PPP

The BBC have recently posted an upbeat article on a US version of 'Public Private Partnership' PPP - Microsoft's state education revolution. I'm interested in this because of the three PPP schools being built in Lewisham



Presumably this means that there will be lots of competition for places at these new schools who will be able to take on the brightest pupils who can take best advantage of their new facilities.





Poorer schools might end up with more pupils with special needs or children who may not end up with the highest grades and so may not be able to justify the higher funding that a PPP school gets. These poorer schools may not be able to provide the same high standard of facilities for their pupils.





I have no political axe to grind against PPP. I would welcome initiatives that genuinely help children get better chances in their education. And of course some people will be always be luckier than others. That's life. But I'm concerned that PPP may come at a cost to children in poorer areas who may miss out on some of these great opportunities. Or maybe there are more private finance deals out there so that more schools in poorer areas can provide better opportunities for their children.

Being a school governor

I was appointed as a school governor to a Lewisham primary school last year. I'm still not entirely convinced that it's the right thing for me, but I've enjoyed it so far and the school is a remarkable one.


Many of the pupils coming into the school are very vulnerable, but the school provides them with space to learn and develop. Some excellent teaching staff then help to transform the children so that they are at least as prepared for secondary school as their peers from other schools.


Even after being a governor for the past year, I'm still feeling my way around the whole thing and I'm not sure if I'm really contributing as much as I should be. We don't get asked to make loads of decisions, but the headteacher is accountable to the governing body, so I guess that we provide the governance. I've never been reticent about asking awkward questions so I guess that this could be part of the role of a school governor.

Time will tell if I'm really getting it right.