Now viewers can see for themselves what cuts are doing, says James Pope from BBC2’s School series
James Pope has not been watching School, the BBC2 documentary he stars in. “I was hugely nervous. You don’t know how people will view you. Despite four years of generally very positive feedback from my line managers, governors, the trust and community, I thought there was a risk people would watch it and go: what an idiot.”
The series follows the pupils, teachers, parents and leaders of different secondary schools in a multi-academy trust across the 2017-2018 academic year. It shows Pope struggling to improve standards at Marlwood, a rural secondary modern in Gloucestershire that has been put into special measures by Ofsted, while simultaneously being expected to cut nearly £1m from his annual budget. Teaching, leadership and support staff numbers are decimated, class sizes are increased, morale falls; pupils and teachers struggle to shake off the label “inadequate”. Last week, in episode three, after a poor Ofsted report, Pope is seen handing in his resignation. He says the resultant outpouring of empathy from headteachers has been remarkable.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2r6oXOc
Comments
Post a Comment