2- TIER OR 3- TIER EDUCATION IN BEDFORD?

Elstow Lower School celebrate Ofsted success

Anne McCormick

At long last BOS has balanced the argument on the 2-tier or 3-tier education debate with an excellent, well argued letter from Anne McCormick, Head of Queen's Park Lower School and Vice Chair of the Bedford Learning Community, supported by all the Bedford Lower School and Nursery School Heads and one Middle School Head.

For too long the Primary Education voice in Bedford has been drowned out in the media by emotional, expensive and misleading propaganda from some Middle School Heads - funded by whom? - school parents or the school budgets? Why did their advertisements include Middle Schools in Central Bedfordshire, which are unaffected by the Bedford Borough proposals? Also why were 2 Bedford Middle School logos used without the permission of the Head Teachers?

The Bedford Borough Lower Schools provide a fantastic education - 80% are Outstanding or Good, including Outstanding schools in areas of social deprivation, like Queens Park Lower, Cauldwell Lower and Elstow Lower - rated Outstanding twice! Their Key Stage 1 results are excellent, but children under perform at Key Stage 2 in Middle Schools, who must bear some responsibility for pupils not achieving their full potential at GCSE. Some Bedford Middle Schools are good and two are Outstanding, but their overall performance is well below that Lower Schools.

Most UK local authorities now operate a 2-tier system, which provided an excellent state education for me and my children, all university graduates, and for two of my grandchildren who are at Primary Schools in Staffordshire and Hertfordshire.

My knowledge is also based on experience as a governor of 6 schools in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, one of the best education authorities in the UK, which has always provided 2-tier education.

In 2006 I was a Bedfordshire County Councillor when the Council wanted to move to
2-tier education but failed due to flawed public consultation, lack of capital finance for new schools and strong opposition from Mid and South Bedfordshire.

In 2009 we have a golden opportunity to get it right and create a good 2-tier education system over a 4/5 year period with £340m.government funding. Elstow Lower School is already working closely with Abbey Middle School to improve school transition and will soon be opening a Pre School - another step towards providing a more integrated 0-19 education system.

It is time to make the decision and move into the 21st Century. The new Bedford Borough Primary Schools will improve Key Stage 2 results and provide the first class education to which our children are entitled.

LAKEVIEW & WILSTEAD LOWER SCHOOLS

Wilstead Lower School Owl Logo

Recently, as the local Councillor and school governor I attended the Lakeview Lower School turf cutting ceremony prior to the start of the building of the school which opens in September 2009 on the Wixams Development. The Head Teacher Sue Vint is wielding a spade in the photo and working hard on designing a new school uniform, logo and strapline - "Where the Learning Adventure Begins" - for the school.

In February an absentee Liberal Democrat Councillor stirred the national press into writing scare stories about our new school, which was then a hole in the ground, with no pupils. However, we now expect to have at least 100 houses built this year, providing enough children for the new school to open in two phases. All the neighbouring schools are popular and full, including the outstanding Elstow Lower School and Wilstead Lower School. Also the local authority is legally obliged to provide schooling for children who live on the Wixams Development.

Wilstead Lower School also enjoyed its moment of glory at St. Albans Abbey last Saturday, when it was one of only 3 Bedfordshire schools invited to join a children's choir in a special Diocesan international celebration which was part of the Year of the Child. Wilstead Lower School's logo is a wise owl, very appropriate for a place of learning. Last year I gave the school a grant from my Community Leader's Fund to purchase 11 pond dipping kits for their wild garden.

As a parent and grandparent of 4 small grandchildren, I am very pleased to be involved with these 3 lower schools and delighted with their successes to date.

ELSTOW LOWER SCHOOL DOES IT AGAIN!

Hannah Brown the young designer of Flynn the Bin Elf

Last Saturday we had our Annual Elstow May Festival, when Elstow Lower School children danced round the Maypole. The children had new costumes this year and danced beautifully. Tyla Damon was crowned May Queen and was towed round the Village Green in a carriage with her attendants, Zara Tahir and coachman Adam Ross. The previous weekend the Year 4 children had an exciting weekend at Hilltops Outdoor Education Centre, having a go at rock pooling, shooting, archery and climbing.

This week Hannah Brown, an Elstow Lower pupil, aged 8, won 1st prize in the Pride in Bedford Mascot Competition with her lively and brilliantly simple design - Flynn the Bin Elf - beating 223 children from other lower and middle schools in the Borough. This design has been made into the Bedford Mascot, pictured above with Hannah. This new mascot will be used to promote a cleaner Bedford Borough.

As Vice Chairman of Governors I am very proud of this Outstanding school and its Head Teacher Jenny Winder, who with her staff provides an excellent education for all its pupils, many of whom do not speak English as their first language.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A LOCAL COUNCILLOR

Today is a lovely Spring Day. It is also 1 April but I do not play practical jokes as suggested by Philip Archer who accused me of "celebrating" the new Bedford Unitary Council. Yes I supported the County Council Unitary 2007 bid and its efforts to improve its performance since my election four years ago. However I am also an elected Borough Councillor and a pragmatist who lives in the real world. In May 2005 I was elected to represent 5,500 residents in Elstow & Wilstead and to campaign for higher quality public services, which I did and will continue to do in the new Unitary Council.

Bedfordshire County Council improved from a Poor 0 star Council to a Good 3 star Council but now it has gone. Bedford Borough Unitary Council opened its doors today in Borough Hall and is now a single tier Council responsible for providing all the local government services for local residents.

A Day in the Life of a Local Councillor
This morning I visited Elstow Lower School where I am Vice Chair of Governors. This week is International Week and each class takes a different country and studies its language and customs. On Friday the children will dress up and show off their week's work.

Next I discussed the bus service for Wilstead residents to and from their doctor's surgery in Ampthill with the Borough Bus Transport Manager and Greensands Surgery. We have persuaded Grant Palmer to put on more buses so that pensioners do not get stranded in Ampthill for hours after visiting their doctor.

Then I attended a Princes Trust Award Ceremony to make a brief speech and present Certificates to 9 young people. The Bedford YMCA working for the The Prince's Trust and has just completed its 9th twelve week Personal Development Programme for unemployed young people aged 16-25 years, many of whom have never worked. The Programme increases their skills, raises self esteem, improves self motivation and gets young people into education, training and employemnt.

Nine young people successfully completed the course and most will take up further training eg carpentry, child care, youth work and music technology. Their Community Project was to decorate 2 rooms at the Kempston Centre for Learning Disabilities. During their Challenge Week they took disabled people to a Safari Park.

My next stop was at Borough Hall to discuss a planning issue and join a large social gathering for some of the 6,000 staff now working in the Unitary Council. Then it was
back home to deal with emails, reading and this Blog before attending an evening Conservative Group meeting.

The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust was started by the Prince of Wales in 1976 to help disadvantaged young people aged 14-30 who have been in care, are long term unemployed, have struggled at school or been in trouble with the law. Practical and financial support is provided including help with business start ups or courses developing workplace skills such as confidence and motivation.

Since 1976 the Prine's Trust has helped over 575,000 young peopole and supports 100 more every day. 75% of those helped in 2008 moved into work,education or training.
App 20% of young people in the UK are not in work, education or training and youth unemployment costs the UK economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while youth crime costs £1 billion per year, so this work is vital to our economy.

Tomorrow I will take 2 days off to visit my widowed brother in Chichester, who is still adjusting to living alone and tore a calf muscle last month while playing in the garden with his 2 grandsons.

ELSTOW LOWER SCHOOL PUPILS CELEBRATE 'OUTSTANDING' OFSTED REPORT

Last week I announced the great news that Elstow Lower School has just been rated 'Outstanding' for the second time in 3 years by Ofsted. As you can see in this photograph our school children are as thrilled as the staff, parents and governors with this tremendous result as they play a key part in the school's success.

Despite heavy snow in February, Elstow Lower School was one of the few Bedfordshire schools to stay open so that the Inspectors could visit and assess the standard and quality of the education.

Recent achievements at Elstow Lower School include gaining 'Eco School' status and receiving the prestigious 'Green Flag' award. Many of our children do not speak English as their first language and each year the school has an International Week.

Highlights of the Ofsted Inspection report include:
1. Inspectors were 'wowed' by the young School Council Members and 'Eco Warriors' who talked enthusiastically about their roles and the decisions they have to make.

2. Parents said that their children 'always come home full of information and we could not ask for anything more'

3. The Inspectors considered the level of care and support for the children to be of the highest quality and a real strength of the school.

4. Recently the children enriched their learning with visits from 'Night Owls', re- enactments of historical events, becoming 'entrepreneurs', visits to London and other exciting projects.

As Head Teacher Jenny Winder says "We are delighted and proud of the result of this latest inspection. Everyone - children, staff, parents, partner schools and local businesses - works hard as a team and together we strive to provide our children and their families with the very best education which will give them life opportunities and allow them to live healthy and harmonious lives within the society of today and in the future".

As Vice Chairman of Governors at the school I am pleased to endorse these comments, and also passionately believe in the importance of teamwork and partnership in my other role as the local Councillor for Elstow and Wilstead villages.

This week I attended a meeting to discuss the development of John Bunyan Upper School into Bedford Academy in September 2010. The meeting was held at Cauldwell Lower School, another Outstanding Lower School, located in an area of South Bedford with high levels of social deprivation. Elstow Lower School also draws 40% of its pupils from this area and the qualities that shine out of these two schools are strong, inspirational leadership and teamwork.

ELSTOW LOWER SCHOOL IS OUTSTANDING... AGAIN!

Elstow Lower School, where I am Vice Chair of Governors, was the 1st Lower School in Bedfordshire rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2005/6. The Ofsted Inspection regime is now more rigorous and inspections are conducted at 2 days' notice to give a more genuine impression of school performance to Inspectors.

The school was inspected during the recent freezing cold, snowy weather in early February. All the staff, governors and children braved the weather when most of the Bedfordshire schools were closed and passed the inspection with flying colours. Once again Elstow Lower has been rated Outstanding and even the governors were rated outstanding! This is an exceptional school led by a dedicated Head Teacher Jenny Winder, enthusiastic staff and governors which draws its children not only from Elstow village but also from socially deprived families in South Bedford and many of our children do not speak English as their first language.

On Wednesday we had the final meeting of the County Council Children's Services Committee, of which I am Vice Chairman. Since my election as a County Councillor in 2005 a lot of effort has been put into improving Children's Services, which were in 'Special Measures' in 2004. The School Improvement Programme has produced much improved GCSE examination results and performance improvement in most of the Bedford Borough Upper Schools and we now have a number of Outstanding or Good Schools.

Remembering the horror of the recent Baby P case, it is reassuring for you to know that Bedfordshire's Child Protection Service is now one of only 17 rated Outstanding in England, its Youth Offending Service is rated No.1 in England, and our Fostering and Adoption Service is also rated Outstanding. When Bedfordshire County Council finally 'shuts up shop' on 31 March 2009 Children's Services will be handed over to the new Bedford Unitary Council in excellent order.

Tonight I was one of 100 school governors from the 79 schools in Bedford Borough invited to meet Chris Hilliard, the new Director of Children's Services in Bedford Unitary Council. Chris will have 5 Assistant Directors including 2 senior County Council Officers, John Goldsmith and Katie Theodore. Hopefully this team will continue to build on the County Council's success and provide a high class service for the people of Bedford Borough from 1 April 2009 onwards.

FUN IN THE SNOW

Monday's snow was a novelty for many of our children, as it is 18 years since we last had enough snow for them to build snowmen and have toboggan rides. In Bedfordshire we had several snowfalls of 4-6 inches and the older children and their parents have loved playing in it, although little ones quickly get cold.

Some Bedfordshire schools stayed open on Monday and Tuesday, including Elstow and Wilstead Lower Schools and Abbey Middle, but others closed at the first sight of snow. Teachers have had several paid days off pay while thousands of children missed
up to a week's schooling, creating major problems for working parents across the country.

Unfortunately after 4/5 days off school the novelty wears off. In Canada where snow falls often in winter the children have "snow days" which are added on to the school term in June so that their education is not disrupted. An idea which the British could copy?

Many adults, including me, can work from home using their home computers but for others who do not get paid for not being at work like the self employed, shop assistants and many other private sector workers, several days off means lost wages -and many families are already struggling financially with the credit crunch.

Maybe the Government and Local Authorities should learn from the experience of other countries who regularly suffer severe winter weather, like Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, and develop better crisis management skills, so that London and the rest of the country do not grind to a halt whenever we have snow.

GRITTING BEDFORDSHIRE ROADS IN THE SNOW

SNOWBOUND LUTON TRAFFIC

Day 5 and yet more snow falls in Bedfordshire! Some Bedfordshire schools have closed for 3/4 days although Elstow Lower School was one of the few to stay open on both Monday and Tuesday. London came to a standstill on Monday when all the underground trains stopped and buses were cancelled because one bus was seen on CCTV to slip on the ice. Bedfordshire buses kept running on Monday because of the daily gritting of the extensive A and B road network by Bedfordshire County Council.

In spite of the snow I have driven on local roads every day this week. After 5 days of snow Bedfordshire's supply of salt and grit is down to 4 days' supply. On Wednesday the Government threatened to withdraw all the Cheshire Salt Union supplies from Local Authorities, so that the Highways Agency could use it for motorways. Fortunately Bedfordshire has more salt and grit due to arrive next week.

Bedford Borough Council is running out of grit for Bedford roads and the Mayor of Bedford has criticsed the County Council in his Blog for not sharing their fast diminishing grit supply. No doubt he will also criticise the County Council next week if they run out and fail to grit A and B roads. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't! Even if the County Council had any grit to spare, the Mayor can hardly expect a friendly response when he has continually criticised the County Council, long after Bedford Borough Council won the Unitary battle. Also even he cannot blame the County Council for the Borough's failure to order enough grit.

Luton is in such a mess with snowbound traffic that it has banned motorists from entering the town centre today. Also hundreds of flights have been cancelled at London Luton Airport and many parts of the country just ground to a halt. Therefore we should be grateful that Bedfordshire County Council was well prepared for the snow and has enabled many people to get to work and school this week.

SURVIVING SNOW AND THE CREDIT CRUNCH !

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
Today it is snowing and in 21st Century Britain 50% of the population will get up and soldier into work somehow while 50% turn over in bed and go back to sleep. Bedford has not had heavy snow but one school closed instantly, while Elstow Lower School has stayed open - our Head Teacher is made of sterner stuff. The post has just arrived and I drove home in snow last night - but I remember living in Scotland as a child. We regularly had heavy snowfalls and were never allowed to stay off school - it was par for the course. We are fast becoming a nation of risk averse wimps, doomed to live safe, bland and boring lives with no excitement at all.

My late father survived 6 terrible years at sea during World War II on minesweepers and minelayers, including Arctic convoys to protect merchant shipping. One of his ships was sunk and half the ship's company including the captain were drowned, but never a word of complaint about his suffering crossed his lips after the War. He was also the navigator in HMS Frobisher, the leading frigate in the British Fleet during the 1944 D-Day Normandy Invasion and 33 years later he was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government - their highest military honour.

SURVIVING THE CREDIT CRUNCH
Last Saturday, the Friends of Elstow Abbey did their bit for the Credit Crunch by providing a wonderful Organ Recital and a generous Ploughman's Lunch with a free drink, all for £5 for the older music lovers. This was our 3rd Concert in our 1st Elstow Music Festival and the cannier souls bought season tickets for £15 for 4 concerts, so the Saturday concert and food only cost them £3.75 each. Where else in Bedford could you be entertained, fed and watered for that money in 2009?

Our 4th and final Concert will be a rousing performance from the Luton Male Voice Choir on Saturday 28 February at 7.30pm and we are well on the way to raising our target £1,000 for the 4 concerts to continue refurbishing our historic church and its organ. Not bad when we have offered such bargain prices for the 4 excellent concerts.

After a recent expensive weekend dining out, this weekend I enjoyed gourmet home cooked food at a fraction of restaurant prices. My fellow Councillor Andrew McConnell had a Jamie Oliver moment on Saturday and cooked 2 superb fillet steaks and I cooked a deilvcious lamb shank on Sunday before trampingout in the snow to deliver election leaflets for the forhcoming Unitary Elections. We are indeed fortunate to live in a country where food is plentiful and cheap, unlike the poor souls living at starvation level in Zimbabwe.

WILSTEAD BROWNIES

This evening I visited Wilstead Brownies to watch 7 new Brownies making their pledges, watched by their proud parents. I also presented the Brownies with a cheque to pay for their new CD Player. This will provide music for Brownie dance and singing badge tests and Karaoke evenings. The money has come from my County Council Community Leaders' Fund, which I will be distributing to 12 voluntary organisations in Elstow and Wilstead over the next few weeks.

The Wilstead Brownies have 30 members with several adult volunteer helpers and young girls can join the Brownies at age 7. Many years ago I was a Brownie and a Girl Guide, and both organisations provide a huge range of activities for young girls and the chance to earn a variety of badges in areas such as First Aid, Sports and Cooking. My own granddaughters Emma and Jessica, aged 6, are enthusiastic Rainbows but will have to wait a bit longer to join the Brownies.

My Community Leaders Fund has provided a range of benefits for the local community. In 2007 a new mower was bought for the P3 Walking Group who maintain Wilstead's footpaths and 11 pond dipping kits were given to Wilstead Lower School. New audio equipment was given to Wilstead's excellent amateur dramatic group, the Wilstead Players and a new printer was bought for the Neighbourhood Watch Group who produce a monthly village newsletter for every household in Wilstead.

In Elstow I gave a grant to Elstow Lower School for their long awaited Playground Marking Project, providing a new shooter and special outdoor games marking, including Hopscotch, for the school playground to encourage their 280 children to be more active and creative in their outdoor play activities.