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Parents urged to take up free school meals by 5 January

By LiseS at 17:17 on 30/12/11

Local councils are urging parents whose children attend a local secondary school to check if they are eligible for free school meals. Not only will parents save money on school lunches, but schools will depend on registration to collect their "pupil premium" of £600 per eligible pupil. The funding allocated to each school for the 2012-13 financial year depends on the number of children registered as entitled to receive...
Haringey schools under threat of forced academy conversion

By LiseS at 16:20 on 24/12/11

Four schools across Haringey borough face the threat of forced conversion to academy status next year under controversial new measures introduced by the Education Secretary, Michael Gove. New government powers introduced last year mean any school served by Ofsted with a notice to improve may be taken over by a private sponsor. Leslie Church, the headteacher of Downhills primary school in Tottenham has spoken out about an ultimatum...
Haringey schools funding consultation closes

By LiseS at 21:59 on 17/10/11

A consultation on the way schools in Haringey are funded, aimed at ending the discrepancy between teachers' salaries and the borough's funding settlement, has closed with 120 local people responding. An initial consultation earlier this year asked borough residents for general opinions on funding, and a second phases this summer asked for more detailed views. The current funding formula has led to a difference of up to £1540 per...
Highgate School to provide teaching at new free sixth form

By LiseS at 19:27 on 13/10/11

Highgate School, one of the UK's leading independent schools, will become part of a consortium of top private schools providing tuition at a new sixth form college in Newham, East London. The London Academy of Excellence, opening in September 2012, will be established under the government's Free School initiative and eventually offer places to 400 A-level students. A total of eleven independent schools based in the South-East of...
Highgate school closures confirmed for tomorrow

By LiseS at 12:22 on 29/06/11

A strike called by two of the UK's biggest teaching unions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), is set to cause up to 90% of London schools to be closed tomorrow, including the majority of schools in Highgate. Over 3,000 schools are to close as a result of the strike, which has been called over changes to public sector pensions. Although not all teachers are members of the two...

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School closures confirmed for this Wednesday

By LiseS

Highgate Children's Centre will be OPEN tomorrow. Highgate Newtown Community Centre also offers...

By LiseS at 17:45 on 28/11/11

The majority of schools in Highgate will be closed this Wednesday as a result of national strike action by a large number of the UK's teaching and other unions. A mass public-sector walkout, set to be the largest since the 1970s, will take place on Wednesday with a march through central London from noon. Susan Higgins, headteacher at Parliament Hill, has confirmed that the school will be closed as a result of industrial action....
Highgate Wood dispute resolved

By LiseS

Two of the UK's biggest teaching unions today voted for strike action over changes to public sector...

By LiseS at 12:11 on 26/05/11

The dispute between Highgate Wood teaching staff and school governors has been resolved following ten hours of talks between NUT members and the school board on Tuesday. ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) representatives were also present at the talk to ensure a constructive discussion. As a result of the talks, strikes planned for yesterday and today at the school have been called off. Headteacher Patrick...
Highgate Wood teachers walk out over increased work schedules

By LiseS

Tomorrow's strike action postponed. Thursday's industrial action is currently still set to go ahead...

By LiseS at 12:59 on 20/05/11

Members of the NUT teaching union at Highgate Wood went out on strike yesterday in protest at increased work schedules proposed by governors in response to a £200,000 overspend in the school budget last year. NUT members at the school voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action earlier this week after negotiations with the governors broke down. Under the new proposals, all staff at Highgate Wood have been asked to teach an...
Fair funding fight for Haringey schools

By LiseS

It's certainly a real problem, and one that seems limited to Haringey as a borough. Glad to post the...

By LiseS at 16:34 on 20/04/11

MP Lynne Featherstone has called for residents to respond to an online consultation oon school funding in the hope of resolving a bizarre discrepancy. Lynne Featherstone at Hornsey School for Girls last year. The discrepancy between funding and pay levels in Haringey schools has lead to a sizeable funding gap between funding and salary payment in the borough of Haringey. Currently, Haringey is categorised as an "outer London"...
Local MPs' votes in Higher Education Fees Bill

By LiseS

Hi Fatuma, I agree with much of your basic point and have no brief at all for the previous...

By LiseS at 10:08 on 10/12/10

Highgate's local MPs were split on last night's crucial Higher Education Fees Bill, which saw the coalition government win a narrow 21-vote victory after a backbench rebellion by Lib-Dem and some Conservative MPs. The bill sought to raise the cap of university tuition fees to £9,000, prompting large public protests from current university and college students. Lynne Featherstone MP signed a pledge prior to the May elections...