[SENco-forum] sink schools (was G&T- pressure)

I may be wrong, but I think 'sink' schools were around well before

> I may be wrong, but I think 'sink' schools were around well before
> Ofsted?

Almost certainly true, Judith - but the concept changed subtly with the
application of the market principle to education - schools competing against
one another, with the losers falling by the wayside because they were unable
to compete.

Previously, 'sink' actually suggested 'sunk' - at the bottom.  Post-1988,
sinking became an active and spiralling process.  You know the arguments -
successful schools are popular, tend to be well-resourced and exert
influence on the social characteristics of the catchment via housing prices;
less successful schools tend to be less well-resourced and increasingly less
attractive to parents and staff.  Schools are sustained by dedicated parents
and staff - in most cases public flagellation and threat of closure are at
best unnecessary and at worst definitely counter-productive.

And OfSTED was / is a vital tool to this process.  By themselves, the
National Curriculum, SATs and league tables wouldn't have quite the same
impact.  An inspection service that takes into account a school's social and
academic circumstances, celebrates its achievements in the widest sense, and
works with the school to provide advice and resources to help it
improve....would be great.  But that isn't what OfSTED is for.

(At least in part, it's for announcing schools' share price, irrespective of
whether there will be panic selling on the markets.)

Regards

Biff

----- Original Message -----
From: "Judith Stansfield" <stass at onyxnet.co.uk>
To: <kngbrndn at aol.com>; <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
Cc: <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk.>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 5:32 PM
Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] G&T- pressure

> I may be wrong, but I think 'sink' schools were around well before
> Ofsted? - I seem to remember 'sink classes' being applied to bottom sets
> in comprehensives and sec mod schools - at least in 70's if not earlier?
> Cheers
> Judith
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Judith Stansfield
> Farm Cottage, 24 East Road, Melsonby,Richmond DL10 5NF
> stass at onyxnet.co.uk
> 01325 718139   07990572365
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
> kngbrndn at aol.com
> Sent: 20 March 2007 16:36
> To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
> Cc: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk.
> Subject: Fwd: [SENco-forum] G&T- pressure
>
>
> Subject: Re: [SENco-forum] G&T- pressure
>
> G&T is a notion that will definately have arisen from the upper echelons
> of 'Middle England' -- the vote New Labour has always successfuly
> pursued  -- so it is little surprise that, in the dimming of TBs PMship,
> that he's pursuing this ultra-elitist, vote-seeking, Tory-clothed,
> policy. As with Academies, which have been supported wholeheartedly by
> the Tory shadow education spokesman -- so much so that the policy for
> return to grammar schools and vouchers has been dropped in favour of the
> New Labour elitist (tri-partite) schools policy.
>
> One can imagine the outcry from Old Labour had M.Thatcher introduced
> such policies back in the 80s. But, the notion of dyslexia was met with
> cries of a 'Upper Middle Class' rant, at the time when it was barely
> recognised 20 yrs ago. Now that it has a more or less a mainstream
> acceptabilty rating -- perhaps we should thank the chattering classes
> for the universally increased recognition of dyslexia. After all -- the
> upper middle class are the most effective pressure group of all -- and
> always will be.
>
> BTW, many children are content to be average and ticking along quietly
> without lots of attention being attracted to them. And I used to ensure
> that the majority of a class I taught were well praised and rewarded for
> their not too highly stretched efforts and pleasant reasonable demeanure
> (as I'm sure most teachers do).
>
> Also, the most concerned, and dedicated to educational excellence,
> parents in my schools were those of modestly successful Asian families
> -- so the singularly "white" middle-class tag is not really approprite
> in the  "real world" of parental search for the best possible education
> for their children.
>
> Also, "Barge Pole" schools was one of those indiscreet throw-away
> comments (Estell Morris in 2002, when she commented that, when she was a
> teacher, there were certain schools that she "would not touch with a
> barge pole") that politicians make from time to time. Like the
> 'Bog-Standard" comprehensive comment of TBs notorious side-kick Alistair
> Cambell. I'm not sure, however, that it is a frequently used New Labour
> political slogan (Estelle was not exactly "Model" New Labour nor are her
> comments particularly well remembered).
>
> The notion of the "sink" school is however -- and is a term coined back
> in the '80s when the Ofsted system of publicly transparent inspections
> was introduced along with the ablity to identfy and, even, close down
> 'failing schools' by placing them into the system of 'special measures'.
>
> And, unfortunately, sink schools do exist in the real world. And the
> open recognition of failing schools, through open inspection, has
> ensured that additional support is provided to ensure these schools
> improve or change or close down altogether. I suffered from attending a
> very poorly run and staffed school (when they were allowed to continue
> to fail their children). I do not wish the same on any children at
> school today -- so any measures to ensure that there are no failing
> schools is welcome to me.
>
> And that the classic 'titanic' community school is turned around and,
> instead, acts as a 'flotation platfrom' for its socially deprived 'sink'
> area. Schools, after all, will always tend to reflect the social
> condition and outlook of the area in which they exist -- whilst, one
> hopes, always  striving to rise above the social pressures placed upon
> it to drag it down below he depths.
>
> Brendan King
>
>
>
>
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>
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>
>
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