Ofsted failure fears at school

Don't worry - the council will hand over responsibility to Hampshire soon. If it works for Children's Services - why not education?

As long as we lose the entire IOW 'Cabinet' too - I'll be happy.

Just one question. Why can't the extra training days be done during the lengthy half terms? I have to take another 2 days of my hard earned 21 days holiday to look after my child when he should be in school learning!

The reorganisation of schools forced me to leave the island and teach on the mainland. From the word go it was a monumental disaster that destroyed the morale of so many staff that worked in schools across the island. Under the banner of standards, the council have acquired some good building plots, ruined established communities and jeopardised the future of a whole generation of island pupils.
When I speak to my old colleagues I hear so often of poor discipline in and outside of the classroom and a lack of respect. Surely this has to be tackled as a priority, with the parents of poorly behaved children who stop others from learning and getting on in life being made accountable for their behaviour. Give teachers a better chance to actually teach and you will see standards rise.

Sorry Alan, but the school was suffering long before the changeover, when we moved to the Island 7 years ago, due to lack of places my eldest had to be placed at Ryde High and youngest at Sandown, how I wish they had both gone to Ryde. We had to fight for his education all the way through, Ryde provided constant updates on progress and encouragement, Sandown only provided when pushed, teachers tried their best but had no support and when my youngest was found a college placement for his final year in his chosen career as they had given up on the traditional path, on completion of the course it turned out to be of no value whatsoever as they had given us the wrong details. Thankfully he achieved the grades he required, simply because we paid for private tuition. My business partner's son is now at Sandown and she is looking to move him, they still cannot coordinate the timetable to use the site efficiently and literally have to run from one side of the site to the other for lessons.

Special measures again - quelle surprise. Though from where I stand the fault lies with a badly mismanaged schools re-organisation and inept and under resourced LEA. No doubt the headteacher will be scapegoated for the poor performance and senior leadership pillaried - though at the end of the day I don't believe our schools benefit one iota from this churn.

I'm told that the average term for the principal of an academy is just 9 months - how on earth will this culture of blame and fire help to drive up standards?

From my own time at school, colleges and universities, and from the experiences of my own children, I have come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of teacher.

There are those teachers who WANT to be teachers, they are teachers because they want to impart knowledge to others. They have an enthusiasm for their subject, and that enthusiasm is usually passed on to their students. These are the good teachers.

Then there are the time-servers. They come in, do what is required, then go. No interest in what they are teaching or the kids they are teaching it to. To them its just a job.

I suspect there are plenty of teachers who started off as the first type, but were ground down by poor working conditions, petty bureaucracy, abusive kids (and parents) to become more like the second kind.

And once the fire is out, it is very hard to re-ignite.

I wish that someone could say what the actual problem is with education on the IOW?So soon after the major change over it unfair to judge but whatever anyone says you cannot deny that year on year annual RESULTS are abysmal here and that is the end product so something somewhere is going very wrong.You can try and say, oh but the IOW has special circumstances/problems but nationally so do other areas and they do better year on year. We were shocked when we moved here from London over 20 years ago just how far behind the children where and it that time it has got worse! So come on someone,tell us without taking it personally what is the reason IOW schools, with few exceptions, are, based on national figures rubbish???

Sorry Alan, but the school was suffering long before the changeover, when we moved to the Island 7 years ago, due to lack of places my eldest had to be placed at Ryde High and youngest at Sandown, how I wish they had both gone to Ryde. We had to fight for his education all the way through, Ryde provided constant updates on progress and encouragement, Sandown only provided when pushed, teachers tried their best but had no support and when my youngest was found a college placement for his final year in his chosen career as they had given up on the traditional path, on completion of the course it turned out to be of no value whatsoever as they had given us the wrong details. Thankfully he achieved the grades he required, simply because we paid for private tuition. My business partner's son is now at Sandown and she is looking to move him, they still cannot coordinate the timetable to use the site efficiently and literally have to run from one side of the site to the other for lessons.

This School was doing fine before the Council ignored Island residents wishes and moved to this two tier system. Highly successful Primary and Middle Schools were closed. Primary School teachers were moved to High School and were out of their depth. Systems in the newly formed Schools were not ready, despite County Hall patting itself publically on its back and assuring us all was well. So Mr Pugh, another reason to clear your desk and go persue your other job you manage to do whilst taking wages from us

I worked in a school for 16 years as a caretaker and i have to say teachers and support staff are 99.99% hardworking, often above and beyond the call of duty and in 2013 are buried by paperwork. However in Mikes defense a comment once made in my time there has always stuck in my mind, and that was, 'The problem with teachers is they have never left school!' If you think about it for a moment it is so true as again many, but not all, teachers go through the schools system and then straight into working at a school so do have limited life experience. Whether that is relevant to how good a teacher they are or not I dont know but being 'institutionalized' cant be a good thing?. One thing i do believe though is that teachers should be rotated between schools every five years or so as I do not think it is healthy teaching at the same school for 20 plus years as no matter how conscientious you are familiarity can breed contempt or at least staleness and a fresh challenge is always good!

The problem in education is discipline. The worst day in history was the removal of corporal punishment from schools. I went to school and behaved because I didn't want to be caned. Children today,not all, but some and a growing number misbehave in varying degrees and the educators have no method to stop it. They are guard dogs with no teeth and a small disruptive minority know it.The words 'You cant touch me' are repeated again and the resources are poured into disruptive children who run the school system ragged.The 'last resort' of expulsion from school is now overused as schools have no other punishment of any worth.I am not saying you need to bring back Tom Browns schooldays but a growing proportion of the young have no respect of any kind for authority and cause disproportionate disruption to well behaved but possibly struggling children's learning as there is no punishment to stop it.Our society is far more violent now than in 1978 when caning was stopped is there a link.Yes!!

I'll take you back to my original statement collective responsibility will help improve education. I'm not going to anything else, you obviously don't like listening to anybody's point of view as you've heard it all before with the amount of experience you have. I'm proud of the job I do and yes I do need to improve and confident I will do with more years I teach. Thank you for opening my eyes to inform me I don't have any life experience I will get a saturday job and a Holiday job to help me become an old wise owl like yourself. Good day sir

A question to the teachers who don't agree with me.

Is Ofsted wrong?

I would, if it was an art lesson, give them an exercise of drawing it.
Art and Geography all in one :-)

""' Teaching is an art form not something you can get through working on a production line""

Quite agree, but you are saying ""we have to be social workers, agony aunts, mentors, motivators"" and what do you think you have to be when teaching in a prison? Or teaching a bunch of 15 year olds who have been 'dumped on you' to try to get them interested in a trade?

Without experience from the outside world to give as examples, how do you motivate them that what you are teaching them could be useful "this way" or "that way" etc? Are you saying that a living, live, practical example is not better than a few words written in a book? I think I could make the illusion of water running up or down hill on the Corinth Canal or the vanishing point going into the water a little more interesting having been there and seen the water 'running up or downhill' than reading it from a book. I would, if it was an art lesson, give them an exe

Boyo got your back on this one:

Wow mike that's a lot of experience! So your first lesson in front of 27 15yr old kids who don't care one bit about your life experience, where you have been, what you have done.You now have to teach them about photosynthesis or engage them about gaseous exchange, well I can hear your opening line ' back in my day... ' or 'when you get into the real world...' Teaching is an art form not something you can get through working on a production line. Alot of the jobs you were talking about were dealing with people who have chosen to be there and if they haven't they were getting paid on performance!!! So their livelyhood depended on it. Classrooms don't need people who are not taught in the art of teaching, engaging with a 14 yr old who has no support or love at home. Teachers are diverse in the way they work, we have to be social workers, agony aunts, mentors, motivators......not old fashion discipline!!! Give me a talented 22 yr old any day of the week

OK Jon. In a nutshell I would say that before anybody does teacher training, they must have at least five years out in the wide world of commerce or industry.

The others you quote, Doctors, Solicitors etc prove my point, they ARE out in the wide world amongst real cases before they are allowed to practice.

Mike - How can you possibly say that because your young you cant possibly teach, because you have no life experience. This is completely ridiculous.

Where do you stop, you cant be a student doctor because you have no life experience to empathise with patients. You cant be policeman because you don't understand why people don't behave in a particular way. You cant be a solicitor without life experience because you've never dealt with issues, bought a house or had a divorce....

Your logic makes no sense!

Support teachers in the incredible work they do under some very difficult circumstances.

By the way Jon """Perhaps stop watching Waterloo road, using these soap operas to base your opinions on"" has gone over my head. Would you like to explain please?

Jon, for your information, they are all my experiences and each one has its own stresses and problems, but yes, rewarding.

My point is, that a young teacher who has left school, gone to uni, taken a year out to back pack across Oz, then gone into teacher training college in Leicester, then into school teaching, knows nothing of life.

Mike - before you come on here, trying to get peoples backs up about how easy teaching is compared to the pressures of the jobs listed below. You should try teaching, not only is it rewarding yet challenging, it is also extremely stressful and pressured.

But your statement 'life outside of the classroom' shows how narrow minded you understanding is of a teacher.

Perhaps stop watching Waterloo road, using these soap operas to base your opinions on.

Chris ever taught in a prison where you need eyes in the back of your head?

Chris ever taught adults where the success of a course depends on a person's promotion and thus his pension?

Chris ever taught in a Military Discipline and I mean the Royal Navy?

Chris ever taught in a Technical College teaching a trade to Apprentices?

Chris ever taught in a Companies own Training Schools where not only your students, who are all technicians already, are dependent on you to instill information for their benefit, but your own promotion/security depends on it ?

Chris ever been witness to a production line which will grind to a halt if your staff don't get components out to a timetabled schedule?

Chris, ever been appointed to the position of Head of a Department which was shall we say 'lax' and you have to motivate the staff to get production up?

Chris ever seen Screen Printing being set up and applied?

Chris what is your Military experience, where you respect a rank?

.

I spent time in Australia and came back with many experiences so don't patronise me. I've had jobs other than teaching that helped me budget through university
To say a classroom is a cozy place tells me you haven't stepped foot in school since the day you left. Teaching is a stressful job especially with small minded people around that seem to think we sit around drinking coffee.

""" I don't like to hear people saying are teachers "too young"? I started teaching at the age of 22 and I felt i was able to relate to the students and now I'm older I use my experience."""

But what experience have you got of 'the outside world'?

Working with others to a deadline to launch a ship on the next highest tide?

Working with others to get a product out of the door and delivered to the production line of another factory?

Getting the Electric/Water/Sewerage supply connected on a Sunday ready for a factory to open on a Monday?

Putting your own money where there is a risk to get the product made?

How do you explain the treatment of skins prior to the fitting to fluffy slippers?

What goes on in the office/garage of the Bill Poster's factory?

Experience of life outside the cozy classroom.

Bus driver in the mad rush. Insurance man balancing the books. milk man getting up early in the morning

????????????????????

Collective responsibility I think should be the phrase no more pointing fingers. I don't like to hear people saying are teachers "too young"? I started teaching at the age of 22 and I felt i was able to relate to the students and now I'm older I use my experience. We all need to work together to help the children succeed as well as the children themselves e.g. higher aspirations. There are a lot of supportive parents out there and it's their children who are progressing.

Collective responsibility I think should be the phrase no more pointing fingers. I don't like to hear people saying are teachers "too young"? I started teaching at the age of 22 and I felt i was able to relate to the students and now I'm older I use my experience. We all need to work together to help the children succeed as well as the children themselves e.g. higher aspirations. There are a lot of supportive parents out there and it's their children who are progressing.

Matt it doesn't matter how many pupils are there. The 'Head Teacher' is The Captain and should make sure that the school is running to its highest efficiency. The Head Teacher should have the success of the pupils at their heart. The Head Teacher should be instilling the discipline of both the teachers below him/her and that of the pupils. Teaching is a devotion post in the foremost and not the money. If you are in teaching for the money, that's where it has gone pearshape

too many pupils there, too many problems, and from what Ive heard they are doing a 3 day week next week so the staff get extra training!!!

One of the points raised in the Cowes Enterprise College report was inadequate training in teaching older pupils for Middle School teachers who transferred to the school. Sounds like the same problem at Sandown. Surely this should have been a top priority and written into the Project when the change to the education system was agreed.

It's a shame Mr Beynon is leaving. I bet given a few more years he could have sorted out the Island's failing schools. Oh, hang on, that's what he and Mr Pugh promised all those years ago wasn't it? They both claim to be education experts.

So what is it?

The teachers? After all they are supposed to be in control and imparting their wisdom into their students.

The Students? They are supposed to be there learning. Are they learning? If not, why not?

Discipline? Is there lack of it and the students play on it and do not adhere to the school regime of a learning venue?

Back to the teachers, are they too young and lack experience of life to use it during teaching? If a student does not understand something one way, by using experience a teacher can explain it another way, if they can recall an example.

Parents. What support do they give to both their children AND the school?

You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
You can take a child to school, but you cannot make it learn. But you can encourage it to.

I hope these training days include a lot of sitting around drinking cheap tea brewed by the truck load, a few cheap biscuits & bit of "well how was you holiday" & some "well you would never of guessed it".

This way we can really sort the hopeful from the barring on disasters.

All this really needs is a bit of muslce & some in my day lad witha good clip round the ear .. or cane if you a lot lot older than me

Do not worry Sandown Bay Academy you are ONLY one of many of GOVE's failing academy schools lie. Academies DO NOT WORK if you look at the statistics, schools that have been FORCED to become academies FAIL. IT is the current government / GOVE who is destroying the one and ONLY chance your child get will to a GOOD education. Have any of the top government MPs willingly sent their child to academy?

Any views or opinions presented in the comments above are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the Isle of Wight County Press.