Bacon butties – and a toast to the future
A PRIMARY school in Bucknall has celebrated its conversion to an academy with a big breakfast party.
The official launch of Eaton Park Academy saw parents, pupils and staff come together on Monday morning to enjoy bacon butties and hear what the school's new status means for them.
Youngsters from nursery to Year 6 were at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, sporting the uniform they designed.
The burgundy jumper with a light blue shirt and tie was an overall winner when the youngsters were asked to design their ideal uniform – much to the surprise of the teachers.
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Strategic principal Dr Lynne Bradbury, pictured, said: "We were amazed that they had chosen shirts and ties, and that they chose to keep the burgundy colour. It does look very smart indeed."
Dr Bradbury, who has been at the school for nine years, said the conversion to academy would enable the school to better provide for its 470 pupils.
It gives the school greater independence over its finances and more flexibility over what it teaches.
Dr Bradbury said: "Unfortunately, for some of our pupils, their lives outside of school are very difficult. Even with the best will in the world, there's no getting round the fact that for some of them, school is the last thing on their mind.
"To be able to give these children what they need, we need money.
"This switch to academy will give us the chance to meet their needs, either through individual support or small group intervention."
The process of applying for and becoming an academy has taken over a year.
Dr Bradbury added: "It's important to recognise the work that the previous headteacher and staff put in, which enabled us to meet the criteria required of schools who apply to become academies."
Headteacher Sue Dennison, said the day-to-day changes in school would not be all that different.
"We still have to have a broad and balanced curriculum but we will have more swimming, extra sport with fitness Fridays. All of these changes are made with the children in mind, and they are part of the decision-making behind a lot of these changes, like the uniform and the designing of the school's new logo."
Ms Dennison said that throughout the conversion process, she had been amazed by the level of commitment and dedication of the staff.
"They are incredible and I know, together, we will be outstanding."
Governors continue to run the school and chair Mick Finney said he was delighted with the switch.
He added: "It means there's more flexibility in the curriculum and gives us the chance to really challenge the children a lot more.
"We're improving the individual life chances of the kids."
The Arbourfield Drive school will be inspected after 18 months of opening, as are all schools which convert to academy status.
It was last inspected in June 2010, when it was rated as "good" by Ofsted.
Comments
by camband
Thursday, September 20 2012, 8:25PM
“"***, how has this been turned into a rant against halal food?..
Any opportunity I get to -as you call it 'rant' (your favourite word) -I'll take.
And your mate BucknallMel -is a joke too. First she puts this up:-
below -(Tuesday, September 18 2012, 1:29PM)
Quote: "(and incidentally there IS such a thing as halal bacon and ham - turkey bacon and ham, which you will find in a good many takeaways) -unquote.
Now is she/he a joke or what? I'm afraid I can't take this person seriously. For a person who claims to have done all they've done re 'banning halal meat' -from our schools etc etc -and thinks you can have 'halal bacon butties' -c'mon do me a favour. That's pure Bernard Manning.
You sound pig sick.”
by gengar1
Thursday, September 20 2012, 5:54PM
“***, how has this been turned into a rant against halal food?...let the kids eat their butties and stop being an a$$.”
by BucknallMel
Thursday, September 20 2012, 1:31PM
“I see, Camband, you are one of those people who assumes that when they garble a message it is other people who are stupid for not understanding it rather than themselves for expressing it so poorly. So your issue is with the provision of unlabelled halal food to school children (and the general public). Silly place to raise it then, when the article is discussing about bacon butties. FYI, I do know about this and have stopped shopping at supermarkets which do not clearly label halal products as such, informing them by email of why I have done so and asking them to stop the practice. Have you done the same? Have you sent a message about your concerns to the relevant government and local government departments? I have. I've also donated to animal welfare groups which are campaigning to have ALL religious slaughterhouses in the UK forced to either comply with animal cruelty laws or to close. Have you? And by the way, if you're going to quote me, quote me, not yourself.”
by camband
Wednesday, September 19 2012, 8:54PM
“"A Muslim's favourite meat is pig meat- All they have to do is 'call it 'halal' meat and then get it down 'em" .BucknallMel.”
by camband
Wednesday, September 19 2012, 8:51PM
“by Iffyminty
"I still don't know what he is on about....." unquote.
It's no good knocking if there's nobody in.”
by 7buster
Wednesday, September 19 2012, 3:43PM
“If it keeps em away
Serve it everyday.”
by Iffyminty
Wednesday, September 19 2012, 12:31PM
“I still don't know what he is on about.....”
by camband
Wednesday, September 19 2012, 11:45AM
“"Camband, what exactly is your problem? -(and incidentally there IS such a thing as halal bacon and ham) -by BucknallMel.
OK duck, let's start with your above statement before I go on to answer your question, -'what exactly is my problem'.
Do you understand Islamic Laws on food? -what to eat and how the kill animals are slaughtered? It's not the same as our non-halal methods).
From your comments it is quite clear that you don't. Until you do, you are not qualified to make any comments on my posting re this issue or any issues where Islam is concerned.
The next time you entertain a Muslim friend in your home -or at your school -try offering them a bacon butty.... or a 'nice pork and stuffing sandwich' -or even, on a hot day, a nice ham salad. That'd get things of to an excellent start I'm sure.
Now, 'my problem'. I can see that I was being too sardonic in the way I chose to address the Sentinel's 'head-line' for your particular consumption,. -but that is exactly what I was doing.
Let me try and explain. I gather you are not aware of the widespread concern for what is going on in our schools re the clandestine way the authorities are supplying halal meat to our schools -not notifying the parents of such corrupt immoral practices?
You need to make yourself far more aware of much that surrounds our own British traditional culture and the effects on that culture from Islamic influence, as allowed and encouraged, immorally by our local politicians. Totally disingenuous. You won't get any of them coming on here for instance to make a comment on that immorality. Because they have no defence.
They, the local authorities conduct their policies in this regard under the banner -'IGNORANCE IS BLISS'. And you duck, are one of the ignorant they are more than happy to govern.
To make my point clear -Can you imagine the outcry from the Muslim Community, and quite rightly too, if it was discovered that the large and well known Asian Supermarket in Stoke Rd Shelton, PAK-FOODS, had on their shelves NON-halal meat products -unlabelled as such... arranged by the proprietors, who had done a 'shady deal' with a NON-halal Slaughterhouse -which gave a big profit margin to the proprietors?
Well, that is what is going on, and has been for a number of years in our big-four supermarkets. Unlabelled HALAL meat products are stocked, on the shelves of these unscrupulous supermarkets. It's accepted by them to 'pull the wool over the eyes' of their non-Muslims -customers -so long as it helps supply their Muslim customers with halal meat.
That's my problem. If it's not yours too, well that's your decision. But don't tell me what I should and should not be concerned about in this democracy of ours and freedom of expression -which, by the way, I hope you can see, has no hate in it. In fact, I am a regular patron of PAK-FOODS -you should call in sometime, there are some great bargains to be had -and some great Asian exotic herbs on offer.”
by BucknallMel
Tuesday, September 18 2012, 1:29PM
“Camband, what exactly is your problem? is it that in a school with a catchment area in which the population is mostly white (which does include a lot of eastern Europeans, but nobody thought to ask those kids to wave a little Polish flag for your benefit, sorry) the children are white too? Do you want the schools to bus in ethnic children so they can display a brown face in every photo opportunity? Or is it the horror of offering kids a bacon buttie (and incidentally there IS such a thing as halal bacon and ham - turkey bacon and ham, which you will find in a good many takeaways)? For pity's sake, find something worth complaining about - this is Stoke on Trent, it shouldn't be hard...”
by camband
Tuesday, September 18 2012, 10:39AM
“Bacon Butties? -and a TOAST to the future -geddit! What a fantastic 'play on words'... eh! Top journalese.
So they had bacon butties did they...? Looking at the photograph -with not a 'brown face' in sight, was the headline 'Bacon butties – and a toast to the future' -subtext for yet more 'segregation' of race, religion -and culture?
After all, there's no such thing as 'halal bacon butties' is there? Makes life easier for the school administrators I suppose -keeping us all apart? And that applies to all 'Faith Schools' too.
Northern Ireland here we come.”