| Archive for martonschool.myfreeforum.org A forum to discuss issues affecting Marton Primary School |
| sarat |
HELP PLEASEI had a leaflet pushed through my door that talked about Marton School. My children go to St John Vianney in Blackpool.I was shocked to read some of the website but also surprised to read that a lot of the concerns are also shared by parents at St John Vianney. There has been a huge number of staff who have left over the last couple of years, the standards have gone down and the SATS results have dropped. I like many other parents have asked questions, but don’t get any answers. There seem so many similarities between what has happened there and at my children’s school. Could anyone advise me on how to really find out how well a school is doing and where can parents turn with concerns? There are a number of my friends who have concerns and some have even talked about moving their kids to Our Lady at South Shore. Grateful for any advice and good luck with your quest. |
| Alan Veale |
Advicesarat – welcome to this forum, and thank you for your comments. I am sorry to hear that St John Vianney is also in trouble, but you will find that these kind of problems besetting schools are more common than we think. My own experience has brought me into contact with a good many people in and around education, and I can honestly say that the present system in this country does not allow sufficient resource to remedy the situation we have in Blackpool without a great deal of time, effort and patience. Unfortunately, time in particular is a sensitive issue for children passing through the academic terms towards higher education.There are several ways of assessing how well (or badly) a school is doing, and the simple way is to look at SATS results (see www.dfes.gov.uk) or inspection reports (www.ofsted.gov.uk). However, you will find that you need an educationalist to interpret them properly! The official channels for taking forward a complaint affecting the administration of any school are as follows: First take your complaint to the Head Teacher. If there is no remedy there (or your complaint is about the Head Teacher) go to the Chair of Governors. If this also fails you must address your concerns to the Local Education Authority, and if THAT also ends unsatisfactorily, you have the right to go to the Department for Education (DFES). This was the procedure we had to implement at Marton over a year ago, and because our complaint was levelled at all three of the first levels of administration, the resulting investigation has taken some considerable time. It may be that you have already been following similar lines, but if you have not yet reached the DFES stage, then I would recommend you address any correspondence for the attention of Mr Peter Windram, School Workforce Group, at DFES. As already mentioned on earlier posts, you are also entitled to seek advice from both your local ward Councillor, and your MP. I hope that helps, but if you wish to discuss matters in more detail, please send me a private message using the "pm" link at the foot of this post. Alan Veale |
| WAYNE HEYS |
Sarat,a few things Mr Veale omitted from his post,,don't be surprised if you feel you are being ignored,,,,,,,likewise if you write to your councillor dont expect any correspondence back or any support in your quest for information,dont be surprised if you do actually get information that the same information is not correct !! dont be surprised if people concerned with education try to fob you off with a standard letter which fails to mention any of the points you raised originally,,,,you now get the picture,,,,,,,,, finally DONT GIVE UP YOUR FIGHT TO GET ANSWERS FROM THE RELEVANT PEOPLE IN AUTHORITY,they may use their power to throw you off the scent,but keep digging and eventually you may find out the truth.Good Luck in your campaignt he further you dig the more unbeleivable it gets.trust me !! |