally independent school inspectorate to be set up to get to the truth in uk education.
Parent12
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11:56am Sat 23 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949
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12:52pm Sat 23 Feb 13
CAMBERWELLCARROT wrote:Cooper was seen as 'outstanding' in 2011, so to say that Cooper was "not that far ahead on its ofsted report" is utter rubbish.
Speaking as a parent, I can only say that there has been a growing improvement in the school in the last two years and in the last year in particular; my child is more than happy to attend, she is learning, is interested in learning and getting results. I think the reason the ofsted report was so poor is because it is based on the previous 5 years performance. i.e. including the period prior to the current staff and leadership. Changes needed to be made and staff replaced because when my daughter first went there; discipline was totally absent as were alot of the teachers alot of the time. BCC should never have been put into special measures, especially as the much lauded Cooper was not that far
ahead on its ofsted report. I would welcome a totally independent school inspectorate to be set up to get to the truth in uk education.
If outstanding is not that much better than special measures, I will apologise.
CAMBERWELLCARROT
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2:19pm Sat 23 Feb 13
Parent12 wrote:The new Ofsted criteria is based on "learning over time" which is based on the achievements of year 11 that left in July 2012 and the education that they received in their five years i.e. years of of previous head and staff. This report does not take into account any improvements since September 2012. The Ofsted report for Cooper was not based on the same criteria.
The Ofsted report was based on an inspection carried out over a few days in December 2012, not anything to do with 5 years ago.
Want justice for our kids
says...
2:24pm Sat 23 Feb 13
citizensunite
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3:37pm Sat 23 Feb 13
citizensunite
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3:37pm Sat 23 Feb 13
citizensunite
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3:37pm Sat 23 Feb 13
citizensunite
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3:37pm Sat 23 Feb 13
Parent12
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6:28pm Sat 23 Feb 13
CAMBERWELLCARROT wrote:We didn't need a report to know that the school was failing. What you are pointing out is a small part of the report which acknowledges that it wasn't just a bad couple of days that they observed by chance. It's this clutching at straws type of excuse-making that I find so irritating.
Parent12 wrote:The new Ofsted criteria is based on "learning over time" which is based on the achievements of year 11 that left in July 2012 and the education that they received in their five years i.e. years of of previous head and staff. This report does not take into account any improvements since September 2012. The Ofsted report for Cooper was not based on the same criteria.
The Ofsted report was based on an inspection carried out over a few days in December 2012, not anything to do with 5 years ago.
Give the future a chance by calling a failure a failure then doing a lot about it!
Alyalyaly
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6:42pm Sat 23 Feb 13
Severian
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12:29am Sun 24 Feb 13
Alyalyaly wrote:I have never seen the Facebook group so I wouldn't know whether this is or isn't the same. But if the FB group thinks that an Outstanding Ofsted inspection is little different from a school being put in special measures then there will be little that I missed.
Blimey !!!! It's looking a lot like the Facebook group on here !!!!!
It has been obvious for years (and long before Mr Clarke started) that the two schools were drifting apart in terms of performance, and in recent years BCC has just been failing on so many fronts compared to Cooper.
At long last Ofsted has been willing to take action, and hopefully we will see the two schools give our kids equal outcomes in the near future.
If people honestly believe that giving the current management team another 2-3 years to improve their act has any chance of happening they need to wake up and face reality.
Things are going to change - so get used to the idea.
notoobullying
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4:01pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Why is it that last September when it was announced that he was stepping down from BCC governors, it was stated that he did not have the time for being both a BCC governor and "Bicester Federation chairman", however now he miraculously does have time for both, even though there has been no "formal" decision made on whether BCC is to become part of this federation.
When in reality the reason he did step down is that he was already manoeuvring in the background for this exact outcome (before the Ofsted inspection had even been announced), and knew if he was a governor still he would also have been removed due to this outcome.
Also in 2007 when he stated he knew both schools were failing has HE been able to help cooper school and not also BCC when in a position to offer that help, and I quote from the Bicester Ad..http://www.bices
teradvertiser.net/ne
ws/1150452.Council_l
eader_slams_school_s
tandards/
He said: "In all cases, we are working closely with school leadership teams and governors on real change agendas.
"People will be aware of recent and sustainable improvements at Cooper School, and the engagement of the Oxfordshire education effectiveness service which advises and inspects schools with Bicester Community College."
He talks of improvements at cooper and engagement at BCC, why was he not able to deliver the same for both schools, I will tell you why he has a favouritism for cooper and didn't want to help BCC.
Whilst I believe the other four members of the IEB CAN do some good and help move the school the correct way, I cannot help be feel that Mr Waine has been engineering this for his own aims for far too long. When in fact he should also be held accountable and not be in this position on the IEB.
Nothing like getting your mate an extra few thousand too be an executive head is there, which then begs the question of where the extra 100k for an executive head will come from in this time of austerity, if the federation route is chosen )two IEB members belonging to federation…..again another done deal).
The fact is this school has had problems for years, and like him or not Mr Clarke has been made the scapegoat for the years of neglect by multiple parties, none of which seem to have copped the blame also, and while some said he run roughshod over the school and forced in new changes, others are clearly saying it wasn't quick enough.
citizensunite
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6:53pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Severian
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10:04pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Maybe the difference is that in Cooper School the governors (including Michael Waine), the Head and the staff work together to make the school get better every year. And Cooper has a head who has transformed the school from one of the worst in County to one of the best.
In BCC it seems that they did the exact opposite - the Head and SLT appear to have worked against the staff, and the governors appear to have done little to hold the leadership to account for the ongoing failings of the school.
As I understand it Michael Waine was an Associate Governor at BCC (hard to tell because the school didn't publish its list of governors after 2011) whereas at Cooper he was a full governor. As an associate governor he will have had little authority to make the Head do anything - but the rest of the governors can certainly be held to account.
The Bicester Ad reported that one of the main reasons Michael stood down from BCC was because he saw a conflict of interest between being chair of one board, and being a member of the other.
As for the possible federation (no idea if this is happening because all I've seen is what the Bicester Ad has published) I would expect there to be less work than being a governor of two separate schools because there would not be twice as many meetings.
It seems to me that your issues with what is happening at BCC are concerned more with a personal crusade against Michael Waine, and much less with making sure that the kids there get the education they need and deserve.
notoobullying
says...
11:12pm Sun 24 Feb 13
But otherwise you answered how I expected you too, and that spoke volumes. So I thank you for that.
Oxford Male
says...
11:25pm Mon 25 Feb 13
notoobullying wrote:Perhaps you should read what has been written. "Below is a list we think is reasonably accurate of staff who left last academic year. "
Lets see 3 non teaching staff, at least 6 who left in the prior academic year, yep I see the information exchange is as accurate as ever.
Do you understand what reasonably accurate means?
notoobullying
says...
8:32am Tue 26 Feb 13
Oxford Male wrote:Yes I do, do you? or do you accept that accept that an error rate of around 20% should be called "reasonably accurate".
notoobullying wrote:Perhaps you should read what has been written. "Below is a list we think is reasonably accurate of staff who left last academic year. "
Lets see 3 non teaching staff, at least 6 who left in the prior academic year, yep I see the information exchange is as accurate as ever.
Do you understand what reasonably accurate means?
citizensunite
says...
8:55am Tue 26 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949
says...
8:58am Tue 26 Feb 13
notoobullying wrote:The 3 "non-teaching staff" were TAs or involved in SEN/Access Team, so they still have a direct involvement in childrens' education. Having them on that list is therefore quite relevant.
Oxford Male wrote:Yes I do, do you? or do you accept that accept that an error rate of around 20% should be called "reasonably accurate".
notoobullying wrote:Perhaps you should read what has been written. "Below is a list we think is reasonably accurate of staff who left last academic year. "
Lets see 3 non teaching staff, at least 6 who left in the prior academic year, yep I see the information exchange is as accurate as ever.
Do you understand what reasonably accurate means?
The 6 who left the previous year isn't, but there were a lot more than 6 in that year, which was the point of the original post!
There was, according to one reliable source, a staff turnover of OVER 50% in the academic year 2011/12.
All but one of the maths department left. Is that a sign of an improving school, one that is good to work in and has a head who is on the right track?
No.
retiredteacher1949
says...
8:59am Tue 26 Feb 13
citizensunite wrote:The head of humanities was one of the best teachers at BCC and was liked by just about everyone, teachers and pupils alike. His leaving sums up the state of BCC.
Hang on a minute.....are we including the NEW member of staff who is set to leave at then end of this year.....1 year in post!!, and the Head of Humanities Faculty who left for the Royal Latin, at Christmas to a non-promoted post!....let's not forget that the drain continues!
Severian
says...
9:08am Tue 26 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949 wrote:Presumably they were poached by the Royal Latin, given who the new head there is?
citizensunite wrote:The head of humanities was one of the best teachers at BCC and was liked by just about everyone, teachers and pupils alike. His leaving sums up the state of BCC.
Hang on a minute.....are we including the NEW member of staff who is set to leave at then end of this year.....1 year in post!!, and the Head of Humanities Faculty who left for the Royal Latin, at Christmas to a non-promoted post!....let's not forget that the drain continues!
citizensunite
says...
9:36am Tue 26 Feb 13
Student1992
says...
6:34pm Tue 26 Feb 13
i was personally a student at the time of her being in charge of the school and never felt her presence at all.
Although the current principal has obviously not improved anything, i think this was inevitable had the school carried on the way it was anyway.
He has certainly stopped the glorifying of students who wanted to misbehave, which was an everyday occurance, and he has reduced the amount of lateness in the mornings. whilst i was at that school it was a joke, and although it is sad that the current state is not improved, it has to be wondered what effect the decisions of Cynthia Bartlett has had on the lives, education and career paths of thousands of students who have passed through those gates.
retiredteacher1949
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8:52pm Tue 26 Feb 13
concernedtat
says...
9:13pm Tue 26 Feb 13
retiredteacher1949 wrote:just hope to god they don't put Hollis in charge, he's just as bad if not worse, Clarke hid behind Hollis and Hollis is nothing more than a bully who has no regard for parents concerns
Word is that he's cleared his desk. Whether that is the case, I'm sure we'll find out tomorrow.
citizensunite
says...
10:31pm Tue 26 Feb 13
bicesterrealnews
says...
8:12am Wed 27 Feb 13
If either he or J.causon get the permanent post, the school would be better off just closing!!
Nick Mawer
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11:56am Thu 14 Mar 13
I was a Governor at BCC for less than one year. I resigned from the board of Governors as it became absolutely clear that I could not devote the amount of time that this important role deserved.
Severian
says...
9:37am Fri 15 Mar 13
Nick Mawer wrote:Nick - I owe you an apology (I couldn't comment on the other board because the BA has closed comments on it).
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some facts in regard to other comments made on other articles on the Bicester Adveriser online.
I was a Governor at BCC for less than one year. I resigned from the board of Governors as it became absolutely clear that I could not devote the amount of time that this important role deserved.
I discovered you were a governor at BCC from a newsletter they sent out some time ago, and there is no information on their website any more about who their governors were.
I didn't intend to attack innocent people - I just wanted to know who the people were that had been running the school before the DfE intervened.
Might have been better for everyone if the school had gone to the trouble of listing who their governors were.
The important thing now is that the IEB get stuck in and turn the school around as quickly as possible.
Nick Mawer
says...
9:39am Fri 15 Mar 13
Severian says...
12:05pm Thu 21 Feb 13
It's just a shame that the County Council had to sack the governors, rather than them doing the decent thing and resigning.