Today's most viewed
Schools hit back at 'cash for places' claims
BARNET schools have accused the Government of scaremongering by going public with its "cash for places" allegations before substantiating the claims.
Four of the borough's faith schools rejected accusations of acting improperly, and criticised the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for telling the media before confronting them.
Barnet Council also
hit back, saying it is
"completely false" that voluntary donations from parents played any role in children securing school places.
Derrick Brown, headteacher of Ashmole School, in Cecil Road, Southgate, described allegations made against his school as unfounded.
He said: "It was extremely worrying I was rung by the BBC before I received any letter from the department.
"They asked me to respond to the fact that breach of standards were more prevalent in foundation and voluntary schools than in community schools.
"This was a disgraceful allegation which arose from the media briefing by the minister. I could make no comment in the absence of any information. This is no way to tackle issues and the whole affair is most regrettable."
A Government report said 38 state schools in Barnet breached the admissions code introduced in February last year.
Several schools were accused of asking for financial contributions and questioning parents about their financial background and marital status on admissions forms.
The council has confirmed four Jewish primary schools and three other faith primary schools requested voluntary contributions, but has rejected the suggestion donations played any role in admissions.
In some cases the money was used for Jewish studies and to meet additional costs of security at Jewish schools. In others, it covered maintenance costs.
It is not yet clear how the other 31 schools allegedly breached the code.
A spokeswoman said the council is working with the schools identified by the DCSF to determine what breaches, if any, took place and hopes to know by the end of this week.
She said: "What is clear is that the allegation of cash for places' is completely false."
Julian Ward, deputy headteacher of St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, in Nether Street, North Finchley, accused the Government of making inflated claims.
He said: "Hardly anything we are being accused of is accurate, and it amounts to only a few minor breaches. It is like a slur against all schools, when actually most of their allegations amount to small, pedantic issues.
"None of the sensational headline issues the Government is promoting in the press, such as charging for places, seem to feature. It hasn't really done its research properly."
Dee Oelman, headteacher at St Mary's and St John's Primary School, in Prothero Gardens, Hendon, said: "We would never, in any circumstances, expect a payment in return for the offer of a place."
Kevin Hoare, headteacher of Finchley Catholic High School, in Woodside Lane, Whetstone, accused officers at the DCSF of "misrepresenting the facts".
A spokesman for the DCSF defended the decision to go public with the breaches and blamed the council for failing to tackle the issues.
He said: "There are only five weeks before schools determine and publish next year's admission arrangements. It would have been remiss of us not to act this week if we had concerns about non-compliance with the law - parents would rightly expect us to deal with this urgently.
"It is for local authorities to monitor lawfulness of admission arrangements in their area and challenge unlawfulness by formally objecting to the schools adjudicator.
"It is not our job to police admissions in 23,000 schools."
The schools adjudicator has been asked by Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls to review the admissions procedures of all schools to check if they are legal and compel them to change if they are not.
"None of the sensational headline issues the Government is promoting in the press, such as charging for places, seem to feature. It hasn't really done its research properly."
Dee Oelman, headteacher at St Mary's and St John's Primary School, in Prothero Gardens, Hendon, said: "We would never, in any circumstances, expect a payment in return for the offer of a place."
Kevin Hoare, headteacher of Finchley Catholic High School, in Woodside Lane, Whetstone accused officers at the DCSF of "misrepresenting the facts".
A spokesman for the DCSF defended the decision to go public with the breaches and blamed the council for failing to tackle the issues.
He said: "There are only five weeks before schools determine and publish next year's admission arrangements. It would have been remiss of us not to act this week if we had concerns about non-compliance with the law - parents would rightly expect us to deal with this urgently.
"It is for local authorities to monitor lawfulness of admission arrangements in their area and challenge unlawfulness by formally objecting to the schools adjudicator.
"It is not our job to police admissions in 23,000 schools."
The schools adjudicator has been asked by Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls to review the admissions procedures of all schools to check if they are legal and compel them to change if they are not.
3:57pm Friday 14th March 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: rajesh, 455-728 on 7:55pm Sat 15 Mar 08
It seems like that schools in our borough which are doing very well are picked on by the government.the government follow our boroughs school ethos &hopefully there will be more wonderful schools like in Barnet.I am more than happy to contribute to my son school because it benefits him&his fellow students.Ps.The government gives more money to the failing schools,I wonder why!
It seems like that schools in our borough which are doing very well are picked on by the government.the government follow our boroughs school ethos &hopefully there will be more wonderful schools like in Barnet.I am more than happy to contribute to my son school because it benefits him&his fellow students.Ps.The government gives more money to the failing schools,I wonder why!
Posted by: Dave, Barnet on 4:45pm Sun 16 Mar 08
Rajesh - what about the parents who can't afford to subsidise their children through school? Is it fair that only rich middle class kids get a decent education? And, by the way, judging by your grasp of grammar and spelling, you could do with going back to school yourself - private, of course.
Rajesh - what about the parents who can't afford to subsidise their children through school? Is it fair that only rich middle class kids get a decent education? And, by the way, judging by your grasp of grammar and spelling, you could do with going back to school yourself - private, of course.
Posted by: rajesh, 811-078 on 10:19am Mon 17 Mar 08
Dave-It is nothing to do with middle class kids.The government does not reward successful schools&thus the schools have to get contribution from somewhere.A failing government will blame anyone else then themselves.I know of parents who send their children to private schools & I certainly would not consider them middle class,more like working class who care for their childrens education.So get of your high horse & get back to the real world.
Dave-It is nothing to do with middle class kids.The government does not reward successful schools&thus the schools have to get contribution from somewhere.A failing government will blame anyone else then themselves.I know of parents who send their children to private schools & I certainly would not consider them middle class,more like working class who care for their childrens education.So get of your high horse & get back to the real world.
Posted by: Dave, Barnet on 12:07pm Mon 17 Mar 08
Okay, if you want to take class out of it, I'll re-phrase what I said:
Is it fair that only kids whose parents can afford to pay for a good school get a decent education?
Whatever your slightly confusing arguments about government contributions are, the fact remains that in this country if you've got money you can buy your way into a good school and if you're on a low income you have to put up with second best.
People then wonder why we produce thousands of disillusioned kids with no prospects and no ambition (while the other half go to university before swanning off round the world for a year).
By all means, correct me if I'm wrong Rajesh.
Okay, if you want to take class out of it, I'll re-phrase what I said:
Is it fair that only kids whose parents can afford to pay for a good school get a decent education?
Whatever your slightly confusing arguments about government contributions are, the fact remains that in this country if you've got money you can buy your way into a good school and if you're on a low income you have to put up with second best.
People then wonder why we produce thousands of disillusioned kids with no prospects and no ambition (while the other half go to university before swanning off round the world for a year).
By all means, correct me if I'm wrong Rajesh.
Posted by: rajesh on 7:11pm Mon 17 Mar 08
Dave you are still missing the point unfortunately.Parent
s with either no or much less money than others are attemting to send their children to private schools because they do not have confidence in most of our state schools.You do not have to put up with second best if as a parent you are prepared to give it all.Sure it is difficult for some parents but to lay the blame on schools asking for contribution is wrong as their budgets are cut to accomodate failing schools & thus they have to raise funds from somewhere.Unfortunat
ely we do not live in a perfect society & I feel for the kids who miss out but as we both know it is" dog eat dog" out there.
Dave you are still missing the point unfortunately.Parent
s with either no or much less money than others are attemting to send their children to private schools because they do not have confidence in most of our state schools.You do not have to put up with second best if as a parent you are prepared to give it all.Sure it is difficult for some parents but to lay the blame on schools asking for contribution is wrong as their budgets are cut to accomodate failing schools & thus they have to raise funds from somewhere.Unfortunat
ely we do not live in a perfect society & I feel for the kids who miss out but as we both know it is" dog eat dog" out there.
Posted by: Dave, Barnet on 9:33am Tue 18 Mar 08
Aah, I knew we'd get there in the end.
To quote Rajesh, the education system is 'dog eat dog'.
In other words the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.
I think the main difference between you and me is that you accept it as part of life (probably because you can afford to) while I condemn it as an unfair, disgusting Thatcher-inspired concept that will only ever serve to divide society.
Aah, I knew we'd get there in the end.
To quote Rajesh, the education system is 'dog eat dog'.
In other words the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.
I think the main difference between you and me is that you accept it as part of life (probably because you can afford to) while I condemn it as an unfair, disgusting Thatcher-inspired concept that will only ever serve to divide society.
Posted by: rajesh on 3:50pm Wed 19 Mar 08
Dave-Who is in the government for the last 10 years.Exactly you leftie,you lot.You could not even organise a" **** up in the brewery" but wreck this fine country of ours-NO PROBLEM.Ps:For your information & to bring this chapter to an end I did not vote for Mrs Thatcher.
Dave-Who is in the government for the last 10 years.Exactly you leftie,you lot.You could not even organise a" **** up in the brewery" but wreck this fine country of ours-NO PROBLEM.Ps:For your information & to bring this chapter to an end I did not vote for Mrs Thatcher.
Posted by: Dave, Barnet on 5:00pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Good effort Rajesh.
But exactly at which point did I say who I voted for?
Who are 'my lot'? I'd be intrigued to know.
Try answering my points and I'll gladly 'bring this chapter to an end'.
Judging by what you've written so far, though, I'm not going to hold my breath!
Good effort Rajesh.
But exactly at which point did I say who I voted for?
Who are 'my lot'? I'd be intrigued to know.
Try answering my points and I'll gladly 'bring this chapter to an end'.
Judging by what you've written so far, though, I'm not going to hold my breath!
Posted by: woody berry on 4:24pm Sat 22 Mar 08
Guys - this isn't about scoring points is it? If I'm wrong and it is, here's the latest score:
Rajesh 0-4 Dave
Guys - this isn't about scoring points is it? If I'm wrong and it is, here's the latest score:
Rajesh 0-4 Dave
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
