"free" School...free Of Qualified Teachers It Would Seem

[mikey4444]

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/16/faith-school-dammed-by-ofsted-dysfunctional

The forthcoming Ofsted report into the Al-Madinah School in Derby has been leaked to the Guardian. The Report makes it quite clear that the school is dysfunctional and in chaos.

But what is more worrying is that the report goes on to say that most of the primary school teachers have not taught before. This seems to be the Achilles heel of these new Tory Free Schools, that they are allowed to employ non-qualified staff. Are people really happy to send their kids to school where there are not enough, or indeed, any qualified teachers ? Extraordinary !

There is more damning evidence in the Report and there is no good news whatsoever. It seems that the segregation of boys and girls, and the insistence on female staff to wear some sort of foreign national dress was only the tip of the iceberg. How many more of these "free" schools are failing ?

[LazyGun]

@AoG Denialism and a non-answer from you. Pretty much par for the course.

[Hypognosis]

In what way is this school -not- a Madrassah?
Would it be the first such institution in the UK or do we already have them?

(and will I get slapped for even suggesting such things?)

[youngmafbog]

I had a private education, they were not strapped by the rules with the result that some of the best teachers had years of experience actually doing the job.

Of course they did not indoctrinate the pupils with a left wing agenda, but then perhaps that is your beef here.

[anotheoldgit]

LazyGun

/// @AoG Denialism and a non-answer from you. Pretty much par for the course. ///

If you think I am denying anything prove where I said what you were accusing me of, which obviously you can't seeing that you have not produced your usual novel length post.

But seeing your lack of words I am so pleased that I have made you speechless because I just cannot be bothered to trawl through one of your usual excessively long posts yet again.

[anotheoldgit]

youngmafbog

/// Of course they did not indoctrinate the pupils with a left wing agenda, but then perhaps that is your beef here. ///

Very well said, that seems to sum it up perfectly.

[Sqad]

Be honest!

Does anybody care that a totally Islamic School, presumably with bias to Islam, is dysfunctional?

I don't.

Are there enough, qualified or unqualified Moslem teachers to provide an education for the children?

I have met appalling "qualified" teachers ans some very good "unqualified" teachers in my time.

To me...it is a non story.

[Hypognosis]

Of course, there is a school of thought that it is advanced education (as undergone by properly qualified teachers) which causes people to adopt left-leaning views.

I only partly agree with this view.

For the most part, I think it's being young and skint which makes a person believe that there should be "fair shares for all". Given time... and earnings... and savings... and a car... and a mortgage... and inherited wealth... or their own business, they naturally shift to the right as they get older and wealthier. Left wing 'indoctrination' never lasts, for anyone given enough dosh :-)

[ludwig]

// Does anybody care that a totally Islamic School, presumably with bias to Islam, is dysfunctional? //

I do because they're using some of my money to fund it. Even if they weren't, I'd be concerned that some children are being fed a mixture of substandard education and religious brainwashing in modern Britain.

[LazyGun]

"I do because they're using some of my money to fund it. Even if they weren't, I'd be concerned that some children are being fed a mixture of substandard education and religious brainwashing in modern Britain."

-Exactly.

[Sqad]

Ludwig/LazyGun.

That is understandable, but why make a song and dance over THIS school, as it seems ......"widespread."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britain-lags-behind-in-european-education-677257

[Zeuhl]

mikey // What next...Free Hospitals, where Bert the Binman can swop his job with the Council and go and work in the Intensive Care ward ? ///

aog //And don't we have Ministers who have never done the job they are minister over?

ie Minister of Health who has no medical experience//

muddled thinking from aog

a Minister's job is to direct and manage a department which will include sector specialists

Likewise, nearly all Headteachers direct and manage departments in their schools in which they have no personal teaching experience

The key issue is that the people teaching have a knowledge of teaching techniques and the subject in hand.

The glaring inadequacy in the Tory Free School project that mikey is highlighting is that the latter is not a requirement

It beggars belief really and i don't understand why any members of the right wing apologists flock should be trying to dodge the issue instead of condemning it as obviously inappropriate

[jake-the-peg]

//Left wing 'indoctrination' never lasts, for anyone given enough dosh :-) //

Quote from Labour Peer Alan Sugar perhaps?

[LazyGun]

@Sqad And your thesis is what, exactly? That the failure of this school is purely a minor local difficulty set against a backdrop of national educational failure, and a report from Feb 2012 looking into A level "or its equivalent" around Europe somehow illustrates that? Is that your contention?

The reason why this story is rightly front and centre now is because of the widespread and egregious failures across the School ranging from inadequate teaching through to what amounts to religious fascism - All allowed, since it opened at all before being closed down - by a new flagship educational policy driven through by Gove and Cameron which removes these schools from many of the checks, balances and oversight of the regulatory authorities - and of particular concern is that it represents a handy backdoor to religious fundamentalist groups that wish to inculcate their particular brand of belief to children in what should be a secular learning environment.

[Sqad]

LazyGun

\\\@Sqad And your thesis is what, exactly? That the failure of this school is purely a minor local difficulty set against a backdrop of national educational failure, and a report from Feb 2012 looking into A level "or its equivalent" around Europe somehow illustrates that? Is that your contention? \\

More or less LazyGun........yes.

[LazyGun]

I think you will have to do better than a Feb 2012 link about A level performance across Europe to back up that thesis then, Sqad.

[FredPuli43]

According to The Times, the school has been given one month to change to meet the standards required or its funding will be cancelled and it will have to close

[FredPuli43]

Don't quite follow how the complaint could be that the school hasn't got a left wing agenda, nor that anyone on here believes that good schools either do or should have such an agenda.

Are there schools with such an agenda? How does this agenda manifest itself in the teaching? Mind, my own, excellent school had one communist teacher. He taught classics, not Marxism, but you never know. He might have made me the left winger who votes Tory that I am today !

[modeller]

At one time private schools were allowed to employ anyone and a qualified
teacher friend of mine working in a private school ( he was the only token QT ) , described his colleaques as a bunch of weirdos . However in the 70s that all changed and all schools had employ to QTs. Several thousands who were unwilling or unable to retrain lost their jobs despite having taught for many years,
However it was recognised that there was a shotage of teachers in certain specialised subjects and the rules were relaxed to bring these teachers in without teaching qualifications. The results were mixed I met some who
' may' have brilliant in industry but useless in the class room. Hands on subjects in , woodwork, metalwork , music, etc. were the most successful but they frequently failed when trying to teach the academic side required for exam purposes.

[FredPuli43]

For exam purposes! That's something else and includes 'teaching to the test'. And I bet the professional carpenter could do a better job of carpentry than the person who set the exam. I once tried a short law test which a friend had. I got 9 out of 10 ! Curious, I asked her to find why her teacher found my on answer wrong. The response was depressing. The 'correct' answer was only right if you read a statute very literally; that didn't make sense. Nobody in practice, nor any judge would read it or apply it that way, but the teacher, not being either, couldn't see or know that