Urban Village Secondary School Group Meeting
on Tuesday June 17th
from 8pm til 10pm
at the Malcolm X Centre, Ashley Road, St. Pauls
James Wetz, former head of Cotham Secondary School will be presenting his Channel 4 Dispatches film, The Children Left Behind. (Be sure to bring popcorn.) James will be available for questions and there will be continuing discussions about setting up a small state secondary school based on the human scale education model he is advocating.
This is an opportunity to build on the success of the first meeting and begin to get the project underway. There is rapidly growing support for this school. Please try to come to the meeting to demonstrate your support or contact Ruth Myers at ruth@locallearning.org.uk to register your interest whether you can or can not attend.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Points for discussion raised from the first meeting
I have published all the points that were written down on the question sheets for people to consider for the next meeting. Some of the issues were raised and responded to during the meeting, but I think it is useful to have it documented and for those who were unable to attend the meeting to have the opportunity to learn about the interests and concerns raised at this early stage. I have copied the comments verbatim, though any typos are mine. There is no particular order to the comments, though I have tried to group comments that were on a similar theme.
Please feel free to respond to any of the comments through the blog and initiate discussion prior to the next meeting.
Responses from people attending 13th May 2008 meeting : Creating an Urban Village School for our Community
What features of Human Scale Education do you find attractive?
It’s small, child gets personal long term support from a teacher who has got to know them over a period of time
Small is beautiful – learning life skills
Size is important! Not getting lost in the machine
Continuity of contact with one teacher over time
Strong relationships, core stability
Contact with fewer teachers and visa versa to build relationship
Teachers getting to know learners – keeping communication channels open between home and school
Pupils are valued and known by staff
Support for child, teacher always available to help
Community engagement – education in a community context
Involved in community and not trapped in a big institution
School working as a community itself – coherent unit
Engagement in learning/ life/ community
Parental participation
More scope for involvement of parents in school
Testimony of children saying that they were safe
Thinking going into the structure of every aspect of the school, careful planning, wholesome approach to teaching
Small staff group – more able to meet and understand children
Good for vocational type lessons
Changing the curriculum – less emphasis on knowledge (more on learning skills)
What features of Human Scale Education concern you?
Potential lack of some facilities
Potential lack of some specialisms/ knowledge amongst staff
Access to resources? Facilities?
Will there be enough expertise?
Would the extra curricular activities be diminished? Not enough takers on groups, teams or lessons?
What are the implications of the curriculum?
Will standards and achievement be influenced?
Concerns about mixed ability teaching? Is it effective?
Can extreme ranges of ability be catered for?
Where it would be in Montpelier/ St. Pauls/ St. Werburghs
Selection criteria when over subscribed
Potential involvement in setting up
Not governmental support, could it really happen?
Surely we should be supporting the big schools rather than pulling resources away from them, i.e. fixing the big schools rather than starting something else
Fairfield School
Will small numbers on role mean that more limited funding is available to the school?
Too small classes can be a problem? We think there must be an optimum class size
Timescale
What would be your priorities in making an urban village school?
September 2011
No SATs
Contact with PGCE
Building lessons around the child and not fitting them into blocks
Wide variety of wholesome/ vocational lessons and activities
More flexibility for the school to determine curriculum
Parental participation, getting members of the community in to teach – demonstrate etc.
Integration – community involvement
Ensuring that the school is diverse and truly represents the community it will serve
Expertise – people like James to guide us through the system – advisory panel, steering group.
Making links with small schools – benefiting from their experience/ success
Inspirational headteacher!
Get political support for this project
More care for the children
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Step 2
The next meeting will be in early June and will involve a screening of the Channel 4 Dispatches film, The Children Left Behind. James Wetz will be available for questions and there will be an opportunity for discussion and a chance to get this project underway.
Here is the link to setting up a school. It is quite accessible and clearly lays out the procedure.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolorg/guidance.cfm?id=26
Below is part of the original draft of the flier that was going to be distributed. It provides more detail about the nature of the school we are hoping to make.
We are currently exploring the possibility of using the site of the Brooks dry cleaners on Sevier Street in St. Werburghs. The intention is to build a community school on a human scale with between 300 to 500 students, where all children would be known to their staff and peers helping them to feel a sense of attachment to the school. The Brooks site would be ideal especially with the close proximity of the proposed new mosque and access to local resources such as the City Farm, Climbing Centre, Scrap Store, Mina Road Park, the Narrowways, allotments, Circomedia, City of Bristol College and several local primary schools. The school would be accessible to all children within this community between the ages of 11 and 18. Eligibility would be based purely on proximity to the school and there would be no entrance examinations or fees.
Some points for discussion:
A curriculum developed in collaboration with students, parents, the QCA and the Children and Young Peoples Services would make the education meaningful and relevant and provide equal opportunities and equal access to the curriculum. Students’ involvement in the curriculum design helps to create a positive learning culture and permits students to actively opt into the education system increasing the chances of academic success.
Smaller classes of between 15 -20 students would allow for more 1:1 between students and teachers. Smaller classes would make it much easier for the needs of each individual to be recognised and for these needs to be accommodated in the teaching and learning. Students could be arranged in smaller groups and attached to a learning guide who would support them throughout their educational career at the school.
English as a Second Language could be offered to parents so that they can access the curriculum alongside their children. Parental involvement in the school, helping to design a curriculum that is relevant to all pupils is vital in helping to ensure its educational success.
We would want to create an environmentally sustainable education establishment where environmental issues are built into the curriculum, encouraging a sense of responsibility for both the immediate environment and global issues regarding sustainability. Because it would be a local school, all students and staff would be encouraged to travel by foot. A Travel Plan would be developed for staff travelling from further afield. Cross curricular opportunities would combine academic and vocational courses and qualifications to make a more holistic education providing students with both the practical skills and the theoretical background. The size of the school would permit the possibility of sharing facilities and resources as well as easy access to local amenities where various skills can be developed and pupils would get hands on experience.
The staff must be able to offer specialist subject(s) at ‘A’ level so that expertise filters down to younger years. High expectations from the outset would be made known to all students and links forged with the local universities to actively promote higher education through partnerships with the universities and modelling the practise of going on to higher education.
This would not be a faith school, though all faiths and cultures would be reflected and responded to through the curriculum and all given equal weighting.
We feel that this community greatly feels the loss of the old Fairfield school and that we need to see what wider community interest there might be in exploring this project and campaigning for it.
Here is the link to setting up a school. It is quite accessible and clearly lays out the procedure.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolorg/guidance.cfm?id=26
Below is part of the original draft of the flier that was going to be distributed. It provides more detail about the nature of the school we are hoping to make.
We are currently exploring the possibility of using the site of the Brooks dry cleaners on Sevier Street in St. Werburghs. The intention is to build a community school on a human scale with between 300 to 500 students, where all children would be known to their staff and peers helping them to feel a sense of attachment to the school. The Brooks site would be ideal especially with the close proximity of the proposed new mosque and access to local resources such as the City Farm, Climbing Centre, Scrap Store, Mina Road Park, the Narrowways, allotments, Circomedia, City of Bristol College and several local primary schools. The school would be accessible to all children within this community between the ages of 11 and 18. Eligibility would be based purely on proximity to the school and there would be no entrance examinations or fees.
Some points for discussion:
A curriculum developed in collaboration with students, parents, the QCA and the Children and Young Peoples Services would make the education meaningful and relevant and provide equal opportunities and equal access to the curriculum. Students’ involvement in the curriculum design helps to create a positive learning culture and permits students to actively opt into the education system increasing the chances of academic success.
Smaller classes of between 15 -20 students would allow for more 1:1 between students and teachers. Smaller classes would make it much easier for the needs of each individual to be recognised and for these needs to be accommodated in the teaching and learning. Students could be arranged in smaller groups and attached to a learning guide who would support them throughout their educational career at the school.
English as a Second Language could be offered to parents so that they can access the curriculum alongside their children. Parental involvement in the school, helping to design a curriculum that is relevant to all pupils is vital in helping to ensure its educational success.
We would want to create an environmentally sustainable education establishment where environmental issues are built into the curriculum, encouraging a sense of responsibility for both the immediate environment and global issues regarding sustainability. Because it would be a local school, all students and staff would be encouraged to travel by foot. A Travel Plan would be developed for staff travelling from further afield. Cross curricular opportunities would combine academic and vocational courses and qualifications to make a more holistic education providing students with both the practical skills and the theoretical background. The size of the school would permit the possibility of sharing facilities and resources as well as easy access to local amenities where various skills can be developed and pupils would get hands on experience.
The staff must be able to offer specialist subject(s) at ‘A’ level so that expertise filters down to younger years. High expectations from the outset would be made known to all students and links forged with the local universities to actively promote higher education through partnerships with the universities and modelling the practise of going on to higher education.
This would not be a faith school, though all faiths and cultures would be reflected and responded to through the curriculum and all given equal weighting.
We feel that this community greatly feels the loss of the old Fairfield school and that we need to see what wider community interest there might be in exploring this project and campaigning for it.
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Meeting at the Malcolm X Centre - Tuesday 13th May
Malcolm X Centre, Ashley Road, St Pauls
Tuesday May 13th
7-9pm.
A group of local parents are beginning to look into the feasibility of creating an urban village school within Ashley Ward for 11 to 18 year olds based on the Human Scale Education model www.hse.org.uk currently being advocated by James Wetz, the former head of Cotham School.
Channel 4 featured James on its Dispatches programme on 11th February examining alternative models of schooling in the UK and the USA.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/dispatches/the+children+left+behind/1537047
If you have an interest in secondary school provision in this area then come along to the meeting. We have invited James Wetz to speak about education on a human scale and be available for questions.
Tuesday May 13th
7-9pm.
A group of local parents are beginning to look into the feasibility of creating an urban village school within Ashley Ward for 11 to 18 year olds based on the Human Scale Education model www.hse.org.uk currently being advocated by James Wetz, the former head of Cotham School.
Channel 4 featured James on its Dispatches programme on 11th February examining alternative models of schooling in the UK and the USA.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/dispatches/the+children+left+behind/1537047
If you have an interest in secondary school provision in this area then come along to the meeting. We have invited James Wetz to speak about education on a human scale and be available for questions.
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