What future for Peers School?
A recent follow-up report from Ofsted, the school standards body, has highlighted a series of improvements but parents still have every reason to be concerned about the Littlemore school
Peers Technology College was placed under special measures after failing its Ofsted inspection last October. Among the reasons cited were bad behaviour, poor attendance, inadequate teaching and low standards.
At the beginning of this month there was good news as inspectors reported a series of improvements and said there has been a ‘sea change’ at the school under the direction of new headteacher Lorna Caldicott.
However, some problems will be harder to tackle.
The original Ofsted report acknowledged wider structural problems facing Peers, such as the levels of deprivation faced by many pupils, without offering any solutions.
Despite the government’s claims for the Sure Start scheme, this doesn’t seem to have made any significant impact on the school’s intake so Peers will be facing an uphill struggle for many years to come.
And while Ofsted highlighted failings by management, staff and pupils it glossed over infrastructural problems such as a dining hall that lacks the capacity to accommodate its pupils at mealtimes and which has also had its electrics condemned as unsafe.
The building’s failings were also demonstrated by kids having to be sent home in July because it was too hot inside.
Add to this the news that around one-third of the school’s staff left at the end of last term and the picture looks even more bleak.
While it is to be hoped that good quality teachers can be attracted to Peers this will not be at all easy.
Failure ‘acceptable’ for working class pupils
Last year only 20% of pupils at Peers gained 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent with grades A-C, compared to a national average of 56%.
Indeed, it is telling that Peers only made the local headlines when it was put onto special measures, even though results have been far below the expected level for several years now.
The implication is that it’s normal, even acceptable for working class kids to do badly.
This has to change.
Of course Peers has a high proportion of special educational needs pupils which makes its task much harder than other schools.
However, the point of identifying children with special educational needs is surely to provide additional resources to give them as much of a chance as possible as other kids rather than to provide an excuse for failure.
Peers currently lacks a dedicated special needs teacher (and has done for over a year).
How can the disparity in achievement be addressed while this situation continues?
IWCA councillor, Jane Lacey, has recently been appointed as a governor of Peers School.
Parents who would like advice or wish to discuss their concerns about the school can contact Jane on 07733 274 324 or visit the IWCA surgery: Wednesdays, 6.30-8.30 at the Clockhouse.
Leys Independent, issue 33, August 2006
| 
