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'Rapid action needed' for failing schools - Matthew Hancock

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Skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock told BBC News that "rapid action" is needed for failing schools.

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Dwight Mihalicz (2013) explains accountability to be a duty for which one can be held to account for one’s results and actions. It is understanding and explaining one's actions. Managers are accountable for the performance of their staff. They organise and co-ordinate the work of others. The Ofsted report (2013) identifies a lack of managerial accountability between the head teacher and the staff. The head teacher not having the ability to justify to the teachers, on how they should improve. The report shows the senior leadership team have a lack of understanding of weaknesses and strengths of the school. Having an unclear direction, with no strategic plan to lead priorities and improvement in the school.

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The Guardian (2013)
Joanne Todd stated "My son has done nothing but excels at this school. We are trying our hardest to turn the school around but they is not giving us a chance".
However, the Ofsted report (2013) contradicts this view as parents seem to feel the school is not led or managed well.

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Quality of service delivered (postive outcome)

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Quality of service delivered (postive outcome)

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The staff are caring towards pupils. There is a calm and happy atmosphere in the classroom. Pupils are independent with their schoolwork.

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Pupils have not made sufficient academic progress during probation at Discovery New School.  The pupils attainment is below average.
"Invalidated results of the 2013 key stage 1 assessments indicate that proportions of pupils attaining nationally expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of year 2 were significantly below the national average" (Ofsted Report, 2013 p.5)

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A free school in West Sussex will become the first in the country to be shut down later, following concerns over teaching standards.

The government withdrew funding from Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex, last year after it failed to make the required improvements.

Discovery, a Montessori school, opened in 2011 and was one of the UK's first free schools.

All 70 pupils are believed to have been found places elsewhere.

The school was put into special measures in May following criticism by Ofsted inspectors.

'Living hell'

The inspection team had warned there was a risk of children leaving the school unable to read or write.

It was ordered to close in December after two subsequent inspections.

FREE SCHOOL FACTS

There are 174 of them

Set up by parents, teachers and academy chains

They have priority for funds over other new schools

Average capital cost is £6.6m

They receive funds directly from DfE

Will be inspected within two years of opening

Labour politicians have criticised the more than £3m of public money that was spent on setting it up.

Labour county councillor Chris Oxlade said: "It's been a debacle from start to finish.

"First of all, my heart goes out to the parents and the children at the school because they have been through a sort of living hell especially over the last few months.

"There's a huge sum of money that has basically been wasted on a political experiment that's gone horribly wrong."

Crawley Conservative MP Henry Smith is convinced that, given time, the school could have been turned around.

"I believe that the Department for Education should have given the school, which got a new head teacher and management in, time to turn itself around," he said.

"But the department were quite clear that they wouldn't tolerate a failing school."

In February, it was announced that secondary education at the troubled Al-Madinah free school in Derby will cease this summer because of government concerns about its quality of teaching.

The primary school will remain open.

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A free school in West Sussex will become the first in the country to be shut down later, following concerns over teaching standards. The government withdrew funding from Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex, last year after it failed to make the required improvements.

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Discovery New school is a failing school with a poor leadership and inadequate teaching. Too many pupils leaving school without required qualifications needed for further education (unable to read and write properly). The headteacher lacks skills to improve the quality of teaching within the school.

"The staff are currently unable to deliver teaching and learning even at the basic level" BBC News (2013)

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The government has ordered the closure of a failing free school for the first time after education inspectors found standards there unacceptably poor.

The Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex, has had its funding pulled after failing to make the required improvements.

Schools Minister Lord Nash wrote to governors saying the school must close next April.

The Department for Education said most free schools performed well.

Free schools are state-funded but independently run schools, often set up by parents, teachers and academy chains. There are 174 in England, two of which, including the Crawley school, have been found to be providing inadequate standards of education.

The staff are currently unable to deliver teaching and learning even at the most basic level
Lord Nash, Schools Minister

The decision to order the closure of the school will be embarrassing for the government, as free schools are one of its flagship education policies.

But the government insists that overall free schools are providing a good standard of education.

Discovery New School was visited by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw's team three times in the past six months.

It went into special measures in May when the education inspectorate warned that children risked leaving the school not being able to read and write.

A monitoring inspection in September judged the action plan of the academy trust that runs the school to be "not fit for purpose".

The latest visit, on 12 November, revealed the academy had not made enough progress to warrant it being removed from special measures. Some 58 "milestones" were to be met by next February.

A DfE spokesman said: "Since the school was placed in special measures by Ofsted in May, we have monitored progress closely.

"The trust has not provided evidence they are making the changes required. Lord Nash has today notified the trust that the department will terminate its funding agreement at the end of the spring term."

The DfE said it was working with the local education authority, West Sussex County Council, to find places at other local schools for the children affected.

'Inadequate'

It added: "Free schools are held more rigorously to account than any other schools. We have strengthened the criteria and raised the bar for assessments each year.

"Local authorities have presided over schools which have been in special measures for months and done nothing. There are currently 44 local authority schools that have been in special measures for 18 months or longer.

"We have moved to close Discovery New School just seven months after its inadequate Ofsted rating."

FREE SCHOOL FACTS

There are 174 of them

Set up by parents, teachers and academy chains

They have priority for funds over other new schools

Average capital cost is £6.6m

They receive funds directly from DfE

Will be inspected within two years of opening

Lord Nash, in his letter to the school's chair of governors, Chris Cook, said: "We know from inspection evidence that teaching and learning is inadequate in DNS, and that there has been little or no improvement since Ofsted's judgement that the school required special measures in May.

"The number and nature of the actions and milestones to be achieved demonstrates that the staff are currently unable to deliver teaching and learning even at the most basic level, with the consequence for the pupils of continued inadequate teaching for an unacceptable length of time.

"Further, the training implication for staff is enormous. It is difficult to see how they would be able to attend all the training listed and at the same time provide adequate teaching for the pupils."

'Value for money?'

The move was announced after a National Audit Office report warned that speed in rolling out the programme had been prioritised over value for money. The average capital costs of a free school, many of which are converted from existing buildings, is £6.6m.

Although Discovery New School is the first free school to be ordered to close permanently, the Muslim Al-Madinah Free School in Derby has been threatened with closure if it does not improve. It was also closed temporarily because of health and safety concerns.

On Thursday, an Ofsted report found that there were "no signs of improvement" at the school and that it "remains in chaos".

A statement on Discovery New school's website says staff, governors, parents and children are "deeply disappointed that Lord Nash has refused to give us the opportunity to continue as a free school".

It says the school's improvement plan was "credible and strong" and would deliver change quickly. It argues that the new head had not been given enough time to deliver improvements.

But shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said: "The closure of this free school is yet another shocking example of why David Cameron's flagship schools policy is failing."

He added that the government had promised that the free schools would bring a rise in education standards we need, but instead, as the NAO reported this week, he said: "It has led to a huge waste of public money and poor standards and now ministers are having to close one down."

"In his terrible rush to roll out the free school programme, David Cameron has abandoned high standards and basic safeguards - and the pupils at the Discovery Free School have paid the price."

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The government has ordered the closure of a failing free school for the first time after education inspectors found standards there unacceptably poor. The Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex, has had its funding pulled after failing to make the required improvements. Schools Minister Lord Nash wrote to governors saying the school must close next April.

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The Nolan Committee (1995) was created to set up principles and to study the ethical standards of public life within the UK. The leadership holders of public office should support these principles by leadership and to challenge poor behaviour. The Ofsted report (2013) display a lack of support to the leadership principle.Leaders do not provide helpful feedback for staff.New teachers who are new to the profession are not getting effective accountability , support or guidance from senior leaders. "Inspectors could not identify any strengths in schools leadership and management" (Ofsted Report, 2013 p.1)

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The government's free schools programme suffered an embarrassing blow on Friday when the Department for Education announced it was shutting down one of the first free schools to open, citing weak leadership and unqualified teaching.

Discovery New School, a primary in Crawley, West Sussex, is to have its funding agreement terminated and will shut in April, schools minister Lord Nash said in a letter to the school's governors. "I have no confidence that the academy trust plans will enable it to recruit and retain the high-quality permanent staff and senior leadership that it needs in order to improve at a rapid pace," Nash wrote in the letter to the school's governors outlining the decision to terminate Discovery's funding.

The school was rated as inadequate and placed in special measures by Ofsted in May, and subsequent visits found no improvement, with inspectors saying Discovery's teachers were not confident teaching reading, writing and maths.

The announcement came a day after an Ofsted report following the reinspection of the Al-Madinah free school in Derby said the school "remains in chaos".

Discovery's claim to be using its free school status to offer a curriculum based on the Montessori education system was disputed by senior members of Britain's Montessori community, who say they warned the DfE of the school's likely failure three years ago. Philip Bujak, chief executive of the Montessori Schools Association, said he went to the DfE to offer to help Discovery, which he said was thought to be ill-equipped and unprepared, before the school had even opened. "We were ignored completely," he said.

Bujak was invited to join Discovery's governing body three weeks ago. He said the Montessori Schools Association - which has 679 schools as members - was ready to help re-establish the school, but the DfE's decision meant it was not given the chance to save it. "The net result is the waste of a large amount of taxpayers' money, the name of Montessori tarnished through ignorance, and a large number of parents very badly let down," Bujak said.

Labour pounced on the closure as vindication of its criticisms of the free school programme - which allows independent groups to bid to open schools outside local authority control - and the decision to allow them to recruit untrained teachers and staff. "This government promised that the free schools programme would bring the rise in education standards we need, but instead, as the National Audit Office reported this week, it has led to a huge waste of public money and poor standards and now ministers are having to close one down," said Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary.

"David Cameron is damaging standards by allowing free schools to operate under a complete lack of local oversight, transparency and accountability and by allowing them to hire unqualified teachers."

Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, was among those unhappy at the decision: "I am deeply disappointed by the Department for Education's decision to close Discovery New School from next April and am disturbed by the failure of management and lack of support."

But a DfE spokesman said free schools were held to account more rigorously than other state-funded schools, compared with local authorities that presided over schools in special measures for long periods.

"We have moved to close Discovery new school just seven months after its inadequate Ofsted rating. This shows we will not hesitate to act swiftly and effectively if children are not getting the education they deserve," the spokesman said.

Natalie Evans of the New Schools Network, which supports groups making applications to open free schools, said the majority of free schools were delivering a good education. "Like any school, if free schools are underperforming they must be held to account. While realising how difficult this will be for parents and students at Discovery New School in the short term, we believe this is the right decision," Evans said.

The decision has shocked parents of the 65 pupils at the school, who will be allocated places at nearby state primary schools by West Sussex county council when Discovery closes.

Joanne Todd said her son had thrived at Discovery, where he has been a pupil since it opened, and she fully backed the new management. "My son has done nothing but excel at this school. We're trying our hardest to turn the school around but they're not giving us a chance," Todd said. "I totally believe in Discovery new school, I have no qualms about it. To me, that is my child's future and I will continue to fight for it all the way."

The school issued an unsigned statement saying that staff and students were "deeply disappointed" by Nash's decision. "Ofsted's last published observations were just 12 days after our new interim headteacher was appointed into her new role. Since then the school has accelerated a programme of improvements and much has changed already. Our children, staff and community love this school and we'll be considering our next steps over the coming days," the statement said.

Discovery's founders claimed that the school used a "Montessori curriculum and approach," and the school's failure has caused disquiet among the British Montessori education community.

Because the name Montessori - after Maria Montessori, the Italian founder of the education movement that emphasises independence and self-discipline among pupils - is not trademarked in Europe, there was no bar to Discovery using the term despite not being accredited.

The founders of Discovery - the former head Lindsey Snowdon, who resigned in October, and her husband, Andrew - approached the Montessori Schools Association for aid but refused to go through an accreditation process or commit to hiring suitably qualified teachers.

Meanwhile, the DfE said it had denied a request to fund construction of two grammar schools in Kent. Under DfE rules, funding can only be provided for new academies or free schools.
Topics

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Government shuts free school amid claims taxpayers' money was wasted

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The government's free schools programme suffered an embarrassing blow on Friday when the Department for Education announced it was shutting down one of the first free schools to open, citing weak leadership and unqualified teaching.

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"It is important to recognise failure in order to correct" - Audit Commission (2000)

Edward E. (2015) states a number of organisations are changing their performance management systems to have more effective processes to enhance better results.
Performance is measured to hold the organisation to account and notice if any improvements need to take place. The processes, outcomes, individuals and the organisation is measured. Discovery New school fails to do this, as a result there is poor outcomes.
"Performance management for staff are not fully in place and is a factor in the inadequate teaching" (Ofsted Report, 2013 p.7)

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Quality of service delivered (negative outcomes)

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Quality of service delivered (negative outcomes)

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The BBC (2013)
“The staff are currently unable to deliver teaching and learning even at the most basic level” (Lord Nash, Schools Minister).

Teachers are inexperienced and inadequate to teach pupils for successful progress. Therefore, results in pupils having a lack of progress in reading, writing and maths. Teachers not supporting pupils with special educational needs enough. Therefore, shows a lack of personal and professional accountabilty to the service user. Personal accountability should be the senior leaders holding responsibility and understanding their job role.

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Andrew Snowdon is close to achieving his ambition to set up a state-funded Montessori school in his home town of Crawley, West Sussex. Having reached the final stages of the application process for one of the government's new "free schools", he could be welcoming his first students as early as next September.

The Discovery New School already has its own website and has attracted a lot of interest from parents. But while parents will undoubtedly be drawn by the promised class sizes of 16, they might not be so impressed to learn that the school may not have to employ qualified teachers.

Discovery is one of the first 16 schools to gain government backing to become free schools - state-funded institutions outside local authority control that can be set up by parents, teachers and others. This flagship policy of the Conservative party aims to encourage innovation by freeing up schools from state interference. But having undergone the lengthy application process, which does not require any details about teachers' qualification levels, Snowdon believes he is not obliged to employ qualified teachers.

In keeping with the free schools' "spirit of innovation", he says he plans to employ teachers with a "mix of skills". That might include those with QTS (the nationally recognised qualification for teachers) or Montessori training and, possibly, unqualified teachers or instructors. His wife, Lindsey, a qualified Montessori teacher, will teach at the school and Snowdon, the director of a software development company, will take the role of school business manager.

Montessori education places a greater emphasis on personal development and hands-on learning, so it would be "bizarre" if he rated QTS more highly than specialised Montessori training or other skills and experience, says Snowdon. "We're not going to be dogmatic about having qualified staff, because what is important is the quality of the teachers."

Under current regulations, all teachers working in state schools, including academies, must have QTS status, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when a school can't fill a post, the teacher is training "on the job" or, for a fixed period of time, teachers from overseas.

If Snowdon is right, and free schools are going to be allowed to recruit unqualified teachers, Alasdair Smith, of the Anti Academies Alliance, thinks the government could be on dodgy ground. "I think these ministers have got the idea from their old private schools, where anyone can teach, without a formal qualification, but state-funded schools are different. The idea that free schools might not use qualified teachers would be very worrying for most parents because QTS is evidence that the teacher understands how to provide quality teaching and learning."

The Department for Education has not denied or confirmed the claim. It said: "The department is developing new policies to improve the quality of schools and the quality of teaching. We are working with free-schools groups to develop the best approach to balance innovation with quality." A DfE press officer added that no decision had been made, and that "policies around free schools are still in development". She could not confirm when the DfE would clarify the rules on the qualifications required to teach in a free school.

It is one of many mixed messages from the education secretary, Michael Gove, and his department on the future of teaching. The schools minister, Nick Gibb, upset teachers in his first few days of office when he said he'd rather see an Oxbridge graduate with no PGCE teaching physics than a qualified teacher with a degree from a "rubbish university".

The announcement that the Training and Development Agency, which looks after the training and professional development of teachers, would be losing £30m from its budget followed shortly afterwards. Next came the news that the General Teaching Council, the quango set up under Labour to regulate teachers, was to be scrapped because, according to Gove, it had done "little to raise teaching standards or professionalism". Then Gove announced proposals to raise the bar for trainee teachers, saying the government should only pay to train those with a 2:2 degree or above.

If Snowdon's claim is correct, it would mean a "two-tier" system in which academies and state-run schools are forced to recruit only the highest calibre of graduate, while free schools can employ whoever they like.

It could represent another embarrassment for Gove, who was left with egg on his face after muddling up the lists of schools that had been approved for funding for rebuilding or refurbishment under the Building Schools for the Future Scheme back in July. There were more red faces at the DfE this month when, after hinting that 700 schools might sign up to be free schools, only 16 have won approval.

Another blow came during the Liberal Democrat conference last week when members voted overwhelmingly to boycott free schools because of their "social divisiveness and inequality". Critics have argued that because middle-class, educated parents or teachers are most likely to set up and send their children to free schools, their existence will create a layer of privilege within the state sector that will ultimately lead to inequality.

Snowdon says he has already received a number of applications from qualified and unqualified teachers, who say they would love to work at the Discovery New School. But Smith is sceptical. He believes qualified teachers will give free schools a wide berth - they will "not want to work at those Mickey Mouse outfits".

Christine Blower, general secretary at the National Union of Teachers, also thinks qualified teachers would be well advised to steer clear. "I understand the secretary of state ... is relaxed about profit-making from schools. In Sweden, where they are running an independent-school state, profits are being made by reducing the number of qualified teachers. The NUT believes children deserve to be taught by qualified teachers. If the department decides free schools do not have to employ qualified teachers, it is a dereliction of their duties."

Toby Young, the writer and broadcaster who is setting up a free school in London, thinks it would be a shame to restrict free schools in this way. "We haven't broached this with the DfE yet, so don't know how much flexibility we'll have. For instance, will we be prevented from hiring an inspirational dance teacher who's taught at Sadler's Wells for 25 years because she doesn't have a PGCE? I hope not, but we'll abide by the rules whatever they are."
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Free schools might not use qualified teachers

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Andrew Snowdon is close to achieving his ambition to set up a state-funded Montessori school in his home town of Crawley, West Sussex. Having reached the final stages of the application process for one of the government's new "free schools", he could be welcoming his first students as early as next September.