| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Overcrowding at Derwentwater Primary | |
| Posted by: | Richard Grange | |
| Date/Time: | 25/03/10 13:15:00 |
| I think what is really interesting - and depressing - about all this is the context to what is going on. Acton has found itself at the centre of a national debate courtesy of Toby Young's attempts to start a new experiment in education by setting up a local free school. One of the arguments against Toby's school has been that local comprehensives don't do well because middle class parents don't invest in them. But Derwentwater is in the opposite situation. This is a primary school where some of the local parents could probably afford to send their children to private education, but they are choosing not to. Instead they are sending them to a local school, the most overcrowded school in Acton, the one with the lowest Ofsted rating - essentially because they believe in the school. This in turn is having an impact on driving up standards for everybody. Nor is it just middle class parents who are behind this. If you want to meet some of the most motivated parents - go and meet some of the Somali mums. If you actually stop and think about it - what is going on at Derwentwater is genuinely remarkable - and the school inspires real loyalty and affection among parents.. For example, just take a look at this thread on Mumsnet which pre-dates the current row: http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/913052-Primary-Schools-in-Acton-London And that is one of the reasons why people are SO angry. Because it feels that all of this is about to be compromised by an expedient policy that Ealing could have been thinking about 4 years ago. The school is at capacity - other schools in walking distance have more space and moreover are willing to expand. Finally it is probably worth mentioning that this is actually a row that affects EVERYONE in Acton - not just parents with children at the school. Successful schools are integral to successful communities. It is what makes people want to move and live in those communities and to invest in them. Ealing - because of a policy that feels more like a dodgy, last-minute O-level essay than a carefully thought through plan - is in danger of chucking all this away. |