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Millie Till, 10, Augustus Matinas, 6 and Ethan Sealey, 5, at the meeting |
Summit over school’s future
Teachers and parents meet to demand action
A SUMMIT at the Town Hall last week saw pupils, teachers and parents meet to discuss the future of Clerkenwell Parochial primary school.
In February, the Tribune revealed how secret internal documents laid bare the crisis facing the school with 96 per cent of eight-year-olds struggling to read, write and add up.
The problems at Clerkenwell Parochial, in Amwell Street, Clerkenwell, are so bad that at the beginning of February 20 children had already removed by their parents from the school.
A further 21 were at the time believed to be on the waiting list ready to be accepted at other schools.
Sources at the school said at least two parents have taken legal advice over suing the board of governors and CEA@Islington, the company that runs the borough’s schools.
Complaints over too many supply teachers, leadership and an “overbearing” board of governors have dogged the school since the summer.
One parent said in February: “A parent-governor removed her children last week, two more went yesterday and another one today. They’re leaving like lemmings, it’s every single day.
“Clerkenwell Parochial has plunged from being one of the top-performing primary schools in the borough to being one of the worst.
“This can’t go on and we are demanding to know who is accountable.” CEA said at the time the numbers of children is what “we would expect”, although parents questioned why children would leave so quickly, in such a short space of time.
Clerkenwell Parochial is one of the Queen’s favourite primaries, having made numerous visits there, both on her own and with Prince Charles.
But it scores badly in every key government primary school indicator and is the worst in Islington in vital ‘Value Added’ tests.
In December, a new headteacher, Alison Forbes, was brought in to drag the school out of the doldrums, replacing former head Charles Morris.
Clerkenwell Parochial is run by the Church of England with Rachel Baughen as its chair of governors.
Last week, a special School Council meeting was convened, chaired by the Mayor of Islington, Councillor Jyoti Vaja.
Parents, teachers and governors joined pupils at the meeting to contribute their views on the topic of “what do we want our school to be like in the future?”
The School Council meeting was held in the main council chamber at the Town Hall.
Mrs Forbes took minutes at the meeting, which she will examine at school. Pupils hopes for the future included having the best SATs results in Islington and to be a high achieving school, a more colourful playground with flowers and plants, no bullying, and better recycling facilities.
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