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I was appalled at Jill Wareham's misleading statement in this week's County Press
that an extra two years will make primary schools more viable.If she has
read the £100000 report by Four S that she has so enthusiastically adopted, she will know
that no primary school will be considered viable unless it has at least
30 pupils in each year group.
I've been in correspondence with Tony Knight, the first Headteacher of what
is now Trinity Middle School.He has reminded me that middle schools were
created in the first place partly because of the concerns over the disaffection
of 11-13 year olds at IOW Secondary Schools; placing them in a smaller school
which could combine the best of primary and secondary practice and allow
12-13 year olds to show initiative and take responsibility and feel a sense of belonging
and being valued was seen as a solution to the problem.The overwhelming majority of
IOW OFSTED Reports show that middle schools are particularly effective at achieving positive
attitudes to learning and behaviour, despite a national trend for Year 8s
to exhibit the most challenging behaviour and record the highest exclusion
rates.I am beginning to think that the anonymous correspondence to your
website who slammed the teaching of Yr.7&8 was an April Fool(9.30a.m. on
April 1st.) because results of Yr.8 Optional SATS generally show that IOW
middle school children have made good progress from Year 6.This is why
the Island has been accepted onto a national pilot project to take the KS3
Course in 2 years rather than 3, which in turn will make middle schools
fully accountable for a Key Stage.
The poor GCSE Results are very worrying, but the present Year 11 achieved the
best ever IOW KS2 Results at end of Yr.6 and the good work being done by
middle school teachers should surely this year bear fruit in a significant
improvement.
At my own school-Solent Middle- we have consistently achieved KS2 results
well above the national average and have tracked the progress of our children
through to GCSE and A level and found that they have generally done well,
certainly higher than the 44% five A-Cs.This year our grade for all 3 core
subjects at Key Stage 2, against similar schools nationally, was A and this with an intake
described by OFSTED as "on the low side of average".
Several other Island middle schools can claim to have some very good results
too and all deserve credit for being one of the 3 most improved groups of
schools in the country at KS2 in 2004. All Island Middle Schools (as you know)
received a letter from the Minister of State for Education (at that time David Milliband)
for being one of the 3 most improved groups in the country at KS2 .
There are teachers at my school who only moved to the Isle of Wight because of
the middle school system.They are now considering their futures and I know
that, if re-organisation were to go ahead, we would lose some gifted and
dedicated teachers whom the Island cannot afford to lose.
I really hope that common sense will prevail (Kim Johnson has admitted in
a letter to all teachers that there is no certainty as to when if at all
the funding for re-organisation will be found) and the decision to re-organise
will be reversed.We will then be able to concentrate our energies on the
very necessary process of raising standards, especially at KS4.
Keep up the campaigning;there are many concerned people 100% behind what you
are doing.I'll be in touch again at the start of next term.In the meantime
please feel free to quote from my letter if it will help in any way.
Best wishes,
David
A note of support,
I am chairman of governors at Cowes High School. We are fully behind your
initiative and have been pushing hard for an alternative approach in Cowes
that does not involve massive restructuring. We are putting together an
initiative to create a 0 - 19 education continuum in Cowes that is based on
stronger collaboration between our school community.
All the Middle Schools in the Cowes area are united behind the efforts to
aim for standards and not restructuring.
Best regards
Hamish Wilson
I'm extremely impressed (and grateful) for all you've achieved so far, not least in digging out highly relevant alternative information and in putting together most powerful arguments.
Finally, least important (and at risk of being pedantic, irritating and causing offence - none of which I'd wish), is there a chance, with press releases etc, of being able to avoid the misplaced apostrophe in 'its' as a genitive/belonging (its effect etc, not it's effect)? .. I just know such trifling matters carry undue and disproportionate weight of importance in the minds of readers from the educ world, where academic snobberies are always rife. It would be an awful shame if any such insignificant detail diverted potential supporters from the important substance of what you are saying. (I feel awfully mean and priggish saying this, knowing that I could not for the life of me have done a fraction of what you have done in terms of mustering arguments, let alone in creating such a brilliant website and running so powerful an e-campaign. All far beyond me.)
Regards
R B
I have had your leaflet delivered to my door today. The statement that parents have not been asked is a total lie. There have, I believe, been two extensive rounds of public consultation and the Council have undertaken to consult in respect of the changes to specific schools.
I believe this statement to be libellous. If I were a member of the Council I would be instructing the Director of Children's Service to sue your organisation - which, I note, does not publish the names or addresses of the people behind it. Could I please have this information?
I would strongly encourage you to withdraw the leaflet and web-site which also gives dishonest and misleading information.
For your information, I attended a meeting in the first round of consultation expecting to speak against the reorganisation, but I found the reasoned arguments to be very persuasive and found myself converted.
Yours faithfully
David T
I moved here twenty years ago, my son was had just started Secondary school at the time, he was in danger of becoming a "lost child". On moving here, he had to attend a Middle School, he did two years in the school before entering a High School, the Middle school was the making of him, from the onset, they brought out his potential and he eventually went on to University to become a Chartered Accountant. If we do away with Middle schools, there will be a lot more "lost children".
Please keep fighting, if I can be any help, let me know.
Thank you on behalf of all parents.
Lynn H
The consultants (did the IOW council really pay £100,000?) have simply come up with what they thought the Council wanted to hear. Did they ask the parents of the children, did they ask the children what they thought of their schooling.
Did they look at the amount of deprivation on the Isle of Wight. League tables don't take the catchment area into account and is it at all surprising that the Island is slightly below average? Personally I am surprised that the schools manage to achieve results as high as they do.
If the Council want to spend 70 million on education, fine, but how much more good will it do if put into the existing system. As a mother of four children who has experienced both systems I would say that the Middle School can be a far less daunting prospect than the transfer from Primary to High School.
Jill K
Having just read through Standards Not Tiers we site, I can only agree with everything
I read. The children seem to be the forgotten ones in this progress.
My son goes to St Helens Primary School, where every morning the children are racing to be the first
in the class, all say (and mean) a big happy good morning to all the teachers, who know
every child by their first name and leave the school every afternoon still smiling. Would this be
the case when instead of 15 in each class one class per year, there's 30 to 35 per class maybe three
to four per year if lucky?
At our school the older children are encouraged to help the smaller ones which they do willingly.
With larger schools, wouldn't the smaller ones end up being bullied by the older children trying to
make a name of themselves.
How can teaching levels go up if class sizes are to be increased?
At the Sandown School meeting it was suggested the Island would get more teachers applying from
the mainland if we were in a two tier system. Teachers I know on the mainland would prefer to
work in our small schools, with smaller class sizes but the problem is moving to the Island with
high house prices, low wages and a terrible transport system, nothing to do with the number of tiers.
There are problems with the education system on the Island, but from what I've heard through family
and friends, these start at High School where children are going into a very large school environment and
if they are not in the top 2 classes, they are not pushed enough. Surely it would be wiser to build 2 or 3 new
High Schools (not just in Newport, Ryde and Sandown) , make the schools smaller and try to raise
the standards with more competion between schools.
The main reason we moved to the Island 5 years ago was for our son's education and happiness. Up to
now we have been more than happy with his progress at St Helen's Primary, but dread the next few years
if these changes are given the go ahead. The LEA are not doing a good job now, why should we let
them loose changing the education system for changes sake at the expense of our childrens education.
Goodluck with your challenge, I believe you have the backing of the majority of parents.
Regards
J M
Bembridge
Thanks for building this informative website - the research you've
included on comparative standards in 2-tier and 3-tier systems
answers a lot of the questions I had after reading the proposals from
4S.
Speaking as a parent who chose to relocate to the Island in 1998 when
my daughters were 11, partly because of the education system
here, I want to make the point that it's all relative: we moved from
Southeast London where my daughters would have moved to a large 11-18
comprehensive if we'd stayed, but instead fed into the final two
years of middle school. For us, this was an attractive option as the
smaller scale of middle school, and more intimate atmosphere, seemed
right for them at the time. They're able pupils and have done
exceptionally well in Island schools (they're now at High School
in their A level year and all have offers from top universities). I
have no doubt that to achieve such excellent results in London they
would have had to go to an independent or selective school. Their
education has certainly been miles better than mine was at an 11-18
comp in the 70s.
That's not to say I'm complacent about standards, though - I think
all schools need to be well-managed and have high expectations of
teachers and pupils. I think we as parents need to have high
expectations of teachers and our children, too, support them, take an
interest, and learn to complain if we know things are not right.
That's the real key to improvement, and I don't see how the massive
disruption and cost of completely overhauling the system would help.
Children who have grown up on the Island don't necessarily know where
a good education can lead them: many parents have low-paid jobs and
there are limited career opportunities for young people, so we need
to work on raising children's expectations of what they themselves
can achieve.
I'm keen to see what happens, as I also have a 3-year old son who's
due to start at our local school, Brighstone Primary in 2006 - it's a
wonderful school with a thriving playgroup and I would hate to see it
sacrificed in favour of more large, Newport-based primaries. Going
for apparent "cost-effective" options is often really the most
expensive choice when you consider what children, families, and
communities lose in the process.
I will keep checking the website for news.
W V
I think that it is a great shame to change what we already have. Children at the age of 11 should not be so far away from their parent. Especially a parent like myself who can not drive and if they were ill at school I would have a terrible problem collecting her. Also if she were to miss the bus, then what? A long walk to Newport bus station. I also like to peak personally to the teachers, not on the phone.
Ms L G of Ventnor
I am concerned about my child travelling to Newport such a young age on public transport as I work full time. I think that the 2-Tier system should be an absolute last resort. As it is a lot of money to spend on something that might not be the right solution. A lot of childrens education and happiness is at stake if it all goes wrong. Jobs will be lost and schools will be closed. What will happen to them? A lot of people I have spoken to (I include myself) say that Middle School was the best years socially and educationally
Ms D W of Ventnor
As a parent with children in the Island education system, I agree with fully with statement that it is standards that are the key to teh success of school system. I am aghast at the statements form some teachers as to the way they are expected to deal with class-room difficulties, and this only one area where the system appears to fail. Maybe the introduction of a new approach, zero tolerance etc would be far more effective.
There is a need to widen this debate, and the decision should not be solely in the hands of elected councillors. Incidently, how many of the 48 councillors have children within the education system?
I am interested to learn more of your campaigning activities, and will hopefully be able to get involved.
Regards
Robert
Parent and former chairman of a board of school governors on mainland.
Happily, my two are well past school age, but I can see your concerns. Having attended the Ryde presentation from 4S, I felt they made very convincing arguments in favour of change, but they would, wouldn't they, having received £100,000! I'm insufficiently knowledgeable about the inner workings of the education system these days, but my gut feeling is that this change is not necessary.
As one of your supporters said on Isle of Wight Radio, concentrating everything in Newport won't make the lives of youngsters in Ventnor and elsewhere very easy, but still, they're only kids, so an extra couple of hours a day travelling on public transport won't hurt them!
As you point out, the college has improved dramatically under new leadership - if only a new leader for Ryde High could be found, standards and discipline might rise there. That's the sort of issue that needs addressing, before spending £70 million on something unproven.
Good luck with the fight!
Regards,
Brian
I cannot attend the meeting but hope this arrives in time.
Points I feel need addresssing are-
The bigger classes that the 'report' says are essential can only be detrimental to childrens learning.
Greater travelling time for some children could mean they go from a 8.20 - 2.40 day including travelling to a 7.30 to 4.30 day which is a huge increase in time in just one year.
Lack of communication to home throughout high schools is a huge issue and can only get worse if schools get bigger.
Lack of male role models in primary schools can have an enormous effect on boys reading skills as they will have very few males to set an example.( Studies show that men tend to read mostly at work and notat home or do so once the children are in bed so children don't see their fathers read and this can put boys off reading.)
Good luck.
Jo
I've just been told about your website and have had a look.Congratulations!
At last someone is putting forward the alternative point of view.
We didn't receive an e-mail informing us of the meeting to-night
and so there won't be anyone coming.This doesn't mean to say, however, that
parents don't feel strongly about the issue.There is a lot of potential
support from parents who are concerned about their children's education
being disrupted when their present middle school is already giving them
an excellent experience.I know that some primary parents too are very concerned
about the future of their child's school.
I will publish your website address in my newsletter this Friday and hopefully
it will galvanise some more parents to take some action and exercise their
democratic right to contact councillors and try to persuade them of the
folly of embarking on 5 years of chaos which would almost certainly lead
to a lowering of standards, at least in the short term.
Remember there are 25 LEAs still with middle schools in at least part of
their area. Most of these are self-confident enough to believe in the system
they have and to resist any calls to dismantle it.Recently both Redditch
and Staffordshire held reviews and voted not to change.
I applaud your initiative to put forward a better solution to falling standards. In my opinion, small is best, but we must acknowledge that all the small centres of excellence, working in a 3 tier model has resulted in happy children, but inadequate exam success. I'm afraid the big world out there needs exam results.
I hope the solution you put forward does accept the need to close some schools, where, for example as in Ventnor there are 3 primary schools in a community with falling intake numbers. Unless you accept some pruning, the solution will just be seen sentimental rather than sensible.
I seems that your proposal could be more expensive than the 2 tier mainland model . You need to justify this more, because bigger units of education are easily seem as cheaper per pupil
Good luck on the 14th
Name: David Doc Holmes
Date: Wed Mar 9 22:43:38 GMT 2005
I wish you luck - but believe that if almost everyone else in Britain has abandoned the middle school system, it must be very likely that they have got it right and we have got it wrong? Our school results are inexcusable! The LEA have certainly let down island children for a long time. Poor leadership has been a major factor and some of these people may not be replaced?
Those of you leading this action group are right to stimulate debate. Why not come into the radio station and do the phone in?
I would also like to know if your own children will be affected by the proposals? You must identify yourselves to be credible.
One further point, in this pre election period beware the smarmy politicians!
Name: Kevin & Lynne
Date: Thu Mar 10 09:53:23 GMT 2005
I Went to the meeting last night at Ventnor middle. I agree with you that the parents views and missgivings do not seem to be taken into account in all of this.We would like to know if you know the position that councillors take on this topic as this would effect the way we vote in the coming elections
Name: Mike Brown
Date: Fri Mar 11 12:17:39 GMT 2005
I'm involved in the campaign to retain 3-Tier in Northumberland. Our council appears to be running a very hardnosed campaign to make the change regardless of the feedback from consultation. One of the big issues up here is funding and timescale. They started talking about a 5-year programme but are now unlikely to receive government funding (and then only part of what they want) before 2013/5.
Good luck.
Dear Gang
Thank you for your very detailed response. I certainly agree this proposed change comes after a sustained period of failure by the LEA. The politicians too have got it seriously wrong, now they're panicking? The money required is crazy!
As for 'standards not schools' I agree. Sadly the LEA have not dealt with poor teachers nor poor Head teachers. Some of them have been promoted! This isn't always their fault, the standard of applicant here is often poor. 'The island factor' - also includes low expectation by many parents.
Ryde private school has double the mainland average staff turnover. Considering their many advantages, their results are not as good as they could be.
Why is it that teaching is the only profesion where below par staff and management are denied?
Many island children are privately educated on the mainland - Not just boarders, there are some at P.G.S - King Ed's - Ballard etc. Hordle Walhampton in Lymington has up to 20 Aged 7 - 13 some years, not all of these parents are wealthy - some are simply desperate!
Hope you can join us on the phone in
Best wishes
David Holmes
i have 3 children who are going to be affected by this change.i believe that it will have a serious detrimental effect on my kids.at the moment my kids love school.they all get on well with the teachers and any problems are dealt with swiftly.the problems i forsee are that children are not going to get the help that they need if they have problems as there will be larger classrooms and the kids are not going to have the individual attention if they need it.maybe this system does work on the mainland,but as we all know,the island is different.things will always be different and thats what makes this island a great place to live.
good luck
lynne
I can't attend your meeting but I feel that a 2-tier system is a better system. I feel that changing schools at 13, a year before the start of GCSEs is very disruptive. I have experienced both systems during my schooling and think that a 2-tier system works better, although I do appreciate that the change may be disruptive for some at the off set but wholly beneficial in the long term.
S. W. of Ventnor
I can't attend your meeting but I strongly agree that it would be wrong to scrap the Middle School system. Who are these people with the big ideas anyway?? Surely parents should be consulted on how their children are educated.
C P parent of a child at Sandham Middle
I can't attend your meeting but I think Middle School should stay. Having been the "Guinea Pigs" for the original experiment, we haven't done badly. The age range between the 2-tier system is too much and Middle School is an excellent "adjustment" between the two.
Parent from the Sandown / Lake area
I can't attend your meeting but We believe that the 3-tier system given our children the opportunity to adjust to the rigors of homework, discipline and social relationships in a more gradual way, having both been educated in primary & secondary school environments. Both my wife and I understand the difficulty in adjusting to secondary school in a short space of time and appreciate the gentler approach the current Island system has for our children. DO NOT CHANGE SYSTEM!!
David S and Emma S, parents from the Sandown Lake area
I can't attend your meeting but I will give my support. Have three children in primary, middle and high schools.
A.H. Godshill
I can't attend your meeting but I am against axing the Middle Schools. The money needed to implement the change would be better spent on improving the existing resources and facilities of the Island's schools. Also I don't see how closing schools and building only one new school is going to work. Where are the children from the closed schools going to go? The existing schools are not big enough to accommodate the extra children. I believe the plan is seriously flawed.
Parent in Ventnor area
I can't attend your meeting but I don't agree with axing the Middle Schools. Schools need regular committed teachers and smaller classes and a return to older style teaching where children respected the teacher. Axing Middle Schools would damage lots of smaller communities and cost the taxpayer millions. More younger children would have to travel miles.
Parent in Ventnor area
I can't attend your meeting but that doesn't mean I do not feel very strongly about the axing middle schools. Two out of my three children will be affected by the changes. Why should their education suffer? We must be able to raise standards another way. This seems far too much disruption. Why not help teachers with the current problems rather than cause more which will take years to iron out! And affect children caught up in everything. It just doesn't seem right.
A very concerned parent
I feel very strongly about the proposed changes. Is it for the good of our children or is it just a play for making money out of selling the existing school sites. Nothing can really justify the upheaval the changes will incur and the amount of money involved. It would be much to make improvement on what already exists. Ventnor Middle is a fine example of a good school. The improvements that Miss Harwood has made in her time as head are a credit to her and all her staff. Also travelling long distances are not necessarily a good thing for our children, even if they do on the mainland. It is unfair and unreasonable for the parents, children and teachers for these proposed changes. It will be a step back not a step forward as years ago the Island was 2-tier. So why change back? What happens if these changes go through and it doesn't work? What then?
Parent in Ventnor area
I can't attend but I am firmly against this idea. It would increase class sizes and standards would fall considerably. Also a point is an increase of bullying by much older pupils on a much younger selection of pupils.
C W of Ventnor
I very much wanted to attend the meeting on the 9th March 2005 but due to unforeseen circumstances now will not be able to. Please would you pass on my apologies and my support for this group. I would very much like to be kept informed of the progress and of any further meetings, which may be planned.
I attended the information meeting last month on the proposal for the new schools system which I found very interesting and informative. Having two children who will be in the midst of the changes I am very concerned on how these changes are going to affect and probably disrupt their schooling, especially my younger child who is due to move up to Middle School in 2008.
Having had my eldest daughter go through Ventnor Middle and with a son there now I am concerned at the proposed changes.
Although my children have all attended our marvellous primary school in Godshill, I do feel that they were ready to move up to Middle School to be challenged further. Although they would have probably happily stayed at primary school, they would not have had the excellent facilities that Ventnor Middle School offers, this is why I choose to send them to Ventnor instead of Trinity, as I felt [Ventnor's] facilities were greater and of more benefit to them. I have been really impressed by the science facilities and sports opportunities, which I just do not feel they would get from staying on at primary school, as space for one thing must be a major constraint. Even by extending the schools buildings I do not see them being able to provide the wonderful sports facilities, science, music and expert teaching that [Ventnor] provides. I know this plays a very important part in my son's school life.
I would like to see my children gain better grades and I do feel that my daughter would have benefited with an extra year at Medina as she had to choose her options in the same year that she started, but I do not feel that this proposed change in the schools system is the answer.
Yours sincerely
Ms A H of Godshill
I can't attend but I completely agree with the above [join us to opopose the axing of our middle schools system. Education Standards can be raised and without losing the three tier system. Parents have not been consulted. Apathy is not an option!]
Mrs A S of Ventnor
From Les and Charlotte
Hi
I have just found a flyer for your meeting "Standards-not-Tiers" on the 14 March at Ventnor Middle school in my son's school bag.
I am a concerned Parent and a Parent Governor of a Primary School.
But I find it quite hard to understand why people on the Isle of Wight do not look at the big picture, for sometime now the island schools have been falling behind the rest of the country and I'm sure the best way to help our children is to look at a 2 tier system. When my wife moved to the island some time ago She went to a middle school and was very surprised to find out how far behind they where compared to the school she had attended in London.
She was learning 2 languages which was not available to any middle schools on the Island and commented it was like going back to a junior school with the level of Maths and English. And I know this is not a isolated opinion.
The level of education on the Island has not move on for sometime and in the same time period most other authorities have had a 10% rise in results.
"Wake up everyone or we will get further behind"
Remember it's not us adults who are important it's our children.
So get away from this Island mentality and put our children first.
Les
Our reponse:
Dear Les
Clearly neither you nor I are apathetic parents and so thank you for your comments. As a group we are looking at the bigger picture on the Island and agree wholeheartedly that STANDARDS MUST IMPROVE and of course your wife's experience is not an isolated case. We are simply saying that it is possible to raise standards within the existing framework. We have provided a large number of alternative measures that will address many of the problems identified by successive Ofsted inspections and the 4S report (which largely draws upon these Ofsted reports for it's content). These measures some of which are being implemented already need time to take effect. The modification to the Key Stage 3 process will be introduced in September but this will not be examined until 2007. Many improvements are being made. The Isle of Wight College is a good example.
Please find attached a copy of tonight’s agenda / briefing document. I hope that you will see that we are not being complacent and that we are making a constructive contribution to this debate. Most of all I urge you to consider the benefits of the existing system and the great leap in standards that could be achieved by doing what must be done even if we go to a 2-tier system. As is the experience of many 3-Tier authorities that are succeeding, in the end it is not the structure but what you do with it that counts. That is where we have failed and unless we address these issues first, a 2-Tier system on the Island is as likely to fail as the current 3-Tier system. Yours sincerely
Chris Welsford
Standards-Not-Tiers
PS - Loved the shouting - very loud!!
And their response to us:
Chris
Thanks for the reply and I was sorry I could not attend the meeting.
And I know how much hard work goes in to making the best for our children with very little money
I feel that what ever system we use everyone needs to put 110% in to it.
I am a fan of the 2 tier system as I was educated in Wiltshire and seeing the difference between the 2 and 3 tier system it makes me concerned that we have been left behind
Perhaps if they could put the money from converting to 2 tier into our 3 tier system it might give our children the chance they need and deserve
all the best
Les
Name: Tracy H
Date: Thu Mar 17 20:02:57 GMT 2005
As the parent of a child who will not be affected I felt it worthwhile to extol the virtues of the system he/we have experienced.
The Primary school set him on the right course with good leadership so that the children felt secure and knew what behaviour was acceptable and were therefore able to learn.
As to the argument of a male role model he had male teachers for 3 of his 5 years.Any bullying issues were quickly dealt with and the local access to form new friendships easy.
He has now moved to Middle School. In this school he finds it easy to question and discuss topics with his teachers and is achieving well above the government requirement for his year.
In his 3rd year there was a bullying incident which was quickly resolved within the school. Would this have happened in a larger school?
The oppotunities given to him have been outstanding and I believe such an excellent school should only be used as a role model.
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for you its a members only Forum if any of you want to join go to...