Student Voice (and meeting Michael Gove)

I sometimes wonder who writes the script for Moorside.

Everyone involved with the proposed Consett Academy is expecting to hear this month about the level of funding the government is prepared to offer to build the new school.

But was I alone in being very surprised to learn that Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, was going to visit Consett to judge things for himself at first hand?

It was all very hush hush and I didn’t receive an invitation to meet the guy until an hour before he arrived, but it was certainly a memorable occasion. He was en route to Alnwick but called into CCSC on his way. There were a couple of high points. He met with some of the staff from Consett and I thought that they were magnificent. They were professional and assertive in the way that impressed on Mr. Gove that the uncertainty for all of us must come to an end as soon as possible.

He also met with a group of CCSC students and they too represented their school very well. The meeting was at his request apparently, so he obviously understands that if you want to make a decision about schooling, you need to listen to those on the receiving end.

Now I know that there are still some educators who are uneasy about asking the kids for their opinions because they fear that they will take the chance to get them into trouble.

Well I can honestly say that I’ve never known that occur.

However, young people are often disarmingly honest and, when you look into it, are usually right.

I mention all this because the best moment of last week was a long overdue meeting I had with our Student Council. For various reasons, this was our first meeting since last term, but I’m determined that we will work much more closely together from now on. They’re in charge of all fund raising, but they also help with appointing staff and with our self evaluation. They’re a powerful and influential group and have determined important actions we’ve taken on many occasions in the past.

It’s also significant that whenever we are inspected, the inspectors make a point of interviewing groups of students. This happens quite a lot because in Durham, schools are inspected by the local authority very regularly. The inspectors always say that our young people, are immensely proud of Moorside and rate our provision very highly.

But they sometimes suggest improvements too and they should always be given a fair hearing.

Snow Rules

At Moorside we talk about snow rules.

This means that you're not allowed to touch the snow and it works well. All kids enjoy playing in the snow, but in a crowded school environment it can get out of hand.

Not that we've had to impose snow rules lately.

In fact, the snow has been ruling us. So much so that we've only managed to open for two days out of the past seven which must have had a drastic impact on learning. That equates to a whole week of schooling or, to put it another way, every pupil has missed 25 lessons, including those in year 11 who are working hard towards their GCSEs.

Of course, extreme weather conditions are nothing new in Consett. Moorside’s 800 feet above sea level and totally exposed to the north wind. Every year we can assume that we're going to lose two or three days to the weather, but that usually happens in January or February - not at the end of November. So we've already more than used up our quota before winter has really started.

And here's another thing.

Deciding to close a school, even for just one day, is a huge matter. We all know that there's a very strong connection between attendance and achievement. I've no doubt that a crucial factor in the steep rise in standards at Moorside is the increase in attendance from 90 to 94%. And we know that the very highest performing schools in the country often have annual attendance rates of 95% and over.

So I guess that deciding to close because of the weather leaves me open to accusations of double standards, especially from those parents with whom I've done some straight talking about booking holidays in term time or allowing their children to stay off school for no good reason. I say repeatedly in reports and in conversations, “We can’t teach them if they’re not here.”

Well, just for the record, this loss of learning is why I find the decision to close because of snow one of the most difficult aspects of headship.

So I don’t do it lightly.

This is what happens.

It's often hard to make the call in advance so I rely on a 6.00 am phone contact with Niqui McConnell in Consett to check out the conditions. Then I'll consult the state of the roads on line and on the radio as well as the weather forecast for the rest of the day. I have to bear in mind whether buses can reach the site and also whether or not staff are going to be able to make it because without them we can't function. I also need the views of the premises staff about the condition of the site (which has been engulfed in snow for the past week and latterly blocked by abandoned cars). Over the past few days, Janet Price, our assistant caretaker has been voluntarily on site from 4.30 am in arctic conditions and on Thursday morning her dedication was rewarded with a nasty bang on the shoulder when she fell on the ice.

There's always the risk that deciding to close is followed by a day of fine weather when it would have been perfectly possible to open. Thankfully, that hasn't happened up to now. Indeed, once the decision's made to close, the Moorside professionalism kicks in with everyone playing their part in Christine Connolly's telephone tree. It's so efficient that the message can reach everyone in less than ten minutes and that includes parents and the local media.

Anyway, I'm writing this on Sunday afternoon trying to take my mind off watching West Brom put three past the boys in black and white. I keep looking at the sky trying to guess what the clouds will bring over night. I’ll be sleeping with my fingers crossed, hoping that we can have a Monday which is something close to normal.

Not that the weather on Tyneside is much of a guide to the Consett micro climate.