At the chalkface
Tweedledum et al
“YOU, SIR, are a clot!” opines Bill. “You, sir, are poltroon!”
opines Ben. “I hate this job.” growls my
man Plod. Ah, the cut and thrust of the
Great Election Debate. Supporting Plod was like supporting QPR. You can’t do hope. You’re programmed to despair. You know you’re rubbish, but you think you’ve done enough. You’ll get a result. You do – a draw. Then, wallop!
There’s extra time. Five days of it. And then you somehow lose. Poor Plod is carted back to his manse. Bill and Ben somehow win and morph into Tweedledum and Tweedledee in a civil ceremony. I rub my eyes. They’re still there. schmoozing and canoodling in a rose garden. Hugh Grant twice. A charm offensive. Most offensive. Two 43-year-old, male, White, smug, glib, moisturised, telegenic, conspiratorial, duplicitous, oleaginous, public school, Oxbridge faces. Is that Downing Street? Am I on hallucinogenics? I blink. They’re still there – “love bombing” each other. Give me strength! “Wha’appen?” as Ronald
Crumlin might say. Indeed. What happened to that robust debate? All gone. It’s now in meltdown, a melange of nothing, harmonious fudge. I feel conned. Lib Conned. It gets worse. Here come da Gove! Smirking through the
murk. Out damned Gove! “All schools will be like minor public schools in Somerset in 1952!” a voice seems to say. Avaunt! I need other voices – some
I can believe in. I reread River
Deep Mountain High, by Gareth
Calway – a cracking novel about modern comprehensives. It’s a raging farce with some ace villains – management twerps and fabulous inspectors who, like Dylan’s Mr Jones, wouldn’t know a poem if it bit them in
the bum. It merrily slaughters
the whole measuring culture. But it does much
more. There’s a fierce analysis of how schools
can betray childhoods, the working class, the sanctuary of adolescence – and literature itself. “This isn’t a temple of learning anymore. This is a dry run of the lean, mean market” says our heroine. It makes me crave better times
when my old chums – decent, passionate Leavisites with slim Faber poets – charged into classrooms with missionary zeal to really change the world. A bit like poor Gordon. Still, the novel offers hope. Wordsworthian and punk energies – felt along the pulse – blow away the bad guys and quite trump the quicksilver deceits of Tweedledum and Tweedledee in that rose garden. You should get it. Gove won’t.
• Ian Whitwham is a former teacher. A book of his best ever columns is out now. For details, email
editor@sec-ed.co.uk
News
Clothes show: Students from London and Manchester, including Hannah Paul from Salford City College (above) and Amy Diallo from Brooke House 6th Form College in Hackney (far left) attended Fashion Futures
Pupils with a passion for fashion
by Emma Lee-Potter
The fashion world is renowned for its glamour, excitement and creativity. But as 100 up-and-coming
young designers discovered, work- ing in fashion involves a vast range of skills – from creating innovative designs to printing textiles, pattern- cutting and sewing. The youngsters, aged 16 to 18
and from 25 schools and colleges in London and Manchester, were all taking part in the Fashion Futures 2 project. Run by creative charity FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct), the initiative aims to give teenagers
a realistic insight into working in fashion. The students, who are taking
A levels or BTECs in art or design, attended 10 weeks of workshops with fashion designers and other industry professionals. They learned about the com-
plete design process, from initial research at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to producing tech- nical drawings and creating their own patterns and garments from scratch. The project also featured a FAD
Industry Day at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey, south east London, where they got the chance to talk to buyers,
designers and PRs from companies like River Island, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer. The project culminated in an
exhibition of the students’ eye- catching creations in east London on May 10. During this event the 25 most outstanding students were chosen to go through to the next stage of Fashion Futures 2 – a week-long summer school to be held at the University of East London. Supported by fashion pro- fessionals and FAD youth mentors, the finalists will have just five days to work on their final designs for the 2010 FAD Junior Awards in September. The students agreed that the ini-
tiative had been invaluable. Natalie Goreham, a finalist who attends Valentines High School in Ilford, said: “The best thing was talking to adults who are in the fashion and textiles industry because we could ask what different jobs are like and how they achieved success. I learned how to adapt a pattern, what steps I need to take to get to uni and lots of skills needed in the design process.” The Fashion Futures 2 project
is part-funded by Aimhigher, the national programme for young peo- ple from groups currently under- represented in higher education. To find out more about FAD, go
to
www.fad.org.uk
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Will the recession affect school builds?
Experts have predicted that the budget for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme – intended to refurbish every secondary school in England – will be cut whichever Party wins the next election.
Speaking at the British Council for School Environments’ (BCSE) annual conference, Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, said that capital funding would be squeezed next year and that the BSF programme was ‘under great pressure’. He also suggested that funding for the Primary Capital Programme (PCP) might be cut.
Ty Goddard, chief executive of BCSE,
told Fundraising for Schools that
inevitably there were dangers to school capital funding programmes as a result of the economic downturn.
‘It’s crucial to remember that such programmes not only help support the achitectural and construction industries, but also improve the educational opportunities of our children,’ he said.
‘Most of the school estate was built before the 1970s. Building or
In this issue
News
Marketing Straight from the horse’s
mouth Grants and awards Applications Gift Aid
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1-2 3
4-5 6-11
12-13 14 15 16
refurbishing our schools, and making them relevant to teaching and learning in the 21st century, is not a luxury – it is a necessity.’
A spokesperson from the DCSF said that it was still the Government’s ambition to rebuild every secondary school in the country, but that it couldn’t make any fi nancial commitments before the next spending review.
Asked to comment on Conservative Party plans for schemes like BSF, a spokesperson for the Party said that one way to cut costs would be to reduce the amount of bureaucracy. ‘A recent Freedom of Information request revealed that the DCSF have spent tens of millions of pounds on consultants, including where there haven’t been new school buildings,’ he said.
Continued on page 2
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SecEd
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Inside this issue
Don’t miss our NQT eight-page special in this week’s SecEd
Issue 232 • November 26 2009 Price £1.00
www.sec-ed.com
SecEd has once again teamed up with the NASUWT to bring you a dedicated eight- page NQT special offering an array of advice and support to help you survive and thrive in your first year at the chalkface
Pages 16 to 23
Coaching advice
Coaching can be an effective and innovative CPD tool. We look at how it should be structured and the secrets to success
Page 12
The dyslexic brain
Dyslexic author Al Campbell looks at how the dyslexic brain learns and how teachers can help
Pages 8 and 9
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PROMOTE racial harmony, cultural diversity, and social cohesion.
Inspiring: Winning PA Julia Marks with her head, Tim Mitchell. All 30 finalists are also pictured (inset)
Battle to save school wins Julia PA honour
Head praises the amazing belief of SecEd Headteacher’s PA of the Year 2009
In July, the school’s future was
by Chris Parr
When the local authority began consulting on the closure of Dayncourt School in Nottinghamshire, it was Julia Marks – PA to headteacher Tim Mitchell – who stood strong, rallied the school’s staff, and staunchly refused to let her colleagues throw in the towel.
secured after the council withdrew the threat of closure. According to Mr Mitchell, this was more to do with Julia than with any other individual within the school establishment. He told us: “Julia kept the faith
– even when my own was on the wane. She poked, prodded, chivvied and chided. She kept me focused and on track. She believed.” Julia’s amazing contribution
to the future of her school has earned her the top prize at the 2009 SecEd Headteacher’s PA of the Year Awards, which took place at the prestigious Landmark Hotel in London on Friday (November 20). Thirty finalists gathered with
their headteachers, where they were treated to a gala dinner before being presented with their awards by last year’s champion, Pam Waters, and John Rolfe, manager of the DCSF
NASUWT
The Teachers’ Union
the largest teachers’ union in the UK
UK news Independent thinking Moral support NQT diary Managing ICT Leadership page At the chalkface
International School Award at the British Council – the award’s spon- sors. SecEd editor, Pete Henshaw, said
that Julia was “person of tremen- dous drive, passion and vision”. He continued: “The standard of
entries was unbelievably high, but Julia’s commitment to her school’s cause under such immense pressure was what made her stand out from the crowd.
“She is a very worthy winner of
this year’s gold award, and a fine ambassador for PAs up and down the country.” The silver award went to
Elisabeth Collard from Kingsbridge Community College in Devon, while the bronze award was taken by Kim Annison from Alderman Peel High School in Norfolk.
• See pages 2 and 3 for details.
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