Parents fear takeover of Barton Hill Primary School in Bristol.....

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Parents and teachers fear clash of cultures in takeover of Barton Hill Primary School in Bristol

ONE serves a multi-cultural community with a growing number of Somali families in east Bristol. The other takes its pupils from a predominantly white, working-class neighbourhood in the south of the city.

Now plans for Hareclive Academy, a high-flying primary school in Hartcliffe, to take over the running of the under-performing Barton Hill Primary School have provoked opposition from parents and teachers.

A section of parents with children at Barton Hill Primary are concerned that the Growth in Learning Trust, led by Hareclive Academy, is ill-suited to running their school because the two primaries serve such different communities.

But others insist change is urgently needed to drive up standards and believe the trust should be given a chance to turn things around when the school becomes an academy in September.

Under Government rules, Barton Hill must become an academy led by a sponsor with a track record of success because it was deemed to be failing its pupils in its most recent Ofsted inspection.

After the Growth in Learning Trust was identified as a possible sponsor by the Department for Education and the city council, it was selected by the school's governors. Staff from Hareclive had already begun working with the school.

Parent Kelly Collins, 29, from St Anne's, who has two children at the school; Aisha, five, and Jamal, three, said she did not want to see the Growth in Learning Trust running the school.

She said: "I don't agree with it because Hartcliffe is a very different community than down here, where it's more inter-racial and there are a lot of different cultures. People are saying the school is rubbish but it's come out of special measures by itself. I think parents should have had a vote on which organisation was best to lead the school."

Sam Studley, 28, from St Anne's, who also has two children at the school; Caitlin, five, and Shannon, four, said: "I don't agree with what's happening – I think it will be disruptive and an uphill task.

"They are saying the new arrangement isn't set in stone but it is."

One other parent, who asked not to be named, said: "I don't think this plan is right for the school – the school has a high intake of Somali children. The parents are not happy and haven't been for a long time. There needs to be change but I'm not sure these are the right people for it – it's two completely different communities."

Another parent, Abdi Hassan, said: "The school has to change. As long as they (the trust) deliver in learning and teaching there's no problem with it."

Tory Councillor Peter Abraham, former cabinet member in charge of the council's education department, told the Bristol Post: "I hope this is not a race row. This is about improving education and the Government has a responsibility to deal with failing schools. I believe the trust's plans for turning this school into an academy is the best way forward."

Several parents said they understood as many as 11 teachers were due to leave as part of the academisation process and that a stricter regime was already in place, with a tougher stance being taken on bad behaviour and the abolition of the pupils' 'golden time' of 30 minutes of free play on a Friday afternoon.

A meeting organised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) attended by teachers and parents was held on June 23. The leaflet advertising the meeting said: "Who do you want to be running Barton Hill Primary School? People who know Barton Hill or another school which is nothing like Barton Hill? People who know your children or another school which just dictates what Barton Hill should do?"

Lisa Middle, pictured, spokeswoman for the NUT's Bristol division, said the union was opposed to academisation and that local schools should have a management and governance team which reflects their community.

She said: "We're worried it's not going to be the case with Barton Hill. We are not happy with the sponsor as it is. We are in discussions with the school and the council."

Ms Middle said the school had been rated "inadequate" by Ofsted in November 2012 but has "improved immeasurably" of its own accord in the past year. She said: "If Ofsted were to arrive today it would be better than it was before."

Hareclive Academy was judged to be a 'good' school by Ofsted in June 2010.

Under the plans, the academy's head teacher Michael Colcombe will become executive head for the two sites, with Gina Lewis taking over as head at Barton Hill.

A DfE spokesperson: "Barton Hill Primary was placed in special measures by Ofsted and is now on course to become an academy led by the Growth in Learning Trust in September.

"We have consistently demonstrated that where we find failure we will not hesitate to take action. We believe that academy status led by a strong sponsor is the best way of providing quick and sustainable improvement – with sponsored academies improving far faster than council run schools."

Paul Jacobs, Bristol City Council's service director for education & skills, said: "Barton Hill primary school has been identified by the Department for Education for academy conversion because it is in special measures. The DfE has worked with the local authority to identify a sponsor. The interim head of school from Hareclive was previously at Bannerman Road Academy in east-central and brings considerable experience of working with the communities in the area.

"A member of the council's Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) has also been working at Barton Hill this year, supporting improvement in teaching and learning.

"The NUT has formally raised issues with the local authority and a meeting to discuss these has had to be delayed until this Friday. It would be inappropriate to comment on this until a meeting has been held."

Both primary schools were contacted by the Bristol Post but neither responded to our request for a comment.

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