Welcome any readers from outside the St Vincent's community

The Blog has been receiving some visitors from outside the school community, and you are very welcome. However it may be hard for you to grasp the whole picture of what is going on. A few misunderstandings may have occurred and maybe these facts can help you to see a wider picture.



First, St V has been a successful school over the years, with a relatively stable Headship: Mr Gallagher for 13 years, left 1999. Mrs Govan from 1999 to 2004 she is now a Diocesan advisor; one term of acting head from within the school community, Mr Murphy for a year 2004-5 yes we were surprised that he went after a year, he was popular with both staff and parents and instigated some positive changes. One term of an interim head, the lovely Mr Maloney (he was always supposed to be an interm while Mrs C joined us) that was Sept 2005. Then Mrs Cleugh joined us in Jan 2006. So it is inaccurate to say that there were "4 heads in 4 years" . In all this time a relatively stable set of teaching staff - good mix of experienced and new teachers - no walk outs under Mrs Govan or Mr Murphy.



Secondly the school has a good "added value" index - above average for the area. So the myth that the lower school underperforms and is pulled up by its bootstraps by a couple of good years in KS2 is just that - a myth. All schools can do with some improvement, but St V did not need some kind of draconian clean sweep of mediocre and complacent teachers. And yes the KS2 results are v good indeed - top 10% in London I believe. St V pupils go to some v good secondary schools -Oratory, Gunnersbury, Vaughan, Sacred Heart, Cardinal Wiseman , St Marks etc etc.



Thirdly there is no "grand plan" that has been instigated by the Head or the Governors - indeed the Governors are mainly characterised by their silence - there are a few initiatives which are welcome, but nothing that would indicate a Head given the brief of turning round a mediocre school - do you think parents would not welcome a new Head with fresh ideas for improving their childrens' education? Most of the new teachers are NVQs - lovely to see some new blood, but I am not sure the ideal choice for turning round a failing school, or a failing lower school.



Fourthly, maybe St V parents would have knuckled under and accepted the regime of Mrs C IF they had not been aware of EXACTLY the same story happening before at St Mary's in Hillingdon. How can two schools experience the same catalogue of bullying both staff and parents without casting an eye on the perpetrator? At St M it got as far as the MP having a meeting with Cardinal Murphy O'Connor - I cannot imagine these two men bothering with a few wingeing parents and mediocre teachers...



Fifthly imagine the horror from both St V and St M communities to know that Mrs C's first headship, in the Wirral, had a similar story?



Lastly, around 20 members of staff had left in the first three terms of Mrs C joining, BEFORE this Blog was started. The inverse is true - the Blog was started because parents were so alarmed by the haemorrhaging of staff.



We have all heard of or seen heads sent in to sort out failing schools - The chap at Pheonix, Lady...at the school in North Kensington where Mr Laurence was stabbed, Paul Patrick at Cardinal Wiseman. They are all visionary people, energising, leaders, who get their teachers and parents behind them and share a common goal for improving the school. Mrs C is not like this. The whole atmoshphere of the school is competely changed for the worse. You have to experience it to know what is going on.



So thank you for visiting the site and we hope that you wish us well.



Yours sincerely,



Concerned Members of the St Vincents Community