I was very sorry to see another school has been railroaded after a visit from Ofsted by the Government and Merton Council.

The first was Bishopsford who were "picked on" by the “Ofsted bullies”, days after the Ofsted rules changed and found just below par, like 90 per cent of the schools in the UK at that point in time.

Now Garden is next in line, after being inspected days into a new school year, and I am sure that Ofsted did not take into account a school needs to have a little time to "embed" new students and new staff before failing it.

At an Open Cabinet Meeting to decide the future of BIshopsford Secondary School in 2012, a school which was on the way up, yes slowly but without the finances that academy enjoys from the Government.

At this meeting I asked the question is this the start of all schools in Merton becoming academies, and all under the "Harris" flag, the answer I was given was NO and the Council Officers would not be looking to turn any primary schools into academy schools in the future.

Now my question is who is next, Liberty, Benedict, Bond, Lonesome, (take your pick) and will Merton Council be happy to turn all Merton schools over to Harris (washing their hands of their duty to educate the children in Merton) giving our children a single planned education only suitable to a small proportion of them?

Andrew Boxall

What do you think? Leave a comment below or email your letter to: letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk.

 

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