Call to sack governors at failing Bicester Community College (From Bicester Advertiser)

Hallelulia!
Some common sense at last. Shame about the pathetic reponse from the Headmaster.
Of course students will be polite and well behaved on the days the inspectors are around. There is plently of evidence that it is not so in a normal day (from a minority of students who disrupt the learning of others - because they can).

Fair enough to sack the governors, they have been defending the indefensible for far tool long. The real tragedy here, is what Michael Waine hints at. The roots of the problems at BCC go way back to under the last head mistress who was essentially allowed to retire, when she should have been sacked. The pathetic way in which complacent County Education Officials failed to deal with a failing school until it was far too late, thereby blighting the lives of hundreds of pupils, is the real scandal. I am not sure that all the blame can be laid at Jason Clarke's door. I bet he didn't realise what a mess the school was in before he agreed to take over, and one has to presume that he was the best candidate for the job.

As a matter of course the Governors will be replaced by an Interim Executive Board followed by frequent Ofsted inspections.
That is probably just as well because the Ofsted report for Bicester Community College includes the following: " Leaders, managers and the governing body have not acted quickly enough to improve the quality of teaching and the achievement of students since the previous inspection ...... they (the governors) have not provided rigorous challenge to the school leaders or asked urgent and searching questions about students' achievement or the quality of teaching ..... a school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school's leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvements".
So, clearly the governors will go, having failed to meet their responsibilities.
One can also have little faith in any involvement by the local education authority. Oxfordshire was recently named and shamed by Ofsted as an under-performing county for state education..

Braganca wrote:
As a matter of course the Governors will be replaced by an Interim Executive Board followed by frequent Ofsted inspections.
That is probably just as well because the Ofsted report for Bicester Community College includes the following: " Leaders, managers and the governing body have not acted quickly enough to improve the quality of teaching and the achievement of students since the previous inspection ...... they (the governors) have not provided rigorous challenge to the school leaders or asked urgent and searching questions about students' achievement or the quality of teaching ..... a school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school's leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvements".
So, clearly the governors will go, having failed to meet their responsibilities.
One can also have little faith in any involvement by the local education authority. Oxfordshire was recently named and shamed by Ofsted as an under-performing county for state education..

Braganca

Not all schools in Oxfordshire are underperforming. The Cooper School was rated as Outstanding in its last Ofsted inspection, helped in part by the support it receives from OCC.

I don't think the problems at BCC can be blamed on Oxfordshire CC when the other school in town, getting the same support from the same County Council, achieves very different outcomes.

I would advise all to read the OFSTED report before commenting. It's short and to the point. According to the report the school was placed in special measures 'because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.'

That seems black and white. The people responsible are the ones leading, managing and governing. That places the head teacher, Mr Clark, a former DT teacher and first-time head at the center of responsibility. He was the choice of the governors.

The governors also had the choice of Mr Hudson, a former deputy with a wealth of experience at the school. The Governors declined to give Mr Hudson the job, so he went on to become the head of the Royal Latin and subsequently steered that school to an OFSTED verdict of 'outstanding'.

OCC are quite right to seek the dismissal of the board of governors as they have clearly put the wrong man in the job and yet - despite the evidence accumulating over 2 1/2 years, despite the concerns of parents, despite just over HALF of the teachers leaving in the last academic year and despite the previous report from OFSTED - they chose to do nothing about him. Good riddance, and they need to take their appointee with them.

CupHalfFull wrote:
Fair enough to sack the governors, they have been defending the indefensible for far tool long. The real tragedy here, is what Michael Waine hints at. The roots of the problems at BCC go way back to under the last head mistress who was essentially allowed to retire, when she should have been sacked. The pathetic way in which complacent County Education Officials failed to deal with a failing school until it was far too late, thereby blighting the lives of hundreds of pupils, is the real scandal. I am not sure that all the blame can be laid at Jason Clarke's door. I bet he didn't realise what a mess the school was in before he agreed to take over, and one has to presume that he was the best candidate for the job.

If this was actually the case things would never have got worse surely? If the school is already bad & a good head takes over then he will do everything in his power to improve it. The very fact that this school declined under his leadership shows that he is not the man for the job. If he was, the place would have, at the very least, stayed the same over the time he has been in charge. You could almost understand a very slight decline over the first couple as months as it can take time for people to get used to change but this is rediculous. I'm not sure i have been reading the same article as the people defending the current SLT & attacking past leadership shows a bad attempt at passing the buck! Clarke has been banging on about 'foundations which have been put in place' but if you ask me, those foundations need inspecting by rogue traders!

veryangryparent wrote:
I would advise all to read the OFSTED report before commenting. It's short and to the point. According to the report the school was placed in special measures 'because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.'

That seems black and white. The people responsible are the ones leading, managing and governing. That places the head teacher, Mr Clark, a former DT teacher and first-time head at the center of responsibility. He was the choice of the governors.

The governors also had the choice of Mr Hudson, a former deputy with a wealth of experience at the school. The Governors declined to give Mr Hudson the job, so he went on to become the head of the Royal Latin and subsequently steered that school to an OFSTED verdict of 'outstanding'.

OCC are quite right to seek the dismissal of the board of governors as they have clearly put the wrong man in the job and yet - despite the evidence accumulating over 2 1/2 years, despite the concerns of parents, despite just over HALF of the teachers leaving in the last academic year and despite the previous report from OFSTED - they chose to do nothing about him. Good riddance, and they need to take their appointee with them.

According to the Ofsted and Royal Latin school websites the last Ofsted inspection at RLS which gave them Outstanding was in May 2009, at which time the headteacher was Robert Cooper.

David Hudson didn't join RLS until 2010, since when the school has not been Ofsted inspected, and so he could not have 'steered that school to an Ofsted verdict of outstanding'. It was already outstanding when he started.

I think you need to review your chain of events.

OMG , I have just heard the BEST NEWS EVER , from someone OFFICIAL 'Please don't listen to any of the promises made tonight at the meeting and within a month the Head , along with a few others from the SLT will be no longer' YIPPPEEEEEE

@Severian - you are absolutely correct about the Royal Latin and I unreservedly withdraw that part of my comments - I should have checked what I was told! Strike that paragraph!

However my main point still stands: I feel that the board of governors made their choices and that they were negligent in policing their decisions.

(p.s. Severian - as in Gene Wolf's Severian?)

This ofsted result is the exact reason that I and an increaing number of Bicester parents are choosing to send their children 10 miles to school every day. Even the fact I could save signifcant amounts of money would not have made me send my son to BCC. It's a real shame as I went there myself and it was a great school under Roy Blatchford.

veryangryparent wrote:
@Severian - you are absolutely correct about the Royal Latin and I unreservedly withdraw that part of my comments - I should have checked what I was told! Strike that paragraph!

However my main point still stands: I feel that the board of governors made their choices and that they were negligent in policing their decisions.

(p.s. Severian - as in Gene Wolf's Severian?)

Oh yes - best Sci-Fi books ever written.

BTW - David Hudson is doing a good job at RLS but it is by no means a perfect school (dear daughter did her 6th form there and they didn't push her as hard or support her as much as Cooper did for her GCSEs).

Personally for me the only way that this school can move forward is bullyboys Clarke and Hollis to be gone, they have shown nothing but contempt for the students and the parents, and it angers me even more to find out that in October they were given a formal Performance Standards and Safety Warning Notice and still gave us all that bull, Clarke needs to man up and take responsibility

As an ex-teacher I know quite a few of the people involved in this particular scenario. What is clear to me is that there needs to be a change in leadership, which should start with the incumbent head. The governors have a lot to answer for given they have backed the head for so long when they should have been putting pressure on him to turn things around.
Many have left what is a sinking ship with only a couple of strong senior leaders there to prop up the school.
I personally would like to see Jane Causon be given the post as headteacher, because she is very efficient, competent and genuinely cares about the school. She may be on the SLT which has been highly and justifiably criticised, but as far as I'm concerned she is a real asset to BCC and is very qualified to run the school. If Cooper and BCC went into a federation as has been suggested, Ms Causon would be supported from the executive head, which would be a preferable choice to the current situation.
Whatever happens, I hope there is real change for the best of the students, which is what the system is supposed to be about, not one man on a power trip.

concernedtat wrote:
Personally for me the only way that this school can move forward is bullyboys Clarke and Hollis to be gone, they have shown nothing but contempt for the students and the parents, and it angers me even more to find out that in October they were given a formal Performance Standards and Safety Warning Notice and still gave us all that bull, Clarke needs to man up and take responsibility

Read my post above , it's going to happen within a month .

I 'used' to teach at BCC and can confidently say that it was the leadership at the school which led to my resignation.
I feel extremely sorry for the teachers that remain at the school, being piggy in the middle between the concerned parents and the diabolical leadership. I had, on several occasions received and delivered numerous letters to ROGER DYSON (Chair of governors) and not once did any of the parents/carers receive anything close to an adequate response. Jason Clarke and his side-kick Tom Hollis never took responsibility and would be happy enough to pass-the-buck to teaching staff who already were coping with unbelievable work loads leading to numerous cases of stress related sickness. At one point I even recall SLT being appointed no timetabled lessons but a permanent role of 'leadership'. With regards to inadequate results, if staff are being instructed and observed by the likes of the deputy Tom Hollis; who apparently received a 'relieved cheer' from staff upon his announcement of resignation at GHS & with all his A-Level students gaining 'U' grades, then this could be a contribution to the problem. I even recall him directly criticising a History teachers lesson in front of students; she was in my eyes & many others, a superb teacher.
In the previous OFSTED report one of the two departments which got an outstanding result was the SEN department. Since the appointment of Jason Clarke, this department has practically disappeared. Students no longer have the security or vital support of TA's in the classroom or designated areas to spend their lunchtimes. The lead of the department resigned due to SLT and was replaced by a member of staff far too weak for the important role.
I could, quite easily continue with the many mistakes made by the current SLT.
I taught at the school for many years and I understood the need for further moves forward once Cynthia Bartlett left but in my opinion the governing body made a diabolical mistake in not agreeing to the teachers vote of DAVID HUDSON as head teacher so therefore should, along with current SLT be held accountable.

retiredteacher1949 wrote:
As an ex-teacher I know quite a few of the people involved in this particular scenario. What is clear to me is that there needs to be a change in leadership, which should start with the incumbent head. The governors have a lot to answer for given they have backed the head for so long when they should have been putting pressure on him to turn things around.
Many have left what is a sinking ship with only a couple of strong senior leaders there to prop up the school.
I personally would like to see Jane Causon be given the post as headteacher, because she is very efficient, competent and genuinely cares about the school. She may be on the SLT which has been highly and justifiably criticised, but as far as I'm concerned she is a real asset to BCC and is very qualified to run the school. If Cooper and BCC went into a federation as has been suggested, Ms Causon would be supported from the executive head, which would be a preferable choice to the current situation.
Whatever happens, I hope there is real change for the best of the students, which is what the system is supposed to be about, not one man on a power trip.

I completely agree. I think Mrs Causon would be perfect for the job. She's the only member of the SLT who is even nearly competent enough to deal with the current situation.

bicesterrealnews wrote:
I 'used' to teach at BCC and can confidently say that it was the leadership at the school which led to my resignation.
I feel extremely sorry for the teachers that remain at the school, being piggy in the middle between the concerned parents and the diabolical leadership. I had, on several occasions received and delivered numerous letters to ROGER DYSON (Chair of governors) and not once did any of the parents/carers receive anything close to an adequate response. Jason Clarke and his side-kick Tom Hollis never took responsibility and would be happy enough to pass-the-buck to teaching staff who already were coping with unbelievable work loads leading to numerous cases of stress related sickness. At one point I even recall SLT being appointed no timetabled lessons but a permanent role of 'leadership'. With regards to inadequate results, if staff are being instructed and observed by the likes of the deputy Tom Hollis; who apparently received a 'relieved cheer' from staff upon his announcement of resignation at GHS & with all his A-Level students gaining 'U' grades, then this could be a contribution to the problem. I even recall him directly criticising a History teachers lesson in front of students; she was in my eyes & many others, a superb teacher.
In the previous OFSTED report one of the two departments which got an outstanding result was the SEN department. Since the appointment of Jason Clarke, this department has practically disappeared. Students no longer have the security or vital support of TA's in the classroom or designated areas to spend their lunchtimes. The lead of the department resigned due to SLT and was replaced by a member of staff far too weak for the important role.
I could, quite easily continue with the many mistakes made by the current SLT.
I taught at the school for many years and I understood the need for further moves forward once Cynthia Bartlett left but in my opinion the governing body made a diabolical mistake in not agreeing to the teachers vote of DAVID HUDSON as head teacher so therefore should, along with current SLT be held accountable.

Well said on all counts .

Dave Hudson would also be a good choice, but of course the teachers' choice is not unfortunately given any credence, as the appointing body has the say completely.
What astounds me is that as well as failing to improve the school, the current head has been allowed to ride roughshod over certain things, which has left staff especially with a bitter taste in their mouths.
I hope that the DfE agree to the IEB and furthermore, appoint a new head, whether it be Jane Causon, or an external candidate.
I genuinely feel sorry for Jane because she would be an excellent candidate for the post, but is unfortunately part of the leadership and could be realistically tarred with the same brush as the other 2 members of SLT (not counting the assistant heads).
The gradings of 4 across the board are fair right now, and for Mr Clarke to come out and say he felt the behaviour shouldn't have been a 4 is well wide of the mark.
The on-call system doesn't work for example, it just encourages the same students to be dragged out of multiple lessons each day, which mucks up their education and everyone's around them.

I must stress this...

JANE CAUSON would be a TERRIBLE choice.

I taught at the school whilst she was 'acting head' on 2 separate occasions. There was an equal lack of communication to what there is now and completely UNAPPROACHABLE. The only reason it wasn't made as apparent at the time is because she led for a short period.
She comes across pleasant now ONLY because she is apparent of the situation that is going on and feels unable to contest against the decisions made by her bullish team.
In my eyes, I wouldn't consider any of the current Senior Leadership capable of the Headteacher role...somebody new will have to be brought in.

I do think it is a shame that Ofsted are held in such high regard amongst parents these days. There needs to be improvement that is clear but responsibilty must surely be shared amonst the staff, parents and most importantly the students themselves to have a desire to succeed and be encouraged by all to do so. Changing all the senior staff and govenors for the sake of change would only satisfy the angry in the short term, I think it would be far more constructive to have a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership (without any local political slant) and build form there. Who would replace the existing govenors anyway - I doubt the facebook gang would be willing to give their time, unpaid for a thankless task.

CAMBERWELLCARROT wrote:
I do think it is a shame that Ofsted are held in such high regard amongst parents these days. There needs to be improvement that is clear but responsibilty must surely be shared amonst the staff, parents and most importantly the students themselves to have a desire to succeed and be encouraged by all to do so. Changing all the senior staff and govenors for the sake of change would only satisfy the angry in the short term, I think it would be far more constructive to have a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership (without any local political slant) and build form there. Who would replace the existing govenors anyway - I doubt the facebook gang would be willing to give their time, unpaid for a thankless task.

I would happily give up my time even though my child no longer attends there. I removed him because of constant bullying not just by children but teachers as well! The only strengths that they have shown is bully boy tactics...... Intimidation by a teacher to a child is disgraceful and believe me the teacher didn't do it again once I suggested the police!

bicesterrealnews wrote:
I must stress this...

JANE CAUSON would be a TERRIBLE choice.

I taught at the school whilst she was 'acting head' on 2 separate occasions. There was an equal lack of communication to what there is now and completely UNAPPROACHABLE. The only reason it wasn't made as apparent at the time is because she led for a short period.
She comes across pleasant now ONLY because she is apparent of the situation that is going on and feels unable to contest against the decisions made by her bullish team.
In my eyes, I wouldn't consider any of the current Senior Leadership capable of the Headteacher role...somebody new will have to be brought in.

I guess you may have a point, with me perhaps thinking of the lesser of the two evils right now. It was suggested until 2010 that Jane was the harsh one, and as you obviously have had more dealings with her than I, I should think you know more than I.
Doesn't change my opinion though about her as I feel she is extremely competent and they could do a lot worse, and in my dealings I found her receptive to ideas, a completely different attitude to that of Clarke and Hollis.

Any reference implied by Michael Wain or not RE: Cynthia Bartlett (the last Head at BCC) being allowed to retire ignores the fact that the results in her last year matched that of The Cooper School. The decline at BCC can be traced back to the decision not to appoint Dave Hudson (Deputy Head) to the post of Head Teacher. Mr Hudson was part of the team that had built those results and realised that they had much to do yet but all that was built has been dismantled under the present management. Those responsible for that decision need to look to themselves.

Whatever the rights or wrongs David Hudson is unlikely to come back. What we need now is a plan for the future that can start being implemented as soon as possible.

It is absolutely the fault of the current Head. Even if Mrs Bartlett left the school in pieces, which she didn't, only the Head can be held accountable. How cowardly of him to shift the blame.

I attended B.C.C whilst Mrs Bartlett was Headteacher, and she was fantastic.I feel saddened by the fact that BCC now had such a poor reputation after all her hard work.

I am now a teacher and it seems to me that showmen and people who can pull a good interview out of the bag, are now ending up as Headteachers. This is definitely the case at my school.

David Hudson was incredible, he would have made an amazing Headteacher, such a loss to BCC.

This is all desperately sad for the staff and students at BCC.
I understand from several staff that bullying by the SLT has become a management feature and has resulted in more the sixty per cent of the staff leaving since Jason Clarke arrived. For those remaining, bullying has resulted in stress related illness and absence. For the students, their chances are reduced if not permanently lost.
It is perverse that Tom Hollis observes and judges teachers in the classroom when he himself is unable to deliver!
On a chance meeting, with one of the governors last December, I expressed my concern at the loss of so many staff and students and for the apparent "re-organisation" Her response was that "it is for the best."
Well, That says it all.

It's sad that the teachers have been and still are being bullied by these so called human beings. Do the decent thing and resign....... Let the school recover from this awful mess and allow the kids to be educated by teachers who want teach x

Want justice for our kids wrote:

CAMBERWELLCARROT wrote:
I do think it is a shame that Ofsted are held in such high regard amongst parents these days. There needs to be improvement that is clear but responsibilty must surely be shared amonst the staff, parents and most importantly the students themselves to have a desire to succeed and be encouraged by all to do so. Changing all the senior staff and govenors for the sake of change would only satisfy the angry in the short term, I think it would be far more constructive to have a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership (without any local political slant) and build form there. Who would replace the existing govenors anyway - I doubt the facebook gang would be willing to give their time, unpaid for a thankless task.

I would happily give up my time even though my child no longer attends there. I removed him because of constant bullying not just by children but teachers as well! The only strengths that they have shown is bully boy tactics...... Intimidation by a teacher to a child is disgraceful and believe me the teacher didn't do it again once I suggested the police!

I would happily give up my time for free too. My daughter no longer attends but my friends children do & some nieces & nephews. My grandchildren might go there one day too. I'm sure there are many members of the 'Facebook gang' who would be more than happy to do it too. This has been a lesson learned on many counts & I for one am prepared to do my best to not only not let it continue but also to prevent it from ever happening again

Have been to the meeting held tonight, they are blaming it all on what they took over from even the chair of governors said that, the meeting I felt was a waste of time as all they said was we are working on it, we appreciate this/that,
we are aware of the problem..
they are also blaming the new ofsted criteria.... they are just like some MP's

Not long got back from the meeting @ bcc tonight. What a complete n utter waste of time. After seeing the head of the governors for the 1st time, I feel he hasn't had much input into the running of the school and waffled on about other things that weren't even relevant . The head was less arrogant n cocky tonight, I'm guessing he knows he's going. Overall I came out of there extremely disappointed even though I did have my say albeit on a smaller scale than I really wanted . The sooner the governors , head n members of the SLT are gone the better . I have no experience at running a school BUT I feel I would do a better job than all of them put together. So come on LEA pull ya finger out and sort sooner rather than later .

Alyalyaly wrote:
Not long got back from the meeting @ bcc tonight. What a complete n utter waste of time. After seeing the head of the governors for the 1st time, I feel he hasn't had much input into the running of the school and waffled on about other things that weren't even relevant . The head was less arrogant n cocky tonight, I'm guessing he knows he's going. Overall I came out of there extremely disappointed even though I did have my say albeit on a smaller scale than I really wanted . The sooner the governors , head n members of the SLT are gone the better . I have no experience at running a school BUT I feel I would do a better job than all of them put together. So come on LEA pull ya finger out and sort sooner rather than later .

Well said Alyalyaly.

the best thing to happen would be for these 2 power hungry bullies to get the sack.It as blatently gone downhill since these 2 arrived surely everyone can see this or are they all blind or ignorant to notice.

I would like to know when the 4 councilman visited the school, waine has been there in the last year can the other 3 say the same, have they seen what happens? No

It also strikes me as funny about Waines comments in today's statement, when only 4 months ago (Sept 2012 - Bicester Ad), he said this was the right team for the job, and i quote,

“I believe that the new leadership of the school has the capacity to achieve this, given the all-round commitment from students, parents and staff.”

Sounds like Mr Waine is trying to build his empire, which would be a disaster, how many apologies does he have to give for oxfordshires failing schools for which he is partly responsible for. The man likes the sound of his own voice.

So last nights meeting merely confirmed that the school are indeed in complete denial. What more evidence do these people need? If they are not able to admit their faults how can anyone ever expect any improvement? Is that a safe environment for children? In my opinion no it isn't. I feel for all the newly qualified teachers too, what a way to start a career.

It's ok blaming everyone else but these 2 need to take responsibility for there actions. Blaming the previous head is cowardly the so called head has had 2 years to sort the school....... And where are we at the lowest that ofstead can give.......... He's run it into the deck, power hungry poor excuse of a man. SACK THE SLT and please put a head in there who actually cares about children and their education x

I attended the meeting last night and a number of things struck me as facts: The team at BCC are only two thirds of the way through their recovery plan and a lot of hard work has been done and progress in being made. The timing of the Ofsted inspection could not have been worse, but unfortunately these things happen. There is a real passion amongst the senior team to deliver the best results they can for our children. However, the main point of this post is a request really; can parents (or parents of ex students) try and be more supportive? Would it not be in everyone's best interest to help the team at BCC to deliver their improvement plan with the support of parents? Unfortunately, in this forum and at last nights meeting there were and are too many snide, snipping comments that do nothing to support our children and their self esteem. This negativity is making the job of getting BCC to 'outstanding' all the more difficult. I support the governors, the head and the SLT of BCC and just hope they get the opportunity to finish what they have started.

Finish what they started...... Running the school into the deck!!

24Truth wrote:
I attended the meeting last night and a number of things struck me as facts: The team at BCC are only two thirds of the way through their recovery plan and a lot of hard work has been done and progress in being made. The timing of the Ofsted inspection could not have been worse, but unfortunately these things happen. There is a real passion amongst the senior team to deliver the best results they can for our children. However, the main point of this post is a request really; can parents (or parents of ex students) try and be more supportive? Would it not be in everyone's best interest to help the team at BCC to deliver their improvement plan with the support of parents? Unfortunately, in this forum and at last nights meeting there were and are too many snide, snipping comments that do nothing to support our children and their self esteem. This negativity is making the job of getting BCC to 'outstanding' all the more difficult. I support the governors, the head and the SLT of BCC and just hope they get the opportunity to finish what they have started.

I get the impression this may have come from an 'insider'!!!
I can't imagine for one minute that anyone BUT those who have only just realised that their job is on the line, would write anything so supportive or positive!

GET RID OF THE GOVERNING BODY .............'AND' TWEEDLEDEE AND TWEEDLEDUM! Then start from scratch...This isn't rocket science to work out!

I was also there last night and there are in fact parents that do care and want to work with the school to get their kids the best they can, do you really think that more upheaval at this particular time is going to help the current year 11's in anyway at all?
So as one parent said last night, (aimed at the snipes), "Sit down and shutup."

Also to say that every parent that comes onto a forum and supports the school is a member of staff or governor etc is very rude and ignorant, but then again I have come to expect that from some, and there are a lot of parents that do support the school going forward.

I get the impression this may have come from an 'insider'!!!
I can't imagine for one minute that anyone BUT those who have only just realised that their job is on the line, would write anything so supportive or positive!




I am an insider in that I have a child at the college. That alone just shows how differently you and I think about this.

24Truth wrote:
I attended the meeting last night and a number of things struck me as facts: The team at BCC are only two thirds of the way through their recovery plan and a lot of hard work has been done and progress in being made. The timing of the Ofsted inspection could not have been worse, but unfortunately these things happen. There is a real passion amongst the senior team to deliver the best results they can for our children. However, the main point of this post is a request really; can parents (or parents of ex students) try and be more supportive? Would it not be in everyone's best interest to help the team at BCC to deliver their improvement plan with the support of parents? Unfortunately, in this forum and at last nights meeting there were and are too many snide, snipping comments that do nothing to support our children and their self esteem. This negativity is making the job of getting BCC to 'outstanding' all the more difficult. I support the governors, the head and the SLT of BCC and just hope they get the opportunity to finish what they have started.

I completly agree with you; the timing of the inspection was unfortunate but I expect few would know that the report is based on the previous five years and not representative as the here and now.

Agree that it was a shame so many teachers left in the summer though some of them seemed to have got a bit complacent and dull with their lessons really - seems they did jump the sinking ship. I can't be the only parent who's child has come home recently full of new interest for a subject after a lesson with one of the young and enthusiastic new teachers, so it's a shame it's all come to this as it could be easily sorted really.

This situation is not being helped by all the people "having a go" roll your sleeves up and help out. The school needs your support and not your bullying tactics.
Make the school what it can be don't just snipe at the staff, help them.....

Some parents have tried to help in the past...... Only to have it thrown back at them. The majority of the teachers are great and really want what's best for the children.The minority have messed up and they need to take responsibility for their actions..... Blaming mrs Bartlett is cowardly...... I hope she takes the time to read the comments and have her say!

"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly..."

It is pretty clear that there are only three things that can happen now:
1. Nothing. Current governors and staff carry on and try to improve the school.
2. BCC is forced by the government to become an Academy (the normal state of affairs for a school in special measures).
3. BCC and Cooper work together as a federation to improve education for all children in Bicester. (This appears to be the preferred solution from the LEA.)

There is little point saying parents should back the current team and allow them to improve things - Michael Gove will not allow BCC to carry on regardless, so only options 2 or 3 are on the table.

The best thing to do then is choose one of these options as quickly as possible and get on with it.

I certainly don't remember any blame being laid at Mrs Barletts door at the meeting last night?
Surely we were all at the meeting for the same outcome - a good education for our children? but that didn't come across from the majority of the parents there last night - it was obvious that many were there just to cause trouble and a confrontation! That is not the answer !!!

I really have to take issue with the comment from Anon68 The majority of parents at the meeting last night myself included were there because we wanted to just cause trouble , what a ridiculous statement to make!!!! Don't you realise that yes feelings were running high, why? because the leadership and governors have allowed this situation to go in the school. We care about our children's education...... have you even read the Ofsted report or have you been blinded by the corporate bs*** that was played out to us last night. According to Mr Clarke everything is all in place, the Ofsted report isn't as bad as it looks. Are the Ofsted inspectors not telling the truth then? Are the ex teachers and parents with problems lying? I want the school to go forward and I want my children to have a decent education. I want my children to actually enjoy going to school. I'm sorry but I along with many other parents really can't see this happening with the current heads and SLT if after 2 years things are even worse than before. I'm no way a trouble maker and I didn't see any at the meeting, just genuine concerned parents asking for nothing more than what is a basic human right in this country and that's a decent education.. Oh and I saw a couple of over sensitive people who couldn't cope with understandable human emotion.

People are entitled to their opinion on this. But I would like to ask 24Truth about their comments.

You said that:
"I attended the meeting last night and a number of things struck me as facts: The team at BCC are only two thirds of the way through their recovery plan and a lot of hard work has been done and progress in being made."

Firstly, why is this all factual? Have you had detailed information as to their 'plan'? How do you know they are only two thirds of the way through?
Secondly, what progress? As far as I can see the school has been getting worse, through results and through the general attitude of students.
Thirdly, I did not attend the meeting, but in what way is the current situation at BCC a "recovery plan". Is it normal for a head and his favourite deputy to let things get steadily worse then see a massive improvement?
I get that there has been massive staff turnover and this has hugely affected student progress (I was one of the ones to leave), but the cause of such turnover has been almost solely due to those who run the school.
It's disappointing that people are being criticised for having a go at the school, for not "pulling their socks up". But as parents are not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the school, but are of course directly involved in their child's attitude etc, is it best that they just shut up, whilst someone runs it into the ground.

There are always going to be parents who don't care about their kids' education but for those who do, they have the fundamental right to complain. They're paying for it through various means, I think it's only fair that when someone is not doing a good job they are held accountable. People don't have to be snide but given the attitude displayed by some in charge, is it any wonder there is animosity?

New broom sweeps clean

The problem is that even if the school is 2/3rd way through the 'recovery process', neither the LEA (October) nor OFSTED (December) think things are being led and managed well. Draw your own conclusions as to who SHOULD be putting their hands up and apologising not APOLOGISING, not EXPLAINING. I find it incredible that they are remaining silent in the media. Do they think that it will all blow over, and not affect them?

The problem is that even if the school is 2/3rd way through the 'recovery process', neither the LEA (October) nor OFSTED (December) think things are being led and managed well. Draw your own conclusions as to who SHOULD be putting their hands up and apologising not APOLOGISING, not EXPLAINING. I find it incredible that they are remaining silent in the media. Do they think that it will all blow over, and not affect them?

The LEA stayed out of this for far too long. They are part of the problem.
As one ex-teacher commented, numerous letters were passed to Roger Dyson (chair of governors) and nothing was done about them. The governors have either bought into something from somebody who can "talk the talk" but not "walk the walk", or they have done absolutely nothing about the situation, until it's too late. If they had been holding people accountable in the first place, this situation would not have occurred.

A headteacher without the support of the parents and wider public is a 'lame duck' headteacher. he might have the best plan ever - but without that support nothing will work. Two wasted years is one sixth of my child's entire life.
The answer is not to support the lame duck as there is way too much risk that the support will not be reciprocated with good results.
Parents who are reluctant to take this gamble with the high stakes of their children's future should not be criticised (24 Truth take note) for demanding better odds.
When a respected leader steps up to the plate with clear direction and no nonsense, the parents and wider community will be very active in their support - guaraunteed.

24Truth wrote:
I attended the meeting last night and a number of things struck me as facts: The team at BCC are only two thirds of the way through their recovery plan and a lot of hard work has been done and progress in being made. The timing of the Ofsted inspection could not have been worse, but unfortunately these things happen. There is a real passion amongst the senior team to deliver the best results they can for our children. However, the main point of this post is a request really; can parents (or parents of ex students) try and be more supportive? Would it not be in everyone's best interest to help the team at BCC to deliver their improvement plan with the support of parents? Unfortunately, in this forum and at last nights meeting there were and are too many snide, snipping comments that do nothing to support our children and their self esteem. This negativity is making the job of getting BCC to 'outstanding' all the more difficult. I support the governors, the head and the SLT of BCC and just hope they get the opportunity to finish what they have started.

Fancy trying a Findus "beef lasagne" ?
you seem like the type who might be unpeterbed by the recent media reports - after all they have tried really hard not to put dobbin in their freezer!and I'm sure another chance would help them out emormously (Findus will be bust within weeks because we can hold them to account by not buying their products - the same can't be said for most parents who have to send their sons and daughters to BCC).

the impression I got from last night was it is everyones fault but his own....
Lets looks
1st he blamed the old head, yet when Ofsted came in 3 months after he took over they got a satisfactory.... so what the old head had put into place wasn't that INADEQUATE
2nd they are only 2 years through their 3 year plan, HELLO 2 years to make it worse and drop from satisfactory to inadequate in ALL areas, thank god he didn't get another year to make it even worse
3rd Ofsted came in too early....he has had two years to put his things into place and he hasn't or clearly his improvements are not working, thank god they came early
4th lots of teachers left..... why do teachers leave? specially ones that have been there for years? clearly not because of how he was running the school
5th alot of absences if children love school they will attend, when your child cries everyday about you forcing them to the hell-hole some days it is just easier to bite the bullet and let them have a day at home, especially when you have been to the school time after time and they assure you that they have put things in place and then your child needs that its not there...
Due to his improvements my son's education has suffered, there is no one to blame but HIM he is unapproachable, easier to speak to your local MP than Mr Clarke, yet Hollis he speaks to you all the time in meetings and then does nothing unless you keep phoning up and badgering them.
Yes the Governors have a part to be apologetic for because they believed all this twaddle.
Last night was about rehearsed speeches, every questions was answered with
We are improving - no your not
We know it is not working - so why aren't you doing anything about it
we understand your concerns - but we chose to ignore them
we are working with - too dam late this should have happened 2 years ago

BCC RIP: 1966-2010

The 2012 BCC OfSTED report is damning, but it is politically correct and you have to have a working knowledge of these documents to really understand the subtext. Thankfully, on an open forum such as this we need not be mediated by diplomacy, simply give the facts. I have no affiliation to BCC and simply report the information and opinions of others as they have been relayed to me by numerous stakeholders over the past few years and in doing so I hope this acts as a true record of the state of BCC at the end of 2012.

It is not difficult to see the root of the problems currently being endured by the school and community of teachers, pupils and parents. Initially it stems from an over-zealous Board of Governors, so keen were they to install a headteacher the polar-opposite of the previous incumbent, they lost all judgment in employing a wholly unsuitable candidate and then perpetuated the mistake by stubbornly refusing to remove him when clearly not up to the task and dressing this up as honourable support.

Jason Clarke is a Woodwork Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of lathe work you think he may have done in his career? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Out of his depth, he employed a Right Hand Man equally over-promoted who would be so grateful of such a gift that he would be his Yes Man. His Captain Oates to his Captain Scott. His Robin to his Batman. His Rodney to his Del Boy. Tom Hollis is a Drama Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of performed Shakespeare soliloquys he may have done? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Neither Woodwork, nor Drama, although I enjoyed them both immensely at school myself, are considered core subjects like English, Maths, the Sciences and Humanities by which a school is most closely scrutinised. One might understandably presume the two people at the head of the school actually have no idea or real experience of the pressures that most teachers are under on a daily basis. No wonder they had time to climb the greasy pole that is the desire of the career teacher.

Tom Hollis’s main task is to raise academic standards, Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning. Whether you are a teacher or not, you can surely sympathise with those in his charge who do not perhaps give him the level of respect he requires in order to perform his duties. In fact, in the A-level classes he oversaw at BCC he managed to steer his twelve pupils to eleven ungraded marks and one pass. After this dismal effort he was swiftly removed from the teaching timetable in order to focus on telling other teachers how to improve standards in the classroom. An exclamation mark is not required to highlight the irony of that sentence.

It was reported in the Oxford Mail on 8th November 2012 that BCC had “unveiled its vision for a 400-seater theatre”. The fact that this was a complete non-story designed as a smokescreen to offset other negative stories permeating in the press around this time is by-the-by in this instance (anyone can have a vision, they could’ve revealed plans for an international air terminal on the playing field, just because they’ve had a vision doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen). The real interest is that the brains behind this initiative/PR stunt was Tom Hollis, Drama Teacher. Many readers will remember not so long ago (about two and a half years, in fact, just before Tom Hollis was appointed) when one of the highlights of the academic year was the BCC School Production, regularly one of the best in the county, a shining example of the collaboration between pupils and teachers outside of the curriculum and something for which the school could be rightly proud. That was until passionate Drama specialist Tom Hollis arrived and felt that giving students opportunities in the arts was not part of his remit and that he was too busy telling other teachers how to do their jobs to run a school production anyway. Or maybe it was because it would mean staying in school longer than was necessary, putting in hours of work for little reward other than to see the enrichment of bright young things and the culmination of the school ethos and community. But this is mere speculation, though it has already been pointed out elsewhere online the celebratory reaction of his former school when he left for BCC, knowing as they did how little he contributed in regards to achievement and enrichment beyond feathering his own nest.

So, “academic rigour” is not part of the vocabulary of those at the head of the school. But the real tragedy of BCC is that “emotional intelligence” isn’t either. Unable to cope with the demands of running a school, they hide in their offices, avoiding questions wherever possible. Challenge them with a constructed argument and they will react like all scared people do, with anger they shout and disengage themselves from the conversation. Both Clarke and Hollis are bullies and they are of the worst kind; not bullies because they are tough, but because they know they are inadequate. This has culminated in a toxic atmosphere of rule by fear, where staff are made to feel worthless, where staff feel they have to look after “number one” in order to survive, and therefore act towards each other in the same aggressive and selfish manner of their senior management. This, sadly, permeates down to the children who see bullying behaviour go unpunished, staff stressed and over-worked, and their own lack of self-worth and pride in their school.

The final word not in Clarke and Hollis’s vocabulary is “altruism”, which is strange given it is only an eight letter word and yet “self-flagellation
” is so much longer and most certainly is. In the three years of his doomed premiership I have not heard of one initiative or decision made by Clarke that has had the welfare, happiness, education or enrichment of the children at the heart of it. Instead it is all about himself, his first consideration always being “will this make me look good?” Hollis, in his ceaseless march to the top of the educational system of England & Wales, is equally guilty of this careerism and egotism. Thankfully for him, when he is sat twiddling his thumbs in his big office at the Department of Education, no idea quite what he’s meant to be doing but smiling to himself at the thought of all the people he walked over to get there, he will be able to go home and sleep soundly at night, for he will be completely untroubled by the evils and stresses of academic rigour, emotional intelligence or altruism.

I titled this article (as it seems to have become) BCC RIP: 1966-2010. I take my dates from when the “Community” was added to the school name and then when it was ripped from it.

BCC RIP wrote:
BCC RIP: 1966-2010

The 2012 BCC OfSTED report is damning, but it is politically correct and you have to have a working knowledge of these documents to really understand the subtext. Thankfully, on an open forum such as this we need not be mediated by diplomacy, simply give the facts. I have no affiliation to BCC and simply report the information and opinions of others as they have been relayed to me by numerous stakeholders over the past few years and in doing so I hope this acts as a true record of the state of BCC at the end of 2012.

It is not difficult to see the root of the problems currently being endured by the school and community of teachers, pupils and parents. Initially it stems from an over-zealous Board of Governors, so keen were they to install a headteacher the polar-opposite of the previous incumbent, they lost all judgment in employing a wholly unsuitable candidate and then perpetuated the mistake by stubbornly refusing to remove him when clearly not up to the task and dressing this up as honourable support.

Jason Clarke is a Woodwork Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of lathe work you think he may have done in his career? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Out of his depth, he employed a Right Hand Man equally over-promoted who would be so grateful of such a gift that he would be his Yes Man. His Captain Oates to his Captain Scott. His Robin to his Batman. His Rodney to his Del Boy. Tom Hollis is a Drama Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of performed Shakespeare soliloquys he may have done? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Neither Woodwork, nor Drama, although I enjoyed them both immensely at school myself, are considered core subjects like English, Maths, the Sciences and Humanities by which a school is most closely scrutinised. One might understandably presume the two people at the head of the school actually have no idea or real experience of the pressures that most teachers are under on a daily basis. No wonder they had time to climb the greasy pole that is the desire of the career teacher.

Tom Hollis’s main task is to raise academic standards, Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning. Whether you are a teacher or not, you can surely sympathise with those in his charge who do not perhaps give him the level of respect he requires in order to perform his duties. In fact, in the A-level classes he oversaw at BCC he managed to steer his twelve pupils to eleven ungraded marks and one pass. After this dismal effort he was swiftly removed from the teaching timetable in order to focus on telling other teachers how to improve standards in the classroom. An exclamation mark is not required to highlight the irony of that sentence.

It was reported in the Oxford Mail on 8th November 2012 that BCC had “unveiled its vision for a 400-seater theatre”. The fact that this was a complete non-story designed as a smokescreen to offset other negative stories permeating in the press around this time is by-the-by in this instance (anyone can have a vision, they could’ve revealed plans for an international air terminal on the playing field, just because they’ve had a vision doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen). The real interest is that the brains behind this initiative/PR stunt was Tom Hollis, Drama Teacher. Many readers will remember not so long ago (about two and a half years, in fact, just before Tom Hollis was appointed) when one of the highlights of the academic year was the BCC School Production, regularly one of the best in the county, a shining example of the collaboration between pupils and teachers outside of the curriculum and something for which the school could be rightly proud. That was until passionate Drama specialist Tom Hollis arrived and felt that giving students opportunities in the arts was not part of his remit and that he was too busy telling other teachers how to do their jobs to run a school production anyway. Or maybe it was because it would mean staying in school longer than was necessary, putting in hours of work for little reward other than to see the enrichment of bright young things and the culmination of the school ethos and community. But this is mere speculation, though it has already been pointed out elsewhere online the celebratory reaction of his former school when he left for BCC, knowing as they did how little he contributed in regards to achievement and enrichment beyond feathering his own nest.

So, “academic rigour” is not part of the vocabulary of those at the head of the school. But the real tragedy of BCC is that “emotional intelligence” isn’t either. Unable to cope with the demands of running a school, they hide in their offices, avoiding questions wherever possible. Challenge them with a constructed argument and they will react like all scared people do, with anger they shout and disengage themselves from the conversation. Both Clarke and Hollis are bullies and they are of the worst kind; not bullies because they are tough, but because they know they are inadequate. This has culminated in a toxic atmosphere of rule by fear, where staff are made to feel worthless, where staff feel they have to look after “number one” in order to survive, and therefore act towards each other in the same aggressive and selfish manner of their senior management. This, sadly, permeates down to the children who see bullying behaviour go unpunished, staff stressed and over-worked, and their own lack of self-worth and pride in their school.

The final word not in Clarke and Hollis’s vocabulary is “altruism”, which is strange given it is only an eight letter word and yet “self-flagellation

” is so much longer and most certainly is. In the three years of his doomed premiership I have not heard of one initiative or decision made by Clarke that has had the welfare, happiness, education or enrichment of the children at the heart of it. Instead it is all about himself, his first consideration always being “will this make me look good?” Hollis, in his ceaseless march to the top of the educational system of England & Wales, is equally guilty of this careerism and egotism. Thankfully for him, when he is sat twiddling his thumbs in his big office at the Department of Education, no idea quite what he’s meant to be doing but smiling to himself at the thought of all the people he walked over to get there, he will be able to go home and sleep soundly at night, for he will be completely untroubled by the evils and stresses of academic rigour, emotional intelligence or altruism.

I titled this article (as it seems to have become) BCC RIP: 1966-2010. I take my dates from when the “Community” was added to the school name and then when it was ripped from it.

I read the last two lines and saw the 1966-2010 date and saw that your dates were wrong, so i didnt bother with the rest of yoru drivvel.

BCC came into being when renamed from Bicester school in 1987, when Roy Blatchford took over.

still waiting to hear OCC comments they are remaining very silent!

notoobullying wrote:

BCC RIP wrote:
BCC RIP: 1966-2010

The 2012 BCC OfSTED report is damning, but it is politically correct and you have to have a working knowledge of these documents to really understand the subtext. Thankfully, on an open forum such as this we need not be mediated by diplomacy, simply give the facts. I have no affiliation to BCC and simply report the information and opinions of others as they have been relayed to me by numerous stakeholders over the past few years and in doing so I hope this acts as a true record of the state of BCC at the end of 2012.

It is not difficult to see the root of the problems currently being endured by the school and community of teachers, pupils and parents. Initially it stems from an over-zealous Board of Governors, so keen were they to install a headteacher the polar-opposite of the previous incumbent, they lost all judgment in employing a wholly unsuitable candidate and then perpetuated the mistake by stubbornly refusing to remove him when clearly not up to the task and dressing this up as honourable support.

Jason Clarke is a Woodwork Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of lathe work you think he may have done in his career? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Out of his depth, he employed a Right Hand Man equally over-promoted who would be so grateful of such a gift that he would be his Yes Man. His Captain Oates to his Captain Scott. His Robin to his Batman. His Rodney to his Del Boy. Tom Hollis is a Drama Teacher. I point this out only to ask you how much late night marking of performed Shakespeare soliloquys he may have done? Or whether he has sat up until 2am marking a class full of 2,000-word essays? Neither Woodwork, nor Drama, although I enjoyed them both immensely at school myself, are considered core subjects like English, Maths, the Sciences and Humanities by which a school is most closely scrutinised. One might understandably presume the two people at the head of the school actually have no idea or real experience of the pressures that most teachers are under on a daily basis. No wonder they had time to climb the greasy pole that is the desire of the career teacher.

Tom Hollis’s main task is to raise academic standards, Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning. Whether you are a teacher or not, you can surely sympathise with those in his charge who do not perhaps give him the level of respect he requires in order to perform his duties. In fact, in the A-level classes he oversaw at BCC he managed to steer his twelve pupils to eleven ungraded marks and one pass. After this dismal effort he was swiftly removed from the teaching timetable in order to focus on telling other teachers how to improve standards in the classroom. An exclamation mark is not required to highlight the irony of that sentence.

It was reported in the Oxford Mail on 8th November 2012 that BCC had “unveiled its vision for a 400-seater theatre”. The fact that this was a complete non-story designed as a smokescreen to offset other negative stories permeating in the press around this time is by-the-by in this instance (anyone can have a vision, they could’ve revealed plans for an international air terminal on the playing field, just because they’ve had a vision doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen). The real interest is that the brains behind this initiative/PR stunt was Tom Hollis, Drama Teacher. Many readers will remember not so long ago (about two and a half years, in fact, just before Tom Hollis was appointed) when one of the highlights of the academic year was the BCC School Production, regularly one of the best in the county, a shining example of the collaboration between pupils and teachers outside of the curriculum and something for which the school could be rightly proud. That was until passionate Drama specialist Tom Hollis arrived and felt that giving students opportunities in the arts was not part of his remit and that he was too busy telling other teachers how to do their jobs to run a school production anyway. Or maybe it was because it would mean staying in school longer than was necessary, putting in hours of work for little reward other than to see the enrichment of bright young things and the culmination of the school ethos and community. But this is mere speculation, though it has already been pointed out elsewhere online the celebratory reaction of his former school when he left for BCC, knowing as they did how little he contributed in regards to achievement and enrichment beyond feathering his own nest.

So, “academic rigour” is not part of the vocabulary of those at the head of the school. But the real tragedy of BCC is that “emotional intelligence” isn’t either. Unable to cope with the demands of running a school, they hide in their offices, avoiding questions wherever possible. Challenge them with a constructed argument and they will react like all scared people do, with anger they shout and disengage themselves from the conversation. Both Clarke and Hollis are bullies and they are of the worst kind; not bullies because they are tough, but because they know they are inadequate. This has culminated in a toxic atmosphere of rule by fear, where staff are made to feel worthless, where staff feel they have to look after “number one” in order to survive, and therefore act towards each other in the same aggressive and selfish manner of their senior management. This, sadly, permeates down to the children who see bullying behaviour go unpunished, staff stressed and over-worked, and their own lack of self-worth and pride in their school.

The final word not in Clarke and Hollis’s vocabulary is “altruism”, which is strange given it is only an eight letter word and yet “self-flagellation


” is so much longer and most certainly is. In the three years of his doomed premiership I have not heard of one initiative or decision made by Clarke that has had the welfare, happiness, education or enrichment of the children at the heart of it. Instead it is all about himself, his first consideration always being “will this make me look good?” Hollis, in his ceaseless march to the top of the educational system of England & Wales, is equally guilty of this careerism and egotism. Thankfully for him, when he is sat twiddling his thumbs in his big office at the Department of Education, no idea quite what he’s meant to be doing but smiling to himself at the thought of all the people he walked over to get there, he will be able to go home and sleep soundly at night, for he will be completely untroubled by the evils and stresses of academic rigour, emotional intelligence or altruism.

I titled this article (as it seems to have become) BCC RIP: 1966-2010. I take my dates from when the “Community” was added to the school name and then when it was ripped from it.

I read the last two lines and saw the 1966-2010 date and saw that your dates were wrong, so i didnt bother with the rest of yoru drivvel.

BCC came into being when renamed from Bicester school in 1987, when Roy Blatchford took over.

Wow wow wow regardless of the dates that was well worth reading xx

I'm sorry 'notoobullying', but nit picking on dates doesn't detract from the totally thoughtful piece from 'RIPBCC'. How can it, when it contains so much of the truth of the situation which the staff and students of bcc find themselves entering every day of their school lives.

BCC RIP: I have been honest with my comments, and not coming down on the side of Jason and Tom, as their leadership has been interesting at best.
I must unfortunately disagree with quite a lot of what is said, despite the reams of truth in your post.
The fact that Jason was a woodwork teacher has absolutely nothing to do with his ability to be an effective leader, just as much as Mr Hollis being a drama teacher.
I know of several headteachers in both state and private education who have been drama, music, PE and DT teachers, as well as other non-core subjects. Understanding the pressures of an English department rather than an Art department does not make a headteacher better.
For example the head of Abingdon School (private) is a former music teacher and head of music.
Now whilst she is at a school with much better behaviour etc, she is just as accountable to parents, who pay a massive amount to send their kids there.
The head at BGN in Banbury has a Batchelor of Education and an MEd, so he does not have the core subject specialism like a lot of heads do. And guess what? It's a good school (old OFSTED criteria), but a **** sight better than BCC.
A good teacher with good leadership skills can make a good head. Mr Clarke may have been a good subject teacher, I don't know, but his ambition was to be a head at 40. There was an article on it:
http://www.oxfordmai
l.co.uk/news/8155639
.Life_begins_at__jus
t_before__40_for_new
_head/
Draw whatever conclusions you want but to me it explains a lot of things!

The word d*a*m*n is blanked out amazingly!

citizensunite wrote:
I'm sorry 'notoobullying', but nit picking on dates doesn't detract from the totally thoughtful piece from 'RIPBCC'. How can it, when it contains so much of the truth of the situation which the staff and students of bcc find themselves entering every day of their school lives.

The simple fact that there is at least 3 errors in that text means that while it is eloquently written, its substance doesn't hold weight. There are are always two sides to every story, and this particular one seems a very one sided character assassination of someone (s)he does not know.

Last nights event whilst it was agenda'd, it was not stage managed and even in the face of some hostile parents who said on facebook prior to the meet "about filming and posting on youtube" and trying to start an argument to make sure it was "worthy of youtube."
I feel they should be allowed to finish their 3 year plan (as was stated last night) as whilst it may not appease some parents of current year 11's more upheaval could infact be more damaging. At least the school will get regular visits by DfE, guidance and help to improve. then maybe in light of this years exam results a more informed decision could be made. Either way is possibly not good news for current year 11, but they also have to take their own education serious enough to want to do well and make the teachers teach and ask the probing questions, and if BCC are true about wanting to fulfill "a dream" they will be able to provide that help........

I am sorry that I do not buy into a lot of the political BS that is getting bandied around, and in fact I would like to see a current year 11 do the best they can without more distraction and upheaval.

However it seems that the comments seem to favor the facebook crowd and the embittered teachers who have recently been called complacent by someone on here (then again were not the last years results also their mistake).

However I truly fear for the kids in lower years if this becomes a federation with cooper (As per Severians option 3), I would hate to see the ineptitude of Michael Waine near any school in Bicester. Alas Cooper have made their bed with him, let them lie in it.

Still enough about the important bit, the students and especially year 11, I will let you all back to your character assassinations and rumour mongering now.
Whatever happens, i wish BCC well on its road to recovery and hope the students do as well as they can.

saynotobullying:
I totally agree about the character assassination. Too many people making it a personal vendetta, which it isn't.
This 3 year plan you talk about has got only one half term left. You think things will change that quickly?
As for basically slagging off teachers that post on here, you obviously haven't worked at the school under Mr Clarke and therefore your opinion on the "political bs" is absolutely meaningless and ill-informed.
The school was decent and improving until he came along. Look at it now!

Parent12 wrote:
Hallelulia!
Some common sense at last. Shame about the pathetic reponse from the Headmaster.
Of course students will be polite and well behaved on the days the inspectors are around. There is plently of evidence that it is not so in a normal day (from a minority of students who disrupt the learning of others - because they can).

This school has been failing its pupils for many years, it was a disgrace 4 years ago that I pulled my 2 out of there.

The governors must take a lot of the blame for the situation they now find themselves in. Their role is to hold the school to account, something they have failed to do.
The sooner the county council sack them the better. They should hold their heads in shame.

retiredteacher1949 wrote:
The LEA stayed out of this for far too long. They are part of the problem.
As one ex-teacher commented, numerous letters were passed to Roger Dyson (chair of governors) and nothing was done about them. The governors have either bought into something from somebody who can "talk the talk" but not "walk the walk", or they have done absolutely nothing about the situation, until it's too late. If they had been holding people accountable in the first place, this situation would not have occurred.

Well I would just like to add that The Head last night wasn't nowhere near as cocky n confident as he normally is, he stuttered a fair few times and defo didn't talk the talk .
I can't wait for him , the governors n members of the SLT to get what they need , THE SACK !!

On a positive note at least we won't see any more ridiculous self-puffery articles in the Bicester Ad about how we are going to get a 400 seat theatre.

Perhaps now the management of the school (whoever they are) will be able to dedicate their time to what they are there for - educating our children to a high standard - rather than helping to inflate the importance of Town Councillors who think that a drawing of a theatre is the same thing as an actual theatre.

Notoobullying - from you support for the current management and clear hatred of Michael Waine I assume you are a current governor of BCC as well as being a Labour politician?

Why would you be so resistant to the idea of our two secondary schools working together to give ALL Bicester children a good quality education?

Whether there is a Federation or an Academy is not for any of us to decide - Michael Gove will be making that choice. One thing though is certain - there is not a cat in Hell's chance that BCC will be allowed to carry on as it is without significant change and upheaval.

Alyalyaly wrote:

retiredteacher1949 wrote:
The LEA stayed out of this for far too long. They are part of the problem.
As one ex-teacher commented, numerous letters were passed to Roger Dyson (chair of governors) and nothing was done about them. The governors have either bought into something from somebody who can "talk the talk" but not "walk the walk", or they have done absolutely nothing about the situation, until it's too late. If they had been holding people accountable in the first place, this situation would not have occurred.

Well I would just like to add that The Head last night wasn't nowhere near as cocky n confident as he normally is, he stuttered a fair few times and defo didn't talk the talk .
I can't wait for him , the governors n members of the SLT to get what they need , THE SACK !!

I agree that Jason should go, but whatever you may feel about him (and I've made my feelings clear), he's still a human being and deserves some respect.
I personally think he believes he's doing the right things although it doesn't look like it.
Put yourself in his shoes if and when he gets sacked, he will be absolutely devastated.

I started with a comment on this forum to ask if parents could try to find a way of supporting the college and team at BCC and there have been some positive and supportive comments, thanks for that.

Personally I think we owe it to the children, our children, to set an example.

Sadly, there are too many who can't find a good word to say about the college or the leadership or the staff. I know I won't change your minds, that's up to you, but if you can find a moment to reflect on your own behaviour and ask yourself if you are being the best role model for your children that you can possibly be, if you're happy with the answer you come up with then fine. If not have the courage to change, stop being a sheep and following all those who snipe and moan and actually support the college through this difficult time.

Severian wrote:
Notoobullying - from you support for the current management and clear hatred of Michael Waine I assume you are a current governor of BCC as well as being a Labour politician?

Why would you be so resistant to the idea of our two secondary schools working together to give ALL Bicester children a good quality education?

Whether there is a Federation or an Academy is not for any of us to decide - Michael Gove will be making that choice. One thing though is certain - there is not a cat in Hell's chance that BCC will be allowed to carry on as it is without significant change and upheaval.

You are wrong on all counts.

retiredteacher1949 wrote:

Alyalyaly wrote:

retiredteacher1949 wrote:
The LEA stayed out of this for far too long. They are part of the problem.
As one ex-teacher commented, numerous letters were passed to Roger Dyson (chair of governors) and nothing was done about them. The governors have either bought into something from somebody who can "talk the talk" but not "walk the walk", or they have done absolutely nothing about the situation, until it's too late. If they had been holding people accountable in the first place, this situation would not have occurred.

Well I would just like to add that The Head last night wasn't nowhere near as cocky n confident as he normally is, he stuttered a fair few times and defo didn't talk the talk .
I can't wait for him , the governors n members of the SLT to get what they need , THE SACK !!

I agree that Jason should go, but whatever you may feel about him (and I've made my feelings clear), he's still a human being and deserves some respect.
I personally think he believes he's doing the right things although it doesn't look like it.
Put yourself in his shoes if and when he gets sacked, he will be absolutely devastated.

I would love to put myself into his shoes , literally !!!
With no experience of a teacher/head I feel that I would infact do a better job and run it the way it should be.
I did infact speak to him before the meeting and he can normally talk the talk but on Thursday this definitely wasn't the case, he knows his days are numbered, he made that perfectly clear in his mannerisms.
My only hope is that once Bob Wintringham and his team do go the extra mile because at the end of the day its our child/children education and future's That are of the upmost importance .
My son is a year 7 student , when we attended the open evening when my son was in year 5 , he promised so many things and NONE have materialed. I will also add after listening to him( that evening) I was determined no child of mine would ever be educated there, unfortunately that wasn't to be the case, I chose 3 other schools, 2 of which weren't even in Bicester.
After the lengthy appeal process and going to the ombudsman , who stated that because the appeals panel stated in writing that we had been treated unlawfully and we had an extremely good case, it wasn't to be, I'm convinced they are all in it together.
This left me with two options,
1. Give up my career and homeschool, but alas I could never be a person to scrounge off the state, so this wasn't really an option.
2. Send my son to a school that I have no faith in whatsoever because it is being run so badly .
So basically I HAD NO CHOICE .
I will defend some of the teachers , some go that extra mile and actually listen to me, have encouraged my son no end, his maths teacher ( Mrs Laverick ) is quite possibly the best teacher that teaches my son, a few others are amazing too, so it's a shame the same can not be said for all.
Anyone who gets the sack will always be devastated , especially with the salary he is on BUT he's not doing his job correctly and if I was him I would resign !!!!

24Truth wrote:
I started with a comment on this forum to ask if parents could try to find a way of supporting the college and team at BCC and there have been some positive and supportive comments, thanks for that.

Personally I think we owe it to the children, our children, to set an example.

Sadly, there are too many who can't find a good word to say about the college or the leadership or the staff. I know I won't change your minds, that's up to you, but if you can find a moment to reflect on your own behaviour and ask yourself if you are being the best role model for your children that you can possibly be, if you're happy with the answer you come up with then fine. If not have the courage to change, stop being a sheep and following all those who snipe and moan and actually support the college through this difficult time.

What a load of cobblers. People have their right to an opinion and although some have got a bit too personal, most have been right to air their views on here.
You seem quite happy with the status quo whereas a lot aren't. I have experienced poor schooling from 3 different sides - a pupil, parent and teacher, so I will be a "sheep" and demand better! What is wrong with that?

Maybe he should walk in the shoes of a child who does not want to go to school. Faking illness so they don't have to suffer mental and physical bullying. Do I feel sorry for him NO I feel for the students who haven't had the education they deserve!!

In my mind the saddest thing about this is that the current Board of Governors refuses to see that they bear the ultimate responsibility.

If I were in their position I would do the honourable thing - apologise profusely and resign on the spot. The fact that not a single governor has done either speaks volumes for the problems at the school.

Speaking as someone who is a governor (but not at this school), the idea of being asked to resign would be most welcome. Governors give up vast amounts of their time on a completely voluntary basis. They are not paid for their time, they do it because they hope to help their community. Volunteers are few and far between. The tonnage of paperwork required of them by the government nowadays is unbelieveable. I wonder how many of the comments here come from people who have ever done the job? Having said that, they are completely right to demand more of the school and more of the schooling system.

Adman wrote:
Speaking as someone who is a governor (but not at this school), the idea of being asked to resign would be most welcome. Governors give up vast amounts of their time on a completely voluntary basis. They are not paid for their time, they do it because they hope to help their community. Volunteers are few and far between. The tonnage of paperwork required of them by the government nowadays is unbelieveable. I wonder how many of the comments here come from people who have ever done the job? Having said that, they are completely right to demand more of the school and more of the schooling system.

I am a school governor and have been at both primary and secondary school level.

Yes governors give their own time to this which is very admirable, but you also need to be aware of your responsibilities.

And if the school gets an inspection like this it is the governors who should take the ultimate blame and make way for others who might be better able to turn BCC around.

I would like to hope that the current governors were clever enough to understand this without having to have it pointed out to them by the many posters on this forum.

Severian wrote:
In my mind the saddest thing about this is that the current Board of Governors refuses to see that they bear the ultimate responsibility.

If I were in their position I would do the honourable thing - apologise profusely and resign on the spot. The fact that not a single governor has done either speaks volumes for the problems at the school.

Couldn't agree more, but their days are numbered .

Severian wrote:

Adman wrote:
Speaking as someone who is a governor (but not at this school), the idea of being asked to resign would be most welcome. Governors give up vast amounts of their time on a completely voluntary basis. They are not paid for their time, they do it because they hope to help their community. Volunteers are few and far between. The tonnage of paperwork required of them by the government nowadays is unbelieveable. I wonder how many of the comments here come from people who have ever done the job? Having said that, they are completely right to demand more of the school and more of the schooling system.

I am a school governor and have been at both primary and secondary school level.

Yes governors give their own time to this which is very admirable, but you also need to be aware of your responsibilities.

And if the school gets an inspection like this it is the governors who should take the ultimate blame and make way for others who might be better able to turn BCC around.

I would like to hope that the current governors were clever enough to understand this without having to have it pointed out to them by the many posters on this forum.

Doubt it , especially not the Chair !!!

People doing jobs they are not capable of the whole problem in this country today. seems some want power thats why we have councillors on 2 or more councils and also governors of schools.Spare a thought for the students of this and other failing schools Get rid of those not up to the job beit Governors Teachers or Heads

Mr Clarkes defence in that he was inspected more harshly with the new inspection I actually wrote to Ofsted asking what he would have received on the old scale rating, they just sent me back a standardised reply that just like the parents evening didn't answer any questions, the only way we will truly see how much the new inspection changes things is by viewing schools that have been done by both...... but to me its still no excuse that the SLT are still in place, I will support the school I was a school governor for 7 years of a Primary school, however I have banged my head against a brick wall since he took over and he has had more chances than reasonable, after all its not acceptable that our children should pay for his failures

It seems there are far too many ordinary people in leadership positions in the public sector drawing the salaries but not accepting the accountability that should come with such positions.
Parents will not support such types - they want to see extraordinary people in these positions who are properly held to account for the acts and omissions that affect the next generation's well-being and education.
No support without accountability.

The Governors have put out a news story today (see the other Bicester Ad story) stating that they are 2/3 of the way through a 3 year transformation programme, and that they have absolutely no intention whatsover of resigning.

It is going to be embarrassing then when the (Tory) Secretary of State dismisses the (Tory) Councillors from the current Board of Governors because in his opinion they are incapable of doing their job properly.

Unfortunately we can't find out the full list of current governors because it isn't published online. Perhaps not surprisingly.

According to the last newsletter containing this information, I think the following councillors are on the governors:
Catherine Fulljames (Tory)
Nick Mawer (Tory)
I think though the information may now be out of date and Catherine Fulljames is no longer a governor. Does anyone know if these two are still on the Board?

You wont get Mr mawr to answer if hes still on the board he doesnt answer questions on the papers comments page Severian

steve1955 wrote:
You wont get Mr mawr to answer if hes still on the board he doesnt answer questions on the papers comments page Severian

hold on if he is a councillor he is accountable after all he was voted in..... shame Tony Baldry won't join the governing body he is bloody excellent at sorting things out listening to and more importantly replying to any email or letter you send him, he even responds when he will look in to it so you know that he doing something about it, I have asked for his assistance before and I received an email that day from him telling me that he needed to speak to someone in OCC (yes surprise it was to do with the school) and would get back to me once he had spoken to that person, and he did took him in total about 4 days and even the head of OCC responded as well, after all Tony Baldry was only doing his job.... I have actually emailled Catherine Fulljames she didn't even have the decency to reply

perhaps if enough people phoned OCC to get a list of school governors they might get the hint?

I think from the comment above that Tony baldry represents the people and communicates with them the 2 councillors who may or may not be on the board represent who?

steve1955 wrote:
I think from the comment above that Tony baldry represents the people and communicates with them the 2 councillors who may or may not be on the board represent who?

The two councillors who are governors (if they are - no-one will tell us) represent Oxfordshire County Council - they are LEA appointees onto the board.

other school websites have their governors listed with contact details, when I spoke to Mr Dyson at the meeting last week about him not replying to any of the letters I had sent them he denied knowledge of them..... is this because they have to go through the school? least at other school you know where to address the letters too as they have nothing to hide

concernedtat wrote:

steve1955 wrote:
You wont get Mr mawr to answer if hes still on the board he doesnt answer questions on the papers comments page Severian

hold on if he is a councillor he is accountable after all he was voted in..... shame Tony Baldry won't join the governing body he is bloody excellent at sorting things out listening to and more importantly replying to any email or letter you send him, he even responds when he will look in to it so you know that he doing something about it, I have asked for his assistance before and I received an email that day from him telling me that he needed to speak to someone in OCC (yes surprise it was to do with the school) and would get back to me once he had spoken to that person, and he did took him in total about 4 days and even the head of OCC responded as well, after all Tony Baldry was only doing his job.... I have actually emailled Catherine Fulljames she didn't even have the decency to reply

The Bicester Tory party also appear to not be responding to emails either.

Severian wrote:

veryangryparent wrote:
I would advise all to read the OFSTED report before commenting. It's short and to the point. According to the report the school was placed in special measures 'because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.'

That seems black and white. The people responsible are the ones leading, managing and governing. That places the head teacher, Mr Clark, a former DT teacher and first-time head at the center of responsibility. He was the choice of the governors.

The governors also had the choice of Mr Hudson, a former deputy with a wealth of experience at the school. The Governors declined to give Mr Hudson the job, so he went on to become the head of the Royal Latin and subsequently steered that school to an OFSTED verdict of 'outstanding'.

OCC are quite right to seek the dismissal of the board of governors as they have clearly put the wrong man in the job and yet - despite the evidence accumulating over 2 1/2 years, despite the concerns of parents, despite just over HALF of the teachers leaving in the last academic year and despite the previous report from OFSTED - they chose to do nothing about him. Good riddance, and they need to take their appointee with them.

According to the Ofsted and Royal Latin school websites the last Ofsted inspection at RLS which gave them Outstanding was in May 2009, at which time the headteacher was Robert Cooper.

David Hudson didn't join RLS until 2010, since when the school has not been Ofsted inspected, and so he could not have 'steered that school to an Ofsted verdict of outstanding'. It was already outstanding when he started.

I think you need to review your chain of events.

Hi Severlan,
I found your comments well written and informative.

I am an ex employee of BCC (non teaching staff) and are now living in Canberra Australia since 2008.

I would just like to 'point out' that comparing BCC with The Royal Latin in all due respect BCC encompasses a wide demographic social and most importantly is an inclusive whereas the other you have to sit an academic entrance exam, which very often atrracts children of a more privileged background, therefore probably not the best comparison in this case.