Are Ixworth and Stanton Free School proposers misleading parents?

As I have already blogged about this week that the proposers of a free school in the Ixworth and Stanton area held a meeting at Ixworth Free School for parents from Ixworth, Beyton and Blackbourne Middle Schools. I have already documented their refusal to allow me to attend this meeting which at first was put down to a "lack of space" but continued despite this being clearly revealed as a lie by parents who attended the first meeting who reported plenty of space in the hall.

I am grateful to a number of parents who have sent me detailed accounts of these meetings and copies of the documents circulated by the group.

What I have really wanted to work out is why this group would go to such lengths to stop their identities being revealed and to stop members of the public attending this meeting.

I think I have worked out why. But first some more about the meetings and what happened at them.

The Meetings

It is clear that the main backers of the free school are a combination of two Tory politicians - Cllr Joanna Spicer and Matthew Hancock MP with the Heads and Chair of Governors of Ixworth Middle and Blackbourne (Stanton) Middle School. They all sat on the platform at the meeting except Matthew Hancock MP who was not there but a letter from him was read out at the meeting.

In fact both Ixworth and Blackboure sent invitations to parents on school letterhead and parents were greeted at the door by Glenice Francis,  Head of Ixworth Middle.

Ixworth and Stanton Free School Website Launched...

The Ixworth and Stanton Free school parent group appear to have decided to operate in secret, refusing to identify themselves and not allowing the public access to their parents meeting. I have now gathered some evidence and will be blogging tonight about why I think they are doing this. Meanwhile one of the drawbacks of operating in this way has emerged with a website set up at http://www.ixworthandstantonfreeschool.org/ questioning the need for the free school and suggesting questions parents might ask about the proposal....I want to make it clear I am not behind this website and had no part in creating it.

In the leaflet handed to parents at the two meetings this week the group published their "communications" plan with no website, an anonymous hotmail address and gaps for Twitter accounts.

The Facebook group has been set up however. Yes, you guessed. It is a closed group....I have asked to join...

The group in my view would be better placed conducting an open and public debate rather than operating in a secretive and underhand way...

Suffolk Cabinet Member calls Library Pilot Groups "outsiders"

Cllr Jane Storey

In relation to my post on the problems library pilots are having in North Suffolk with property issues Stradbroke library pilot received an email from Cllr Jane Storey the Cabinet member responsible for property issues that has rather thrown petrol on the flames. In an email sent to Stradbroke Parish Council Chair Ann Kerr and copied to other members of the pilots she says:

Thank you for your e-mail. It is not easy weighing up the pro's and con's of each case. I met with Brian yesterday and, with others, we have been working on a way of assessing each case as it comes forward. Although it might seem straighforward to the outsider we have to take into account many factors.

The property issues around the Debenham, Eye and Stradbroke libraries are, as I am sure you realise, quite different for each site. I know that Brian Prettyman is keen to resolve them all, as I am, so that you can progress with this Library Pilot and he will be in touch with you soon.

What is particularly upsetting is that many of us took a leap of faith agreeing to take part in these pilots after a hard fought campaign against the County Council's library plans. We thought we were entering into a partnership with the County Council and so to be described as "outsiders" is disappointing.

In addition this email was sent on 20th September and today on 13 October we are still waiting for Brian to be in touch with us "soon".

Secret backers of Ixworth and Stanton Free School Revealed

Tory Cllr Joanna Spicer

As I mentioned last night a "parent group" is proposing to set up a Free School on the site of one of middle schools that is due to close as part of the move by Suffolk to two tier education. Most likely at Ixworth or Stanton. However despite holding a meeting for Middle School parents the group have continually refused to identify the people who are making the proposal.

During an increasingly bizarre exchange of emails with a so-called "Spokesperson for the Parent Group Ixworth & Stanton Free School" from an anonymous Hotmail email address the group said that:

As and when we formally create an application for a free school, a board of drectors will be established and their identities will become public domain.

Strangely the spokesperson who still would not give me his or her name then offered to meet with me! I had visions of the person having a bag over their head during the meeting so I could not identify them!

Last time I checked proposing to set up a school wasn't illegal so I have no idea why the group are doing this!

So in the interests of openness and accountability I can reveal that the following people are involved:

• Richard Coombe (Parent)
• Wendy Canham (Parent)
• Steve Larder (Parent)
• Glenice Francis (Headteacher at Ixworth)
• Gerald Brown (Chair of Governors at Ixworth)
• P Vigrass (Headteacher at Blackbourne) removed as he has made it clear he has refused to be on steering group due to a "conflict of interest")
• Cllr Joanna Spicer (Tory Suffolk County Councillor)
• Matthew Hancock MP (Tory MP for West Suffolk)

I have also received quite a bit of information from the parents meeting last night and a copy of the leaflet they are circulating at the meetings is available on Wikisuffolk. I will blog again soon about this subject with more information about the plans.

Is Ixworth and Stanton "Free School" MP or parent led?

Matthew Hancock MP for West Suffolk

Parents of children attending Ixworth, Beyton and Blackbourne (Stanton) Middle Schools have been invited to meetings tonight and tomorrow night at Ixworth Middle school to discuss a proposed Ixworth and Stanton "Free" School. In a letter on Blackbourne Middle letterhead but mysteriously signed "Ixworth & Stanton Free School Parent Group" parents are invited to the meeting but:

Seating is limited so we would appreciate parents and carers only at the meeting

Recently these three middle schools had their academy applications turned down by Gove due to the adverse impact the proposed 9-13 Middle Schools would have on an area where there is a move to two tier education.

Perhaps understandably the Middles are desperate to stay open and the proposed free school is the latest attempt. On the recent failure of their Academy bid Ixworth's Head Glenice Francis is clearly unhappy when quoted in the Evening Star:

We feel that the academy route offered the best opportunity to provide stability and maintain and improve educational standards for our current and future pupils.

This idea has come as Suffolk County Council and the Thurston partnership have published a joint consultation document on moving to two tier. Both the Partnership and County Council have clear websites and are holding open public consultations on the proposals.

I wrote to the email address on the letter from "Ixworth & Stanton Free School Parent Group" who's letter I downloaded from Beyton Middle School on Blackbourne Middle letterhead. The email address curiously is Ixworth Middle's admin account. I asked if I could attend the meeting and for the names of the people who run the parent group. After much prompting the Head of Ixworth fobbed me off with an anonymous hotmail account for the "parents group" and the same excuse on space.

I was, however, able to find a bit out about the proposal from the local Tory MP's website. Where there are two articles enthusing about the proposals and claiming Education Secretary Gove supported the bids (actually it looked more like he was welcoming the application). The other article is actually a letter from Hancock to parents urging them to support the Free School.

The question for me really is who is leading this bid? Parents? Schools? or MP Matthew Hancock? And does Suffolk really need another free school based on a former Middle site or are we setting up problems of over supply for the future. These are serious issues and it is a shame that "Ixworth & Stanton Free School Parent Group" could not find a larger venue so a serious debate could be held.

Unholy alliance on porn between Cameron and the Mother's Union

These days even the Mother's Union are on Twitter. For reasons best known to them the Church of England charity has allowed itself to be used by Cameron as part of his latest announcements about filtering the Internet. Now of course I don't think it a good idea for children to have access to porn but that does not mean I am going to jump on the bandwagon and support a plan that just won't work. Even if it did I am far from sure it would be the right thing to do.

We know it won't work because for years school's have tried to censor their Internet connections and for years kids have got around their attempts with proxy servers, Open DNS and VPNs. Sites that are genuinely useful have been filtered and some filtering companies seem to filter anything anyone asks them to - sometimes even school's own websites (submitted of course by students to make the point).

In any event is looking at porn really the main problem for families and children in the UK? No of course it isn't. We only need to look at the Mother's Unions own Twitter feed to find what really is:

As they say it really is shameful that by 2013 no less than 600,000 more children will live in poverty. This tweet links to a story from CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group) which lays the blame for this situation squarely on Cameron and his Government:

“It doesn’t have to be like this. Government is about choices and there’s nothing more important than what we owe to our children. We need a child poverty approach that builds on what has been proven to work in previous years, which saw the most sustained drop in child poverty levels since records began, including during the recession. That’s investing in child benefit and child tax credits, providing help for parents to find and afford the childcare they need to take up jobs, and genuine help for people to find jobs they can raise a family on.”

But hey, let's ignore all this. Look in the other direction and bang on about children having access to porn. Something actually the Government can do almost nothing about. By this evening the ISP concerned were distancing themselves from Cameron's words pointing out this was only for new customers, only if you ask for it, and basically saying it would make no difference.

So nothing will really change even if it needed to and the headlines tomorrow will all be about porn filters whilst child poverty will continue to be ignored.

I am sure the Mother's Union have good intentions but that just won't do. Good intentions don't give families enough money to support their children and their children the role models they need to grow up and flourish.

The fact is Cameron is using the Mother's Union for political advantage. This isn't a government that puts the interests of families and children at its centre and the Mother's Union should be supporting parents in pointing that out to Cameron rather than forming an unholy alliance with him.

Library Pilots hit Buildings Roadblock

Campaigners earlier in the year outside Stradbroke Library

Library pilots in Suffolk are hitting a "roadblock" with issues surrounding buildings. After several requests to meet staff from SCC's Property department important issues surrounding buildings remain unresolved and are seriously impacting the ability of the Library pilots to get off the ground. Staff from Property have attended meetings and literally been unable to give any firm information.

In Stradbroke the County Council are still offering to transfer the Courthouse building to the Parish Council but are unable to confirm the terms of such a transfer.

At a meeting of Stradbroke Parish Council last night attended by local County Councillor and Cabinet member Guy McGregor councillors expressed frustration at not having enough information to be able to consider if they could take the Courthouse building on. The building needs some repairs and an improved heating system before it could be viable but the terms of any proposed leased have not yet been disclosed despite numerous meetings and emails.

Chair of the Parish Council Ann Kerr expressed her frustration at the situation and wondered if there was any point Stradbroke continuing to take part in the pilots.

It was unclear what the cause of the delays within Property were but Cllr McGregor denied that these might be impacted by significant reductions in staff within that department and promised to get the required information so the Parish Council could make an informed decision at our November meeting.

Several councillors pointed out that whilst there could be several community uses for the building it could also be a significant liability for the Parish and require us to increase our Precept to pay for upkeep. Other councillors proposed exciting ideas such as a cafe, library events such as book readings, a home for the village Internet Radio Station "Radio Stradbroke" and an after school homework club with additional computers.

Chair of the Parish Council Ann Kerr pointed out that many hours of volunteer time had already been spent on this project. It would be a real shame if after all the work so far the project was to falter because relatively small issues with buildings cannot be resolved. I hope that the County Council can take a realistic view and show its commitment to localism by transferring an asset that we can use rather than offering a mill stone round the necks of parishioners. We have the interest and enthusiasm and are now waiting for the County Council to deliver their side of the deal.

Three Mifi Three (Huawei E586) Review

Three's Third Mifi Huaewi E586

I have been a fan of the Thee Mifi since it was launched and have written reviews of the two previous models the E5830 and the E585. The new and third generation is called the E586 and the name gives us a clue that there the new MiFi is very similar to the second generation E585.

In fact if you put the two side by side it would make a pretty good "spot the difference" competition!

E585 (left) and E586 (right)
Spot the difference!

But there are a few differences between the two. The biggest difference is the fact the new MiFi supports HSDPA+ which is a faster version of the HSDPA high speed mobile broadband network that Three has just started to roll out across its network. There is also a button that shows the wireless SSID name and password on the screen which I do not really see as a benefit as anyone stealing the MiFi can now use it!

In use I found it a bit more reliable and it seemed to hold and re-connect to the network better. Battery life seemed similar taking into account the fact it obviously comes with a new battery. I get 3-4 hours out of it.

The data counter on the screen is now cumulative rather than per session so you get a helpful view of how much data you have used since the last top-up or part of your monthly allowance.

Otherwise the device is the same brilliant and useful device it has been since the first generation model. It lets you connect up to 5 wifi devices and provides them mobile broadband access. Brilliant for commuting and business travel.

Speaking of business travel, I unlocked my Mifi for €10 using DC Unlocker which was easy and worked fine. This means I can use local 3G Sim cards when travelling and I have a Spanish Vodafone card ready for my trip to Barcelona later this month. This saves a fortune on roaming data charges that are still pretty high.

Three also supply the new MiFi with a handy cradle for charging the device on as well as a useful short USB cable to connect to a PC on the move for charging.

Conclusion

I literally carry this device everywhere. It lets you use any device without needing to get expensive 3G versions and you only need one for all your gadgets. It works if your home broadband fails. You don't need to buy expensive hotel or hotspot wifi. My mobile phone doesn't use all its data allowance each month as it connects to the MiFi and it will work through the MiFi when the signal is low for its network.

If you already have a 585 there is not a huge reason to upgrade unless you are offered one free as a contract upgrade. There is no real way of telling where the HSDPA+ upgrades to the Three network have been done.

Priced at free on most contracts (from around £11 to £19 a month) or £85 pay as you go with 3Gb over 3 months (or £135 with 12Gb over 12 months) it is reasonably priced.

The changes in the evolution of this product although small are welcome and it is great to see Three making a success of this really useful device which I highly recommend.