Education In Telford and Wrekin

 

We’ve read many times about the exclusion of pupils from school, their behaviour, but how much fault actually lies with the school? This must be considered as the education authority all too often points the accusing finger at children and their families.

 

Lets have a look at the Sutherland Business and Enterprise College, once known as the Sutherland School, previously known as The John hunt.

 

A School that has had continuous poor teaching and attainment levels and has adopted a regular change of name to paper over the cracks that regularly appear for all to see.

 

Every School in the borough has a log facility, this log facility enables Teachers to make covert entries onto a secret log about a child. It has recently been discovered, by using the FOI to gain such logs, that the great majority of entries are inaccurate and say remarks such as

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The school is unable to cater adequately for a childs special needs and things like counselling and anger management are often promised, agreed as a need, but very rarely delivered in such a manner that it assists the relevant children.  

 

The LEA, offers no guidance and has no policy on the use of ABC contracts, which can be used as an effective tool to correct a childs behaviour, but can be introduced at anytime, by pretty much any teacher. This undermines the effectiveness of such a contract and they can be used against a pupil at any point.

 

The borough, within its education, is ineffective at actioning bullying, often moving the victim without taking action against the bully, even when the bully is a teacher.

 

The Sutherland School has inbuilt problems, some of which have been indentified over the years in ofsted reports. Things like communication with parents and the involvement of parents in the decision making process of their childs education has never been a priority.

 

Now, this school wants to seek Foundation Status and Charitable Status, yet the school is failing in so many ways.

 

Before the School seeks another change of status, it needs to invest in teachers that want to teach all children and actually communicate with parents. This communication process is vital, especially when a child could find themselves in a exclusion unit when the school has no clear guidelines about how it is used or when a child is placed in it.

Example:-

 

1.A child well known for fighting at school, has a fight and is allowed to carry on with their usual education after a one day exclusion.

 

2, A child with no history of fighting has a fight, this child was excluded for a week, placed on the John Hunt programme for a further two weeks and reported to the police.

 

This is an example of how punishments, for a similar offence receive alarmingly different punishments and the punishment given seems to depend on whether the child and  or the family happens to be in favour with the staff.

 

These are issues that destroy a childs education, allow problems to overspill into community life and is an example of how fragmented the approach to education is in the Borough.

 

Head Teachers are often out seeking funding from businesses, which leaves the school as a rudderless ship.  

 

The sad fact is, our children are offered little protection and even the childrens act in an ineffective tool, yet the staff are given considerable protection by employment law, regardless of how bad they perform.

 

Schools need to raise their performance, no continually change their name.

 

I advise every parent to get a copy of their childs log from the school using the FOI. If the school resists, which they will, I will gladly take them through the process.