It has just come to the attention of the Blog that this year all of the children's work books are to be destroyed instead of being sent home.
This may not be the case, but all parents are strongly advised to ask class teachers for their children's work books if you want to see them.
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16 comments:
This is,as far as I am aware, highly unusual. It just looks to me like destroying the evidence.
Sean Currie, please find another way of feeling important.
To the best of my knowledge, parents have not been notified of a change in policy regarding " the sending home of school books". If some exercise books have been retained to be used next year, then I am sure all the completed books could have been returned. A note in the newsletter informing parents of the change in the procedures would have gone some way to reassuring us that our views and input are still valued. Another dictictorial, educationally unsound policy brought into the school by the back door. Shameful.
Policy? What policy? Where is this policy? Bet there is none. What school has a policy to destroy childrens workbooks rather than send them home ( other than a school with something to hide)?
These governors are incapable of seeing the value in even PRETENDING that parents matter.
Self serving, self important,self regarding,self aggrandising. You have NO respect for us, why on earth do you think we should respect you?
Many of the parents you are patronising and/or despising have more finesse and intuitive savvy in their little pinkie than you can summon up as a body. You have succeeded in alienting, and even radicalizing the most mild mannered group of Clark Kents it is possible to imagine. How you did that alone is quite a breath taking feat of abysmal communication and people skills.
Tip for Del Boy, and the rest of the governors: If you can't be sincere, PRETEND to care. Put on your best Princess Di head, cocked to one side and empathise, tell us you "hear our pain", tell us you care. It will all be a sham, but you can fool some of the people some of the time. Which will be a better batting average than you are acheiving at the moment.
From a parent who asked for children's books. These were my experiences;
I had heard a rumour our children's books were for the first time ever not going to be sent home with them. Some of us parents did the following;
1. Registered children's names at reception at 9am and asked for their books to be sent home at 13:00, especially core subjects.
2. 13:00 pm – letter in book bag addressed to me with mention of no books because of new school policy. Content of letter follows;
'Dear Parents,
Thank you for your request for the return of your child's books. Our policy, introduced last year, is not to return them at the end of the Academic Year. We indeed pass on the partly completed ones to the next year's teacher to ensure continuity.
However, I will consider your request and discuss it with both my Leadership Team and the Governing Body when I return to the school.
In the meanwhile I would encourage you to work with your child over the summer. Their report suggests strategies you could use and good quality texts are available from most good book shops.
With my prayerful best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Mrs C Cleugh, Head teacher.'
3. Class teachers would not hander over books when requested. ‘We have been told not to’ one said.
Senior teacher, clearly expecting trouble, stepped in and said the same. I asked to see Mrs Cleugh.
Told she was in a meeting. I said I would wait as I really wanted those books. ‘You can’t have them’ I was told. Repeated my demand to see Mrs C.
Senior teacher went to see Mrs Cleugh.
4. Six parents waited in the hall for over an hour to see Mrs Cleugh.
5. Governor appeared in the corridor and was approached by one of the parents. Governor listened to our request for books and this school policy. Governor disappeared to see Cleugh.
6. Finally, senior teacher and governor reappeared with sheet of paper inviting us to write down our children’s names and our phone numbers. They were personally going to come in the following day to get the books, they would then contact us and we could come and collect the books.
My observations were:
- policy could not be produced.
- Mrs Cleugh showed poor leadership in refusing to meet parents.
Parents, who want children's books, it seems you can obtain by requesting like some of us did. Otherwise, you can request to see them in September at the start of term, we were told. Another question in my mind is storage; as a parent who has been around the school for some time, I am aware of storage constraints in the school.I became aware of this because of a PFA attempt two years ago to store stuff in the school. After lots of snuffling around store and broom cupboards it became clear there was no space back then.
Did anyone else receive this letter in book bag? I suspect only those of us who left their names at reception got one.
This letter was not sent out generally. I was told all the workbooks were being passed on to the teacher who will be taking the class next year. I am baffled as to how one is meant to 'work with your child over the summer' without access to the work they have done so far!
Sadly yet another example of Cleugh making no attempt to communicate or behave like a rational human being. The woman appears to relish upsetting the families supposedly in her care - perhaps it makes her feel big and important? My KS1 child was very upset that he wasn't allowed to bring his books home as usual so well done Mrs C. Obviously, if there was a genuine reason for retaining the schoolbooks (for audit or the next year's teacher to have a look at, for example) then it could easily be communicated to parents via the newsletters and I am sure most parents would accept it. How many other unecessary changes big and small have been forced upon us with little or no attempt at communication? (No entry to KS1 playground in the mornings, abolition of the weekly newsletter, changing the much loved names of the Reception classes to ridiculous - and if you're only 4, very difficult to spell - birds). These are the actions of a paranoid and despotic individual who cannot even be bothered to make an effort to talk to parents either in the playground, at the fundraisers or at a requested meeting.
I trully hope that the authors of this blog will continue to up the ante until this malignancy in the heart of our community is removed.
I have a child in year 3. I was genuinely shocked on the last day of term (Thursday, 19 July) when I was told (by another parent) that our children were not allowed to have their work books at the end of the school year, and that they may even be destroyed. I immediately wrote a quick note to Mrs Cleugh saying that if this was true, then I thought it a terrible idea and I didn’t want my child’s books destroyed or even retained by the school.
Following on from my note, I had a letter from Mrs Cleugh explaining the school book policy, that the work books are being kept back to provide continuity of work, etc for next year’s class teacher.
On Friday 20 July I was contacted to say that my child’s books would be available for collection at 3pm. I duly turned up and I am grateful to the staff who were there to give me my child’s books. However I was only given 1 Literacy book (number 3 out of at least 5), 1 RE book, 1 history book and 1 geography book. No maths and none of her completed work books, homework book or reading review book were given to me. When I asked the teacher present if I would be able to collect the completed work books in September she was unable to give me an answer. When I asked for the maths books, I was told that they were unable to find them.
I honestly felt like I was in some sort of comedy sketch. I actually had to sign for the books given to me of my own child’s school work and promise to return them on the inset day before next term starts, at 9am! Its bonkers!!!
Why as parents was this new policy not communicated to us in a newsletter? Also if this policy was put in place last year, how come some members of the governing body know nothing about it? A lot of anger and ill feeling could easily have been avoided if parents had been informed of this up front. If this policy has been agreed by the governing body, it will be minuted somewhere, I am therefore going to see if I can find and read the appropriate minutes.
It is ludicrous to expect teachers of a new class to read through hundreds of old exercise books from the previous year - they simply do not have the time. I have spoken to a number of teachers from other schools about this and they have all said that they may keep back a couple of pieces of work in a portfolio for a child so that there is a continuous record of work available. They also have statistics available for each child. Mrs Cleugh’s letter said that partially completed work books will be passed onto the new teacher - what about the completed work books?
This doesn't look like a headteacher confident that standards of education are on the up and up. This looks like 'hide the evidence' defensive action. I'd be happier with someone who prated less about 'standards, policies,protocols,guidelines,measurements' and other such boring meaningless rhubarb, and actually showed some sign of being excited by learning and all that it involves.
Mrs Cleugh, Can I remind you that you are here to serve the school. The school is not here to serve your career ambitions.
I wonder if anyone got their childs maths book, seems funny that I saw my childs maths book in his class with another parent who saw their childs as well, on the Thursday at about 14.00 but by 12.30 on Friday they both could not be found, I wonder if these books will be found by September, I WON'T HOLD MY BREATH
Hello from teresa roscow
I have had the same - I sent my two kids to school on Thurs morning with a letter for their teacher asking for their exercise books. Nicholas in Year 6 got his books, no problem. Whereas for Tom in Year 2 there was "the letter" in his book bag, explaining why I would not get his. And I got a phone call too, after 3pm, from Miss Lewis the Standards Leader (what?) on Friday, while I was at work. If I came to the school before 4pm I could have the books as long as I brought them back on Sept 3rd, and I would have to sign for them. Unfortunately I did not make it to school, so they are still there. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, the books are harder to get hold of than JK Rowling's manuscript to the last Harry Potter...
Before the policy was always that books went home, and the new teacher would make their own assessment of each child. Has this changed because the teacher is likely to be a newly qualified and/or relatively inexperienced person? And surely under Mrs C's auspices of assessments etc it should be v clear exactly how the children are progressing - it was one of the points she made to me when I went to see her.
Another theory, of course, is that SEN children may not have had the extra help they should have had and this would show up IF parents saw their books...so a blanket No to any child's books going home may hide this.
How can I tell? I am only a parent.
But as others have said this has been handled very poorly. Yet another example of Mrs C's inability to communicate adequately. And the farcical goings-on yesterday re parents trying to see Mrs C. I would like to know whether there is a standard policy for books, shall we write to the LEA? Should we write individually or get a joint letter?
By the way, jackie, minutes may be difficult to get hold of, as apparently there is no Clerk to the Governing Body, or so I have been told
What's happened to our children's books??
I too collected books yesterday for my three children. Outstanding is the majority of their Literacy work and ALL of their Maths work.
Unfortunately, the member of staff who handed me my books had a bit of a tussle with me for which I do apologise; I was unhappy with the fact that I had to sign a form requesting return of all school books at the start of next term. I tried to wriggle out of it by adding a 'Nota Bene' stating I would return COPIES of said books. The poor member of staff and I had a stand-down over this. I am sure she was simply following orders, nothing more. Yes, I signed the form, the legality of which I think we need not worry about too much (Mrs Cleugh - is this a clause of the NEW policy on return of school books? You should familiarise yourself with legislation on INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY before presenting parents with the reality of NO SCHOOL BOOKS going home for the first time ever!)
I also saw that some other parents had signed for their children's books to be released; I wonder if the parents of Years 4 and 6 children had to sign a form too, demanding return of all their children's school books? Some of them were taking home considerable amounts of these year groups' work ....
All other parents, if I were you I would be seriously concerned about your children's books. Where are they?! Hopefully, this is just a storm in a teacup and September will bring to light ALL children's books representing all work completed throughout the last school year.
Can these clowns get anything right? Are they deliberately trying to wind people up and have dramas every 5 minutes? Can we ever have a normal school again, run by normal people rather than these demented control freaks?
This comment was posted today on another post, I am pasting it here so that it isn't missed:
You're not alone at St. Vincents.
The new Head at Oaklands in Hanwell,Miss Michelle moore,appointed at Easter 2007, is a complete disaster.She has sworn at staff, belittled them, and intimidated them. There is an atmosphere of fear, and staff are completely demoralised.
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YET ANOTHER SCHOOL.SUPPORT THE ACTION!
43 members of staff-both teaching and non-teaching-have signed a letter of no co-confidence in the new Head, and the unions have been called in.
How does the LEA respond?
Of course, the easy answer- staff must be picking on poor Miss Moore!
All of us - concerned members of staff and parents- must unite and fight this new-style management, which seems to have official approval.
July 21, 2007 9:57 PM
I have read through the comments and am beginning to sense the dynamics in the unfolding saga of this school. Incidentally I have no children at St Vincents however my godson has attended the school until recently and I can say that I am relieved he is being educated elsewhere.
I hope my contribution is constructive and perhaps a little bit instructive too.
I think we are dealing here with highly defensive personalities, one or two of whom may be consciously malicious. Rather than unpacking this here I recommend that those of you with a reading appetite, go and pick up a copy of M Scott Peck's 'People of the Lie'. Then read it.
You need to understand what you are dealing with at a psychological level and the nature of the fallout from these kind of political confrontations with psychologicial disorder in positions of power. Remember people who have continued to survive and hold onto power and status are more complex than you think.
It is good to stand against corruption and injustice but understand the battle. There is a time for everything and although it looks like a destructive person is flourishing there is a time coming when they will be cut off. You need to know what is required of you and do that alone.
Those of you who have faith in God - If you would agree to fast regularly and ask the Lord to intervene according to His wisdom you will see changes for the better.
Pray for those in authority They will have to answer to someone a lot higher than you or I.
I will be following this blog - for anyone who has been hurt harassed and bullied within this situation my heart goes out to you as I have experienced something similar in an agency linked with the church years back. I learned a lot about narcissim, denial of responability and the kind of people who need status and wilfully destroy others who represent any kind of threat to them.
Don't allow bitterness to take root in your heart - this is one of the main ways people get injured and affected longterm by these situations. Out of this comes depression and physical illness.
Please understand that the battle belongs to the Lord
Wishing you all the very best
I am very cross about this work book debacle. I too, am keen to know if those year 4 parents who were able to pick up their kid's books on the last day of term had to sign for them and promise to return them in September. Can anyone out there shed any light on this?
I was able to take my Year 4 child's books, although not a full set. I was aked to return only two in September for going up to Year 5
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