Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Landmark school admissions ruling for Haringey mother.
Pupils cannot be denied a place in their preferred schools simply because they are full, a court ruled yesterday.
The landmark High Court judgement is likely to give hope to thousands of families who challenge the schools they are allocated each year before independent appeals panels (IAPs).
In the case, the mother of an 11-year-old girl took her battle to London's High Court after an appeal panel rejected her choice of secondary school because it was full.
The mother - referred to as M - wanted her daughter (MC) to be educated away from her London inner city neighbourhood and its problems of crime and bullying. The mother had applied to a popular and oversubscribed school but she was rejected by Haringey's schools council admissions service.
The ruling means M and her daughter are entitled to a fresh hearing before the IPA.
This was the first High Court case to examine provisions of the new schools admissions appeal code 2009. It will provide guidelines for parents and education authorities in the future.
More on the ruling here.
The landmark High Court judgement is likely to give hope to thousands of families who challenge the schools they are allocated each year before independent appeals panels (IAPs).
In the case, the mother of an 11-year-old girl took her battle to London's High Court after an appeal panel rejected her choice of secondary school because it was full.
The mother - referred to as M - wanted her daughter (MC) to be educated away from her London inner city neighbourhood and its problems of crime and bullying. The mother had applied to a popular and oversubscribed school but she was rejected by Haringey's schools council admissions service.
The ruling means M and her daughter are entitled to a fresh hearing before the IPA.
This was the first High Court case to examine provisions of the new schools admissions appeal code 2009. It will provide guidelines for parents and education authorities in the future.
More on the ruling here.
Tags for Forum Posts: haringey heartlands, school funding
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Susan on
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This can't happen - the popular schools have around 2000 applicants for 200 places. Where would they put them all? 100-pupil classes? Double-decker seating arrangements? Or a 20-storey school skyscraper on top of Muswell Hill?
And I'm not going to start on the issues around sending your child to a different neighbourhood because your neighbours children aren't good enough for you...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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It's not the neighbour's children is it? It's the neighbours.
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PLEASE SIGN DOWNING STREET PETITION BELOW FOR MORE SCHOOL FUNDING FOR HARRINGAY STUDENTS!!
The Admissions process needs so much reform however this is a step in the right direction.
A more serious issue is the fact that Harringay schoolchildren are terribly underfunded in compariosn to children in other boroughs. Haringey’s schools are short changed because the Government gives them less money to teach each child than other Councils with similar costs. For instance, Government cash per pupil: Hackney £6170, Camden £6161, Islington £5812, Haringey £4987. The Government thinks each child in Haringey is worth about £1000 less (each year) than in Hackney, Camden or Islington.
£1000 per pupil would pay for smaller classes, more books and computers, and better equipment - more individual attention for your child! The government’s own figures show similar levels of need in all four Councils. A campaign has been launched by the local teachers' union branches, with widespread backing from parents and community organisations including the Haringey Federation of Residents Associations.
What can we do? There is a petion being circulated that is going to Downing Street. Can you believe it only has 880 signatures!! ? I am including the link and ask you to please sign the petition and to forward it on your email, HOl and facebook friends to sign. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FairDealHaringey/
I am going to start an individual discussion on this isuue soon but if you can help me spread the word our students will thank you!http://www.fairdealforharingeychildren.org/
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Post here on the Fair Deal campaign but thanks for the reminder.
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Quoted from Economist article (linked below);
The Tories plan to fund new schools, to be run by charities or groups of parents, as generously as state ones.
But how many parents are ready to hunt for premises, take on planning authorities and mug up the curriculum, particularly in inner cities where the need is greatest?
The New Schools Network (NSN), which is due to start in October, will combine policy development, research and advocacy with help for would-be schools on everything from applying for permission to finding premises and hiring teachers.
Even before its launch, NSN is talking to charities and other groups that might want to set up new schools—as indeed are the Tories themselves. It is also hunting for interested parents, with a view to getting them ready to apply the moment they can. The idea is to insulate free schools from hostile politicians by moving quickly from policy to practice to broad popularity.
The New Schools Network has even put some parents views of their ideas onto Youtube.
Articles:
(1). The Economist.
(2). The Guardian
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Permalink Reply by Julie on
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I was pretty worried about some of the misapprehensions some of the people on the NSN website are labouring under. If these schools are to be funded like state schools, they will have to work to the same scale.
The way school funding works in this country, each child brings a set amount (the age weighted pupil unit or AWPU.) Basically you need twenty four kids in the class to pay the salary of the teacher at the front of it. TAs, books, equipment, water rates, telephone bills, are all funded by the additional six pupils. Anything less than a full school and you start getting budget problems. The only way you can have smaller classes for example is by cutting the number of qualified staff. This is what they don't say about the Swedish model the Tories are trying to promote here. Kunskapsskolan schools apparently employ only 60% qualified teachers whereas in the state controlled schools the figure is above 80%.
Teachers want to work for stable and sizeable entities like local authorities who offer national pay and conditions, recognise unions, offer professional development, promotion and redeployment opportunities and are part of a proper pension scheme. Support staff, too, have no major incentives to leave the employment of a local authority or diocesan board, and work for a bunch of parents who've been given a grant. This is where the core of resistance to academies comes from, and we're starting to see academy sponsors grow to be major providers with multiple schools, so they can use the economies of scale to run things properly.
There are an awful lot of people denigrating perfectly good schools because they are afraid of what secondary education will be like for their children. I understand that. I just think that before giving up their lives to educate their kids themselves, or open up a new school for them, they should try to get to know the local hell-hole. It might be a very much better school than they thought. The terrifying teenagers they don't want their children to associate with are probably no worse than them.
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It's a populist idea born out of fear and frustration. Easy to come up but making it work ... quite another thing. And as you say, is it really necessary? Why not look at getting parents more involved with their kids current secondary schools, like they used to at primary level. Could help to improve community cohesion, understanding and enrich some aspects of secondary education. At the very least bringing in parents to talk about their careers or work as part of career advice.
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I'm not a big fan of kids bringing their parents in to school to talk about their jobs. One girl in my class managed to get her Dad to bring in his fire engine... gutted.
How about a bit more tax so we can just fund the things properly for a start? Object to that because you don't have children? You'd better be a big fan of immigration then.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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No John - I don't object to the fact that I pay for the education of other people's children as I have none of my own. I would like to ask that some of the money I pay towards the education of other people's chidren is used to teach responsibility and acceptable behavior, as so many of their parents seem unable to do this (with the exception of all those on the HOL site of course).
I have to admit to becoming less and less able to pretend that something unpleasant hasn't happened to some kids in recent years. When I get on a bus it's not blokes that worry me, it's kids. The only abuse and homophobia I've encountered in the last few years has been from school age children. I actively avoid travelling on public transport during going to and coming back from school times. The only people who have threatened to "stick me" when I've asked them to stop spitting on the 29 have been school age children.
School age children actual make me feel frightened sometimes.
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Yes, the homophobia thing among kids is VERY worrying. We've licked racism to the point where the kids in postal code gangs are a very good mix but we're not helped by Chris 'idiot' Moyles and as you suggest, too many parents, with regard to being gay.
If it's any consolation, a huge bloke that I knew back in NZ was beaten up quite badly by a large group of kids no older than 14 outside my local McDonald's when I was young. See them when they're by themselves and it's an almost polar opposite though.
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I am really not against unqualified people being teachers under some circumstances and they are cheaper. Part one of teaching a class is having control over it and although the NUT will probably disagree with me, having a teaching qualification does not help much with this. Something I read here seemed to indicate that they were trying to bring some discipline back to the classrooms by employing ex-servicemen (I guess except for the ones who are in jail or have been in jail) and bouncers. How can the one or two nerdy little wall flowers in a North London comprehensive expect to learn if the class is going nuts?
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How can anybody learn if the class is going nuts?
Part of being a good teacher means keeping good order and ensuring a decent learning environment. (If anybody can do this and they're not a qualified teacher, they should sign up to get qualified teacher status, and earn the correct salary for the job!) Struggling teachers should get help but if they still can't hack it, after support, they should consider whether they're in the right job. My union, the NUT, only accepts qualified teachers into membership. We actually don't want low standards in the profession.
Schools have to play their part, though, by having good behaviour policies and being prepared to exclude. I can see, John, that you want the troops involved, but it's possible to have a really ordered and calm school without tanks in the playground!
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