Trojan Horse School Report-Surely we must be concerned?

[El Presidente]

To be fair to the Bloke, Gove did not introduce the Academy concept.

But I am not used to being fair to Gove, who is dangerous and ignorant.

I was involved recently on the margins with a school not far from where I live which was forced/bullied in to becoming an academy when it did not really want to.

I think free schools were his idea, and they really are a way to divert and waste £millions of public money in to allowing some crackpot people to do their own thing, while well proven existing institutions suffer the inevitable cutbacks that result. I know because my wife is the head of an institution which is progressing extremely well but is constantly strapped for funding.

This is not on the subject of the OP at all, to which my response is that we should be concerned, perhaps, rather than worried. I do not know enough about the ins and outs of it to be able to speak authoritatively, but I believe the problem has been exaggerated and that Gove is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I also - as an active Christian - do not agree with the concept of faith schools, but appreciate that for the most part it was the faith Communities who used to provide education in this country before the state came in with firstly compulsory Primary and then later compulsory secondary education.

Whilst I'm a practising Atheist, I do agree with nearly all of what you have said.

 

[smudge]

So, do they get out of RE? Always skived off that anyway!

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Labour party created this mess by letting too many people in to this country.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Agreed. The pressure he puts non academy schools under is intense. My wife has just quit her job as a school head as the nagging and bullying from Gove's cronies has become unbearable. I don't see her during term time as the hours she has to put in are ridiculous.

What also goes unnoticed are the profits being generated by the academy chains. Some people are making huge sums out of this obscenity of a creed from Gove..........and it's not the pupils.

I'd also add the over keen heads who want to go down that route - I'm pretty certain there is an agenda behind Hove Park's decision to convert that comes from the head who isn't interested what a section of his parents feel about it.

 

[Leighgull]

This piece in yesterday's Guardian satisfied my sense of non-righteous rage...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/07/trojan-horse-infiltration-faith-schools-secular-education

Am I missing something? These schools were not set up as faith schools they receive state funding as secular schools who have then gone "off plan" and turned themselves into faith schools by the fact that they are run ad attended by...er..Muslims?

If they were set up as Isamist schools with no other denominations there then they wouldn't GET state funding. The point being they are pretending to be multi faith and secular to attract maximum funding but only allowing Islamic education in practice?

Either way. Ofted have dropped a massive bollock to let this go on for this long.

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Am I missing something? These schools were not set up as faith schools they receive state funding as secular schools who have then gone "off plan" and turned themselves into faith schools by the fact that they are run ad attended by...er..Muslims?

If they were set up as Isamist schools with no other denominations there then they wouldn't GET state funding. The point being they are pretending to be multi faith and secular to attract maximum funding but only allowing Islamic education in practice?

Either way. Ofted have dropped a massive bollock to let this go on for this long.

They have dropped a massive bollock. This doesn't surprise me either. Nice to know this is not on my doorstep anymore.
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/co...motes-stoning-lashing-and-execution-1-6108170

 

[Brightonfan1983]

I only recenty found out that schools exist in this country where English is not the first language. What the f*** is all that about?

Seriously?

I mean, are you serious in a. being surprised, and b. being outraged?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Labour party created this mess by letting too many people in to this country.

All those eastern Europeans who prefer to send their kids to a RC school ?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Don't worry. A new government will be along in under a year and they can reform education all over again. Time to take education out of the control of politicians I think.

 

[beorhthelm]

Am I missing something? These schools were not set up as faith schools they receive state funding as secular schools who have then gone "off plan" and turned themselves into faith schools by the fact that they are run ad attended by...er..Muslims?

If they were set up as Isamist schools with no other denominations there then they wouldn't GET state funding. The point being they are pretending to be multi faith and secular to attract maximum funding but only allowing Islamic education in practice?

Either way. Ofted have dropped a massive bollock to let this go on for this long.

i think you likely are missing something, as there is a heavy bias on the reporting to paint a picture. scratch around and find at least one school affected isn't restricting intake on faith and the parents of kids there report the story is distorted to outright invented. what you have is crossfire between some people (not necessarily Gove vs May directly themselves) with a "warning" given that something "may" happen, that hasnt apparently been followed, and a personal vendetta by someone slighted by a off cuff remark (something about a senior security chap and his girlfried, the one who leaked the story).

short version: some are making up their own mind without the full story.

 

[Comrade Sam]

This is all a load of Islam bashing rubbish. There's no evidence to support the Trojan letter, just your usual media hyped political football. I wouldn't trust Ofsted or Gove with anything, let alone the education of our children. They have continued new Labours policy of public money for privatising state education. They have allowed Academy chains to predicate on struggling schools around them and get Ofsted to do a job on those that don't. Whilst I'm no fan of religion, it is being blamed to mask the destruction of our public services and give them over to the governments friends in big business. As for schools that don't speak English - this is Ukip crap. I teach in Leyton in one of these schools, 95% speak English just not all as their first language. You'll be horrified to know the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Friesians, Vikings, Normans, and Huguenots couldn't speak English. Richard the Lion Heart spoke only French, the leader of the Chartists was black and St George was a Turk!

 

[Soulman]

Nice eh.
Books promoting stoning and execution found at school.
An Islamic primary school was found with books promoting stoning, lashing and execution, the education watchdog has said.

Ofsted said Olive Tree Primary School in Luton, Bedfordshire, was deemed inadequate after inspectors found "pupils' contact in school with people from different cultures, faiths and traditions is too limited to promote tolerance and respect for the views, lifestyles and customs of other people".

Along with library books that "promote fundamentalist views" which "have no place in British society", it was found there were too few books about the world's other major religions.

Inspectors also said that too many key standards for independent schools were not met in the curriculum, along with the "spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, and the welfare, health and safety of pupils".

 

[Creaky]

Nice eh.
Books promoting stoning and execution found at school.

I expect you'll find copies of the Bible in lots of schools!

 

[Soulman]

I expect you'll find copies of the Bible in lots of schools!

Probably, you do tend to find that in Christian countries.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I went to a Church of England primary school in Hurstpierpoint where we had to attend hymn practice every Wednesday (unless, like me, you overlooked the considerable handicap of not being able to read music & joined the school orchestra instead...fractionally less boring), said grace before every lunchtime meal, and sang a morning hymn (almost always Morning Has Broken) in assembly each day. Also had to go to the standard main Christian church services- Easter, harvest festival & Christmas/advent services.

I'm not in the slightest bit religious, and frankly felt it all to be quite dull, but wouldn't have had a choice over these things if I wanted to go to school in my local village.

The point being, many people have no issue with kids going to a religious school if it's a religion they know and are comfortable with. I also know parents who have started going to church & had their kids baptised despite having no religious inclination whatsoever, simply to get the offspring a place in a school that's considered "better" than the other local ones. They seem quite capable of overcoming any fears of indoctrination by the local-Catholic bishop or C of E vicar and, needless to say, will stop attending church just as soon as the precious school place is secured.

I know we're talking extremes in the sense of the schools referred to in this report, but I'm just making the point that there must be a tiny bit of fear mongering going on here, and that maybe it's not simply "religion" per se that people object to.

 

[Soulman]

This is all a load of Islam bashing rubbish. There's no evidence to support the Trojan letter, just your usual media hyped political football. I wouldn't trust Ofsted or Gove with anything, let alone the education of our children. !

Meanwhile with the boot on the other foot....imagine the outrage if this situation was reversed.

Rural school deemed 'too white' by Ofsted visits London to mix with ethnic pupils

Payhembury Primary in Devon was criticised for not being multicultural
So visit planned to a school in London where most pupils are from minorities
Smallberry Green primary in Isleworth, West London, will host 29 pupils
Parents have called the £35 trip 'patronising' - though others welcome it
A small rural primary school has organised a sleepover to London – so the children get a chance to see people who are not white.
Payhembury Primary in Devon was criticised by Ofsted for being insufficiently ‘multicultural’.
So the 68-pupil Church of England school is asking parents to pay for their children to make a two-day trip to a school with a wide mix of ethnic backgrounds.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Probably, you do tend to find that in Christian countries.

Ah yes, this deeply Christian country, population around 46 million (England), with it's regular church-going population of just over 796,000 and falling, and drop of four million calling themselves Christian in a decade (to 2012)

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Whether I'm concerned or not won't affect anything. Best not to worry about things you can do nothing about. You'll get ulcers.

as he waves his white flag, yeah just bury our heads in the sand ,it'll all go away in the morning
regards
DR

 

[Buzzer]

You'll be horrified to know the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Friesians, Vikings, Normans, and Huguenots couldn't speak English. Richard the Lion Heart spoke only French, the leader of the Chartists was black and St George was a Turk!

Horrified? I'm beside myself. The Romans didn't speak English? Outrageous. Are you sure? The Vikings neither? And the Huguenots - surely they would have spoken English. And St George was a Turk? I did not know that. This information is dynamite. And completely relevant.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We do need to be concerned, I'm sure.

Why does a Primary School in Luton have literature suggesting that stoning is a suitable punishment? But then, I guess that all schools will have literature that promotes various punsihments, but it is up to the teacher to ensure that the children know that it is not.

Do the teachers at that school do that?

I had a big old book that followed me around suggesting that crucifixion was an accepted punishment and fitting.

Alarm bells do ring.