What do we want???
PARENTAL INFORMATION
In the complete absence of info from Harlowfields and LEA we will attempt to inform you
CURRENT THINKING ON INCLUSION
Parents have had NO POLICY STATEMENTS from school or LEA from over 5years now. The ways in which HF could be organised were put,but nobody told us which way they chose and no information has been forthcoming since.
To our HORROR the new school organised our individually statemented children into age-related groups to fit the curriculum!!.That only lasted a term or so because like us uneducated folks , the "professionals" realised it didn't work
NO DISCUSSION, NO INFO TO PARENTS, just change it and keep quiet
Then the very secretive attempt at PRIVATISATION
NO DISCUSSION, NO INFO TO PARENTS, just a lot of pruning, both in school and LEA. School had an embarrassing surplus of £200,000 one year (10% of total) which suggests the LEA was giving the school too much money. What were they going to do with it once school privatised?
Then Essex County Council prevented PRIVATISATION
NO DISCUSSION, NO INFO TO PARENTS, to even say that their plans had failed, just a lot of administrators resigning, W.Essex Area office etc pared to the bone and a lot of panicky spending to remove the surplus money - like an extra F.E. class and teacher (got rid of £30,000 in on fell swoop!! but the up side was that there was no more enforcing of pupils to go to college inappropriately
So at the moment the schools were amalgamated the POLITICIANS started talking about "INCLUSION" but guess what
NO DISCUSSION, NO INFO TO PARENTS NO DETAIL of what it would mean. Why not? Surely the most radical over haul of the system for years would merit the School and LEA giving us information?
Harlowfields was supposed to be "A centre of Excellence" and a "Beacon School" NEVER, NO CHANCE, IT DIDN'T QUALIFY inspite of all that money poured into it.
IT HAS MISSED THE BOAT - AND HAS BEEN GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
You may remember a parent visited a Beacon School some months ago and reported back what REAL INCLUSION POLICY was
The Special Ed Needs and Disability Act 2001 says
(1) There is a limit on the grounds the school/LEA can turn away an SEN child
(2) Schools should make sure all pupils get the same Social ans Educational opportuntities
(3) it requires the School and LEA to plan for current pupils AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.... we're not seeing much of this reported as parents. We've not had an APM for so long and the Gov's reports are lacking this detail
"REMOVING BARRIERS TO ACHIEVEMENT" Government Strategy for SEN Eng. 2004
says that inclusion is not mainstream-versus-special school but rather A COLLECTION OF PROVISIONS TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS and where children attend a Special School THERE MUST BE CLOSE LINKS SO THE CHILDREN ARE NEVER ISOLATED.
It calls for a NEW ROLE FOR SP.SCHS TO WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MAINSTREAM
So is Harlow fields currently embracing this policy?? Who knows? They won't tell us
(1) What we've picked up is that a few years ago a pupil used to attend a mainstream, for an hour or so a week, but this was inexplicabley stopped against the parents wishes when the child was getting something out of it. So much for HF inclusion policy then
(2) Shortly after that there was paired reading with Passmores pupils- with about 10 pupils- what about the other120 or so? This has apperently ceased; no more ofsted inspections to please
(3) There was a rumour that a few pupils were going to Passmores to do a lesson or so- how many, do they tell us?, what about the main body of the school? is this being extended - if it happens at at
(4) isn't HF just dabbling with inclusion. The more radical experience current in NMSS schools is that whole classes of SUITABLE pupils are registered with the Special School but based in classes in mainstream primary and secondary schools and join in some lessons like ART, DRAMA, P.E. MUSIC etc
Why is Harlowfields not doing this? Why is it so slow to catch up with modern Government Policy?
Hence the enforced policy of sending a student to mainstream -Burnt Mill for 2 years to try and prove a point - this ended in failure and he is now very happy at HF
So inclusion will be attained by encompassing Educational Access to Mainstream (not wholescale TRANPLANTING of individuals)
NASEN also says INCLUSION WILL BE ACHIEVED BY WORKING IN A TRUSTING PARTNERSHIP WITH PUPILS PARENTS AND STAFF. Well we are still waiting after 5years. Parents of pupils in Lower school have never had this opportunity. They think this is the way it is everywhere!!
OFSTED asks "DO SCHOOL VALUES EMBRACE INCLUSION AND DOES ITS PRACTICE PROMOTE IT?" the answer to that at the moment has got to be no. Lots of fancy paperwork, by the previous encumbant and a lot of lip service. We want the real thing ( not coke!)
MEASURES OF INCLUSION SHOULD BE IN THE PERFORMANCE TABLES(DFES) - that is if we had any recent performance tables, even a GOV'S report would be nice - there will be at least an 18 month gap
Another idea is A CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Strategy, which provides volenteer pupils to play with ISOLATED children - it helps children understand what it feels to be different
SO WHAT SHOULD HARLOWFIELDS BE DOING ABOUT INCLUSION AND TELLING US ABOUT??? (PARENTS HUMBLE OPINION)
(1) Investigating having one or more classes based in mainstream primary and Secondary schools, still on HF register - teachers to go with them
(2) Inclusive Social events for pupils and parents so that pupils can see parents are welcome en mass (which they are currently not)
(3) After school Clubs like every other school -other wise that continues the discrimination of the past 5years. Mainstream school dooors do not shut at 15.30 every day. Parents should be encouraged to attend and help. B.T s 2 pupils at Barnmead for 2 weeks was a disgrace!!
(4) Urgently rewrite the Controlling , heavy handed disciplinarian document which is a disgrace to the teaching profession - and replace it with an inviting, computer literate, innovative one full of photos and information which actually encourages parents to send their children to the school. . We imagine Timbara has this in mind - well we certainly hope so
(5) Give LOTS and LOTS of info about current and future policies, and about the school and the LEA's big plan for NMSS New Model Special Schools whatever that is. It is absolutely futile to keep parents in the dark about all this and not public spirited. These bodies have a DUTY to tell us, indeed to let us have an input - but we'd settle for our right to be told to start with.
WOODLANDS SPECIAL SCHOOL - Chelmsford gives out some really useful info intheir GOV's Report 2004
It's amalgamating with Haywoods (on the cards for years) and they are going to call themselves yet another jargon word A FEDERATION I thought that was just the US of A!! and Germany. They have a new Head Teacher , homegrown as BT would say so that's sounds like a fair interview process again!! She along with others has developed the NEW MODEL SPECIAL SCHOOL idea and producing an 8P Audit (Pupils;Parents ; Personnel; Premises; plans; performance,; Partnerships; and Practice. This aparently a BLUE PRINT for the future of NMSS Schools THROUGHOUT ESSEX. Once again Harlowfields parents don't get to hear about this. Hf has missed the boat again NMSS was mentioned in relation to HF in 1997 so what happened??
Woodlands has £650,000 for a new Swimming Pool and £750,000 for a new wing of classrooms. The report states that long-term Essex are applying for a share of £62,000,000 of DFES money for building new premises for its future NMSS schools. That was Autumn 2004. Does anyone know if they got it?
Woodlands has 30!!!! links with the community. How many has HF got??. Harlowfields tell us your NMSS plans. Timbara start informing us as it is your duty
Chelmsford ,Basildon, Clacton etc are all in for a bout of Amalgamation, and no doubt parental isolation. No parents should have to go through what the majority of HarlowFields parents hava had to and are continuing to do so and we'll do our best to see it doesn't happen....................So till the next time pop-pickers from your favourite webmaster