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Frank Barnes School |
‘Why we must keep fighting’
“OUTSTANDING.” That’s how Ofsted inspectors described aspects of the education at Frank Barnes.
We gained Beacon Status in 2001 and have since received two School Achievement awards. We must be doing something right – we take in children from 16 boroughs.
We are the only primary school in London to deliver the national curriculum directly in British Sign Language (BSL). For the deaf and the hearing-impaired children we teach, BSL will be their first language throughout their adult lives. Every single member of staff can sign BSL to a high standard, so the whole school environment is one in which our children can flourish, speaking their own language.
And this is why we – along with organisations like the National Deaf Children’s Society and other deaf charities – are opposed to our kids transferring to Blanche Nevile school in Haringey.
I want to put it on the record that Frank Barnes thinks Blanche Nevile is a fine school, which does a good job of educating deaf children in a mainstream environment. But we know that it just isn’t right for our kids.
Aside from issues about Blanche Nevile’s capacity to take in our children, most of their pupils have better levels of oral/aural ability than ours. We’re deeply concerned that their approach of teaching through simultaneous translation has the potential to inhibit learning and confidence for our children.
Our preference is for co-location with a Camden primary. Why is the Executive so keen to spend Camden council taxpayers’ money on a school in Haringey, rather than keep the money in our borough?
We aren’t fighting for bricks and mortar. We’re fighting to protect the unique way we educate deaf children.
We’ll continue our fight until we know that future is assured.
MIKE KATZ
Governor at Frank Barnes |
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