Debster99

HI Gwendolen1 I am guessing you are a prospective parent ? If not apologies I have a son in yr 8 so have had 18 months of Kingsdale experience. Whilst I cannot deny they " the school " were badly advised in releasing results I think they had reasons : I sat thru a difficult parents meet when refusal to talk about results clearly indicated there were other issues. These issues relate to changes in cirriculum , adverse press attention including online OTT activity on social media. My opinion is the school has reacted , I guess like any public org , to try to protect their reputation , something that every local despite personal vendettas would do to protect a local school. The results this year are shocking and for all of us of in the Kingsdale system are a major concern. However I am of firm belief that a reality check will sort things out. Ofsted agree & reference that teaching 2013 is on track so let's look to the future & build on great foundations. Outstanding for kids / attitude etc .. Surely thats what that what parents ultimately want? JFI - I work in education in FE , my college is bottom of league in Camden but has highest retention & 80 % job conversion - stats are only relavent in context - So on paper academically thick kids but all employed - job done.

Hear hear ! A great factual report that evidences the successes of the school but also clearly indicates that SMT are aware & have a plan to further improve where necessary. Was blown away as a parent to read the section on our amazing Kingsdale kids , what a credit they are & congratulations to all the staff that work so hard to make them so proud of their school. As a parent my child's well being and happiness is number one & tonight I feel great relief that our support & belief has always been correct.

I was just about to say what great advice BB100 had given to Pondlife & then another rather trivial post; To any prospective parent , choosing a school is stressful , all our kids are unique in their own ways and will strive in different environments. Kingsdale is clearly a school that evokes emotions , total marmite , clearly loved by some ( mostly parents of happy thriving kids - my son included ) hated by those who think the school is a cult , an enigma that survives on pure fantasy. This is a school with a huge number of kids , a school that has been under the spotlight , been in the press , had OFSTED & exam boards all over them this last academic year ( my son's first yr ) yet the show goes on. My boy has in no way been affected by this as the head & teachers are all (in my view )committed to the school & it's welfare. As said before i am a teacher and work in a FE very highly credited institution , we lost 40 % of our staff over the summer , not because we are rotten as an institution but that simply the job isn't what we they signed up for. Re going public , as said by BB100 hands are tied by legal stuff. Anyone visiting as a prospective parent , just ask the kids & feel the love. It is truley a school that is about the kids , they rock & as a parent that ticks many boxes.

In response to Prickle ; Curmudgeon you said "...that existing and future students will benefit from the certainty that exams at Kingsdale be whiter than white.." If this is not the case than the blame must lie with the exam boards. Kingsdale have responded to allegations & been under the spotlight for 15 months. Prickle "How can you be so certain? Here are a few quotes from the TES article linked in by InTexas earlier in this thread. It was written in June this year. " TES is a provider for teachers , i am a member. Content & articles are provided by teachers. The article you refer to is by William Steward who regularly posts on TES. I am not aware of any connection he may have to confidential educational info , let alone the Kingsdale enquiry. Please correct me if i am wrong , my understanding is he contributes to TES with opinion rather than proven fact ? Prickle"the school is still using the same exams officer as when the allegations were made, a claim that Kingsdale has not denied" Again this must go back to the exam boards , my experience in FE is that exam moderators are sent by the board & not selected by the educational institute. If this is not the case then every exam board should be under scrutiney not the school ? Prickle "A letter, seen by TES, written by Ofqual?s chief regulator Glenys Stacey to the MP of one of the whistleblowers, refers to ?legal action taken by the school against the awarding organisations?. ?This aspect has delayed the conclusion of the investigation,? Ms Stacey writes." Prickle "When he was approached by TES, Kingsdale head Steve Morrison denied that the school had taken legal action. A statement from the school later revealed that legal proceedings have been considered, although ?not yet commenced?, to give the exam boards ?the chance to rectify the position?." "A letter seen by TES / " Are we not to believe that an investigation this serious should not be confidential ? I agree as a teacher there is something not right here but maybe Prickle should be questioning the exam boards & not the head of Kingsdale ? I am sure he has complied , he would have had no choice. No school or its SMT has that much power even in sleepy Dulwich dramaville ? Regarding the C4 programe; The first undislosed whistle blower states " At moderation grades went from D to B - this implies an external exam moderator was present ? Course work is highy subjective and always contentious. As a teacher i have often debated the student before giving a grade. This will be the same at any school country wide. The 21 combined teacher/students quoted by C4 claim they have not been contacted yet the exam board claim " Proper steps were taken by the awarding bodies to protect the anonymity of those making allegations. All allegations were investigated" Clearly there is a problem here ? Someone is not telling the truth ? Again i am not sure how SMT of Kingsdale can be implicated ? Too many inconsistemcies in this whole documentary for my liking. Prickle "Does this sound like a school that is working hard to sort out their exam system?" I can't believe someone that is clearly intelligent & interested in our eductaion system & a local school can seriously believe that Kingsdale SMT would deliberatly be putting their institution at risk ? Let's put some reality back into this thread. Exam boards need to re evaluate ther position , maybe the constant rising grades are not just about better teaching , easier cirriculum but exam boards not doing the job they are paid to do ? Amen !

I am both a parent of a yr 8 at Kingsdale & a FE teacher & watched C4 last night with a heavy heart. Education sadly is in turmoil , schools , FE & Uni's are fighting for funding , funding is dependant on results , results are every year questioned , consequent governments change policies. To be working within this turmoil is horrific , i am daily questioning my position as an educator of the next generation. I have no doubt that across most schools , colleges & Uni's some form of manipulation of results is happening and this will not stop until the press stop putting all of us in a negative position and the government supports the education system as is. We all know changes need to be made , let's make them positive rather than damming every kid & yearly GSCE results currently in secondary Ed ? Regarding the issue of teachers leaving Kingsdale in droves , this is happening across all institutions countrywide. My FE college lost nearly 40 % of our teachers this summer , most returning back to Industry where they are valued. As for Kingsdale , i can only say i have total respect for how the school , the kids , teachers & parents have responded to this constant pressure over the last 15 months. Maybe this current exposure will eventually show what a fantastic school Kingsdale truly is ? Just for the record my son loves Kingsdale , is achieving well in all his academic studies, participating in sports & music and is very proud to be part of a happy and safe school.

As a FE teacher and a mother of a child currently in secondary education ( Kingsdale ) i would just like to forward a point of view from someone in the system & someone who is very worried about the future of schooling in the UK. I read both the article in the Guardian & the subsequent comments , many removed for obvious reasons. I worked in the fashion industry for years before making a jump into FE with a view of giving something back to our youth. Over the last few years with the funding issues , constant paper trails , bullying to achieve targets , E&D to the extreme i too find myself completely disillusioned to the degree that for the first time in 25 yrs i took a weeks sick leave. Despite the common view we have oodles of time off & are a bunch of dossers the reality is many of us work unbelievable hours , planning , remarking , enrichment , weekend recruitment etc & this pressure has increased dramatically over the past 2 years under Gove. Many of my colleagues are also leaving education in droves to return back into Industry where an opinion is listened to & a working life negotiable. Re Kingsdale as many other schools i suspect this is the same & there is no sinister reason for high turnover just a desire for individuals to remain sane or relocate to easier options. Many secondary school teachers are going into Primary where the pressure is less - at the moment. The fact that they have had just large movement may also coincide with the increase in popularity of this school. There is a huge expectation on the school to deliver & many teachers won't follow this dream as the reality of working hours becomes extreme. As a mother, my son had a science teacher this year who was clearly disengaged , didn't mark homework and generally left a view that they weren't cut out to teach. They left & was replaced by a young graduate who has breathed life into the class. Please try to view the larger picture when making such generalised comments about any school. Any of us with kids realise the importance of education and it is very disappointing as a parent to see personal attacks on one school. Sorry for long ramble & i hope that this won't set off another attack on a school that i think is doing a great job for our kids.

Haven't actually heard any bad things about the other schools in the area I am interested in. Bingo Metallic , forget about Kingsdale and concentrate efforts on those other schools ?

If you are a genuine yr 5 parent with such concerns about Kingsdale I would seriously not put on list? Why would you put your precious ( ditto any parent ) into a school that you clearly feel is not just sub standard but a badly run ,cheating mess ? Why not let us delusional fools that have kids at the school just get on with it ?

Apologies for being defensive. I am a parent of a yr 7 boy so pretty new to the great Kingsdale debates ! I am very conscious that any of our children can read these forums and some of the remarks that have previously been made could be devasting and also set off wild rumours thru the school. I am also a teacher , NOT at Kingsdale but in vocational FE , which is another box of frogs entirely ! I know just how hard the majority of teachers work and again to have their reputations questioned constantly in a public forum again can be very demotivating and career damaging. There are many questions that we would all like answered but i can honestly say at the moment i don't believe there is any more info out there to clarify ? Again sorry if been a tad OTT in my responses , i have slapped myself on the wrist ! Have a chilled out sunday

Excuse me for trying to clarify something that actually wasn't clear You summed it up Metallic , there is currently nothing clear to comment on ? Would you suggest the school pays for editorial in the press to say the above just to appease you ? Or would you like the head to set up a speakers corner in the playground ? If and when there is some news i am sure all of us will hear in the correct & professional way until then ..... Jog on, it is getting dull

Metallic i would have a break from this , this forum is on page 6 with most posts fuelled by your comments and result no futher forward ? It started off with the Ofsted visit which i truly believe every parent and prospective parent has and rightly so a genuine interest in. We have had the results which have caused a good debate with various differing opinions and in summary not the best outcome but certainly not worthy of some of the slander that has been posted. I think as a parent and i hope others agree, Kingsdale still has the excellent qualities that attracted us in the first place and at present is still providing a stable and in my opinion good education for our children ? I also have confidence that the SMT will take these issues raised in the report on board and move forward. Regarding the issue that you have really been digging at Metallic , the GCSE exams taken last summer were checked and results awarded as per normal , this is old news. As for the school issuing a PR message , on what ? At present there is nothing to comment on.

Just to confirm that MGolden is absolutely correct. I am referring to the FE college where i work , i have absolutely no knowledge of what goes on inside Kingsdale staff room or do i wish to speculate. I am simply stating that there are current issues of discontent within the public sector , nor am i supporting those with stress related grievances. I have hardly had a day off in 20 odd years. What i guess i am saying is that if in the current climate that the majority of Kingsdale staff feel well supported and that the kids are thriving and their well being is in good hands then i am a happy parent.

As a parent and a teacher in FE i am very satisfied with the report. My primary concern is that my child's educational experience and general wellbeing whilst at school meets my expectations or in best case exceeds it. Nothing in the report suggests that isn't currently the case and points below enhance my belief in Kingsdale as the correct school for my son. I understand that others may have a different experience and we must all remember that a school the size of Kingsdale will never satisfy all its members. "students were making good progress in their learning Students are polite, courteous and very friendly; their behaviour in lessons and around the site does them great credit. Students enjoy school and appreciate the good relationships they have with staff. Students concentrate well and remain highly focused in lessons. Most of the parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire or spoke to inspectors share this very positive view of the school" Education or anywhere in the public sector is extremely testing at present , most of us are on 3 yr pay freezes and indeed working around the clock to meet performance targets so that we get funding to keep our jobs etc etc. Where i work a large number of staff are on long term stress related leave , we have heavy union presence and bitching & stiching is common place in the common room. It doesn't mean we hate teaching or indeed take these issues into the classroom. Infact the class room is where most of us are happiest. I wouldn't read too much into this apart from Kingsdale has made huge significant changes over the past few years , that alongside Gov pressure to perform to maintain funding , jobs etc will naturally lead to an increase in very unhappy and often angry and irrational ( if suffering from stress) team members. Many find change very difficult and will often rebel - i wonder if there is any correlation between the satisfactory teaching and those who are disaffected ? As said before son is totally happy ,positively skips to school and academically thriving even in English which was his nemesis at primary. If you are lucky enough to have a place here then feel very confident that your child will settle quickly , make great friends and truly love going to school. If you haven't then stick with it as waiting list shifts very quickly, even into term 1. It is worth the wait. Kingsdale kid's are very proud of their school and are a happy thriving bunch , that as a parent ticks my box.

Metallic & Prickle Modern day Starsky & Hutch , picking up fag ends and attempting to make headlines ? No idea who you are but clearly haven't got a kid at the school you appear to follow with more than a normal parent interest ? If as you say you have primary sch kids and attempting to select a school then i would suggest you look elsewhere ? Save yourself an ulcer over worrying about cheating , gangs , poor teachers etc ...Kingsdale will live without you ? Lillian Baliss in Kennington or Stockwell Park have oodles of space ? I find it so dull that this forum brings up same negativity from same names ? Yes i get your worries about getting the right school for your kids but you have 5 choices and if don't like Kingsdale then move on ....?

I agree ? If you were living in Lambeth am sure would be more angry , there are no decent boy's schools but if have a C of E leaning then if have a girl then loads of choice? I like you wanted a dual sex school , we have Stockwell as only option.Or Dunraven or Graveney where have to live on doorstep ? There is no solution ....but this endless rant against a sch that is attempting to break the mould just makes our battle more futile ?