I’m on my war horse
https://berylkingstonblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/im-on-my-war-horse/
— Read on berylkingstonblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/im-on-my-war-horse/
I share this without comment beyond saying it is worth the read, and is a worthwhile read.
The venue is Victoria Square, the date and time: 1pm, Saturday 28 April 2018.
“Schools in this country are under threat. Across the West Midlands, 1,887 schools are still facing Government cuts. This is simply not acceptable. Together we need to create a noise so loud that no one can ignore what’s happening to our schools and children’s education.
Join parents and teachers coming together on 28th April to rally against school cuts in the heart of Birmingham. We’ll be dropping a massive banner to showing the schools facing cuts. Rally and speeches will follow.
Speakers confirmed:
Jack Dromey, MP for Birmingham Erdington
Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council
Other speakers TBC. Bring banners, your home-made signs, and tell every parent you know in our community. This is a family-friendly event. Everyone welcome!
This action is organised in collaboration with Save Our Schools West Midlands.”
The above text was reproduced from the Facebook Event page.
This rally is set within the context of growing popular disquiet spilling over into activism – increasingly from people with no history of engagement – targeting the attacks upon our system of universal educational provision by the state, whether this be though savage cuts which force schools to shed subjects, resources and loyal, loved and well-regarded members of staff; or perhaps being subject to cherry picking, asset stripped by rapacious multi academy trusts.
Yet others are withdrawing children from stressful and meaningless key stage testing, or questioning the need to baseline pupils from their first day in school.
Gogwit is going, if you are thereabouts on Saturday why not come along. Whatever you do, please wish for warm, sunny weather!
Links of Relevance:
I reblog this with sadness. Sadness that a headteacher should feel motivated to write in this vein; sadness that the argument of this piece is essentially true. The keyword here is, I think, sadness.
NASUWT and NUT members in the North-West of England escalate their industrial action from action short of strike to strike action. Teachers from the two largest teaching unions – which have put aside historical differences to campaign on a common front, in solidarity, against the education policies of the UK Government, a coalition of the otherwise unelectable Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, which aim to privatise and otherwise dismantle the UK’s famous universal free state education system.
This region, also badly hit by the Coalition’s other Austerity-driven socially divisive policies, sees the launch of a campaign of such escalated action on 27 June 2013CE.
Messages of support: campaigns@mail.nasuwt.org.uk
Twitter: #June27 #strike #solidarity #teacherstogether
Use the hashtags – be great to get the action trending!
Click the image for further details of the action.
Teaching Assistants – we are not talking about a ‘mum’s army’ of unqualified staff replacing qualified teachers in a ‘race to the bottom, never mind the cut – feel the width’ pared down education system but an experienced and valued asset that makes the delivery of high quality, inclusive and relevantly differentiated education by experienced and well-qualified professional teachers achievable and affordable.
The National Association of Head Teachers’ annual conference in Birmingham over the weekend of 18/19 May 2013 displayed little warmth or confidence in the education policies of a government which claims to be giving school leaders greater freedom and flexibility in the management of their schools.
The Education Secretary was visibly taken aback by the angry and derisive response from head teachers in a question and answer session on the Saturday. Ahead of the conference he had been likened to a “fanatical personal trainer” who urges schools to jump higher and run faster…(paying) no heed to “the damage he is causing to the body or the system”.
Faced with this, Mr Gove fell back on the lament that he was striving for higher standards in schools. Told of the stress caused to the profession by current policy initiatives, including the inspection system, his response was:
If you think Ofsted is causing you fear I am grateful for your candour, but we are going to have to part company.
Russell Hobby of the NAHT has gone on the record to draw worrying parallels between colossal and damaging failures due to similar policies already in place in the NHS, notably the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust scandal, warning:
of the dangers of management by data, we need only turn to the more human tragedy of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, where patient care was sacrificed to meet the targets.
The same forces are rising within education. The effects will be more subtle but equally devastating.
This comes at a time when the current government’s preferred system for the delivery of education to school age students, academies and free schools, are under fire, losing credibility, and subject to calls for tighter scrutiny amid concerns of financial irregularities by certain leading providers.
This should be required viewing for all trainee teachers and all governing bodies.
An excellent web-site and resource if you want to investigate the truth behind the cynical, systematic undermining of state funded universal education in the UK.
If you do nothing else, watch the eponymous video. Please do delve deeper – and who knows – maybe protest?
Thanks to NASUWT for the link.
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