Swindon Archive News
Head leaves Swindon, branding town's education authority as incompetent
Always a fierce critic of bureaucracy and those more interested in political expediency than the educational needs of children, he delivered a broadside upon Swindon Council on his last day, 25 July, by labelling it as incompetent in its management and support of schools. And he expects his view to be confirmed by inspectors from Ofsted who will deliver their report of a June inspection of the authority in September.
Ian said, "the incompetence of the LEA is one of the reasons I am leaving. I have constantly banged my head a brick wall. Schools could move forward if they received the support they deserve from the LEA; at the moment what they get is quite pathetic.
"I am certainly glad to turn my back on headship because the demands placed on headteachers these days have little to do with getting the best out of kids. One is often prevented from doing a proper job because people are constantly telling you what to do and how to do it, without providing adequate resources to achieve success."
Looking back to September 1986 when Greendown opened to its first pupils, Ian said, although much has changed in education, the ethos of care and concern for others was still central to the life of the school. "Greendown has always been lucky in having excellent, often young, eager staff, committed to children of all abilities. Over the years our GCSE results have continued to improve, and the school is now one of the best performing in the town in terms of the value added to a child's education.
"My brief was also to establish Greendown as a community school, to make its facilities as widely available as possible. This has been a success; it's kept us very concerned with what we offer to West Swindon both in education for its children and what we offer the community at large. To an extent the extra income from this has insulated the school from the poor funding situation in Swindon. The under-funding of education is nothing short of a scandal. Why should a child educated in Swindon be worth £500 less than a similar town not far away?"
At present Swindon is the second poorest funded education authority in England and Wales. Government has promised to review the way money is allocated to schools, but any changes are unlikely to take place until 2003. Until then Swindon schools will be millions of pounds worse off when compared with schools in other areas of the country.
Ian said, despite his criticism of Swindon Council, that he would miss the people he has worked with. "I've enjoyed the support of parents and teachers, and hope the children who've passed through the school are making a success of their lives. I look forward to hearing of Greendown's development."
Also
Final moments for Ian Matthews, at the Greendown end of term assembly on 25 July
After sixteen years in Swindon, Greendown headteacher Ian Matthews has departed to live in Shoreham, East Sussex, where he will be engaged in school inspections, consultation work and part-time teaching.Always a fierce critic of bureaucracy and those more interested in political expediency than the educational needs of children, he delivered a broadside upon Swindon Council on his last day, 25 July, by labelling it as incompetent in its management and support of schools. And he expects his view to be confirmed by inspectors from Ofsted who will deliver their report of a June inspection of the authority in September.
Ian said, "the incompetence of the LEA is one of the reasons I am leaving. I have constantly banged my head a brick wall. Schools could move forward if they received the support they deserve from the LEA; at the moment what they get is quite pathetic.
"I am certainly glad to turn my back on headship because the demands placed on headteachers these days have little to do with getting the best out of kids. One is often prevented from doing a proper job because people are constantly telling you what to do and how to do it, without providing adequate resources to achieve success."
Looking back to September 1986 when Greendown opened to its first pupils, Ian said, although much has changed in education, the ethos of care and concern for others was still central to the life of the school. "Greendown has always been lucky in having excellent, often young, eager staff, committed to children of all abilities. Over the years our GCSE results have continued to improve, and the school is now one of the best performing in the town in terms of the value added to a child's education.
"My brief was also to establish Greendown as a community school, to make its facilities as widely available as possible. This has been a success; it's kept us very concerned with what we offer to West Swindon both in education for its children and what we offer the community at large. To an extent the extra income from this has insulated the school from the poor funding situation in Swindon. The under-funding of education is nothing short of a scandal. Why should a child educated in Swindon be worth £500 less than a similar town not far away?"
At present Swindon is the second poorest funded education authority in England and Wales. Government has promised to review the way money is allocated to schools, but any changes are unlikely to take place until 2003. Until then Swindon schools will be millions of pounds worse off when compared with schools in other areas of the country.
Ian said, despite his criticism of Swindon Council, that he would miss the people he has worked with. "I've enjoyed the support of parents and teachers, and hope the children who've passed through the school are making a success of their lives. I look forward to hearing of Greendown's development."
Also
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