School’s anger at change to academy plan

9:23am Thursday 11th October 2012 in News

A SCHOOL in Radcliffe could be the first in the borough to be forced into becoming an academy.

Staff and governors at Radcliffe Primary School have been left “angry and upset” by the proposed move instigated by the Government.

The Department For Education (DfE) believes it is necessary because Radcliffe Primary is “underperforming” and was placed in special measures in April.

But headteacher Tim Power says the school had one bad year of exam results in 2011 and is already making progress, with 2012 results showing a 30 per cent improvement.

He believes the Coronation Road school should be allowed to remain as part of the local education authority and given time to improve.

Mr Power said: “The 2011 results weren’t good, but everyone knows that cohorts change year on year. We tried to give forecasts for 2012, which we thought were favourable, but we were put into special measures. There is nothing we can do to stop this. People are angry and upset. Because we are in the special measures category, we are being forced into becoming an academy.”

Chairman of governors, Carol Cain, said: “The teaching staff, the governors and the parents are against this. I would prefer to stay in Bury local education authority. They have a good track record of helping schools get out of special measures.”

Discussions have been taking place with a potential sponsor, whose identity has not yet been revealed.

Mark Carriline, executive director of children's services at Bury Council, said: "We have been in discussion with the DfE about this for some months and this is a disappointing move. We have a very strong track record of working with schools to help them come out of special measures and we don't see conversion to academy status as being of particular benefit.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We think support from an academy sponsor is the best way to improve schools that are underperforming.”

Comments(4)

mdavies11 says...
9:25am Fri 12 Oct 12

Not mentioned - parents or children. Just a load of squabbling bureaucrats and their turf wars.

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mrbenn.m45 says...
3:41am Sun 14 Oct 12

Mr Power and co. have had a very long time to sort their act out, speaking from first hand experience there was an attitude of 'sweep it under the carpet' and 'fresh start' for the most challenging of pupils during his tenure.
My son spent 6 years at Radcliffe primary where initaly there was a sense of apathy about the place before Tim Power was appointed as head teacher when the blame culture began.
Let me explain, as a parent of a 'challenging' pupil the blame was laid at home for such behaviour when challenged on this matter their was an apoligy of sorts where the present manager sought to lay blame with the 'last regime', the fact is Mr Power has had a long time to sort out many issues within Radcliffe primary and has failed to deliver.

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love4evahateneva! says...
6:51pm Mon 15 Oct 12

I too have had problems with the school, only finding out your child is seriously behind their peers at the end of a school year via a report is not good. But also when you try to challenge this because you are willing to do all you can to ensure that your child catches up and then not having a reply to your phonecalls is just ridiculous. It seems that the cleverest children or the most challenging ones get all the attention and the ones in the middle or the well behaved ones are left with little help. Fortunately my child has come on in leaps and bounds over the last month at a new school and it is clear that the problem was the school and not my child!!! My only regret is being niave and believing the head and the teachers that they will do all they can to help! That never happened, But the relief that my child is settled at a new school only makes me sad i didnt make the move sooner.

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MichelleE says...
7:58pm Thu 8 Nov 12

I have nothing but praise for this school. My 7 year old daughter has attended Radcliffe Primary School since reception. She is miles ahead of where she should be for her age and against government standards. Although we do work with her at home where we can, the main reason for her achievements is down to the school. RPS is a lovely little school, with a really nice atmosphere, it is always clean and tidy and the teachers and staff are a credit to it. The staff build really good relationships with the children. I know that my daughter is safe, well cared for and taught well at this school, and any issues I have addressed to either the head teacher or year teachers have been addressed and resolved promptly. I really hope that the parents of RPS will oppose this forced change to an academy. I don't believe this change will be in the best interests of the children, teachers, support staff or the community in general. Aside from the cost implications to parents (new uniforms, possibility of increased costs or paying for school meals), there is also the possibility that our children will be taught by unqualified teachers. What guarantees are provided that a year or so down the line if the performance does not improve that the private business who "sponsor" the school won't just close the school and sell the land to build houses? This is exactly what a business should do, it wouldn't run at a loss, and this is exactly why schools should not be run as businesses! Radcliffe, please say no to this dictated change and sign the petitions that will be available in the school, in the community and online over the coming days!

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