Monday, October 08, 2007
The Knowsley ‘Stampede’The Knowsley ‘Experiment’ rolls on, this is the plan (under Building Schools for the Future) to close eleven secondary schools and re-open them with seven ‘Learning Centres’. The old curriculum is being jettisoned, classrooms are being replaced by ‘Learning Zones’ and teachers will become ‘facilitators’. Instead of boring old local authorities supplying services private sector companies will do the job.
National adverts have appeared for headteachers (One hundred lines ‘I must not be a Luddite’)… sorry ‘Learning Centre Leaders’. Two internal candidates have been appointed but two other headteachers who applied weren’t up to scratch, so five positions were externally advertised.
Naturally you would assume that there would be a stampede of ‘blue sky thinkers’, ‘innovative leaders’ and ‘visionaries at the cutting edge of new technology’ desperate to become ‘Learning Centre Leaders’.
I’m sure the applicants were high quality… it’s just… well… OK since you ask only eight people applied for the five posts. What put people off? Possibly the prospect of ‘jack the results up or here’s your P45’.
Still with all the shiny new computers in place the brand new buildings who needs teachers or headteachers? (200 lines ‘I must not be a Luddite’) Sorry ‘Learning Centre Leaders’.
It can’t fail. Can it?
