Parents at a meeting this week at the Finsbury Park school – planning their fight back

PARENTS have been told their Ofsted-hit school WILL close if an academy sponsor does not step in. Pooles Park, a primary school in Lennox Road, Finsbury Park, is reeling from an inspection that rated it as “inadequate”, but campaigners say the school is better than how it has been graded and should not be earmarked for closure.

The news was delivered to families at a meeting with education chiefs on Friday, where it was warned that it could be closed by the end of the year.

Former Islington headteacher Calvin Henry this week spoke in support of Pooles Park headteacher Greg Crawford having seen his own school, St Mary CofE Primary School in Haringey, downgraded from “good” to the “inadequate” rating by the same inspection team last year.

“I told the lead inspector that the school that he’s describing to me isn’t one that I recognise,” he said. “Now, yes, two of that team were also two of the same team that went to Pooles Park.

“In terms of both schools being judged to be “inadequate”, all I can say is that when that team came into my school, they got it so, so very wrong. Had they properly considered the evidence, I am convinced that they would have come to a different judgement about the school.”

Former Islington headteacher Calvin Henry

Mr Henry was in charge St Mark’s CofE school near Holloway Road between 2012 and 2015, and was himself an Ofsted inspector until this experience.

In his case, another inspection team visited the school two months after the inadequate report had been published and then returned the school to “good”. Mr Henry had filed a complaint but was unable to take Ofsted to the next complaint level – a judicial review at court level – as it would have cost thousands of pounds.

Similarly, Pooles Park discarded the possibility of a judicial review on the grounds of expense. Instead, the parents and leadership at the school have complained to Ofsted about the inspection and are still waiting for a response.
Mr Henry described Mr Crawford – who became Pooles Park head 20 years ago – as “a really highly thought of, highly regarded headteacher for many, many years,” who “is able to effectively evaluate his own provision”.

While official data is not collected on how many pupils are in care or have social workers, Pooles Park is understood to have one of the highest proportions in London. Many pupils are also in temporary housing.

Celebrating Mr Crawford’s achievements at the school, Mr Henry added: “Greg is coming to the end of his headship, and to be left with [the grading] is absolutely devastating, and I completely empathise with how he is feeling because, you know, you give your life to your work.”

So disillusioned is he with Ofsted that Mr Henry plans to leave teaching this year, after 17 years as a headteacher.

In the face of possible closure, parents are turning to the possibility of forced academisation. Three sponsors are understood to have made bids to run the school.

A consultation asking parents to comment on a council “proposal” to close the school launched last week and will close on May 26 before a final decision is made in September.

In its consultation documents, Islington said they were seeking “the views of parents and carers, staff, the local community, and other interested groups on its proposal to close Pooles Park Primary school” and blamed the cause of it on a falling birth rate and falling school rolls – something that has hit boroughs across central London as families move away in search of more affordable housing.

Parent Paul Levy, who set up the Parents Supporting Pooles Park Primary School group, said: “Parents are angry – not only current parents but parents of former pupils that I have spoken to today and yesterday.

“They are fearful of losing what one parent described as the school’s wonderful family outreach and everyone has called it a true community school – it’s not just a school situ­ated within a community.”

An Islington C­ouncil spokesperson said: “Current Pooles Park pupils will be offered greater stability and brighter futures with better educational outcomes if we close Pooles Park, as they could transfer with their friends to an existing nearby community school with sufficient capacity and a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

“If the school closes, we would work hard to preserve the highly-valued knowledge, support and expertise provided to the current pupils. All children with education, health and care plans would be fully supported with the transition to another school.”