In the wake of chief inspector Chris Woodhead’s report, The Tes investigates what is happening to schools the Government has already labelled ‘failures’. The Government’s powers to send in educational “hit squads” are not due to be used against any of the 30 or so schools identified as failing to provide adequate education.
There are schools being closely monitored by the Office for Standards in Education, but the Education Secretary, Gillian Shephard, has not decided to take any out of the hands of the local education authority.
According to Chris Woodhead, chief inspector of schools, progress is slow in some failing schools. However, ministers have not been advised of any cases where a “hit squad” or educational association appears to be the only option.
He said:“This part of the legislation has yet to be implemented. Ministers have not decided to send in an educational association.”
Over the first 15 months of inspections of secondary schools, 15 have been identified as providing poor education. Of those, four are likely to be closed by their local education authority. Lambeth council in south London wants to close Dick Sheppard school this summer. In Hackney, also in London, the council is consulting on closing Hackney Downs, where numbers have fallen to 300. The other schools are St Marks in Hammersmith, London, and Cross Green High in Leeds.
Local opposition has forced Bradford to withdraw its original plan to close Fairfax community school. The school and council have now drafted a rescue plan.
Local education authorities appear to have taken decisive action to deal with schools. In a number of cases, heads have gone on long-term sick leave or have accepted early retirement. At Battersea Technology College on Wandsworth, the head, Michael Clark, has agreed an early retirement package.
At the latest school deemed to be failing, Langham, which serves the Broadwater Farm estate in the London borough of Haringey, governors have suspended the head, Earla Green, and her deputy, Sean Wilkinson. The school was first inspected by contractors for OFSTED in October 1993. That report criticised weaknesses in leadership and management, but did not fail the school. The school was identified as failing this month by HM inspectors.
Two London councils have used their new powers to take back the school’s delegated budget. Hammersmith is managing the finances of Hammersmith school and Camden is managing the finances of St Richard of Chichester RC school.
The first school to be labelled as failing, Northicote in Wolverhampton, has been told by OFSTED that standards are improving and pupil behaviour is satisfactory. The local authority has begun a Pounds 300,000 building and maintenance programme.
The only grant-maintained school to have been found to be failing, Stratford in the London borough of Newham, is still being monitored. Daphne Gould, a former head in Tower Hamlets, has been appointed by Gillian Shephard to act as a consultant.
Ministers are likely to have future opportunities to send in educational associations where schools do not show any improvement. The Department for Education has created a school effectiveness unit, which is looking at strategies for dealing with schools that could improve. However, the enthusiasm for “hit squads” appears to have disappeared with the removal of John Patten from the Cabinet.
