Federation

Two more isle schools are to form a federation.
Grammar school Dane Court in Broadstairs and King Ethelbert in Birchington have resolved to work closer together from January.The two schools’ governing bodies have already agreed to the plans but say it is not a move towards operating as one single school.
Earlier this year, Chatham House and Clarendon House announced they were going to federate, as did the Ellington School and Hereson School. But while those schools are close together, five miles separates Dane Court and King Ethelbert. It has sparked questions as to why the two are being paired.
The plans have been criticised by Elizabeth Green, Labour’s shadow cabinet member for children, families and education on Thanet council.She thinks the proposals are being rushed through in an attempt to boost the Birchington school’s exam performance figures: “The schools seem strange bedfellows. They are five miles apart and one is a grammar school, while the other is not. I am not convinced this has been fully thought through,” she said.
Thanet South MP Dr Steve Ladyman also has concerns. He said: “The problem is these two schools have no previous links and there is no way pupils could move between the two, so the idea of forming a federation is bizarre”He added: “It seems to me that KCC have no idea how to get King Ethelbert up to the GCSE standard demanded by Government and haven’t given them the resources they need to improve. “My fear is that they will try to fudge the issue by coming up with a management infrastructure that justifies them reporting the GCSE results of the two schools as if they were from a single school. If that is their intention, it would be profoundly dishonest, possibly illegal.”
In a letter sent out to students’ parents, signed by the chairs of both sets of governors, it is revealed that a single group of governors will be created for both schools.An executive head-teacher will take over the federation, with a head of school on each site.The move appears to be part of KCC’s response to the difficulty King Ethelbert has had in achieving five A-Cs at GCSE level. Under the National Challenge, launched by Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, in June, schools have to have 30 per cent of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs by 2011.
Cllr Green said: “Despite KCC Conservatives’ attacks on National Challenge, it is at last pushing them into activity to help pupils in the 33 schools in Kent that are not achieving the standards expected. They should have put extra resources in place far earlier.”
Dane Court admissions will continue to be controlled by the Kent Test, but King Ethelbert’s intake policy will be reviewed next year.
Mark Dance, KCC cabinet member for education operations, resources and skills, said: “The federation is designed so both schools can benefit from strong leadership and governance, as outlined in the letter to parents.”