Verdict reveals failure of Serco
SO, SANDON Business and Enterprise College has been placed in special measures by Ofsted. Despite a new, purpose-built building, the standards of the school have apparently fallen below the level expected by the inspectors.
The whole reorganisation of this city's high school education has been based on Serco's assumption that new buildings equal better results. This theory is now shown to be wrong. It is not buildings that make a successful school but the hard work and commitment of pupils, teachers and parents.
The failure of Sandon is the responsibility of Serco, who run our city's schools. This company are paid to improve the education of our city's children. So far all they seem to have done is cause chaos and disruption through their ill-conceived closure plans.
If they have their way, they will close the best performing non-selective school in the city, waste millions siting an academy on a green belt site, spend £230 million and still fail to provide school places for 1,600 pupils in this city. The children will have to be crammed in somewhere!
I hope that Sandon will emulate Trentham High School and quickly emerge from 'special measures' to have a successful future. Councillors have a duty to hold Serco to account for their failings over Sandon High and must insist on an immediate review of the whole Building Schools For The Future proposals. Nothing less will be acceptable to voters.
KAREN PATE
Trentham
Comments
by Nicky, Trentham
Wednesday, December 10 2008, 1:26PM
“Certainly a review of BSF would be a good thing. We do have councillors who would dearly like this to happen. The trouble is the labour/tory/libdem alliance with their party whip always wins. The alliance seem to do better than the others in; (a) getting their members to turn up to council meetings, (b) keeping them there for the duration of the meeting and (c) rounding them up if they've gone walkabout during the meeting in time for relevant votes. However, the other councillors are more considerate towards the communities they serve and have a good deal more common sense.”