Gruelling advice surgery – it can be so draining as people’s problems can be so deep and so distressing. I’ve noticed over the years how simply listening properly to someone who has been frustrated or downed at every turn often results often in the person crying, just because they can finally talk to someone who listens to them. At first I found this really hard – but now I understand that it is a release as finding someone to listen is hard in today’s society.

Then it was straight on to meeting with Fortismere’s Chair of Governors, Jane Farrell, to discuss the ongoing state of the school’s move to Foundation Status. The informal consultation being finished, we are now in the statutory consultation period. The informal stage results were that out of only a 6% response rate, 70% were against (to some degree).

I put forward the suggestion that – based on such a low response rate – the school should go back and ballot the parents, accompanied by a recommending report from the majority Governors who are for the proposal with an accompanying minority report from those Governors opposed. That to me is a way forward that would then, upon the result, re-unite a community which has been divided by this issue creating at times a pretty unpleasant atmosphere. Whatever, the outcome, the school must move forward with any divisions healed.

However, the school’s position is not to offer a ballot. The Governors feel that the statutory consultation period instead offers another opportunity for local parents and others to make their case – and that they as the Governing Body with the remit and duty for making decisions will take the decision based on the responses.

There are some complaints from parents who are asking the Government to review the processes on the informal consultation and consultation with stakeholders because they believe due process has not been followed and I have written to the Minister to ask that he investigate these claims.

One of the other real problems about the process is that the responses to the informal consultation were not available for public scrutiny as indeed neither will be the responses to the statutory consultation now ongoing and closing July 16th. I asked for the responses to be published and Gail – Gail Engert who is the Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson on the Council and who came with me – very helpfully suggested that the Governors could even anonomise the responses so that we can all see the reality of the responses – but not who had made them. Jane said she would consider this. And I think if they will not ballot all parents – then we (all of us) need to see what people have said in their responses so that we can understand on what basis the Governors make and take the final decision.

So – a not altogether satisfactory outcome – as I do believe an all parent ballot would have been a way to settle the business that all could then fall in behind. Second best will be if the Governors agree to publish the responses. Otherwise, for those for whom the decision goes the ‘wrong’ way will never truly believe that the Governors did their duty and had ‘regard to the views of parents’. The Governors have always told me that they believed that the ‘silent majority’ support the proposal. They may be right – but seeing is believing.

Some issues on which I asked for clarification additionally which people have raised with me are as follows:

– people have been concerned that the land that Fortismere owns would and could be sold off. Jane assured me that both the Head and Governors are opposed to selling off any of the land whatsoever. Furthermore, that should this ever arise, it has to be agreed to by both the Secretary of State and the Council. The school has put two people together in a bursar role to start fund-raising for the money they need as a consequence of lack of financial support from both Government and LEA in terms of new buildings monies and the decrease of other funds.

– I had had reports of very worrying behaviour amongst pupils and was assured that the new Head has put in many new initiatives to tackle bad behaviour including a ‘tariff’ by which each misdemeanour carries a different weighting and therefore punishment, employing a behaviour manager, extra staff training on discipline etc. However, one of the problems brought to light is the number of exclusions which are overturned on appeal – something I will pursue.

– statemented children – during the proposals for Foundation Status many parents have been worried that the number of statemented children at the school will be reduced. This would be against the law and cannot happen. However, the school does have issues with the funding for statemented chikdren as if the statement gives the child over 15 hours teaching assistance – then that is extra funding – if not – then it comes out of the normal budget.

Anyway – there was quite a lot more – but this will do for now!

So – Fortismere – our local educational star in the Haringey firmament – has decided to move out of our close-knit school community and change to foundation status. That will now go out to statutory consultation for a very, very short four weeks – so if you want to have your say have it quickly. My understanding of the ‘informal’ consultation results were that there were 70% against this move albeit from a rather small response rate of 6%. I stand to be corrected on those figures as they are from reportage and memory.

The community is upset and divided on this issue. My personal position – as I am asked continually – is that the school should simply stay a good local community school. My role, however, is to try and make sure that the parents and community have a fair say in the future of this excellent school.

This proposal and decision has set parent against parent and has been extremely distressing for many of those involved. Parents of statemented children have come to me worried that the school will reduce their number. Parents in favour of the proposals have contacted me to say that they have been intimidated by those against the proposals – to the point of feeling unable to even voice their views in public.

I receive so many different stories about promises unmet on mode and extent of consultation, on one group thinking x and another wanting y. That is why I very early on wrote to the Head and Governors to hold an all-parent ballot. This was refused. But how else can we really know what parents want as a body? And the teachers? And the pupils? And the local community? We are all inter-linked.

The LEA are not blameless in all of this either. Nor the Government. One of the factors that prompted the school to take this path – or at least seems to have confirmed it in the direction it is bent on taking – is the Labour Government and the Labour LEA between them refusing to grant enough capital funding to deal with a degrading sixth form building and Portacabins that have been there for decades.

I went with the Head and school governors to Ministers before all this started because the Building Schools for the Future fund provided by the Government for new buildings and apportioned to Haringey schools by Haringey Labour LEA had put Fortismere at the very bottom – with clearly no potential to solve their building problems for the next ten years. The Government wouldn’t consider giving any more money – saying it was up to the LEA to distribute that fund. The LEA said they couldn’t distribute it any other way as the Government controlled the funding allocation by criteria which were weighted less to do with the need for new building and much more to do with deprivation factors. Inevitably the poorer areas received more funding – even if buildings in less deprived areas were more in need of work. That means that a high-achieving school like Fortismere with a relatively comfortable catchment wasn’t even in the game despite having crumbling building fabric.

So – I feel that the combination of LEA and Government has given the school the ideal excuse to go to parents and explain that if they didn’t take this path etc etc they would not be able to have the desperately needed new buildings. Only control over their own assets – which comes with this change – would supply the funding they need. Of course – a whole raft of other concerns are involved from possible selection to reducing the numbers of statemented children. Denials of this from the school. Counter denials from the campaigners who want to keep the school comprehensive.

I don’t know if the moves to call for a judicial review on the grounds of flawed consultation will come to anything – there may well be some mechanism and maybe some mileage. I still believe that there should be a ballot – not just to canvas true opinion but also so that once the decision is finally made it could have been fair and seen to be fair and therefore all parties could move forward together and put this miserable experience where no one trusts anyone behind them.

I offered to broker a meeting between Fortismere and the LEA but the LEA could not find a suitable time or date for such a meeting. A great shame – but seemingly the process rolls on, and now – in the last phase – there is just this statutory consultation and that will finish mid July.

Tonight is the meeting on the way forward for Fortismere School, to which my colleague Cllr Gail Engert is going on behalf of the Lib Dems (as I can’t go) and putting forward our proposals.

There is a great deal of angst and bad feeling grown up in response to the school’s seeming desire to move to foundation status. The concerns are around moves to selection; reduction in intake of statemented children; and changing the criteria to enter the sixth form to only those students attaining A or B grades. People are worried that it will cause disharmony in our community of schools. However, the Government’s policy is to allow such applications.

There are, as I said, very strong views against the proposals – and yet a seeming determination from Head and Governors to go forward. The consultation is coming to a close. I asked the school to at least hold an all-parent ballot – but they have refused at this point in time.

So, what is to be done? What the Liberal Democrats have proposed is a five-point plan:

1) The closing date for the consultation should be extended and the consultation should be widely publicised in order to gather the views of the whole local community.

2) The Head and the Director of Education should meet urgently to try to resolve the conflict between the school and the Council. I’ve offered to facilitate the meeting in the hope that a way forward can be found that avoids the school pushing for foundation status.

3) The school should hold a proper public meeting to allow all points of view to be presented to parents and local community.

4) The school should be transparent and undertake to publish all the results of its informal consultation.

5) The Head and Governors should make their intentions on selection clear – and guarantee Fortismere remains a school for the whole community.

Gail’s comment for the press on this issue was, “Our five point plan ensures that all groups are properly consulted on the future of this successful school and that the results of the consultation are fully transparent. This school is a fundamental part of the local community and decisions on its future direction should take their concerns fully into account.”

Whilst I said, “It is clear that there has been a breakdown in communications between the school and Haringey Council, which has resulted in Fortismere pushing for foundation status. I want Fortismere and Haringey to resolve their differences and start working together for the benefit of parents and the local community. I have offered to broker a meeting between the two sides so we can resolve this dispute. I am hopeful that this issue can be resolved if all sides focus on what is important – the future of the school and the children.”