I publish below a Guest Post from someone involved with current events at Copland Community School. The views expressed are those of the guest blogger but I publish it because I believe that the public should know what some of the staff are experiencing and thinking. I will be happy to publish any alternative perspectives.
An increasing number of Copland Community School staff suspect that it is Brent’s intention to let the school die. The evidence?
New Head Richard Marshall and new Deputy Head Nick John have spent their few weeks in office
· cutting whole courses and subject areas
· narrowing the curriculum
· demanding that department heads nominate staff for redundancy
· threatening any who refuse with redundancy themselves
· reducing heads of department to tears
· wasting Brent HR officers’ time calling them in to interview staff about legitimate and certificated sickness absence (including ones following operations and motor accidents)
· cancelling Sports Day and another planned Activities Day at short notice
· refusing any joint consultation with staff
· refusing to furnish a definitive list of staff leaving in July citing ‘equal opportunities’(?)
· adding to the 30 plus staff leaving for voluntary redundancy (sometimes under threat of future non-procedural and bogus capability action) by making working conditions for remaining staff so bad that they are desperate to leave as well
· making the school curriculum offer to prospective Yr 7 parents, and to Year 11 students considering staying on for A levels, as unattractive as the appalling physical conditions students will work under
· boasting about how ‘tough’ they are prepared to be in carrying out more of the above
Everyone knows how extensive and attractive the Copland site would be for developers. It certainly wasn’t lost on former Head (now awaiting trial on fraud charges) Sir Alan Davies. Many at Copland now believe that the only explanation for the imposition of yet another clueless management regime on this long-suffering school community can be that Brent want to reduce the roll to the point where they can declare the school unsustainable, close it down and flog off the land to a supermarket chain and a residential developer.