gdj Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hello, Having had my questions about the damage being caused by the new free school deleted by the HT I can no longer log on there. No message of explanation, so I have either offended the HT or Geoff Hughes. So please can I join Biomech on the Naughty Step here? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Thomas Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome to the club! You won't have problems like that here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamboyant Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome to Belmont Voice. How exactly did you offend Geoff Hughes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome to Exile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdj Posted January 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Welcome to Belmont Voice. How exactly did you offend Geoff Hughes? Thank you all, Flamboyant - there was a story about the free school moving into the council's Blackfriars building. I suggested that the HT should ask questions rather than just printing PR (and maybe that was my crime). Questions like how much money or rent the council will receive for this large building on a prime city centre location? How much is the council spending in moving out its staff (quite a lot I believe) and how much disruption is being caused to the work of those staff members (again, quite a lot as many have no real office to move to). I then asked how many pupils the school has (it announced a target of 60 last year) - Mizza provided the info that there are about 20 - this despite a large recruitment campaign in and beyond Herefordshire. I then asked what role Geoff Hughes had played in the negotiating and scheduling of the council staff moving out, and the school moving in to Blackfriars. I think it is a relevant question as he has a senior position in the Robert Owen foundation and is the director in charge of what is done with council buildings and land. I have since heard that the money the government is giving to the school to refurbish the building is in the millions of pounds - so a massive contrast with what local authority maintained schools are getting, or with the current school transport fiasco. I know that Councillors are members of this site - can I suggest that someone visits the Blackfriars site soon and speaks to a few front line staff. This pretty much sums up my last contribution to the HT website - but I know I am not the first to go too "off message". Thanks again for the welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Standard HT procedure - delete and ban anything that questions their content or motives. The editor is the biggest moron around, acts completely unprofessionally and really shouldn't be running the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamboyant Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Gdj Thanks for the update Interesting to hear Geoff Hughes actually does something for his extortionate salary! I hear he's responsible for most things without actually doing anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.Wilson Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Standard HT procedure - delete and ban anything that questions their content or motives. The editor is the biggest moron around, acts completely unprofessionally and really shouldn't be running the paper. Yeah, I'd agree with that. Your safe from all that crap here, welcome to the club, it's good to have you here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdj Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thank you all, Flamboyant - there was a story about the free school moving into the council's Blackfriars building. I suggested that the HT should ask questions rather than just printing PR (and maybe that was my crime). Questions like how much money or rent the council will receive for this large building on a prime city centre location? How much is the council spending in moving out its staff (quite a lot I believe) and how much disruption is being caused to the work of those staff members (again, quite a lot as many have no real office to move to). I then asked how many pupils the school has (it announced a target of 60 last year) - Mizza provided the info that there are about 20 - this despite a large recruitment campaign in and beyond Herefordshire. I then asked what role Geoff Hughes had played in the negotiating and scheduling of the council staff moving out, and the school moving in to Blackfriars. I think it is a relevant question as he has a senior position in the Robert Owen foundation and is the director in charge of what is done with council buildings and land. I have since heard that the money the government is giving to the school to refurbish the building is in the millions of pounds - so a massive contrast with what local authority maintained schools are getting, or with the current school transport fiasco. I know that Councillors are members of this site - can I suggest that someone visits the Blackfriars site soon and speaks to a few front line staff. This pretty much sums up my last contribution to the HT website - but I know I am not the first to go too "off message". Thanks again for the welcome. I see from last weeks HT (perused in the supermarket, you understand and definitely not purchased) that the Head/Principal has resigned (left by mutual consent). Again no questions asked by the HT as to the state of a project which is costing about £3 million, disrupting normal council operations and which has only recruited one third of its target number of pupils and has now lost its main manager. They even repeat the claim that the school opened in September for 60 pupils. It did not. It opened with about 20. I do wish the HT wouldn't publish such spurious claims. Now these children deserve to have their educational needs met, but to distort educational spending so much surely cannot be justified. On a slightly related note - are any other headteachers in the county mysteriously not at their desks at the moment? If so, it could be a very interesting story...... gdj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdj Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I see from last weeks HT (perused in the supermarket, you understand and definitely not purchased) that the Head/Principal has resigned (left by mutual consent). Again no questions asked by the HT as to the state of a project which is costing about £3 million, disrupting normal council operations and which has only recruited one third of its target number of pupils and has now lost its main manager. They even repeat the claim that the school opened in September for 60 pupils. It did not. It opened with about 20. I do wish the HT wouldn't publish such spurious claims. Now these children deserve to have their educational needs met, but to distort educational spending so much surely cannot be justified. On a slightly related note - are any other headteachers in the county mysteriously not at their desks at the moment? If so, it could be a very interesting story...... gdj All now clear. When I just went on the HT news website I was treated to a full screen advert for the Robert Owen free school. The editor is fearlessly not asking pertinent questions of an organisation that pays for advertising. Questions could include: how much is the council getting for the building and land that this school is to use, what role did Geoff Huges play, why has is fallen so far short of its target numbers, and why has the principal left after just one term? Or an alternative question could be: "Would you like to pay us for advertising - we promise to delete any inconvenient comments from our website?". gdj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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