Mossbourne academy in Hackney, where famously Ofsted's Michel Wilshaw was headteacher, has said it will be selecting 10 year 9 school places each year by student's potential rowing ability.
Why rowing? Because the headteacher Peter Hughes wants the academy to be the first state school to win the Henley Regatta. He said “We’re obviously looking at what the elite private schools are doing and doing our best to replicate that."
In February Michael Gove also said he wanted state schools to be more like private schools. Not by suggesting that they should have the smaller class sizes and better facilities that private schools get by their funding, but by saying that state schools should be open longer hours and have more testing and competition.
Whilst I think every child should have the choice and facilities to row if they want, and that sure, fine if a state school wants to compete in the Henley Regatta go for it. I think that this need to emulate private schools is worrying.
The only way we should emulate private schools is by increasing the funding of state schools to the sorts of levels private schools manage to hoard. One way to do that and level the educational playing field between state and private — abolish private schools!
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Nicky Morgan “As a Christian Secretary of State for Education, I will oppose secular, politically correct dogma”
After much set by the union's "Gove must go!" slogan, after which Gove did go, and we were left with ... another Tory! Who'da thunk it!?
Much has been said about the problems of Nicky Morgan. She is anti-LGBT rights, and, well a Tory! However somehow we seem to be struggling to hate her as much as we hated Gove.
Well here something that might help. In an interview for Conservative Home (a Tory blog), Morgan said “As a Christian Secretary of State for Education, I will oppose secular, politically correct dogma”.
Not only that but ... "as an Education Secretary I’m a huge supporter of faith schools, a huge supporter of Church schools, I think that our education system owes a massive amount to the Church of England and to the Catholic Church."
So the new Secretary of State for Education is a bit big on religious interference in children's education and of institutionalising that with faith schools.
She also seems quite keen on Grammar schools. “Well we set out very clear criteria for how the extension of a grammar school could be approved, and obviously we’ve got one application that’s been made at the moment that’s going to be decided on those very clear criteria.”
Good old tory then, dividing the rich from the poor!
Much has been said about the problems of Nicky Morgan. She is anti-LGBT rights, and, well a Tory! However somehow we seem to be struggling to hate her as much as we hated Gove.
Well here something that might help. In an interview for Conservative Home (a Tory blog), Morgan said “As a Christian Secretary of State for Education, I will oppose secular, politically correct dogma”.
Not only that but ... "as an Education Secretary I’m a huge supporter of faith schools, a huge supporter of Church schools, I think that our education system owes a massive amount to the Church of England and to the Catholic Church."
So the new Secretary of State for Education is a bit big on religious interference in children's education and of institutionalising that with faith schools.
She also seems quite keen on Grammar schools. “Well we set out very clear criteria for how the extension of a grammar school could be approved, and obviously we’ve got one application that’s been made at the moment that’s going to be decided on those very clear criteria.”
Good old tory then, dividing the rich from the poor!
Monday, 1 December 2014
Launch meeting for Pat's campaign
All supporters are welcome to a launch meeting for Pat's campaign to discuss how to run the campaign and how to get involved.
When: Saturday 13th December
Time: 4-5pm
Where: UCL Pearson G17, Gower Street, London
https://www.facebook.com/events/396952380430097/
When: Saturday 13th December
Time: 4-5pm
Where: UCL Pearson G17, Gower Street, London
https://www.facebook.com/events/396952380430097/
Friday, 28 November 2014
Officially on the ballot paper
I am now officially on the ballot paper. Thank you for all the associations who have nominated me.
The next step is to get publicity out there. If you think you can help publicise my candidacy please get in touch @ electpatmurphy@gmail.com . We particularly need people to help with press coverage and internet coverage.
Can your association send out leaflets and posters to schools? Get in touch.
The next step is to get publicity out there. If you think you can help publicise my candidacy please get in touch @ electpatmurphy@gmail.com . We particularly need people to help with press coverage and internet coverage.
Can your association send out leaflets and posters to schools? Get in touch.
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Nominations roll in
A big thank you to Wirral, Barnsley, Warwickshire and Greenwich NUT associations who have all nominated me for DGS in the last two weeks.
Not all of these associations would usually nominate a left candidate or consider nominating at all. The message is resonating in all sorts of places.
Thank you also to Bolton who hosted a lively hustings event and will be voting next month.
That now takes me up to a total of 8 nominations so far, 2 more are needed to secure a place on the ballot paper. If you association hasn't nominated please see the link on the right of this page for guidelines on how to nominate. Please also invite me to come and speak alongside other candidates.
Not all of these associations would usually nominate a left candidate or consider nominating at all. The message is resonating in all sorts of places.
Thank you also to Bolton who hosted a lively hustings event and will be voting next month.
That now takes me up to a total of 8 nominations so far, 2 more are needed to secure a place on the ballot paper. If you association hasn't nominated please see the link on the right of this page for guidelines on how to nominate. Please also invite me to come and speak alongside other candidates.
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Bad decision shows the need to organise the rank and file.
The decision by the NUT Executive not to join our support staff colleagues in
UNISON, GMB and UNITE when they take strike action on October 14th is a huge
disappointment and will come as a major blow to workers in those unions as they
prepare to follow up on July 10th. This will be the first day of joint strike
action in the public sector in recent years which will not involve the NUT. In
2008, 2011 (twice) and July 10th this year we have been at the heart of such
events. The decision to abstain from this one is a watershed and not a good
one.
At the September Executive I proposed, and Martin Powell Davies seconded, a proposal that we take action alongside our sisters and brothers in the local government unions on October 14th. We even included a provision to call this action off if the other unions changed their plans due to progress on their dispute. 12 Executive members supported this proposal but 26 opposed it. Members are entitled to know the arguments put for this retreat. The most common was that we are to hold a major consultation with members about the future of our own campaign this term and that isn't due to end until October 23rd. It was argued that we should wait until that finished before calling further action. We did point out that no other aspect of the campaign was to be suspended in this way. Street stalls, lobbies of MPs, action in schools- all of this can continue. Only the possibility of industrial action is to be put on hold. And this at a time when some of our fellow workers in schools, the same people who struck alongside us in July will be taking further action.
It was also said that we have a different dispute but, of course, that was no less true in July than it is now and yet it was seen then as an advantage to strike together. Evidence was presented to suggest that support for July 10th was 'patchy'. Apart from the fact that is is always true (action is never evenly supported across the entire country) we all knew that late July was not the optimum time for teachers to strike. Instead it was a date settled on to allow a greater overall impact due to the action of other unions. October 14th, on the other hand, doesn't have that disadvantage and will coincide with the first decisions to refuse pay increments to main scale teachers who could previously expect automatic increases. We could reasonably have expected a greater turnout and an even more successful day than July 10th.
While disappointing, the decision not to take part shouldn't come entirely as a surprise. I am standing in the election for NUT Deputy General Secretary precisely because I think the resistance to the attacks on our pensions and pay has been poorly-led for at least three years. I was asked to stand by an organisation of NUT branches who share that view and decided to work to create a more effective strategy which could win. This organisation, the Local Associations National Action Campaign (LANAC) is more important now than ever. If you share our disappointment at the decision to abstain from October 14th I would appeal to you to keep your morale high and take some positive steps.
At the conference which launched LANAC in June 2012 I urged delegates from associations to follow the advice of the American trade union giant Joe Hill, 'Don't mourn, organise'. We should respond to the current situation in the same spirit.
At the September Executive I proposed, and Martin Powell Davies seconded, a proposal that we take action alongside our sisters and brothers in the local government unions on October 14th. We even included a provision to call this action off if the other unions changed their plans due to progress on their dispute. 12 Executive members supported this proposal but 26 opposed it. Members are entitled to know the arguments put for this retreat. The most common was that we are to hold a major consultation with members about the future of our own campaign this term and that isn't due to end until October 23rd. It was argued that we should wait until that finished before calling further action. We did point out that no other aspect of the campaign was to be suspended in this way. Street stalls, lobbies of MPs, action in schools- all of this can continue. Only the possibility of industrial action is to be put on hold. And this at a time when some of our fellow workers in schools, the same people who struck alongside us in July will be taking further action.
It was also said that we have a different dispute but, of course, that was no less true in July than it is now and yet it was seen then as an advantage to strike together. Evidence was presented to suggest that support for July 10th was 'patchy'. Apart from the fact that is is always true (action is never evenly supported across the entire country) we all knew that late July was not the optimum time for teachers to strike. Instead it was a date settled on to allow a greater overall impact due to the action of other unions. October 14th, on the other hand, doesn't have that disadvantage and will coincide with the first decisions to refuse pay increments to main scale teachers who could previously expect automatic increases. We could reasonably have expected a greater turnout and an even more successful day than July 10th.
While disappointing, the decision not to take part shouldn't come entirely as a surprise. I am standing in the election for NUT Deputy General Secretary precisely because I think the resistance to the attacks on our pensions and pay has been poorly-led for at least three years. I was asked to stand by an organisation of NUT branches who share that view and decided to work to create a more effective strategy which could win. This organisation, the Local Associations National Action Campaign (LANAC) is more important now than ever. If you share our disappointment at the decision to abstain from October 14th I would appeal to you to keep your morale high and take some positive steps.
- Affiliate your local NUT association to LANAC or invite a speaker to one of your local meetings
- Ensure that your local secretary puts DGS nominations on an association OGM before December and propose my nomination
- Vote 'YES' and urge other members to do likewise in the NUT consultation on the future if the campaign.
- Meet in your school group and discuss what members can do to support our colleagues in UNISON, GMB and UNITE on October 14th. This should include discussion about whether it is safe to open the school in the absence of key staff and whether it is possible to do our jobs without teaching assistants unless we actually cover for the work they do. It should also consider whether members who struck with support staff in July will refuse to cross any picket lines they may put up in October.
- Look out for LANAC material which will give more advice on supporting October 14th.
At the conference which launched LANAC in June 2012 I urged delegates from associations to follow the advice of the American trade union giant Joe Hill, 'Don't mourn, organise'. We should respond to the current situation in the same spirit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)