Parent Governor

UNISON Conference - Reprioritise Motion 64- Education

2011-06-16T20:54:00.002+01:00

Those who are regular attendees of UNISON conference’s will know that on Friday afternoon motion’s that have been prioritised by regions, SOG’s and NEC can be reprioritised I.E brought forward for discussion. I make no apology for getting in early and calling for motion 64 to be reprioritised.

Motion 64 is the only motion on education that is even on the agenda. However it is so far down the agenda that there is little chance of it being discussed, without it being reprioritised, on the Friday of conference. I am frankly very disappointed that UNISON activists have failed to prioritise this motion.

The current attacks on education are on a similar scale to the attacks on the NHS. Those attacks will see the Labour Governments disgraceful academy programme accelerated to an unprecedented level. Along with the creation of free schools, this is leading to a mass outsourcing of schools into the private sector.

To demonstrate this ideological and unprecedented attack the secretary of state for education, Gove has today announced a completely arbitrary number of 200 primary schools to be immediately converted to academy status (with more to come) on the basis that they are the worst performing schools. Along with the privatisation this attack will create a democratic deficit. This will have little if any accountability to anyone other the trust which is made up of three governors of the old school, the head teacher and the sponsor (private company).
UNISON needs to be at the forefront of defending education and campaigning for a comprehensive education system that will support all children. UNISON seems to be increasing leaving such a campaign to just the teacher’s unions. Delegates to UNISON conference should not go away from this year’s conference without having discussed what is happening to our educations system. Reprioritise motion 64 and vote for it and its amendments.

Student protests- Letter sent to press.

2010-11-26T00:27:00.000Z

Dear Editor

I understand that last Wednesday a large number of older students from Highbury Grove School wanted to go on the Student Demonstration. Students at the school were clearly very angry about the potential loss of Education Maintenance Allowance which is awarded to the vast majority of Highbury Grove students doing A levels and which they very much rely on to complete their studies.

They were also very angry that if they go on to university they will be faced with debts of up to £50000. If I was a school student now I would want to walk out of school and protest about what this government is doing to people who don’t even get a vote.

Cameron and Clegg say they can’t leave the country in debt for the younger generations but instead they will leave them in crippling personal debt. Unfortunately for the students they were not allowed out of the school to make their voices heard. Which is why I write this letter to let people know how angry they are about the actions of this coalition government.

Andrew Berry, Parent Governor, Highbury grove school

Vetting and Barring

2009-12-11T23:01:00.002Z

I am genuinely in two minds about this news story. I not overly bothered personally about having to go though a CRB check to be a school governor but then I have to go though one in my job. However there certainly is lot of hype in the press and the risks are often blown out of proposition to reality.

Elected Parent Governor today.

2009-12-07T18:48:00.000Z

Today I was elected Parent Governor of Highbury Grove School in Islington. In what was unfortunately a very poor turnout I did manage to top the poll for the three vacant places against five candidates. I got 15 votes the other elected governors were Jacqueline who got 14 votes and Beverly with 8.
The post below is my election statement this blog is for others to comment on particularly parents at Highbury grove but also all others interested in education issues. I will be posting report from governor meetings that I attend as well as commenting on education matters both locally and nationally.

Election Statment for parent governor

2009-12-07T18:32:00.001Z

My name is Andrew Berry I would like to be a parent governor for Highbury Grove School I am single parent and have two Daughters at the school aged 11 and 14. I think in many ways the school is a good school and an important school being a local school for all local children what ever their background. Highbury Grove has previously been criticized unjustly for failing standards, when it is in fact improving faster then many of the government so called flag ship academy schools. I think the new building looks amazing and obviously the settling in of the children to the new building has to be the first priority
However there are a number of things I would like to see change. The main points I am standing on are:

• More openness, accountability and consultation.
• Review of Uniform policy.
• Reconsideration of relationship with the Army.

I think the governors seem very distant. I can not recall any correspondence from the governors in the 3 years my older Daughter has been at the school. There should be at least one open meeting between governors and parents, teachers, other school workers and children each year where non-confidential questions and concerns can be raised directly. I would like to see the use of more technology to involve parents and keep them updated both, in particular more use of the internet and email (although bearing in mind that not all parents have access to such technology so all information would need to be available as before when required). I personally pledge to report back using a blog which all parents can then comment on.

An example of this lack of consultation occurred with recent changes to the school uniform. I would like to see a review of the school uniform policy. I would also like to see a uniform which the vast majority of items can be bought in high street shops and make sure that it is easily affordable by all parents and carers. Eventually I would like to see a much simpler uniform then the current ones. I would also hope to ensure that any review sees current parents and parent of children at feeder schools as well as the children themselves fully consulted. When changes happen there should be a period after the change when older uniforms are accepted to allow for the passing on of part-worn items to younger children.

I am very concerned about the schools relationship with the Army I found it disturbing that the Army were explaining “conflict resolution” in classes to children as young as 12. I think it naive for the school to view this as innocent, the armed forces clearly want to encourage children to sign up when they are 16 by presenting themselves a normal career path and at time of economic recession it may be the only job available and this is something that is very worrying to many parents. There is nothing normal about a job where you can be ordered to risk your life or to kill people. There are plenty of other way to explore conflict resolution and team building with out using the army.

Previous Experience - up until recently I was the main negotiator on education maters for Islington UNISON, the largest trade Union in Islington council. As a result I know lot about how education is structured and I am aware of the responsibilities of the Head Teacher, Governor, the Council and the Government. I know many people in the local education authority as well as local councillors and have links with both local MP’s.

I am a member of Campaign for State Education (CASE), which opposed the privatisation of education in Islington. I support the Anti Academy Alliance (AAA), which is against the introduction of academy schools, which are far less accountable to parents, carers, and elected bodies and which have a negative effect on schools like Highbury