Rhosnessni and Clywedog Schools in Special Measures may have new style Governors
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Wrexham Council have applied to the Welsh Government to remove the Governors from the two Secondary schools in special measures and appoint an Executive Board.
Who would be part of the new School Executive – Council Members and officers whose role it is to oversee school standards.
How can the very people who currently should be supporting a school suddenly become the ‘experts’ able to guide the two schools forward.
With Estyn already giving the external challenge what benefit is there for the education of the Young People?
Why have has the Council not requested the same changes for the Primary Schools in Wrexham —
Two reasons –
1. They want both schools to become through schools and incorporate a primary/junior provision.
2. Both schools also have land that could be sold for development for cash receipts (The School Governing Body should ask the Council for a copy of correspondence under an FOI about land valuations)- wait for the surprisesThis needs so much to be highlighted. Surprised by the action, to put in a team from a group who’ve had oversight for so long in any case?
Committee report on NEET’s doesn’t look inspiring either. If Wrexham is really stepping up its game, it will be good to watch over the coming weeks.
First step is a much harder look at the challenges on Wednesday
It upsets me to comment anymore on Education in Wales. Having been provided with the tools to enjoy a productive life, I find it tragic to witness the betrayal of youngsters of all backgrounds in Wrexham and Wales generally
Why is it that our Educational Institutions and Management ( I include the Council in this) who have a captive client group from the age of 3 – 16 – 13 years and the end result so often is a group of Young people who have been ‘failed’ by the system.
The family clearly have a responsibility in a child’s upbringing and support them through school yet the professional clearly must be failing.
Let us start learning from other counties that are successful as we certainly don’t seem to have the knowledge in Wrexham to make changes apart from a few schools that are achieving good results.@99DylanJones 12029 wrote:
Why is it that our Educational Institutions and Management ( I include the Council in this) who have a captive client group from the age of 3 – 16 – 13 years and the end result so often is a group of Young people who have been ‘failed’ by the system.
The family clearly have a responsibility in a child’s upbringing and support them through school yet the professional clearly must be failing.
Let us start learning from other counties that are successful as we certainly don’t seem to have the knowledge in Wrexham to make changes apart from a few schools that are achieving good results.Traditionally Dylan youngsters were educated to the age of 11 without setting and they worked in groups around tables. According to the stats, Wrexham does well on its Primary and Junior school stats and tables and broad groups are the rule of thumb.
At the age of 11, we have a problem in Wales.
Children learn best in an environment that suits their individual needs and abilities and where Education is delivered in the most appropriate way. All children need a safe learning environment which is suitable for learning in and this means some level of classroom discipline and a convivial atmosphere.
Little of this happens in Wrexham and throughout Wales. You may have watched a successful school on Week in Week out operating in London. This was a turnaround school and had been turned around by an inspiring Head-teacher.
Schools need inspiring leaders who know how to set out their stall to get the best from students.
Poor teachers have to be moved on or retrained. In the London school, close to 30% of the staff had been replaced.
Everyone needs to know exactly how the school is going to move forward and information has to be transparent. In Wales, league tables were abandoned.
The classroom has to be a learning hub not a political football. Teaching should be diverse and interesting. Some of it will involve the student taking direct control of his/her learning experience, some of it will be teacher led, all of it should be interactive.
Classrooms in Wrexham, especially those between Years 7 and 9 are still Mixed ability in structure. This prevents teachers from front of class teaching (which still has a valuable role to play) and prevents high skilled classes moving forward en bloc at tempo (or the converse for the low skilled)
Individual students need to be exposed long term to those subjects and skill levels that they are best equipped to deal with. Exposing 30-40 students in a mixed ability class to the same subjects taught at the same tempo and using the same language mode is near criminal in its proportions.
Broadly, we have to hurry before Wrexham schools are catastrophic. English schools (which have been reformed to some extent by both Blair and Cameron) are way down the international rank order. Welsh schools are near the very bottom of the pile…..and you can guess where Wrexham Secondary Schools are relative to Wales, relative to Britain, relative to Europe, relative to the world at large…..
Sad
Individual students need to be exposed long term to those subjects and skill levels that they are best equipped to deal with. Exposing 30-40 students in a mixed ability class to the same subjects taught at the same tempo and using the same language mode is near criminal in its proportions.
How does this square with the statement made by you on a previous thread, and I quote –
“We were always told in teaching to assume that everyone was as thick as pigs poo ……so eventually the penny would drop if it was repeated”Doesn’t it indicate that by using that method, even in a grammar school where you taught, the teaching level was pitched at the lowest common denominator? Isn’t that what mixed ability learning is about?
Why is now akin to being criminal in proportion?@BenjaminM 12051 wrote:
Individual students need to be exposed long term to those subjects and skill levels that they are best equipped to deal with. Exposing 30-40 students in a mixed ability class to the same subjects taught at the same tempo and using the same language mode is near criminal in its proportions.
How does this square with the statement made by you on a previous thread, and I quote –
“We were always told in teaching to assume that everyone was as thick as pigs poo ……so eventually the penny would drop if it was repeated”Doesn’t it indicate that by using that method, even in a grammar school where you taught, the teaching level was pitched at the lowest common denominator? Isn’t that what mixed ability learning is about?
Why is now akin to being criminal in proportion?Hi Benjamin…….still saving comments and recycling them in a different context…….
Don’t quite know how the theme of repetition has anything to do with this discussion. The phrase used was tongue in cheek and merely related to the idea of not taking things for granted…….as you knew anyway.
The answer to your silly question in the second paragraph is Nooooooooooo! Firstly, Benjamin….I have never taught in a Grammar School. Secondly, the idea of starting teaching with a blank canvas (assuming nothing) is a tool designed to allow a rapid move up the intellectual escalator (starting from the bottom and working upwards). This allows the teacher to evaluate quite quickly who can do what and then setting the group to allow work to be presented to them which challenges them according to their abilities.
This goes on in a Mixed ability class but it requires far too much organisation by a teacher. Setting students in groups that contain comparable ability levels allows the teacher to employ far more teaching techniques to move the whole body along.
Why Mixed ability classes are ‘criminal’ is that whole class teaching and interactive lessons are much more problematic when elements of the class are either too advanced or too slow for the activity that is being set by the teacher. That is why Mixed ability classes tend to be child centred and that is why in Wrexham, where such practices are still used the classes move along like slugs in the garden
No need for apologies Alun. I treat your ripostes with levity and actually look forward to reading them.
No, I do not save comments to recycle them. I am lucky to be able to remember what I read (and write). Perhaps that is down to having been fortunate to have received a grammar school education.
Looking forward to the next exchange on whatever subject our views digress!
Regards! :-)
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