Harris Academy (new boys school for East Dulwich)

[jumpinjourno]

Anybody go to these consultation meetings???

I wrote an article in the Southwark News last week about the Academy through an interview with Dr Dan Moynihan...

would be great to get a bit of feedback... good or bad...

Regards

DY

[macroban]

A little local difficulty.

Does THe Foundation actually have the cash to go ahead?

[Fuschia]

Sponsors often end up not paying the required amount

http://education.guardian.co.uk/newschools/story/0,,2048485,00.html

"Even with this sort of inducement, sponsors proved very hard to find. A few expressed an interest, only to withdraw as they saw the depth of local hostility. Those who stayed were remarkably reluctant actually to part with cash. In May 2006, the Guardian reported that most of them had not paid the ?2m. Four academies that had been open for nearly a year had not received a penny from their sponsor. With 27 academies up and running, sponsors had paid up only ?26m.

It's partly for this reason that, last year, the government suddenly announced a revolution in the way the academy programme is run. Sponsors would no longer have to put any money at all upfront. Instead they are invited to make "endowments" over the years.

"

[macroban]

Public assets are now handed over to a private organisation with only a vague promise of some money in the future?

This is not good.

[Fuschia]

As the schools are built under PFI it's even worse:

http://www.unison.org.uk/pfi/caseagainst.asp

http://www.unison.org.uk/file/A2340.pdf

[BigDad]

Interesting to see that Councilor Richard Thomas complains about the Labour councilors not defending the academy schools in local meetings...when hes a Lib Dem and they dont seem to keen on them (or are they just keeping quiet?).

You can check out his views on

http://cllrrthomas.wordpress.com/

and post your response to hi comments

It will be interesting to see what the architects come up with next time, it must be better than the prison bl;ock which got slated on all sites. The problem is its still too many boys on one site - will the Council/Harris ever come clean on why it has to be so many boys crammed on to one site???????

[AllforNun]

post removed - The Administrator

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

They're going to have a needle exchange at the new school? Everybody get your pitchforks and take to the streets!

[KalamityKel]

Sounds like every other Southwark school then :)) ;-)

[AllforNun]

Had my thread deleted ? What was wrong with it ?

[macroban]

AllforNun,

Try getting out an A to Z street atlas, a pin, and a piece of cotton, and draw a (scale) one kilometre radius circle centered on the proposed school site.

Regards,

Macroban

[AllforNun]

OK then. Just read the Councillors website about the Academy - look like they are supporting it against the ideological position of their party (did'nt really know they even did ideology)

And that is an example of why you need to research before you blog - Me bad - apologies

[AllforNun]

Macroban - Why the string thing......explain please ?

[macroban]

An oblique possible explanation for the deletion.

[AllforNun]

No still not making any sense to me, come on help me out !

[BigDad]

As the school sits on the edge of the Nunhead and East Dulwich districts we have requested that the local councilors in the 2 wards have a cross party non-political joint community council group. While Nunhead appear happy to do so the East Dulwich councilors are a no to the idea.

Given the discussions, meetings and concerns of local parents why would they not want to do this? The Lib Dems said that the EDGE group were already doing very well and did not need such a body. I'd disagree - we have not been able to get Harris to talk with us. And as for the Council - well thats been another blank so far.

These are some of the questions that need answering and having a joint community group would support the campaign to get a good school on the site as thats what we all want!

How will the school be run

How will 950 boys work on the site

How will students be moved between the two sites on a regular basis 5 days a week

How can the school be a flagged as a sports academy if it has no playing fields of its own? Where is the athletics track that they would need, the pool (the girls one is being knocked down, so we can forget about that) etc.... Peckham Rye has some football/rugby pitches, but you need more than that.

How many parents will be allowed as Governors (I'd imagine the minimum of 1, as that the way Harris operate)

Why will they not consider having one mixed school over the two sites

How will the impact of having staggered start/end times for the students be managed.

Harris and Southwark education have already messed it up once - what will happen second time around?????

[KalamityKel]

Messed up? how?

[AllforNun]

Hit the nail right on the head - Nunhead/Peckham Rye ward is Labour & and the East Dulwich Ward Is Liberal. Hence No money for Nunhead, no discussions with Nunhead.

[katgod]

Hello all, taking my Forum life in my hands entering this debate, but jumping journo asked for feedback and some people don't seem fully up to speed (kel). Will admit straight up that am new to the topic, but did attend the latest round of discussions.

1. it has been decreed that the new school will be an academy and academies have private sponsors. Ours is Lord Harris, of carpets and other academy fame.

2. it has been decreed by southwark that the site on the edge of the rye is the site.

3. it has been decreed that there will be a 950 pupil school on the site.

These do not seem negotiable. I'm not saying that it's right, but that is the decision made.

The latest round of discussion meetings were as a result of the almighty fuss kicked up over the last set of designs submitted. Variously described as ugly, unsuitable generally sh*t. So they (Harris Inc.) have sacked the architects and got a new guy on board and held the meetings to try to understand what would be acceptable to locals. So KKel the "mess up" was the terrible previous design. And now they are trying to find an acceptable proposal.

The latest round of meetings revealed that broadly the school should be at the southern end of the site (away from Friern Road) with the building close to the road so the playground backs onto the houses rather than the building looming over the local streets.

For my part it seemd a genuine attempt to find an acceptable design. It was made clear that the meetings were not to discuss the suitablity of the site generally, the size of the school or the philosophical/political/educational pros and cons of the project - it was just about building design.

As a new comer to the process I found some fellow attendees very entrenched and unwilling to accept that there was a new chapter opening. They kept harking back to battles previously fought, or battles that the organisers had made perfectly clear were not for fighting that night. There was a lot of arguing total non points and some of the attendees were pretty irritating. I'd urge anyone reading this to try to attend the next round of meetings - some new blood is needed based on my experience. I have no wish to dismiss the great work done by locals in getting the last lot of designs binned, and in no way condone some of the tactics/decisions made by Southwark/Harris on the issue. But at a design meeting, fight clever and fight on design, not the rest of the issues.

(Ducks for cover and regrets posting?)

[KalamityKel]

I wouldn't have called that a "mess up". I assumed that phrase meant there had been a misunderstanding somewhere along the lines but it just seems to have been bad luck on the architechts part. But thank you all the same for bringing me up to speed *rolls eyes*

Katgod a word of advice... don't assume if someone asks a question that may seem a little outdated that they don't know the full story. It's all about good debating skills ;-)

[macroban]

> bad luck on the architechts part.

More like bad design.

[AllforNun]

"But at a design meeting, fight clever and fight on design, not the rest of the issues."

That reeks if self interest.......nice

[Jimmy Mac]

No it doesn't - it means at a design meeting concentrate on design.

[AllforNun]

Sorry, it does not.

It implies that in order to try and resist this proposal, "fight clever". Thats is exactly what it says.

[Jimmy Mac]

No. You are quite wrong. It does not "reek" of (I think you mean of rather than if) self interest". The posting explains that the meeting was aimed at discussing design.