Abbeydale Grange Review Process

[sharrowman 10]

Brought to my attention in January's Sharrow Today - Abbeydale Grange, a secondary school on Abbeydale Road is to face a review due to it's dissapointing attainment figures. The review looks to decide the future for the school including Rebuild or Refurbish, Potential for Academy status, Refocus provision on newly arrived pupils or ultimately closure.

 

A very important issue for local parents and future pupils who might, at worst, find the school closed.

 

A review process is underway. But what is this process? Who is involved? and what are they discussing?

 

Without wanting to blow my own trumpet, i am reasonably intelligent. But it took a great deal of perseverance to find any reference to the process on the council's website - after much frustration a link suggesting I might 'have my say' () led me to a page of inpenetrable corporate nonsense, an email address, and a further link to a 'full cabinet report'. I, filled with dread, followed the link to the cabinet report, my dread was justified. A formal detailing of proceedings at the cabinet meeting proceeded a list of 30 articles for download, positioned at number 29 in this dubious hotlist was my holy grail.

 

I read it, it still failed to reveal how I could let those in charge know of my crystaline insights, and on a re-read the author of Sharrow Today's article also failed to let us know - so how do local people 'have their say' (:gag:) on this review? Indeed what might they have their say about?

 

Has anyone had any information about this review posted to them or brought to their attention by other means? Is this a consultation? Is it a closed review? Does anyone care? about the process or about the school?

 

After all that then two questions.

 

1. Why is it that this school in particular has shown such poor attainment and is failing to be the school of choice for local people?

 

2. Why is that if the council once again invites us to 'have our say' (:gag:) do they hide that opportunity behind a very effective wall of clicks, links, corporate hogwash and formal tedium?

[Vanos 10]

Would you choose to send your child to a school where (quoted from the Telegraph)

 

Its students come from 35 different countries, speaking around 50 different languages between them. It is one of the few schools where children from ethnic minorities are in the majority and it specialises in supporting those for whom English is a second language.

 

No wonder there's not a great performance and no wonder they need a review.

 

If you want to comment contact the head teacher (Mrs Bull), ask for details how to and let everyone on here know them too.

 

All the best.

[roomsealed 10]

In a word...Racism! I went to this school and had the best time of my life after a very unhappy first year at silverdale school, but unfortunatly alot of parents feel that sending their child to such a multi cultured school will cause problems for their child, in some respects i do not doubt that they are wrong, when i was there you could gaurantee one of the white boys would get a beating on the last day of term by a group of asians, Im not saying asians dont get a beating from whites but in my 5 yr stint there it was never the case,then enter somalian kids, they were introduced to abbeydale when i was in about year 10, and there was hostility between asians and somalians, which gave the white boys a breather for the rest of their duration, Not long after somalians came to the school things changed, for example, never had i seen a knife so sharp as the one i saw on my school bus aged 15, whatever the problem was with the white boys and the asian boys, they did at least keep it fisty cuffs.... Since then Abbeydale has becomme the school that all new nationalities tend to go to, and i read an article in the star a couple of yrs ago about all the different nationalities, Asian, somalian, Russian ect all loving the school and getting on perfectly, teaching each other languages bla bla bla... Sorry but thru experience i just dont believe for one minuite that the school is free from racist bullying against any coloured skin, i think white kids are probably bullied too.. So i started this saying i thought it was due to Racism, iv changed my mind, im not racist and have friends of different nationalities but I wouldnt send my kids there, i feel when so many different nationalities are put together when they clearly deal with issues differently in their own country (ie somalians tend not to hesitate with a knife back home) Its a danger that i wouldnt put them thru..... Abbeydale grange was the best school for me, but for my peers with willies it wasnt the case, especially at the end of term...

[Vanos 10]

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/education/plans-partnership-consultation/consultation/abbeydalegrange

[DIVA 10]

In a word...Racism! I went to this school and had the best time of my life after a very unhappy first year at silverdale school, but unfortunatly alot of parents feel that sending their child to such a multi cultured school will cause problems for their child, in some respects i do not doubt that they are wrong, when i was there you could gaurantee one of the white boys would get a beating on the last day of term by a group of asians, Im not saying asians dont get a beating from whites but in my 5 yr stint there it was never the case,then enter somalian kids, they were introduced to abbeydale when i was in about year 10, and there was hostility between asians and somalians, which gave the white boys a breather for the rest of their duration, Not long after somalians came to the school things changed, for example, never had i seen a knife so sharp as the one i saw on my school bus aged 15, whatever the problem was with the white boys and the asian boys, they did at least keep it fisty cuffs.... Since then Abbeydale has becomme the school that all new nationalities tend to go to, and i read an article in the star a couple of yrs ago about all the different nationalities, Asian, somalian, Russian ect all loving the school and getting on perfectly, teaching each other languages bla bla bla... Sorry but thru experience i just dont believe for one minuite that the school is free from racist bullying against any coloured skin, i think white kids are probably bullied too.. So i started this saying i thought it was due to Racism, iv changed my mind, im not racist and have friends of different nationalities but I wouldnt send my kids there, i feel when so many different nationalities are put together when they clearly deal with issues differently in their own country (ie somalians tend not to hesitate with a knife back home) Its a danger that i wouldnt put them thru..... Abbeydale grange was the best school for me, but for my peers with willies it wasnt the case, especially at the end of term...

 

Your post has parallels with the article I read yesterday, following a link from the Sheffield Gangs thread....

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5100336.ece

 

It seems the new Lib Dem Council clearly have their work cut out. I hope they are up to the challenge and make use of this fantastic opportunity they have.

[Norbert 145]

After all that then two questions.

 

1. Why is it that this school in particular has shown such poor attainment and is failing to be the school of choice for local people?

 

2. Why is that if the council once again invites us to 'have our say' (:gag:) do they hide that opportunity behind a very effective wall of clicks, links, corporate hogwash and formal tedium?

 

1. Because Shakespeare, Venn diagrams, French tenses, Tudor succession and Ox-bow lakes are of little relevance to first and second generation immigrants.

 

2. Because a participatory democracy is the biggest fear of those in power.

[Zebra 10]

In a word...Racism! .

 

The school has had continuous issues with attainment and there are a number of reasons for that, racism is not the primary cause. It undoubtedly complicates the issue but frankly I would imagine the complexities of teaching kids who speak no English at all, those who have not received formal education before and the lasting results that has would make a difference.

The behaviour management policies have changed which changed everything within the school, including what the teachers could do to counteract behaviour. Postcards home are predominantly ineffective.

Lack of classroom support due to ill health, lack of staff and over subscribed issues in the behaviour management dept means many teachers are left to fend for themselves (which should be ok but the other issues means classes are out of control.)

Lack of willingness to learn. Lack of expectation to learn. Lack of reputation of achievement.

Statistically speaking I recall reading about attainment of teenage boys from African or within African upbringing being of particular concern and that across the country they will exclusively achieve very little and cause problems compared to their peers.

Culturally I'd say there are issues with respect, between staff and students, which affects classroom control, socialisation and discipline.

 

There are a million more reasons besides but they are based on education facts, expected learning goals, statistics and experiences, not only on rascism.

 

The school desperately needs an overhaul.

[roomsealed 10]

Your post has parallels with the article I read yesterday, following a link from the Sheffield Gangs thread....

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5100336.ece

 

It seems the new Lib Dem Council clearly have their work cut out. I hope they are up to the challenge and make use of this fantastic opportunity they have.

Thanks for that, its good to know that the police are no longer trying to pretend that jonathon was an innocent victim, but its frightening to know how bad things actually are here in sheffield. I remember when my eldest son was about 4 (now 10) i was expressing fears to my dad about how bad it was getting, he told me not to worry he thought that it would be sorted out by the time my kids are teenagers, as he was a (just retired) police officer i took his advice thinking that perhaps he knew something i didnt. It has since occured to me that when he retired the "multi cultural sheffield" we live in today was only just starting, so he wasnt really all that up on what it can get like... my kids are aged 10,9,and 5 and i am constantly worrying about the next few yrs of their lives, simply because no matter what lovely children we have, and how well we try to bring them up, they still walk out of the door and have to act as though nothing scares them, i remember being frightened by other people at school and making matters worse for myself by not being able (for fear what others wud think) to walk away... This will have been the case with Jonathon no doubt, he will have been standing there with his crisps scared to death, but he could not show it, cos he would have lost his status amongst his mates and that is the worst thing for a child... to seem like a wimp or whatever... Then there is the worry (also mentioned on the link) that an innocent child may be caught in the cross fire, it makes you not want to let your children out of the house. I have actually stopped caring that we shouldnt let our kids play the xbox, playstation all the time, if it keeps my kiddies safe at home with me, then i will be happy to let them play it. Finally i will finish with a tale of my 9 yr old, he came home from school before the holiday telling me that a boy in his class had brought to school a butter knife "for protection" I know it isnt exactly a dagger but why does a 9 yr old think that he needs a butter knife to protect him, and what will that butter knife have progressed to when he is in his teens? As for Abbeydale Grange though iv got to say i just wouldnt send them, before i moved earlier in the yr it was our catchment area, although we were classed as woodseats it was nearer than M/head, and had decided yrs ago that should my kids be turned away from m/head that i would keep them at home until there was a place available in another school... My son is due to start mytle springs accademy in sept and I am worried about that to, due to the way the old school was, im praying that all will be ok, but if it isnt then i am willing to do a prison sentence for not making him attend, it wont be no where near as long as the sentence i wud get for his death.... Isnt it sad:( what we have to decide we will do to try and keep our kids alive!

[roomsealed 10]

The school has had continuous issues with attainment and there are a number of reasons for that, racism is not the primary cause. It undoubtedly complicates the issue but frankly I would imagine the complexities of teaching kids who speak no English at all, those who have not received formal education before and the lasting results that has would make a difference.

The behaviour management policies have changed which changed everything within the school, including what the teachers could do to counteract behaviour. Postcards home are predominantly ineffective.

Lack of classroom support due to ill health, lack of staff and over subscribed issues in the behaviour management dept means many teachers are left to fend for themselves (which should be ok but the other issues means classes are out of control.)

Lack of willingness to learn. Lack of expectation to learn. Lack of reputation of achievement.

Statistically speaking I recall reading about attainment of teenage boys from African or within African upbringing being of particular concern and that across the country they will exclusively achieve very little and cause problems compared to their peers.

Culturally I'd say there are issues with respect, between staff and students, which affects classroom control, socialisation and discipline.

 

There are a million more reasons besides but they are based on education facts, expected learning goals, statistics and experiences, not only on rascism.

 

The school desperately needs an overhaul.

 

Later on in my post i did say i had changed my mind!

[DIVA 10]

You're welcome. It's very saddenning to read your account but also I guess reassuring for many parents in the same boat to read your honest words. I was shocked by the article I highlighted. I heard Paul Scriven on Radio Sheffield this morning talking about how Sheffield fails its youngsters. I sincerely hope he's going to raise and tackle the issues that are at the root cause of this, including how education has been managed across the city.

[Powerage 10]

I dont know much about Abbeydale apart from a friend who is a police officer told me they are constantly called there to deal with gangs fighting after school who are mainly of ethnic origin. I certainly would not send my daughter to a mainly immigrant school as it is bad enough at the one she attends.

 

She says the white children are constantly the but of rascist remarks from asians/black children and nothing gets done but if any white children make comments back all hell lets loose.

 

Rascism should be tackled no matter what race is involved and this clearly is not happening so consequently some children are left to act however they wish.

[DeathAxe 10]

I left this school in 1999, after 5 years of misery. There where about 2% white people there, with about 90% pakistani. They treated the place as their own territory and each day was a nightmare. They all banded together, and I lost count of how many terms I herd "white b*****d" each day.

 

Of course they got away with it all as asians generally do. This place should have been shut down a LONG time ago.